The Top Ranking Universities in America

Harvard University

• Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University has long been thought of as one of the premier universities in the United States, if not the world. Founded in 1636, it has been teaching America's brightest students for almost 400 years. Harvard has approximately 6,500 undergraduates per year who are attending the school, and it boasts an acceptance rate of only 7.9 percent. The average tuition at Harvard University is over $37,000 per year. However, it does have a very large endowment that can help off-set the cost of education through scholarship programs.

  Harvard University
  Massachusetts Hall
  Cambridge, MA 02138
  (617) 495-1000
  harvard.edu

Princeton University

• Located in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University was founded in 1746. Its tuition is slightly less than Harvard, it's approximately $35,000 per year. Its acceptance rate is 9.9 percent, and it has about 5,000 undergraduate students at any given time. The setting for Princeton University is suburban in a suburban setting of about 30,000 residents.

  Princeton University
  Princeton, NJ 08544
  (609) 258-3000
  Undergraduate Admission: (609) 258-3060
  princeton.edu

Yale University

• Located in the urban setting of New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University is considered one of the Ivy League schools. It was founded in 1701. The cost of education is about $36,500 per year, and the school has approximately 5,300 undergraduates attending its classes per year. The acceptance rate is also quite competitive, with only 8.6 percent of all people who apply accepted into the university.

  Yale College
  Office of Undergraduate Admissions
  P.O. Box 208234
  New Haven, CT
  06520-8234
  (203) 432-9300
  yale.edu

Stanford University

• Located in Palo Alto, California, Standford University was founded in 1885. It has approximately 6,500 undergraduate students enrolled, and it has a 9.6 percent acceptance rate of applicants. Often thought of as the strongest school in the west, it operates its academic calendar on quarters as opposed to semesters. It also has a massive endowment that is used for scholarships to help defray the cost of attending Stanford. As of 2010, the cost to attend Stanford University is just under $38,000 per year.

  Stanford University
  Office of Undergraduate Admission
  Montag Hall
  355 Galvez Street
  Stanford, CA 94305-6106
  (650) 723-2091
  stanford.edu

University of Pennsylvania

• The University of Pennsylvania is located in the urban setting of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In terms of undergraduates, it is a slightly larger school than the other top colleges, with almost 10,000 undergraduates in rolled. It also has an acceptance rate of just under 17 percent. The cost of yearly tuition at UPenn is just under $39,000.

  University of Pennsylvania
  3451 Walnut Street
  Philadelphia, PA 19104-6243
  (215) 898-5000
  upenn.edu