Newsweek’s top rivalries at U.S. colleges

From Newsweek

Ask colleges about their celebrated feuds with other colleges and they brush them off as irrelevant in an age of national unity, writes Contributing Editor Jay Mathews of Newsweek. In academia, such seeming hatreds are no longer fashionable. But intense competition between high-quality institutions — what most people would call rivalry — still has importance in college admissions, Mathews writes in an excerpt of the Newsweek-Kaplan “How to Get Into College Guide” (on newsstands Monday, Aug. 11). These rivals (OK, pick a friendlier word: counterparts?) are continually trying to differentiate themselves for applicants who wonder which of similar, elite schools might be best.

We picked 11 pairs and one trio of colleges whose strengths are so great and resemblances so compelling that careful comparison is necessary to sort out which work best for which applicants.

The top 12 rivalries at U.S. colleges:

• Old Ivies: Harvard vs. Yale
• Science Magnets: Caltech vs. MIT
• Bay Area Giants: UC Berkeley vs. Stanford
• Big Hoosiers: Indiana vs. Purdue
• American Warriors: Annapolis vs. West Point
• Midwest Stars: Michigan vs. Ohio  State
• For Women Only: Smith vs. Wellesley
• Historically Black: Howard vs. Morehouse and Spelman
• Social Activists: Guilford vs. Oberlin
• Cinematic Enclaves: NYU Tisch vs. USC Film School
• Catholic Powers: Boston College vs. Notre Dame
• Consortium Jewels: Amherst vs. Pomona

For more, go to Newsweek’s 25 Hot Rivalries.

Source: Newsweek