This private research university was founded in Maryland in 1876, and named for the abolitionist Johns Hopkins, who donated $7 million to kick things off for the institution. They spend over $2 billion per year in research and are actually considered the first research university in the country.
Today, Johns Hopkins is divided into 10 schools, on campuses in both Maryland and Washington, D.C. U.S News & World Report ranked the university 10th in the nation for 2019, although the Bloomberg School of Public Health ranked 1st for medical research, followed by the School of Medicine in 3rd place. Johns Hopkins has also been ranked as number one as far as receiving research grants is concerned.
Ohio State University: $5.2 Billion
Ohio State University is a public university in Columbus, Ohio. It was established in 1870 and was originally the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The name was switched in 1878, and now has a student body of more than 60,000 each year. U.S News & World Report ranked OSU as the 17th best public school in the United States in 2019.
OSU has their fair share of notable alumni, including multiple Nobel and Pulitzer Prize recipients. There have also been numerous Olympic gold medalists, not to mention all of the silver and bronze winners, to come from the university.
Vanderbilt University: $6.4 Billion
Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, was founded in the 1870s. It was named for a shipping and railroad mogul who gave the school its original endowment of $1 million. Today, that million has become nearly $6.5 billion and it continues to grow. The school caters to over 13,000 students each year, with a faculty of just over 1,800.
45 former and current members of the U.S Congress, 10 billionaires, 14 U.S Ambassadors, and 17 governors, among other notable titles, have graduated from Vanderbilt over the years. Not to mention the Pulitzer Prize, Grammy, and Academy Award winners.
Pennsylvania State University - $4.2 Billion
Penn State, also known as Pennsylvania State University, is a public university that was established in 1855. They’ve been dubbed a “public Ivy,” thanks to their prestigious educational programs and facilities. What originally began as the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania has grown into multiple campuses across the state, which hold over 95,000 students.
The school’s annual Panhellenic Dance Marathon is the largest student-run philanthropic event in the world. In 2013, they managed to raise a record-breaking $13.3 million. Penn State was ranked as the 74th best university in the world in 2018, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities.
New York University - $4.2 Billion
NYU is a private research university located in Lower Manhattan, New York City. They also have campuses sprinkled throughout the world, including locations in Abu Dhabi, Shanghai, London, and Los Angeles. The school has an endowment of over $4 billion, with a budget of over $11 billion per year.
They have a large student body, with over 50,000 in attendance last year. NYU also has a long list of notable alumni. The university has produced 30 Pulitzer Prize-winning graduates, 37 Nobel Prize winners, 30 Academy Award winners and several members of Congress.