User:TheChief/Midwestern Ivy League

The Midwestern Ivy League is an unofficial name given to a number of small highly ranked private undergraduate institutions which are considered to be on par with, or in some cases better than the traditional eastern Ivy League schools. This terminology and use of the word "Ivy" in conjunction with schools is similar to the use of the terms "Little Ivies", "Public Ivies", and other similar groupings.

The Midwestern Ivies share no formal affiliation, unlike the Ivy League, except a commitment to excellence in teaching, a focus on both undergraduate education and graduate research, and high selectivity in admissions. Like the traditional Ivy League schools, all Midwestern Ivies have small student bodies and a low student to faculty ratio, theoretically guarranteing a more personalized education for the students which attend.

Included Schools

 * Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois founded 1851
 * University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois founded 1890
 * University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan founded 1817 (public)
 * University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana founded 1842
 * Washington University in St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri founded 1853 as Eliot Seminary.

Reputation and Selectivity
All of the Midwestern Ivies are classified by USNews and World Report as being in the category of most selective. As such admission rates are low and competition is fierce among applicants. In 2009, Northwestern admitted only 26.8% of all applicants, Notre Dame admitted only 24.5% of all applicants, University of Chicago admitted only 34.7% of all applicants, and Washington University admitted only 17.3% of all applicants.

Endowments
Much like the Ivy League, the Midwestern Ivies boast some of the largest endowments among private schools and all rank within the top 16 schools in terms of size of endowment, University of Michigan with $7.57 billion, Northwestern with $7.2 billion, Notre Dame with $7 billion, Washington University with $4.05 billion, University of Chicago with $5.2 billion. While none of the schools have endowments which can compete with Harvard University, Yale University, or Princeton University, they are on a competitive level with the other Ivy League schools, with all Midwestern Ivies having endowments which surpass Cornell University, Dartmouth College and Brown University.

Athletic Affiliation
Notre Dame is least affiliated with the Midwest as it competes indepedently in football but plays every other sport in the Big East Conference. Both the University of Chicago and Washington University compete within the University Athletic Association within the NCAA Division III. Northwestern and the University of Michigan compete within the Big Ten Conference within the NCAA Division I. As most of the schools compete in different athletic conferences little school rivalry exists between the institutions (with exception to the football rivalry between the University of Michigan and Notre Dame), which sets them apart from the Ivy League. It should be noted however that due to their proximity, both the University of Chicago and Northwestern University share a healthy academic rivalry of sorts.