Harvard University

Harvard is probably the school most synonymous with the Ivy League. Its prestigious reputation is well-deserved. Students enjoy access to the largest university library in the world as well as some of the most illustrious faculty members, including Nobel Prize-winning economist Alvin Roth and cognitive scientist Steven Pinker. Harvard alumni are well-represented at the top of most professions, ranging from music (cellist Yo-Yo Ma) to politics (President Barack Obama) to law (Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts). Harvard can also be surprisingly affordable. A majority of students get financial aid, and the 20% of the student body who come from families earning less than $65,000 a year get free rides. As a result, most Harvard students graduate debt-free. Alumni make an average of $67,900 within five years after graduating, according to PayScale, and this clearly motivates students: Harvard boasts a six-year graduation rate of 98%. The university fields 42 Division I sports teams that have won more than 140 championships in total. The campus gears up for football and tailgating at the much-ballyhooed annual game against rival Yale. Another fun aspect of Harvard life is its residential system. On Housing Day each spring, costumed upperclassmen storm the freshmen dorms with gongs and other props to tell students of their randomly assigned placements into one of the school's 12 houses -- one of which features a guinea pig room.