The Best East Coast Colleges

The East Coast: home to the Big Apple, the Washington Monument, and the nation’s top colleges. Not only does the East Coast house all the Ivy League universities, but it is also the locale for many other top-tier institutions. Keep reading to discover which universities PathIvy has curated as the “Elites of the East.” 

 ● Cornell University: “Cornell aspires to be the exemplary comprehensive research university for the 21st century. Faculty, staff and students thrive at Cornell because of its unparalleled combination of quality and breadth; its open, collaborative and innovative culture; its founding commitment to diversity and inclusion; its vibrant rural and urban campuses; and its land-grant legacy of public engagement.”

○ Located in Ithaca, NY

○ Average SAT/ACT Range: 1400-1560, 32-35

○ Acceptance Rate: 7%

● Columbia University: “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…. 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.” 

○ Located in New York City, NY

○ Average SAT/ACT Range: 1440-1670, 33-35

○ Acceptance Rate: 4%

● Brown University: “Founded in 1764, Brown is a leading research university home to world-renowned faculty, and also an innovative educational institution where the curiosity, creativity and intellectual joy of students drives academic excellence. The spirit of the undergraduate Open Curriculum infuses every aspect of the University. Brown is a place where rigorous scholarship, complex problem-solving and service to the public good are defined by intense collaboration, intellectual discovery and working in ways that transcend traditional boundaries.”

○ Located in Providence, RI 

○ SAT/ACT Range: 14850-1560, 32-35

○ Acceptance Rate: 4%

● Harvard University: “Beginning in the classroom with exposure to new ideas, new ways of understanding, and new ways of knowing, students embark on a journey of intellectual transformation. Through a diverse living environment, where students live with people who are studying different topics, who come from different walks of life and have evolving identities, intellectual transformation is deepened and conditions for social transformation are created. From this we hope that students will begin to fashion their lives by gaining a sense of what they want to do with their gifts and talents, assessing their values and interests, and learning how they can best serve the world.”

○ Located in Cambridge, MA

○ Average SAT/ACT Range: 1470-1600, 32-35

○ Acceptance Rate: 3%

● Yale University: “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.”

○ Located in New Haven, CT

○ Average SAT/ACT Range: 4.5%

○ Acceptance Rate: 1470-1560, 33-35

● University of Pennsylvania: “Penn has a proud tradition of translating knowledge into social-minded action that dates back to our founder Benjamin Franklin. This tradition of active pragmatism, articulated in Franklin’s maxim “well-done is better than well-said,” lives today through inclusive policies, innovative work, and the impactful engagement of our faculty, students, and staff.”

○ Located in Philadelphia, PA

○ Average SAT/ACT Range: 1460-1570, 32-35

○ Acceptance Rate: 6%

● Dartmouth College: “Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership through a faculty dedicated to teaching and the creation of knowledge.”

○ Located in Hanover, NH

○ Average SAT/ACT Range: 1440-1560, 32-35

○ Acceptance Rate: 6%

● Barnard College: “The Barnard community thrives on high expectations. By setting rigorous academic standards and giving students the support they need to meet those standards, Barnard enables them to discover their own capabilities. Living and learning in this unique environment, Barnard students become agile, resilient, responsible, and creative, prepared to lead and serve their society.”

○ Located in New York City, NY 

○ Average SAT/ACT Range: 1350-1520, 31-34

○ Acceptance Rate: 8%

● Massachusetts Institute of Technology: “The MIT community is driven by a shared purpose: to make a better world through education, research, and innovation. We are fun and quirky, elite but not elitist, inventive and artistic, obsessed with numbers, and welcoming to talented people regardless of where they come from.”

○ Located in Cambridge, MA 

○ Average SAT/ACT Range: 1510-1600, 34-36

○ Acceptance Rate: 4%

● Duke University: "James B. Duke's founding Indenture of Duke University directed the members of the University to 'provide real leadership in the educational world' by choosing individuals of 'outstanding character, ability, and vision' to serve as its officers, trustees and faculty; by carefully selecting students of 'character, determination and application;' and by pursuing those areas of teaching and scholarship that would 'most help to develop our resources, increase our wisdom, and promote human happiness.'”

○ Located in Durham, NC

○ Average SAT/ACT Range: 1470-1570, 33-35

○ Acceptance Rate: 6%

Are You an East Elite?  

The type of rigor offered at these East Coast institutions is unmatched. In addition, many of these schools are located in industry capitals of the world, offering limitless opportunities. Do you want to be a part of this experience? Connect with PathIvy today to schedule a free consultation to find your perfect university match & the best strategy to secure your admission there. 

Written by Victoria Harris, PathIvy Team