Little Ivies

Little Ivies refers to a number of small, elite liberal arts colleges that share some characteristics with the undergraduate colleges within the Ivy League universities. Like the Ivy League colleges, these schools are fairly old, centered in New England and the Mid-Atlantic States, academically superior, and socially prestigious.

Related Topics:
Liberal arts colleges - Ivy League - New England - Mid-Atlantic States

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Three U.S. presidents received undergraduate degrees at a "little Ivy" (Calvin Coolidge at Amherst, Franklin Pierce at Bowdoin, and James A. Garfield at Williams), compared to ten for the Ivy League (all of whom attended either Harvard, Yale, or Princeton.

Related Topics:
Calvin Coolidge - Amherst - Franklin Pierce - Bowdoin - James A. Garfield - Williams - Harvard - Yale - Princeton

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There is no precise definition or authoritative list of Little Ivies. One source identifies it with the New England Small College Athletic Conference{{ref|nescacmembers}}.

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Frequently mentioned names include:

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• Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts
• Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine
• Hamilton College in Clinton, New York
• Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania
• Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont
• Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
• Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut
• Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts

The term "Little Ivies" is misleading, as small liberal arts colleges offer a very different undergraduate experience from that of research universities such as the Ivy schools. The colleges usually have a more intimate, small-town feel, with all the advantages and disadvantages that implies. Students are more likely to feel that "everybody knows everybody" than they are at a large research university.

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The Little Ivies also offer a different type of education than is offered by the Ivies. Student/faculty ratios are lower at the Little Ivies, so classes are smaller and there are fewer large lecture classes. Because the Little Ivies have few or no graduate students, undergraduates also have more access to professors than at research universities where professors teach both undergraduates and graduate students. The Little Ivies also offer more restricted course offerings than the Ivies do. They also have a different sort of professor: while the Ivy League schools often attract the top scholars in their fields as professors, the Little Ivies rarely do (though they often attract such professors as visiting professors or temporary periods).

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Little Ivies: See also ►