Road to a top college: With Ivies fading, here are the new elite schools

Over the last four years, the Ivy League has weathered some heavy blows — from bombshell revelations of bias during the affirmative action hearings to allegations of widespread antisemitism and infringements on free speech. Though these schools remain the most prestigious and competitive in the nation, the Ivy League sheen has worn off for many, and some have abandoned their Ivy League dreams altogether.But as these schools face reputational challenges, a new group of elite, private universities have been growing steadily more competitive — and more desirable. The new “Ivies” — including Notre Dame, New York University, Duke, Emory, Rice, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, and Washington University in St.

Louis — boast the rigor, selectivity, and prestige of traditional Ivies.In the last decade, these schools have seen a surge in interest from students around the world, and their admissions rates have plummeted as a result. For instance, in 2013, NYU’s acceptance rate was 35%.

That number dropped to 8% in 2024.Likewise, the applicant pool at Rice University has more than doubled in the last ten years, from 15,408 in 2013 to 32,473 in the 2023–24 cycle. These schools’ growing desirability is reflected not only in their admissions stats, but also in their rankings — this year, Duke beat Ivies such as UPenn, Cornell, and Brown for #6 (tied with Caltech) in the U.S.

News & World Report’s Best College Rankings.With miniscule acceptance rates, first-rate facilities, and renowned professors, these schools are no longer backup options for the Ivy League — students and parents now view them as top-tier institutions in their own right.Despite the fierce competition, parents and students routinely underestimate how difficult it is to earn admission to the new Ivies.

I’ve seen firsthand students who have received an acceptance letter from Princeton only to be rejected by Vanderbilt, or gained admission to Yale only to be rejected by Washington Unive...