Public Ivy facts for kids

Public Ivy is a cool, informal name for certain public colleges and universities in the United States. People use this term because they think these schools offer a college experience just as good as the famous Ivy League universities. It's not an official title, and the list of schools called "Public Ivies" has changed over time.

The idea of "Public Ivies" started in 1985. A person named Richard Moll, who worked at Yale University, wrote a book called Public Ivies: A Guide to America's Best Public Undergraduate Colleges and Universities. His first list included eight universities and nine "runners-up" (schools that were almost as good). Later, in 2001, other authors, Howard Greene and Matthew Greene, published their own book, The Public Ivies: The Great State Colleges and Universities, which listed 30 schools.

People sometimes talk about whether these public universities are still as good. They wonder if budget cuts from the state governments are making them less strong. They also discuss if raising tuition fees makes these schools less accessible, or if students can pay back their loans as easily as those from Ivy League schools.

The Story of Public Ivies

The term "Public Ivy" first appeared in Richard Moll's book in 1985. Moll had studied at Yale University and worked in university admissions. He traveled all over the United States to look at different colleges. He picked eight public universities that he felt were similar in quality to the private Ivy League schools.

Moll looked at several things to decide which schools made his list. He considered how tough the classes were, how good the teachers were, and how much it cost to go there. He also checked out the campus buildings, the resources available to students, how old the school was, and its important traditions.

First List from 1985

• College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia
• Miami University in Oxford, Ohio
• University of California (this included several campuses in 1985: Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego, Irvine, Davis, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and Riverside)
• University of Michigan in Ann Arbor
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• University of Texas at Austin
• University of Vermont in Burlington
• University of Virginia in Charlottesville

Runners-Up

Richard Moll also listed nine "worthy runner-up" universities in his 1985 book. These were schools that were also very good:

• University of Colorado Boulder
• Georgia Tech in Atlanta
• University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign
• New College of Florida (this school became independent in 2001)
• Pennsylvania State University in University Park
• University of Pittsburgh
• State University of New York at Binghamton (also known as Binghamton University)
• University of Washington in Seattle
• University of Wisconsin–Madison

More Recent Lists

The list of "Public Ivy" schools has changed over time, just like other university rankings. A big update came in 2001. Howard and Matthew Greene published their book, The Public Ivies: America's Flagship Public Universities. They included 30 colleges and universities in their list.

Northeastern Schools

Mid-Atlantic Schools

Western Schools

Great Lakes and Midwest Schools

Southern Schools

Public Ivies Today

This table shows some facts about many of the universities that have been called "Public Ivies." It includes details like where they are, when they started, how many students they have, and their sports teams.

See also

In Spanish: Public Ivy para niños

• Colonial colleges
• Flagship universities