The process of being admitted into an Ivy League university or elite private college is competitive. Yet, many students dream to get into one. But are the Ivy League schools really the best universities in the nation? Neither Stanford nor MIT are considered to be Ivy League schools; however, Stanford should be considered one due to its outstanding performance not only in academics but also in athletics.

   Primarily located in the Northeastern part of the country, Ivy League schools are seen as the most outstanding and the most sought-after in terms of acceptance and graduation. There are eight universities that are considered to be Ivy League: Brown, Harvard, Cornell, Princeton, Dartmouth, Yale, and Columbia University, and University of Pennsylvania. The term “Ivy League” came about in 1954 when the NCAA athletic conference for Division I was formed. At the time, the elite status of these schools was really only due to their prestige in the province of sports like basketball and football. However, these schools emerged not only for their vigorous sport teams, but also for their supremacy in education.

   Some schools, like Stanford, are even more selective than some of the Ivys. As of 2016, Stanford’s acceptance rate has dropped considerably. It is now lower than all of the Ivy league schools. Leading with an acceptance rate of 4.8 is Stanford, followed by Curtis Institute of Music with an acceptance rate of 4.8, Harvard University with 5.2, and Yale University with 6.3.

   Ivy League Schools were originally famous for their excellence in sports. Stanford has been hosting some of the best sport teams, yet it fails to be a part of the Ivy League division. According to College Sport Rankings, Stanford is ranked 9th in women’s volleyball, 6th in men’s volleyball, 8th for men’s soccer, 10th for women’s lacrosse, and 2nd for women’s soccer. Meanwhile Yale and Harvard, which are Ivy League universities, are only respectively ranked 10th for men’s lacrosse and 10th in men’s hockey.

   Not only has Stanford proven its worthy by advancing in sports, but it also holds one of the highest rankings in academics. Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) ranked Harvard University as first, followed by Stanford University as second, University of California and Berkeley tied for third, and University of Cambridge as fourth.

   Adjustments should be called for to see if the so-called “premier Ivy League Schools” are really the most premier schools in the nation.