Public Ivy Leagues

The Ivy League schools are well-known for their prestigious history, high-quality academics and continually high rankings. But there are some public schools that offer the same or similar experience, at a lower cost and with less exclusivity – the Public Ivy Leagues.

These schools are the top eight schools in the nation, chosen by Richard Moll in 1985 in his book entitled The Public Ivies: America’s Flagship Undergraduate Colleges. Moll was admissions officer at University of California, Santa Cruz during the 80s, and traveled across the country to scout out the top public schools. The result is his book and the creation of the term Public Ivy Leagues.

The traditional Ivy League schools have a certain set of characteristics, and Moll tried to stick to these guidelines when coming up with the member schools of the Public Ivy Leagues. These public schools have a rich tradition of excellence, high standing rankings in objective University and College ranking bodies, top-notch academics and other factors that make them stand apart from their peers.

There are eight schools in the original list of Public Ivy Leagues. This list has been expanded on several times, but the original eight are generally regarded as the mainstays of Public Ivies:

• College of William and Mary
• Miami University
• University of California
• University of Michigan
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of Vermont
• University of Virginia

In many of the above college and universities, it is not just the lower cost of tuition that sets them apart from the tradition Ivy League. The College of William and Mary, for instance, is older than all of the Ivy League schools except for Harvard. And the University of California, Berkeley is the leader in science education and research, outpacing all other traditional Ivy Leagues. Also, the athletics at all of the public ivies are generally better than traditional Ivies, because of funding and public support that many of the public ivies have for their athletic teams.

Although the schools that make up the Public Ivy Leagues are not actual Ivy League schools, they are as close as you can get in terms of public education. Moll spent years using very strict criteria to come up with this list. If you are looking for some of the best educational experiences in the country, but at a lower cost than traditional Ivy League Schools, you should give some thought to the schools listed above.