Former California governor and U.S. senator Leland Stanford established Stanford University in 1885.
The university is situated in the Californian city of Stanford, which is 20 miles (35 km) northwest of San Jose and 50 miles (80 km) southeast of San Francisco.
Founded in 1636, Harvard University is the nation's first higher education institution. Just across the Charles River from Boston in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is where the university is situated.
Overlooking Boston's Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts, sits the renowned research institution known as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Over 8,000 students attend Princeton, which was founded in 1746. Of these, 5,000 are undergraduates and the remaining 3,000 are graduate and professional students.
Over 13,000 students attend Yale, including 6,500 undergraduates and 6,500 graduate and professional students. Yale was founded in 1701.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is home to the private Ivy League research university known as The University of Pennsylvania.
Berkeley, California is home to the public research institution known as the University of California, Berkeley.
Over 30,000 students attend Columbia University, which was founded in 1754. Of these, 20,000 are undergraduates and 10,000 are graduate and professional students.
A private research university called the California Institute of Technology is situated in Pasadena, California.
Private research university The University of Chicago is situated in Chicago, Illinois.