American public universities are the envy of the world. These institutions produce many of the world’s top scientists, researchers, thinkers, business people, and politicians.

If you’re hoping to get an incredible education and rub shoulders with some of the best and brightest, these universities are the place to do it.

Here are four of the top private universities in America for 2018.

California Institute of Technology

Looking for a university that produces Nobel laureates, Turing Award winners, and Fields Medalists recipients in spades? Look no further than CalTech.

Whether you’re looking for a rigorous academic experience or a close-knit community, you’ll find both here. And if you’re already looking ahead to post-graduate life or even a Ph.D., CalTech is also a good choice because more students from CalTech go on to pursue a Ph.D. than at any other school.

Harvard University

Harvard is heaven for book lovers and home to the largest academic library in the world. It’s also a great place to network. Harvard tends to produce American presidents, Nobel laureates, and future billionaires.

One of things prospective students appreciate most about Harvard is that unlike other top schools which tend to skew towards the sciences, Harvard divides equal attention to humanities as it does to science.

Stanford University

Anyone with an eye on a career in tech should make a beeline straight towards Stanford. While the school has been ranked as a leader in science and innovation for decades, its proximity to Palo Alto has only bolstered its status.

In addition to being a haven for students hoping to become the next Eric Schmidt, the campus is also considered to be one of the most beautiful campuses in the world.

Princeton University

Located an hour from New York City and Philadelphia, Princeton is a small Ivy League university with a student body of under 8,000. Indeed, both admissions and campus life is competitive.

Princeton offers its own structured take on undergraduate education. All degrees include highly detailed requirements, and all students must undertake an independent research project in order to graduate.

Hoping to make it to Princeton? You’ll need to be patient. It’s one of the few universities that doesn’t offer early admission.

There will undoubtedly be plenty of competition to get into America’s top private schools in 2018. Are you applying for a place at an Ivy Leave institution? Share your experience below.