ETH Zurich University

ETH Zurich (German: Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zurich) is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. Like its sister institution Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), it is an integral part of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain (ETH Domain) that is directly subordinate to Switzerland's Federal Department of Home Affairs.

Twenty-one Nobel Prizes have been awarded to students or professors of the Institute in the past, the most famous of which is Albert Einstein in 1921, and the most recent is Kurt Wuthrich in 2002. It is a founding member of the IDEA League and the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU). It is a member of the CESAER and Top Industrial Managers for Europe networks.

History:

ETH was founded in 1854 by the Swiss Confederation and opened its doors in 1855 as a polytechnic institute (Eidgenossische Polytechnische Schule). It comprised in the beginning six departments: architecture, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry, forestry, and a catch-all department for mathematics, natural sciences, literature, and social and political sciences. It is locally still known as Poly, derived from the original name Eidgenossische polytechnische Schule"Federal polytechnic school"

The main building of ETH was built 1861 to 1864 under Gustav Zeuner; the architect, however, was Gottfried Semper, who was a professor of architecture at ETH at the time and one of the most important writers and theorists of the age. Semper worked in a neoclassical style that was unique to him. It emphasized bold and clear massings with a detailing, such as the rusticated ground level and giant order above, that derived in part from the work of Andrea Palladio and Donato Bramante. During the construction of the University of Zurich, the south wing of the building was allocated to the University until its own new main building was constructed (1912 – 1914). At about the same time, Semper's ETH building was enlarged and also got its impressive cupola.

From 1905 to 1908, under the presidency of Jerome Franel, the course program of ETH was restructured to that of a real university, from its early, very schoolish agenda, and ETH was granted the right to award doctorates. In 1909 the first doctorates were awarded. In 1911, it was given its current name, Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule. In 1924, another reorganization structured the university in 12 departments. However, it now has 16 departments.

Student admitions:

ETH students were found to be the busiest students of all institutions of higher education in Switzerland. The undergraduates' tight curriculum consists of as much as twice the number of lectures as comparable courses of other Swiss universities.

ETH has well over 100 student associations. Most notable is the VSETH (Verband der Studierenden an der ETH) which comprises all department associations. The associations regularly organize events with varying size and popularity. Events of the neighboring University of Zurich are well-attended by ETH students and vice versa. The VSETH organizes events of greater public attention, such as the Polyball, the Polyparty (does not exist any more) and the Erstsemestrigenfest, the first two housed in the main building of ETH. Sometimes, the annual Erstsemestrigenfest takes place at extraordinary locations, for example the Zurich Airport. All freshmen enjoy special treatment at that event.

ETH's junior enterprise ETH juniors ranks top 5 within Europe. ETH juniors is a student association that offers consulting services to companies and gives ETH students a chance to gain work and project experience next to their studies.

The Academic Sports Association of Zurich (ASVZ) offers more than 80 sports. The biggest annual sports event is the SOLA-Stafette (SOLA relay race) which consists of 14 sections over a total distance of 140 kilometers. More than 760 teams participated in the 2009 edition. The 40th edition of the SOLA, held on May 4th 2013, had 900 enrolled teams, of which 893 started and 876 were classified.

Ranking:

ETH Zurich is regularly ranked among the top universities in the world. Typically, popular rankings place the institution as the best university in Switzerland and on the main European continent, among the top 3-5 European universities, and among the best 10-20 of the world (e.g., in 2012, rank 12 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and rank 23 in the 2012 Shanghai ranking.

In 2012 the QS World University Rankings placed ETH Zurich at 13th overall in the world, and 1st in mainland Europe, while only four UK universities performed better than it in Europe. In the 2012 Times Higher Education World University Rankings ETH Zurich ranked 12th overall, 8th in the field of Engineering & IT and 11th in Physical Sciences.

According to the 2012 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), the ETH is ranked 23rd in the world, the 4th best university in Europe, and 1st in Switzerland. It is also ranked 5th in the field of Chemistry and 8th in the broad subject field of Natural Sciences and Mathematics worldwide.

ETH Zurich is consistently ranked by all major World University rankings among the top universities in the world. It is considered the best university in continental Europe by the Shanghai Ranking ARWU, the Times Higher Education Ranking and the QS World University Ranking. It is currently ranked 8th best university in the world in engineering, science and technology and 2nd in Europe after the University of Cambridge.

In the survey CHE Excellence Ranking on the quality of Western European graduate school programmes in the fields biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics, ETH was assessed as one of the three institutions to have excellent graduate programmes in all considered fields, the other two being the Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge. To support its cutting edge research, ETH Zurich has a budget of 1.36 billion CHF (approx. 1.72 billion USD) in the year 2011.

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania (commonly referred to as Penn or UPenn) is an American private Ivy League research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of the Colonial Colleges. Incorporated as The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn is one of 14 founding members of the Association of American Universities.

Benjamin Franklin, Penn's founder, advocated an educational program that focused as much on practical education for commerce and public service as on the classics and theology. Penn was one of the first academic institutions to follow a multidisciplinary model pioneered by several European universities, concentrating multiple "faculties" (e.g., theology, classics, medicine) into one institution. It was also home to many other educational innovations. The first school of medicine in North America (Perelman School of Medicine, 1765), the first collegiate business school (Wharton, 1881) and the first student union (Houston Hall, 1896), were all born at Penn.

Penn offers a broad range of academic departments, an extensive research enterprise and a number of community outreach and public service programs. It is particularly well known for its medical school, design school, dental school, school of business, law school, communications school, nursing school, veterinary school, its social sciences and humanities programs, as well as its biomedical teaching and research capabilities. Its undergraduate programs are also among the most selective in the country (12.1% acceptance rate).

All of Penn's schools, alone or jointly, exhibit very high research activity. Penn is consistently included among the top five research universities in the United States, and among the top research universities in the world, for both quality and quantity of research. In fiscal year 2011, Penn topped the Ivy League in academic research spending with an $814 million budget, involving some 4,000 faculty, 1,100 postdoctoral fellows and 5,400 support staff, graduate assistants.

Penn's academic and research programs are led by a large and highly productive faculty.In the last ten years alone 9 Penn faculty members or graduates have won a Nobel Prize. Over its long history the university has also produced many distinguished alumni. These include 12 heads of state (including one U.S. President), 3 United States Supreme Court justices, and supreme court justices of other states, founders of technology companies, international law firms, and global financial institutions, university presidents and 18 living billionaires.

Student admissions:

The Princeton Review ranks Penn as the 6th most selective school in the United States. For the Class of 2015, entering in the fall of 2011, the University received a record of 31,659 applications and admitted 12.26 percent of the applicants (9.5% in the regular decision cycle), marking Penn's most selective admissions cycle in the history of the University.The Atlantic also ranked Penn among the 10 most selective schools in the country. At the graduate level, Penn's admissions rates, like most universities', vary considerably based on school and program. Based on admission statistics from U.S. News and World Report, Penn's most selective programs include its law school, the health care schools (medicine, dental medicine, nursing, and veterinary), and its business school.

Rankings:

According to U.S. News & World Report Penn is currently ranked 8th in the United States (tied with Duke), behind Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, The University of Chicago, MIT, and Stanford. The eighth position is three spots down compared to 2011; the university attributed the drop in U.S. News' new methodology that takes into account the opinions of high school college counselors, who emphasize the benefits of large urban centers like New York.U.S. News also includes Penn in its Most Popular National Universities list, and so does The Princeton Review in its Dream Colleges list.

Imperial College London

Imperial College London (officially The Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, medicine and business. Formerly a constituent college of the federal University of London, Imperial became fully independent in 2007, the 100th anniversary of its founding.

Imperial's main campus is located in the South Kensington area of central London on the boundary between the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the City of Westminster. It has additional campuses in the Chelsea, Hammersmith and Paddington areas of central London. With a total of 525,233 square metres of operational property, it has one of the largest estates of any higher education institution in the UK. 

Imperial is organised into four main academic units – Imperial College Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College Faculty of Engineering and the Imperial College Business School – within which there are over 40 departments, institutes and research centres.

Imperial has around 13,500 full-time students and 3,330 academic and research staff and had a total income of 705 million in 2010/11, of which 299 million was from research grants and contracts. Imperial is a major centre for biomedical research and is a founding member of the Imperial College Healthcare academic health science centre.

It is consistently ranked among the top universities in the world, ranking 24th in the world (and 5th in Europe) in the 2011 Academic Ranking of World Universities, 6th in the world (and 4th in Europe) in the 2012 QS World University Rankings and 8th in the world (and 3rd in Europe) in the 2012 Times Higher Education World University Rankings.There are currently 14 Nobel Prize winners and two Fields Medal winners amongst Imperial's alumni and current and former faculty.

Imperial is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the Association of MBAs, the European University Association, the G5, the IDEA League, the League of European Research Universities, Oak Ridge Associated Universities and the Russell Group. It forms part of the "golden triangle" of British universities.

Admissions statistics:

For the 2007–08 academic year, Imperial College had a total full-time student body of 12,319: 8,741 undergraduate students and 3,578 postgraduates. In addition there were 1,036 part-time students, all postgraduates. 39% of all full-time students come from outside the European Union, around 13% of the International students has the Chinese nationality. The Average age in Imperial College is 23 for Post Grad. Imperial's male:female ratio for undergraduate students is uneven at approximately 64:36 overall and 5:1 in some engineering courses. However, medicine has an approximate 1:1 ratio with biology degrees tending to be higher

For the 2007–08 academic year, Imperial College had a total full-time student body of 12,319: 8,741 undergraduate students and 3,578 postgraduates. In addition there were 1,036 part-time students, all postgraduates. 39% of all full-time students come from outside the European Union, around 13% of the International students has the Chinese nationality. The Average age in Imperial College is 23 for Post Grad.

Imperial is among the most selective universities in the UK. From 1999 to 2009, the overall acceptance rate of Imperial College programmes has been consistently below 20% and, in 2009, the acceptance rate of the college for undergraduates was 15.3%. The acceptance rate for postgraduate courses was 19.5%.

Imperial, along with University College London and the University of Cambridge was one of the first universities in the UK to make use of the A* grade at A Level for admissions, with engineering and physics courses requiring an A* in Mathematics. Aeronautical Engineering is the course with the highest entry standards requiring an A* in Mathematics (A grades in every single module) and an A* in Physics and another A grade at A Level (Further Mathematics preferred). Mathematics courses themselves require A* grades in Mathematics and Further Mathematics, along with another A grade at A Level.

Cornell University

History:

Cornell's founders are Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell University was founded on April 27, 1865 as the result of a New York State Senate bill that named the university as the state's land grant institution. Senator Ezra Cornell offered his farm in Ithaca, New York as a site and $500,000 of his personal fortune as an initial endowment. Fellow senator and experienced educator Andrew Dickson White agreed to be the first president. During the next three years, White oversaw the construction of the initial two buildings and traveled around the globe to attract students and faculty.The university was inaugurated on October 7, 1868, and 412 men were enrolled the next day.

Cornell continued to be a technological innovator applying its research to its own campus as well as to outreach efforts. For example, it was one of the first university campuses to use electricity to light the grounds from a water-powered dynamo in 1883.Since 1894, Cornell has included state-funded statutory colleges and has also administered research and extension activities that have been jointly funded by state and federal matching funds. Cornell has had an active alumni since its earliest classes and was one of the first universities to include alumni-elected representatives on its Board of Trustees.

Cornell expanded significantly, particularly since World War II, with its student population in Ithaca growing to its current count of about 20,000 students. The faculty also expanded, and by the century's end, the university had more than 3,400 faculty members.The school also increased its breadth of course offerings. Today the university has wide-ranging programs and offers more than 4,000 courses. Cornell received national attention in April 1969 when African American students occupied Willard Straight Hall in protest over alleged racism.The crisis resulted in the resignation of President James A. Perkins and the restructuring of university governance.

Since 2000, Cornell has been expanding its international programs. In 2004, the university opened the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the first American medical school outside of the United States. It continues to forge partnerships with major institutions in India, Singapore, and the People's Republic of China.The university, with its high international profile, claims to be "the first transnational university".not in citation given On March 9, 2004, Cornell and Stanford laid the cornerstone for a new Bridging the Rift Center located on the Israel – Jordan border.

Admissions statistics:

For the 2006 – 07 academic year, Cornell had 901 registered student organizations. These clubs and organizations run the gamut from kayaking to full-armor jousting, from varsity and club sports and a cappella groups to improvisational theatre, from political clubs and publications to chess and video game clubs. They are subsidized financially by academic departments and/or the Student Assembly and the Graduate & Professional Student Assembly, two student-run organizations with a collective budget of $3.0 million per year. 

Cornell United Religious Work is a collaboration among many diverse religious traditions, helping to provide spiritual resources throughout a student's time at college. Cornell hosts a large fraternity and sorority system, with 70 chapters involving 33% of male and 24% of female undergraduates. During the 2004–05 academic year, the Greek system committed 21,668 community service and advocacy hours and raised $176,547 in philanthropic efforts.However, the administration has expressed concerns over student misconduct in the system. In 2004–05, of the 251 social events registered with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, 37 (15%) resulted in a complaint. In that same year, there were five reported instances of property destruction, five reports of bias, three hazing incidents, and various other allegations. 

Virginia University

History:

Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia in 1819. He wished the publicly-supported school to have a national character and stature. Jefferson envisioned a new kind of university, one dedicated to educating leaders in practical affairs and public service rather than for professions in the classroom and pulpit exclusively. It was the first nonsectarian university in the United States and it have big part in US education system.

Jefferson considered the founding of the University to be one of his greatest achievements. Undertaking the project toward the end of his life—after a long, illustrious career that included serving as a colonial revolutionary, political leader, writer, architect, inventor, and he was closely involved in the University's design. He planned the curriculum, recruited the first faculty, and designed the Academical Village, a terraced green space surrounded by residential and academic buildings, gardens, and the majestic center point the Rotunda. The most recognizable symbol of the University, the Rotunda stands at the north end of the Lawn and is half the height and width of the Pantheon in Rome, which was the primary inspiration for the building. The Lawn and the Rotunda have served as models for similar designs of "centralized green areas" at universities across the United States.

The University opened for classes in 1825 with a faculty of eight and a student body numbering sixty-eight. Jefferson took great pains to recruit the most highly qualified faculty, five of whom were found in England and three in the United States. Instruction was offered in ancient languages, modern languages, mathematics, moral philosophy, natural philosophy, chemistry, law, and medicine. The students came from the American South and West; interestingly, though, most were not Virginians.

Jefferson opposed the granting of degrees on the grounds that they were "artificial embellishments." In 1824, however, the Board of Visitors authorized granting the master of arts degree. The doctor of medicine, or M.D., was awarded to the first graduates of the School of Medicine in 1828, and the bachelor of laws degree, or LL.B., was first awarded for law school graduates in 1842. The bachelor's degree was awarded beginning in 1849, but became the standard undergraduate degree and a prerequisite for the master's degree in 1899, bringing the University into conformity with other institutions of higher learning. The Ph.D. has been awarded since 1883.

Admission to the University of Virginia is competitive, with 90.2% of admitted applicants ranking in the top 10% of their high school classes. A December 2005 National Bureau of Economic Research study of "high-achieving" undergraduate applicants found U.Va., at twentieth overall, to be the most preferred college located in the state of Virginia, and the second-most preferred in the American South, behind Duke University. The study also revealed the University to be the most preferred public university in the entire United States. The stated purpose of the NBER study was to produce a ranking system that "would be difficult for a college to manipulate" by basing it on the actual demonstrated preferences of highly meritorious students.

Admissions statistics:

The mark of one out of many secret societies active on Grounds at the University of Virginia for the Class of 2011, the University of Virginia received a record 18,013 applications. The University saw increased interest from various groups of students, as applications rose by 13 percent for African American applicants, 20 percent for Asian Americans, 16 percent for Hispanic Americans, and 26 percent for international students. The University enrolled 70 more first-years than it did the previous year, as it continued to expand the scope of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.Another record was established for the Class of 2012, with 18,776 applications for 3,170 undergraduate spots.Applications rose for each of the four undergraduate schools that accept first-year students into their programs: Architecture, Arts & Sciences, Engineering, and Nursing.

The Class of 2013 saw a tremendous increase to yet another new record high of 21,511 applications. 37% of applicants were accepted. The University continued to see interest from an increasingly diverse pool, as applications increased by another 22 percent for African American students, 56 percent for Hispanic students, 50 percent for international students, and 100 percent for Native Americans.

The trend of the previous years continued for the Class of 2014. Application numbers rose to 22,516, of which 32% were offered admission.Average SAT scores (math, critical reading, writing) rose 10 points from the previous year to 1,993 points. Thirty percent of the Class of 2014, or 983 students, identified themselves as members of one or more minority group.

Applications continued to increase for the Class of 2016, which was the first time UVA allowed high school students to apply in the fall for early action. 11,753 students applied for early action and 3,187 were offered admission. Overall applications for both early action and regular decision grew by 17.64% to 28,200, an increase of 4,229 from the year before.The average SAT score for admitted students were 1,413 on a 1,600-point scale, and 2,119 on a 2,400-point scale. Ninety-eight percent of the admitted students were in the Top 10% of their high school class.

Duke University

Duke University is a private institution that was founded in 1838. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 6,680, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 8,709 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Duke University's ranking in the 2013 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 8. Its tuition and fees are $43,623 (2012-13).

Durham, N.C., which surrounds Duke’s campus, offers a variety of activities including shopping, dining, and entertainment. Its "Bull City" nickname comes from the Blackwell Tobacco Company’s Bull Durham Tobacco. Students at Duke are required to live on campus for their first three years, and freshmen live together on the East Campus. 

Duke University is divided into 10 schools and colleges, many of which serve both undergraduate and graduate students. Its graduate programs include the highly ranked Fuqua School of Business, Pratt School of Engineering, School of Law, School of Medicine, Sanford School of Public Policy, and School of Nursing. Duke also offers graduate programs through its well-respected Divinity School and Nicholas 

When applying to Duke University, it's important to note the application deadline is January 2, and the early decision deadline is November 1. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due January 2. The application fee at Duke University is $75. It is most selective, with an acceptance rate of 14.0 percent.

The student-faculty ratio at Duke University is 7:1, and the school has 71.6 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Duke University include: Biology, General; Psychology, General; Economics; Political Science and Government; and Public Policy Analysis. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 97.0 percent.

Duke University offers a number of student services including women's center, placement service, health service, and health insurance. Duke University also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, student patrols, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at Duke University.

At Duke University, 45.1 percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $36,877.

University of Chicago

University of Chicago is a private institution that was founded in 1892. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,388, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 215 acres. It utilizes a quarter-based academic calendar. University of Chicago's ranking in the 2013 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 4. Its tuition and fees are $44,574 (2012-13).

The University of Chicago, situated in Chicago’s Hyde Park community, offers a rich campus life in a big-city setting. The Chicago Maroons have more than 15 NCAA Division III teams, the majority of which compete in the University Athletic Association, and have strong basketball and wrestling programs. At Chicago, freshmen are required to live on campus, and about 60 percent of students choose to remain on campus, while others live in off-campus apartments and houses. On-campus students are placed in "houses" within their dorm, which serve as tight-knit communities and provide academic and social support. Chicago offers more than 400 student organizations, and about 10 percent of students join the small but active Greek life community.

The University of Chicago is comprised of the College and a number of graduate and professional schools. Its postgraduate offerings include the highly ranked Booth School of Business, Law School, Pritzker School of Medicine, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, and Department of Geophysical Sciences, as well as a top-ranked graduate program in economics and a well-regarded Divinity School. Since 1987, the school has hosted the four-day long "University of Chicago Scavenger Hunt," now a venerable university tradition. Famous alumni include former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics recipient Milton Friedman, civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, and author Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

University of Chicago offers a number of student services including nonremedial tutoring, health service, and health insurance. University of Chicago also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at University of Chicago.

University of Chicago has a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,388, with a gender distribution of 51.7 percent male students and 48.3 percent female students. At this school, 60.0 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 40.0 percent of students live off campus. University of Chicago is part of the NCAA III athletic conference.

The student-faculty ratio at University of Chicago is 6:1, and the school has 75.1 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at University of Chicago include: Social Sciences; Biological and Biomedical Sciences; Mathematics and Statistics; Physical Sciences; and Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 98.2 percent.