Amherst is a private, not-for-profit college that for almost two centuries has prepared students to use ideas to make a difference in the world. At Amherst, you are part of a lively, inquisitive, devoted community of students, faculty, staff and alumni who find inspiration in one another and in the process of learning.

Bowdoin College is historic. And selective. And rigorous. But most importantly, we were founded and endowed with the belief that there is something bigger than ourselves.

What does it mean for a college to do the right thing? It means building a curriculum that stretches what’s expected of the liberal arts. For us, it means working for equality, diversity, and inclusion—in our coursework, our staffing, our student body, and our financial priorities. It means researching and protecting our environment—from the coastal ecosystems that surround and sustain us, to the humid jungles and Arctic poles that inspired some of our earliest students.

A Bowdoin education brings context, history, integrity, and empathy to the world around us.

Probe theoretical physics with a Nobel Prize winner. Invent a new musical instrument. Design a medical device to prevent strokes during cardiac surgery.

At Brown, undergraduates are creators, leaders and doers who are not satisfied with merely raising questions — they learn to confront, address and solve problems facing society, the nation and the world.

Students are the drivers of their own academic experiences, surrounded by a community of world-class scholars invested in their success. They are actively engaged in teaching and learning, empowered to advance their intellectual growth, and transformed to lead lives of action and purpose.

Caltech is a world-renowned science and engineering institute that marshals some of the world's brightest minds and most innovative tools to address fundamental scientific questions and pressing societal challenges.

The Institute manages JPL for NASA, sending probes to explore the planets of our solar system and quantify changes on our home planet. Caltech also owns and operates large-scale research facilities such as the Seismological Laboratory and a global network of astronomical observatories, including the Palomar and W. M. Keck Observatories; and cofounded and comanages LIGO.

Caltech is an independent, privately supported institution with a 124-acre campus located in Pasadena, California.

We are an intellectually insatiable group of people. We approach learning with enthusiasm, energy, and a distinctly Carleton brand of playfulness. Carleton is a collaborative place where students and professors work together to make sense of the messiness of life.

The character of Carleton is the blend of rigor and good humor that permeates everything we do. It fosters depth, creativity, and compassion, both inside the classroom and out. We are joyfully competitive — more likely to inspire one another than jockey for favor. It is what we’re all about: passionate pursuits among friends.

Carnegie Mellon University challenges the curious and passionate to imagine and deliver work that matters.

A private, global research university, Carnegie Mellon stands among the world's most renowned educational institutions, and sets its own course. Start the journey here.

With cutting-edge brain science, path-breaking performances, innovative start-ups, driverless cars, big data, big ambitions, Nobel and Turing prizes, hands-on learning, and a whole lot of robots, CMU doesn't imagine the future, we create it.

A modern leader in liberal arts education, drawing on centuries of tradition.

Colgate is a distinctive, leading American university known for its intellectual rigor, world-class professors, campus of stunning beauty, and alumni famously loyal to their alma mater.

Columbia University is one of the world's most important centers of research and at the same time a distinctive and distinguished learning environment for undergraduates and graduate students in many scholarly and professional fields. The University recognizes the importance of its location in New York City and seeks to link its research and teaching to the vast resources of a great metropolis. It seeks to attract a diverse and international faculty and student body, to support research and teaching on global issues, and to create academic relationships with many countries and regions. It expects all areas of the University to advance knowledge and learning at the highest level and to convey the products of its efforts to the world.

Cornell is a privately endowed research university and a partner of the State University of New York. As the federal land-grant institution in New York State, we have a responsibility—unique within the Ivy League—to make contributions in all fields of knowledge in a manner that prioritizes public engagement to help improve the quality of life in our state, the nation, the world.

Dartmouth College, one of the original nine chartered colonial colleges of America, was founded in 1769 on traditional, unceded Abenaki land along the Connecticut River in New Hampshire. Its founder, The Rev. Eleazar Wheelock, was joined by The Rev. Samson Occom, an ordained minister of the Mohegan Tribe, to dedicate the new school to educating Native American students.

To educate ethical citizens, a university must be driven by a set of values embraced by the entire community. At Dartmouth, we integrate our core values into our curriculum, our culture, and our campus so that students, staff, and faculty live those principles.

By pursuing these objectives with vision and integrity, Duke University seeks to engage the mind, elevate the spirit, and stimulate the best effort of all who are associated with the University; to contribute in diverse ways to the local community, the state, the nation and the world; and to attain and maintain a place of real leadership in all that we do.

The extraordinary energy of our talented community propels our work forward. Though our areas of expertise vary, we find shared purpose in our mission to “create, preserve, teach, and apply knowledge in the service of humanity.”

It means bringing together the most brilliant and creative minds to collaborate in ways that only we can, serving as an incubator for research and a driver for compassionate innovation.

Intellectual rigor. Social justice. Self-reflection. They’re knitted together in every facet of your Georgetown experience – in your studies, your research, your interactions with faculty and the career decisions you make.

We’re a leading research university with a heart. Founded in the decade that the U.S. Constitution was signed, we’re the nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university. Today we’re a forward-looking, diverse community devoted to social justice, restless inquiry and respect for each person’s individual needs and talents.

Harvard University is devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and to developing leaders in many disciplines who make a difference globally. The University, which is based in Cambridge and Boston, Massachusetts, has an enrollment of over 20,000 degree candidates, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. Harvard has more than 360,000 alumni around the world.

We’re one of the premier engineering, science, and mathematics colleges in the United States.

We’re also unique because we are a liberal arts college. Aren’t engineering, science and mathematics mutually exclusive of the liberal arts? Maybe at some places, but not at Harvey Mudd.

We educate engineers, scientists and mathematicians who become leaders in their fields and have a clear understanding of the impact their work has on society. That’s the big picture.

The core of the classroom experience is learning from the professor’s research and scholarship, and having the opportunity to be an active, vital participant in every class. It is expected that all students will be involved in research—students are true collaborators and trusted colleagues in the classroom, working directly with the material and ideas of the discipline.

Our Academic Centers enrich scholarship beyond the boundaries of the traditional classroom. They play an essential role by supporting cutting edge research, invigorating the arts on campus, and sending students across the globe for life-changing experiences that give them firsthand contact with the material they’re studying.

The Honor Code is written and governed solely by students. It is an important example of the ways in which students determine the course of their Haverford experience. Students here are uncommonly engaged in the life of the community.

Our serene campus, located just outside Philadelphia, is a beautiful and stimulating environment. The campus has 200 acres of award-winning architecture and landscaping, more than 50 academic, athletic and residential buildings, and a nationally recognized arboretum with 400 species of trees and shrubs, a 3.5-acre duck pond, gardens and wooded areas.

“What are we aiming at?”

That’s the question our university’s first president, Daniel Coit Gilman, asked at his inauguration in 1876. What is this place all about, exactly? His answer:

“The encouragement of research . . . and the advancement of individual scholars, who by their excellence will advance the sciences they pursue, and the society where they dwell.”

Gilman believed that teaching and research go hand in hand—that success in one depends on success in the other—and that a modern university must do both well. He also believed that sharing our knowledge and discoveries would help make the world a better place.

In 140 years, we haven’t strayed from that vision. This is still a destination for excellent, ambitious scholars and a world leader in teaching and research. Distinguished professors mentor students in the arts and music, humanities, social and natural sciences, engineering, international studies, education, business, and the health professions. Those same faculty members, along with their colleagues at the university’s Applied Physics Laboratory, have made us the nation’s leader in federal research and development funding every year since 1979.

That’s a fitting distinction for America’s first research university, a place that has revolutionized higher education in the U.S. and continues to bring knowledge and discoveries to the world.

MIT’s primary purposes are teaching and research with relevance to the practical world and transforming society for the better. To that end, we seek the best possible community of scholars (and humans) who will contribute to MIT and the world.

In 1865, the founding of MIT established a new kind of independent educational institution relevant to an increasingly industrialized America. Since then, MIT has built a robust tradition of solving problems in the public interest at the intersection of technology and humanity.

For more than 150 years, the Institute has married teaching with engineering and scientific studies—and produced an unending stream of world-changing advancements. These innovations translate the novel discoveries of basic research to products and infrastructure used by ordinary people in everyday life.

Northwestern is committed to excellent teaching, innovative research and the personal and intellectual growth of its students in a diverse academic community.

A Northwester Direction is a journey that you create and define, It will be filled with twists, turns, and intersections, and you won't do it alone. The resources you'll find and the relationships you'll build here will lead you to new ideas, great adventures, and meaningful contributions.

If you want to find out what's next and dee how far you can go, take a Northwestern Direction.

Established in 1887, Pomona College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, Calif., about 35 miles east of Los Angeles. We offer a comprehensive curriculum, with 48 majors in the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

One of the premier liberal arts colleges in the nation, Pomona is a close-knit and diverse community of accomplished scholars, scientists, entrepreneurs and artists who are passionate about making a difference in the world. There are approximately 1,670 students who come from 59 nations and all 50 U.S. states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico.

With a student-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, our students work closely with their professors in the classroom, in the lab and in the field. And our location—within an hour of Los Angeles and the mountains, desert and beaches—provides countless opportunities for field study, research and internships.

Princeton’s commitment to undergraduate education is profound. As a student, you benefit from the extraordinary resources of a world-class teaching and research university, and our low student-to-faculty ratio means you are able to develop close working relationships with professors who are leaders in their fields.

Our curriculum emphasizes learning, creativity, innovation and collaboration with a program of liberal arts in the humanities, arts, social sciences, natural sciences and engineering. You will explore many disciplines and also develop a deep understanding in one area of concentration.

From admission to commencement, the undergraduate academic experience is overseen by the Office of the Dean of the College, fostering your intellectual engagement and growth every step along the way.

Boasting a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Rice University is ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has a 6-to-1 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio, and a residential college system, which supports students intellectually, emotionally and culturally through social events, intramural sports, student plays, lectures series, courses and student government. Developing close-knit, diverse college communities is a strong campus tradition, which is why Rice is highly ranked for best quality of life and best value among private universities.

Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Stanford University is a place of learning, discovery, expression and innovation. Founded in 1885, Stanford’s areas of excellence span seven schools along with research institutes, the arts and athletics. Stanford’s faculty, staff and students work to improve the health and wellbeing of people around the world through the discovery and application of knowledge.

Located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, Swarthmore is comprised of 425 acres, including the Scott Arboretum, featuring rolling lawns, a creek, wooded hills, and hiking trails Swarthmore is a private, nonsectarian, liberal arts with engineering. Offering more than 40 courses of study, Swarthmore provides the opportunity for students to design their own major. Admission and financial aid decisions for U.S. citizens and permanent residents are made independently at Swarthmore. Financial aid awards meet the determined need for admitted students, without loans.

Tufts is a leader in American higher education, distinctive for its success as a moderately sized university that excels at research and providing students with a personal experience. Our unique combination of research and liberal arts attracts students, faculty and staff who thrive in our environment of curiosity, creativity and engagement.

Diverse, progressive and centered in one of the most influential cities in the world, UCLA is a truly international university that offers a world of opportunity. Consistently ranked among the world's top-tier universities and powered by extensive resources, a renowned reputation and — most important — the will to make a real difference in the world, the result is clearly in the numbers.

Being accepted to UCLA is more than a badge of honor. It's a responsibility. As a student, you will be charged with impacting the world from the moment you step on campus. You will be given every resource and opportunity that comes with the highest ranked public university in the nation. You will be supported and guided by faculty who are the foremost experts in their field.

Whether you're enrolling in our undergraduate program or pursuing a graduate degree, UCLA provides a reach and scope of academic experience that has a reputation for producing world-renowned, highly influential, game-changing graduates. They are politicians and Academy Award-winning directors. Olympic gold medalists and Nobel Prize winners. Doctors, scientists, researchers and social activists who aren't just saving lives—they're changing life as we know it.

And you could be one of them.

The University of Chicago is an urban research university that has driven new ways of thinking since 1890. Our commitment to free and open inquiry draws inspired scholars to our global campuses, where ideas are born that challenge and change the world.

We empower individuals to challenge conventional thinking in pursuit of original ideas. Students in the College develop critical, analytic, and writing skills in our rigorous, interdisciplinary core curriculum. Through graduate programs, students test their ideas with UChicago scholars, and become the next generation of leaders in academia, industry, nonprofits, and government.

UChicago research has led to such breakthroughs as discovering the link between cancer and genetics, establishing revolutionary theories of economics, and developing tools to produce reliably excellent urban schooling. We generate new insights for the benefit of present and future generations with our national and affiliated laboratories: Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

The University of Chicago is enriched by the city we call home. In partnership with our neighbors, we invest in Chicago's mid-South Side across such areas as health, education, economic growth, and the arts. Together with our medical center, we are the largest private employer on the South Side.

In all we do, we are driven to dig deeper, push further, and ask bigger questions—and to leverage our knowledge to enrich all human life. Our diverse and creative students and alumni drive innovation, lead international conversations, and make masterpieces. Alumni and faculty, lecturers and postdocs go on to become Nobel laureates, CEOs, university presidents, attorneys general, literary giants, and astronauts.

Welcome to the University of Michigan, an exciting place filled with inspiration, opportunities, engaged minds, and a global campus community.

For more than 200 years, we've encouraged students to explore all possibilities, ask questions, and challenge the present to create a better future. U-M is considered one of the most distinguished public universities and a leader in higher education, attracting talented students and faculty from all over the world. Come find your voice and challenge yourself by engaging with new people, perspectives, and ideas.

The University of Notre Dame was founded in November 1842 and is located adjacent to South Bend, Indiana, the center of a metropolitan area with a population of more than 300,000.

Notre Dame has grown from a great Catholic university in America but has remained faithful to both its religious and intellectual traditions. Today, we seek to be an enlightening force for a world deeply in need. Our departments of theology and philosophy are regarded as among the finest in the world while faculty in all departments participate in our mission to ensure that Notre Dame’s Catholic character informs all of our endeavors.

One of America’s leading undergraduate teaching institutions, Notre Dame also has been at the forefront in research and scholarship. The aerodynamics of glider flight, the transmission of wireless messages, and the formulae for synthetic rubber were pioneered at the University. Today researchers are achieving breakthroughs in astrophysics, radiation chemistry, environmental sciences, tropical disease transmission, peace studies, cancer, robotics, and nanoelectronics.

Notre Dame has a unique spirit. It is traditional, yet open to change. It is dedicated to religious belief no less than to scientific knowledge. It has always stood for values in a world of facts. It has kept faith with Father Sorin’s vision.

Penn was built on the concept of innovation. Bifocals, lightning rods, swim fins—the University’s founder Ben Franklin invented these everyday items with an innovative spirit that defined his legacy and now defines Penn.

Today, innovation is fostered by a combination of faculty, collaboration, facilities, and resources. The creative energy and momentum is on display at centers for translational work like Pennovation Works and VentureLab. It’s the vision behind Penn Medicine’s new Pavilion, where education, clinical care and research connect in one facility, and the Penn Center for Innovation, which weds innovation, venture creation, and commercialization.

“Everything innovative Penn does we do to advance knowledge for good in the world,” says President Amy Gutmann. “If it's new, if it's novel, then it holds promise to change the world. You'll find it at Penn.”

The University of Southern California is a leading private research university located in Los Angeles — a global center for arts, technology and international business. It is home to the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and 21 exceptional academic schools and units. USC’s Health Sciences campus houses renowned specialized care and research in cancer, stem cell and regenerative medicine, orthopedics and sports medicine. The university is the largest private sector employer in the city of Los Angeles, responsible for $8 billion annually in economic activity in the region.

In 1819, Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia and inaugurated a bold experiment – a public university designed to advance human knowledge, educate leaders and cultivate an informed citizenry.

More than two centuries later, this vision is thriving. Across Grounds - and throughout the world - UVA students, faculty, staff and alumni challenge convention, break barriers and pursue the greater good.

The University is an iconic public institution of higher education, boasting nationally ranked schools and programs, diverse and distinguished faculty, a major academic medical center and proud history as a renowned research university. The community and culture of the University are enriched by active student self-governance, sustained commitment to the arts and a robust NCAA Division I Athletics program.

In its third century, the University of Virginia offers an affordable, world-class education that is consistently ranked among the nation’s best.

As one of the nation’s leading public institutions, UVA pushes the boundaries of what’s possible – always in the name of the greater good. One of the things that makes this possible is an unswerving commitment to initiatives that grow, strengthen and shape our institution for the future.

Founded in 1873 with a $1 million gift from “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt to establish an institution that would “contribute to strengthening the ties that should exist between all sections of our common country,” today Vanderbilt University is globally renowned for its transformative education and research. The university's 10 schools reside on a parklike campus set in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee, providing a collaborative culture that empowers leaders of tomorrow.

Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, is a nationally ranked, small, private, liberal arts university nestled in the mountains of western Virginia. As one of the oldest schools in the nation, we believe in the education of the whole person, and value students who are intellectually curious, eager to engage with their communities, inclined to critical thinking and prepared to lead lives of consequence.

We are Washington University in St. Louis.

We are a community where you can be an individual and achieve exceptional things. We are committed to learning and exploration, to discovery and impact. We are driven to meet the world’s challenges. Washington University is a place where you can push the boundaries of what it means to learn. We are enriched by wide-ranging exploration and inspired by big ideas as we create new knowledge for an ever-changing world.

Williams is a life-shaping journey that will inspire and guide you to think, create and act with purpose. Our location in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts is a place where you can find both focus and connection. It’s a community where you'll surround yourself with two thousand passionate and intelligent peers, learning with others who are dedicated to becoming deeper thinkers and more effective leaders.

A beacon for intellectual explorers, Williams will help you climb higher and farther than you imagined possible.

Since its founding in 1701, Yale has been dedicated to expanding and sharing knowledge, inspiring innovation, and preserving cultural and scientific information for future generations.

Yale’s reach is both local and international. It partners with its hometown of New Haven, Connecticut to strengthen the city’s community and economy. And it engages with people and institutions across the globe in the quest to promote cultural understanding, improve the human condition, delve more deeply into the secrets of the universe, and train the next generation of world leaders.