US colleges: Ivy Leagues, liberal arts, and honors colleges

What’s the difference between an Ivy League and an honors college? And are liberal arts colleges all about arts subjects? In this guide, we’ll break down the differences and help you decide which one might be for you.

The Ivy League

Eight unis – including Brown, Cornell, and Columbia – make up what’s known as the ‘Ivy League,’ one of the most famous and prestigious groups of unis in the world. 

What is it?

Some people think that ‘Ivy’ is actually a corruption of the original ‘IV League’, so called because it consisted of four (IV) schools: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Dartmouth. But the most common explanation of the name is that these are amongst the oldest unis in the US and have old, ivy-covered buildings. 

The Ivies were once known for their excellent teaching. Because they’re so prestigious, they attract some of the most famous scholars in any field. But you may find that the famous professors you hoped to learn from don’t have much time for talking to students, or only offer a few classes every year. 

The teaching is still excellent at Ivies, but you can now get an equally high-quality education at many liberal arts colleges and public unis across the US. 

Why should you go?

The Ivy League schools are extremely competitive, so getting accepted and being awarded a degree from one of them is seen across the world as a sign of excellence. 

Although these unis have some of the more expensive tuition fees in the US (ranging somewhere between $50,000 and $60,000 per year), they can offer very supportive financial aid packages. This is because of their large endowments – pots of money made up largely of donations from wealthy alumni. At Harvard, for example, around 20% of students pay nothing at all.

How do you get in?

There’s no way around it: you’ve got to be the best of the best. You need to have excellent grades across the board and be in the top 5-10% of your class. 

But at this level, perfect grades are a given. The thing that really separates out accepted students is the passion they put into outside interests. Student body presidents who volunteer in their local council’s office over the summer, award-winning athletes and musicians, small business owners… students who get accepted to the Ivies have a remarkable story to tell outside of their grades. 

Liberal arts colleges

The US liberal arts system is a unique approach to higher learning. It focuses on your individuality as a student, giving you space to prioritise your own academic interests.

What is it?

Instead of applying to a specific course, you can take classes from the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and arts. The system emphasises the breadth of the learning experience, so you’ll probably have to take a small range of classes (either a certain number from each discipline, or a set course of introductory classes) in addition to exploring your interests. 

In most colleges, the first two years are dedicated to letting you pick and choose from whatever interests you. You’ll usually declare your major in the third year, and graduate with a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Science, or even a Bachelor in Fine Arts. 
 
Why should you go?

A liberal arts college gives you the freedom to pursue your own interests, and to develop the critical skills you need to ask questions and make decisions for yourself. Rather than following a pre-made path, you’re in control of what you learn. 

For example, you might decide you’re really interested in the environment. You take some environmental science classes, as well as some literature classes focused on how people write about nature, and Spanish so that you can do some research in Mexico over the summer. Meanwhile, another student in your environmental science class is taking politics classes to learn more about how to influence environmental law, and a documentary film class because they’d like to make a film about climate change. One topic, two journeys. 

Because many liberal arts colleges are relatively small, professors can offer really direct support as you work to build a class schedule that makes you excited to study. 

Even though they don’t tend to be as famous as the Ivy Leagues or some of the big state unis, liberal arts colleges are well-known to employers and have post-graduation employment rates equivalent to the Ivies.

How do you get in?

Liberal arts colleges are looking for students who are naturally curious, and who want to make an impact on the world around them. Two great ways to show this are through your extracurricular activities and your grades.

Similarly to the Ivies, liberal arts colleges expect you to have high grades across the board. But they’re arguably more interested in your willingness to learn, so back up your grades with your other passions. Show that you contribute to your community through charity work, being a mentor, or being on your school council, for example. Or demonstrate your interests through commitment to performing arts companies, student newspapers or websites, or debating clubs.

Students at liberal arts colleges were actually likelier than students at Ivies to rate their studies as ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ and reported spending more time studying per day. So if it’s academic rigour you’re after, liberal arts colleges may serve you better than more famously selective schools. 

Honors colleges

A specialised, smaller course for promising students, honors colleges are a great option for students looking for an elite education at a relatively low price.

What is it?

An honors college is basically a smaller community within a larger public uni – usually about 5% of the entire uni student body. So a uni with 40,000 students might admit 2,000 students into the honors college. This puts the size in line with private liberal arts colleges, which honors colleges were originally modeled after.

Honors students write an honors thesis in addition to the normal graduation requirements. You’ll still take classes with non-honors students; you just have access to the honors college options on top of the normal ones. 

There are over 1,000 honors colleges and equivalent programs across the US. If there’s a state uni that you’re interested in, their website will mention if they have an honors college for you to consider. 

Why should you go?

In a way, honors colleges are the best of both worlds: the small, individualised study of a liberal arts college, with access to the resources and community (and low price) of a public uni. 

Once you’re in, you may gain access to scholarships and other benefits, like priority access to class registration, exclusive courses, special housing or dining programmes, and exclusive career-development opportunities.

You’re also likely to get a much smaller professor-to-student ratio in your classes, because honors students are required to take honors classes. They may offer more specific or high-level work in your field than the general uni course offerings. 

You’re often assigned an Honors Advisor as well. This is a professor who can actively support your education, helping you create your work, plan, and complete your honors thesis, and sometimes even provide opportunities for internships. Having this kind of mentorship can make a huge positive difference to your college career. 

Being able to say you graduated ‘with honors’ is also a great boost to your CV. It’s looked on very favourably by admissions counselors to graduate programmes and employers across the US. 

How do you get in?

In applying to an honors college, you’re basically applying to a selective mini-uni of only a few thousand people. So aim to get strong grades and be involved in extracurriculars  and service – as you would for selective US unis in general! 

Sometimes you need to apply separately to an honors college; others, you just make your normal application and if your grades and scores meet the uni’s requirements, you’ll be invited to apply to the honors college as well. 

Some unis only consider students that have applied Early Decision or Early Action. These deadlines are several months before the normal application deadline, so read the application instructions carefully to avoid missing out.

The applications themselves involve the same kinds of things as a normal application, but they may ask you to write a few more supplemental essays, or send additional letters of recommendation. Again, look into the process for your chosen uni(s) early so that you leave yourself plenty of time.