Tuition and fees: $39,849 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 6,641
Setting: urban
#1Harvard University
Cambridge, MA

Harvard University is a private institution in Cambridge, Mass., just outside of Boston. This Ivy League school is the oldest higher education institution in the country and has the largest endowment of any school in the world.

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Tuition and fees: $37,000 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 5,220
Setting: suburban
#1Princeton University
Princeton, NJ

The ivy-covered campus of Princeton University, a private institution, is located in the quiet town of Princeton, N.J. Princeton was the first university to offer a “no loan” policy to financially needy students, giving grants instead of loans to accepted students who need help paying tuition.

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Tuition and fees: $40,500 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 5,310
Setting: urban
#3Yale University
New Haven, CT

Yale University, located in New Haven, Conn., offers a small college life with the resources of a major research institution. Yale students are divided into 12 residential colleges that foster a supportive environment for living, learning, and socializing.

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Tuition and fees: $45,290 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 5,888
Setting: urban
#4Columbia University
New York, NY

Columbia University has three undergraduate schools: Columbia College, The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and the School of General Studies. This Ivy League, private school guarantees students housing for all four years on campus in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights neighborhood in New York City.

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Tuition and fees: $37,704 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 967
Setting: suburban
#5California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA

The California Institute of Technology focuses on science and engineering education and has a low student-to-faculty ratio of 3:1. This private institution in Pasadena, Calif. is actively involved in research projects with grants from NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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Tuition and fees: $40,732 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 4,299
Setting: urban
#5Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA

Though the Massachusetts Institute of Technology may be best known for its math, science, and engineering education, this private research university also offers architecture, humanities, management, and social science programs. The school is located in Cambridge, Mass., just across the Charles River from downtown Boston.

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Tuition and fees: $40,569 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 6,940
Setting: suburban
#5Stanford University
Stanford, CA

The sunny campus of Stanford University is located in California’s Bay Area, about 30 miles from San Francisco. The private institution stresses a multidisciplinary combination of teaching, learning, and research, and students have many opportunities to get involved in research projects.

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Tuition and fees: $42,783 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 5,238
Setting: urban
#5University of Chicago
Chicago, IL

The University of Chicago, situated in Chicago’s Hyde Park community, offers a rich campus life in a big-city setting. Since 1987, the private institution has hosted the University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt, a four-day event that is regarded as the largest scavenger hunt in the world.

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Tuition and fees: $42,098 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 9,865
Setting: urban
#5University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA

Founded by Benjamin Franklin, the University of Pennsylvania is a private institution in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pa., near Drexel University. Undergraduates can study in four academic departments: Arts and Sciences, Nursing, Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Wharton.

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Tuition and fees: $41,958 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 6,664
Setting: suburban
#10Duke University
Durham, NC

Located in Durham, N.C., Duke University is a private institution that has liberal arts and engineering programs for undergraduates. The Duke Blue Devils sports teams have a fierce rivalry with the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill Tar Heels and are best known for their outstanding men's basketball program.

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Tuition and fees: $42,996 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 4,248
Setting: rural
#11Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College, a private institution in Hanover, N.H., uses quarters, not semesters, to divide the school year. Among more than 300 student organizations at Dartmouth is the Outing Club, the nation’s oldest and largest collegiate club of its kind, which offers outdoor activities, expeditions, gear rentals, and courses.

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Tuition and fees: $41,983 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 8,443
Setting: suburban
#12Northwestern University
Evanston, IL

Northwestern University is a private school in Evanston, Ill., about 30 minutes outside of Chicago. Undergraduate students have more than 70 options for majors or can design their own non-traditional degree program.

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Tuition and fees: $42,280 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 5,935
Setting: urban
#13Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD

Johns Hopkins University is a private institution in Baltimore, Md. that offers a wide array of academic programs in the arts, humanities, social and natural sciences, and engineering disciplines. The Hopkins Blue Jays men’s lacrosse team is consistently dominant in the NCAA Division I; other sports teams at Hopkins compete at the Division III level.

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Tuition and fees: $41,992 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 7,138
Setting: suburban
#14Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, MO

Students can study architecture, art, arts and sciences, business, and engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, a private research institution in Missouri. Outside of class, about a quarter of the student body is involved in Greek life.

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Tuition and fees: $42,230 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 6,318
Setting: urban
#15Brown University
Providence, RI

At Brown University, undergraduate students are responsible for designing their own academic study with more than 70 concentration programs to choose from. Another unique offering at this private, Ivy League institution in Providence, R.I. is the Program in Liberal Medical Education, which grants both a bachelor’s degree and medical degree in eight years.

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Tuition and fees: $41,541 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 13,935
Setting: rural
#15Cornell University
Ithaca, NY

Cornell University, a private school in Ithaca, N.Y., started the country’s first colleges for hotel administration, industrial and labor relations, and veterinary medicine. Cornell now offers a wide variety of undergraduate programs and runs interdisciplinary research centers for nanotechnology, supercomputing, and more.

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Tuition and fees: $35,551 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 3,529
Setting: urban
#17Rice University
Houston, TX

Rice University is located in the heart of the Museum District in Houston, TX. The private institution has a need-blind admissions policy and meets the full demonstrated need of any accepted student who requires help paying tuition.

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Tuition and fees: $41,332 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 6,879
Setting: urban
#17Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN

Vanderbilt University was established in 1873 as a private institution. Vanderbilt University follows a semester-based academic calendar and its admissions are considered most selective.

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Enrollment: 8,442
Setting: urban
#19University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN

The University of Notre Dame is a private, independent, Catholic institution in South Bend, Ind. Notre Dame’s athletic teams, known as the Fighting Irish, play in the NCAA Division I and are particularly competitive on the football field.

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Tuition and fees: $41,164 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 7,231
Setting: suburban
#20Emory University
Atlanta, GA

Students can begin their education at the school's main location in a suburb of Atlanta, known as Emory College, or at Oxford College, a smaller campus about 40 miles away. This private institution offers about 70 majors in the arts and sciences, as well as degrees in business administration and nursing.

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In-state tuition and fees: $11,767 (2011-12)
Out-of-state tuition and fees: $34,645 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 25,540
Setting: urban
#21University of California--Berkeley
Berkeley, CA

The University of California—Berkeley overlooks the San Francisco Bay in Berkeley, Calif. Students at this public school have more than 700 organizations to get involved in, including more than 55 fraternity and sorority chapters.

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Tuition and fees: $41,393 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 7,553
Setting: urban
#22Georgetown University
Washington, DC

Georgetown University is the oldest Catholic university in the country. The school's location in Washington, D.C. gives students many opportunities for internships throughout the nation's capital.

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Tuition and fees: $43,396 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 6,108
Setting: urban
#23Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA

Carnegie Mellon University, a private institution in Pittsburgh, Pa., is the country’s only school founded by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The school specializes in academic areas including engineering, business, computer science, and fine arts.

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Tuition and fees: $42,818 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 17,380
Setting: urban
#23University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA

Undergraduates study in the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences at the University of Southern California, a private school based in Los Angeles. The USC Trojans compete in the NCAA Division I Pac-12 Conference and are particularly competitive in football.

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In-state tuition and fees: $11,604 (2011-12)
Out-of-state tuition and fees: $34,482 (2011-12)
Enrollment: 26,162
Setting: urban
#25University of California--Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

The University of California—Los Angeles is just five miles away from the Pacific Ocean. The public institution offers more than more than 3,000 courses and more than 130 majors to undergraduate students.

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MORSE CODE: INSIDE THE COLLEGE RANKINGS BY BOB MORSE
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