The Ivy Leagues and their students face increasingly fierce job market competition from these 20 colleges and universities that are gaining powerful credibility with employers.
Forbes has compiled a list (in no particular order) of the “New Ivies” based on a survey of employers who subscribe to the global media brand’s C-suite newsletter.
Ivy League institutions have faced the brunt of the Trump administration’s efforts to cut federal funding over DEI initiatives and other measures. Additionally, nearly 40% of corporate vice presidents and other managers said they are “less likely” to hire an Ivy League graduate than they were five years ago, while 12% said they would “never hire” them.
“Entry-level job candidates should be eager to learn, have no ego or be ‘stuck-up’ because of the school they attended,” one respondent wrote.
To qualify for Forbes’ list, institutions had to enroll more than 3,500 students and boast competitive admission rates and median student standardized test scores. Because the University of California system does not report test scores, institutions like UCLA were disqualified. Institutions considered as an “Ivy League Plus”—Stanford, MIT, Duke and the University of Chicago—were not considered for this list either.
The public Ivy Leagues
Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University and the University of Michigan are the only three public universities to return from Forbes’ ranking last year.
Employers scored the United States Military Academy, or West Point, the highest among the 10 public institutions. The military school’s emphasis on discipline, leadership and teamwork particularly drew survey respondents.
| Institution | Undergrad size | Acceptance | 50th % SAT |
| Georgia Tech | 19,88 | 16% | 1450 |
| Purdue-Main Campus (Ind.) | 41,678 | 50% | 1320 |
| University of Texas at Austin | 43,718 | 29% | 1370 |
| West Point (N.Y.) | 4,552 | 14% | 1330 |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 36,970 | 44% | 1410 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 33,921 | 18% | 1470 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 21,214 | 19% | 1470 |
| University of Pittsburgh | 25,319 | 50% | 1360 |
| University of Virginia | 19,791 | 17% | 1490 |
| William & Mary (Va.) | 7,359 | 33% | 1450 |
The new private Ivies
New to this list are Tufts University and Washington University in St. Louis.
“Tufts and Wash U have long been immediately in the conversation as ‘what’s next’ for students who want the Ivies but might fall just short,” said Chris Teare, a college counselor and member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association.
| Institution | Undergrad size | Acceptance | 50th % SAT |
| Carnegie Mellon University (Penn.) | 7,497 | 11% | 1540 |
| Emory University (Ga.) | 7,606 | 11% | 1520 |
| Georgetown University (D.C.) | 8,670 | 13% | 1500 |
| Johns Hopkins University (Md.) | 8,654 | 8% | 1550 |
| Northwestern University (Ill.) | 10,210 | 7% | 1530 |
| Rice University (Texas) | 4,712 | 8% | 1550 |
| Tufts University (Mass.) | 7,631 | 10% | 1510 |
| University of Notre Dame (Ind.) | 9,157 | 12% | 1500 |
| Vanderbilt University (Tenn.) | 7,284 | 6% | 1540 |
| Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) | 8,821 | 12% | 1540 |
