Carolina named ‘new Ivy’ for second straight year
The Forbes list recognizes schools that are “outpacing most Ivy Leaguers in the eyes of employers.”
UNC-Chapel Hill is again on the Forbes list of “new Ivies.” Carolina is the only North Carolina institution on the list and one of six publics making their second appearance.
These schools are “attracting the best and the brightest and graduating students that are outpacing most Ivy Leaguers in the eyes of employers,” Forbes wrote.
To compile the list, Forbes analyzed recent admissions data from the National Center of Education Studies for all degree-granting, four-year, not-for-profit colleges in the U.S. Forbes then looked at enrollment (4,000 students and above for publics), admission rate (below 50%) and standardized test scores. Forbes then surveyed employers about the remaining schools to narrow the list to 10 publics and 10 privates.
Other public universities on the list include Georgia Tech, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan, University of Pittsburgh, Purdue University, University of Texas, the United States Military Academy, University of Virginia and College of William & Mary.
Carolina ranked as a Top 5 public for the 23rd straight year in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best College rankings while ranking as the best value among public universities for the 20th time. In February, Carolina was recognized as a top producing institution for the Fulbright U.S. Students Program for the 15th time in the past 16 years and earned the distinction of having more Fulbright U.S. students than any other public university.
