What is the Ivy League?

The Ivy League is a group of 8 universities: Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, and Cornell University.
According to the Best Colleges in America rankings, Ivy League schools are all among the top universities in the United States and the world. They are all private universities with top-tier financial resources.

Harvard University - A renowned institution with the longest history in the U.S.

Harvard University was established in 1636 by the Massachusetts Bay Colony legislature and later named after John Harvard, who donated to the school. It has the richest history and tradition among the 8 Ivy League schools.

Harvard boasts the largest campus in the U.S., covering over 2,000,000 square meters, and enrolled over 20,000 students in the 2021-2022 academic year. Last year, Harvard provided $234 million in financial aid to students. Its library system is the largest in the U.S., housing over 80 libraries and more than 20.4 million rare manuscripts, books, and special collections. Harvard operates various art, cultural, and science museums, including the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Busch-Reisinger Museum, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard Mineralogical Museum, Harvard Botanical Museum, and the Museum of Comparative Zoology, among others.

Harvard University comprises Harvard College, 12 graduate and professional schools, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. It has around 2,400 faculty members and over 400,000 alumni living and working in more than 202 countries. Harvard has produced 49 Nobel laureates, 32 heads of state, and 48 Pulitzer Prize winners.
Prominent alumni include former U.S. President Barack Obama; Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase; Jill Abramson, former executive editor of The New York Times; United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon; Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, and many more.
 

Yale University - Top 10 prestigious Law School in the U.S.

Yale University, founded in 1701, is the third oldest university in the United States. Yale is known for its beautiful Gothic architecture campuses, blending classical and modern elements. It provides one of the most generous scholarships for international students in the U.S. (over 3,000 scholarships per year).

The university has over 3,000 faculty members, nearly 12,000 undergraduate students, and 22% of them are international students from 119 countries. Many Yale University alumni have become talented university presidents, more than 500 U.S. congress members, hundreds of renowned lawyers around the world, and 5 U.S. presidents.
 

Famous individuals who studied here include:

• U.S. Presidents such as William Howard Taft, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush;
• U.S. Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas;
• U.S. Secretaries of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Cyrus Vance, and Dean Acheson; Democratic Party presidential candidate John Kerry…

The Yale University library system holds over 15 million items, making it the third-largest library in the U.S. The main library, the Firestone Library, contains around 4 million volumes and is one of the largest university libraries globally. Additionally, the healthcare facilities are extensive, providing top-notch health care for students.
 

Princeton University - The birthplace of world talents

Princeton University, formerly known as the College of New Jersey, was founded in 1746. It is renowned in academic circles and has upheld its reputation as a center for high-quality education for over 260 years. With over 1,000 faculty members, around 4,900 undergraduate students, and nearly 2,300 graduate students, Princeton offers diverse programs and highly regarded fields such as mathematics, physics, astronomy, economics, history, and philosophy.
 

With a relatively small scale that inversely corresponds to its track record, Princeton enjoys worldwide recognition and consistently ranks at the top of prestigious university rankings. Moreover, Princeton University's library system houses over 11 million volumes. The Firestone Library, the main library, contains around 4 million books and is one of the largest university libraries globally.

Princeton University has produced numerous U.S. politicians (including two former Presidents Woodrow Wilson and James Madison), 9 billionaires, and 35 Nobel laureate scientists. Renowned physicist Albert Einstein also lived and worked here during the latter years of his life.

How to have a chance to get admitted to the top 3 Ivy League universities

Preparing knowledge and building a study plan needs to be carefully planned and guided by experienced experts. Students not only need to meet the admission requirements of each university but also have an outstanding portfolio.

• GPA: Excellent to Outstanding (3.5 – 4.0).
• English Proficiency: IELTS 7.0 – 9.0 or TOEFL iBT 100 and above.
• Standardized Test Scores: SAT/ACT scores should be around 90% compared to the top scores.
• Diverse Extracurricular Activities: Activities related to intellectual pursuits, physical activities, leadership skills, community involvement, and participation in projects related to the intended field of study.
• Compelling Essays: Personal and impactful essays.
• Strong Recommendation Letters from reputable educators/mentors.
   

The True North School is a pioneer in Mentorship education with four pillars: Character, Academics, Critical Thinking & Global Citizenship, and Comprehensive Well-being. The development and advising team at True North School have more than 25 years of teaching experience and have graduated from esteemed universities such as West Point, Harvard, Cambridge, Johns Hopkins, UPenn, Northwestern, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and more. True North School believes that discovering talents and guiding students is a crucial step in helping them become the best versions of themselves and achieve their dreams of studying at Ivy League universities.