322:
dominated college football during its early formative years, when there were few competing spectator sports besides fledgling professional baseball teams. In 25 seasons spanning 1869 through the 1894 title for the
University of Pennsylvania, the consensus national champion was either Princeton (16 titles), Yale (13) or Harvard (2). Football between Harvard and Yale was suspended for two years after the 1894 game in Springfield, Massachusetts was so violent that it was referred to as "The Springfield Massacre." Other sports including baseball and crew were suspended as well. The Big Three made further formal agreements in 1916 and 1923, and although in part they have now been superseded by the Ivy League, formed for football in 1945 and for other sports in 1954, the three universities still sponsor events that involve only themselves.
49:
114:
280:- need-based awards that do not have to be repaid and make up the bulk of many poorer students' aid) at the nation's leading universities, the Big Three were found to be among the nation's least economically diverse schools. Of the 40 universities studied, Harvard and Princeton ranked 39th and 38th respectively, with Yale at 25th. While the three top universities in economic diversity were all public institutions (the
205:
belong'—a list that was printed in the college catalogue and that determined precedence in such matters as table seating, position in academic processionals, even recitations in class." Ronald Story, however, says that it was during “the four decades from 1815 to 1855” that “parents, in Henry Adams′ words, began sending their children to
Harvard College for the sake of its social advantages.”
335:
arose once more after
Princeton had shut out Harvard for three consecutive games by a cumulative score of 82-0. This led to a hiatus in games between Harvard and Princeton which caused Big Three competition to be suspended for eight years, although Yale continued to play both opponents during that period.
213:
on the West Coast) became all-important as upper-class-ascribing institutions.” Not coincidentally, this was also the era when the Big Three became concerned by “the Jewish problem” and began instituting interviews, essays, and judgements of “character” into the admissions process. From the 1930s on,
321:
teams had been engaging in three-way competitions, which newspapers had been referring to as "HPY," since 1878. (Princeton and Yale first played in 1873, Harvard and Yale in 1875, with
Harvard and Princeton first meeting in 1877.) The Big Three teams had an outsized hold on popular culture as they
200:
sons to
Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, in some preferred order, and to one local institution. This order varies. New York sets the pattern with Yale first, Harvard second, Princeton third, then Columbia. St. Louis and Baltimore are Princeton towns. Most other cities (Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati)
187:
It is, above all, the national social prestige of the Big Three which is competition with the purely local social prestige of the
University . Upper-class boys from all over the country, including Philadelphia, go to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Only from Philadelphia do upper-class boys go in any
104:
by nearly a century. Today, the term is used to refer to the comparable levels of prestige, tradition, elitism, and academic and intellectual superiority affiliated with the schools. The rivalry remains intense today, though the three schools are no longer national football powerhouses, and schools
334:
in
December 1909 out of a desire to reduce injuries, and took several years to come to fruition, resulting in common eligibility requirements. The Three Presidents' Agreement addendum of January 1923 covered financial arrangements, scouting and scholarships, among other things. In 1926, tensions
208:
A further intensification of the importance of the Big Three occurred during the 1920s; According to E. Digby
Baltzell, “in a … managerial society, the proper college degree became the main criterion for potential elite status… it was during the that certain institutions of high prestige, such as
308:
More recently, Harvard, Yale, and
Princeton instituted no-loan financial aid policies which provide students with need-based aid from private funds held by the universities. This enables greater attendance from the poorer classes than Pell Grant statistics would indicate, since many recipients of
204:
The connection between certain colleges and social ranking is old; Jerome
Karabel, in a note citing Kenneth Davis, says that "in the mid-eighteenth century, the personally listed students when they enrolled, according to ... 'to the Dignity of the Familie whereto the student severally
329:
in October 1905 as a result of deteriorating relations, caused once again by increasing violence of play, more recently between Harvard and Princeton. The agreement of June 1916, the Triple Agreement, was originally proposed by President and Princeton alumnus
351:
was one of a "big four" along with Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Student attrition due to the Civil War and a scandal over college finances led to a decline at Union that caused it to lose ground and drop from the group.
133:, and are maintained largely for the sons of rich men. Members of the American aristocracy would send their boys to one or other of these three universities if there were any aristocracy in the United States.
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wrote: "The three major upper-class institutions in America have been Harvard, Yale, and Princeton." These colleges have, in the past, been set apart from others by a special historic connection with the
475:
The College of New Jersey at Princeton has long and justly maintained a high reputation, and numbers among its alumni many of the most eminent men of the Union, especially in the Southern States.
225:, addresses seniors obsessed with Ivy League schools with the analysis: “It does not matter where you go to school, it matters what you do when you get there and what you do after you graduate.”
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The Big Three are notoriously lacking one of most critical dimensions: class diversity. In a study of the percentage of low-income students in 2000 (as measured by the proportion of federal
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significant numbers to Penn. This is of course a universal national phenomenon. The pattern of upper-class male college preference, as deduced from a counting of noses in the various
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100:. In 1906, these schools formed a sports compact that formalized a three-way football competition which began in 1878. This early agreement predated the
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The "Big Three" schools: Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are often rated among the top three institutions in the National Universities category along with
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Princeton, like , confers some social distinction upon its graduates. In this respect Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are the Western Counterparts of
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The first Big Three agreement in 1906 was the result of a conference on football called by President of the United States and Harvard alumnus
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has named as the best national university Princeton eleven times, Harvard twice and the two schools tied for first five times.
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In 1908, Scotsman Robert Knox Risk wrote the following about the state of American universities during the early 20th century.
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Ivy League schools including Harvard, Yale, and Princeton have in the past been regarded as the goals for many children in
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Big Three admissions became progressively more meritocratic, but still included non-academic factors such as “lineage.”
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continue to refer to their intercollegiate competitions as "Big Three" or "Harvard-Yale-Princeton" meets.
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The athletic agreements among the three universities were first formalized in 1906, although their
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We drew recruits from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and many another college; from clubs like the
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Encyclopædia Americana: A Popular Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature, History, Politics
157:, mentioned the Ivy League schools including Harvard, Yale, and Princeton as target schools.
1149:
714:"National University Rankings | Top National Universities | US News Best Colleges"
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circles. Some educators have attempted to discourage this fixation. Jay Mathews, author of
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The Chosen: The Hidden History of Admission and Exclusion at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton
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96:. The phrase Big Three originated in the 1880s, when these three colleges dominated
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145:. Of the three, Princeton University was traditionally the preferred choice of the
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Historical term used in the United States to refer to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton
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1815-1855 as the era when Harvard began to be perceived as socially advantageous
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are Yale towns. Only Boston, and occasionally Washington, are Harvard towns."
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Members rowing teams from ten colleges, including the Big Three in the top row
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The Forging of an Aristocracy: Harvard and the Boston Upper Class, 1800-1870
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found in 1963 that Harvard, Yale, and Princeton enrolled 45% of boys on the
183:. That year Nathaniel Burt described the social prestige of the Big Three:
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Lieber, Francis; Wigglesworth, Edward; Bradford, Thomas Gamaliel (1833).
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The Perennial Philadelphians: The Anatomy of an American Aristocracy
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304:, is among the most selective private institutions in the nation.
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detailing the history of the admissions process at HYP, noted:
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The Protestant Establishment: Aristocracy and Caste in America
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The "Big Three" and the Harvard-Yale Football Break, 1926-1934
254:. Over the past eighteen years ending with the 2018 rankings,
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upper class. While describing the recruiting process for the
805:. The Daily Princetonian. February 5, 2001. Archived from
192:
can be summed up as "The Big Three and a Local Favorite."
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Best Colleges 2011 Edition: U.S. News & World Report
266:
As Jerome Karabel, a Harvard graduate and the author of
515:"Big Three Now Enroll 45% Of Social Register Students"
860:"Harvard announces sweeping middle-income initiative"
803:"University approves "no-loan" financial aid program"
687:"2019 Best National Universities – US News Rankings"
618:. Irvington, NY: Wesleyan University Press. p.
1199:
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196:Burt continued, "Every city sends or has sent its
32:For the three liberal arts colleges in Maine, see
662:…proper college degree became the main criterion…
300:—were private. And one university in the top 10,
143:White-Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) establishment
548:. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 86.
1300:College football rivalries in the United States
828:Rimer, Sara; Finder, Alan (December 10, 2007).
274:
185:
159:
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675:The Origins of Selective Admissions, 1900-1933
309:university grants do not receive Pell Grants.
1088:
458:. Glasgow: John Smith & Son. p. 154.
8:
80:rinceton), is a historical term used in the
886:"Recognized National Championships by Year"
362:List of NCAA college football rivalry games
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1081:
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773:"Yale Plans Sharp Increase in Student Aid"
38:
1065:(2010). "Best National Universities,"
413:Group of Eight (Australian Universities)
600:p. 135, re the Harvard president's list
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282:University of California at Los Angeles
911:Archibold, Randal C. (July 30, 2006).
771:Arenson, Karen W. (January 15, 2008).
693:from the original on February 23, 2017
650:. Yale University Press. p. 209.
408:Golden Triangle (English universities)
931:from the original on January 13, 2017
840:from the original on November 2, 2016
740:Karabel, Jerome (September 4, 2005).
525:from the original on October 23, 2013
473:. Carey, Lea and Carey. p. 247.
252:Massachusetts Institute of Technology
117:Harvard-Princeton Football Game, 1915
7:
752:from the original on October 1, 2005
560:…the Big Three and a Local Favorite…
1015:Greg Feldmeth, The Paw Print Online
1011:"Book Review: "Harvard Schmarvard""
996:from the original on April 22, 2005
302:California Institute of Technology
209:Harvard, Yale, and Princeton (and
25:
294:University of Southern California
830:"Harvard Steps Up Financial Aid"
783:from the original on May 8, 2016
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596:note 19, citing Kenneth Davis,
235:College and university rankings
1036:"The history of HYP athletics"
1:
989:The Christian Science Monitor
580:. Houghton Mifflin. p.
241:U.S. News & World Report
983:"Eyes on the college prize"
646:Baltzell, E. Digby (1964).
486:Roosevelt, Theodore (1899)
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673:Karabel, op. cit, Part I,
313:As an athletic association
232:
34:Big Three (Maine colleges)
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544:Burt, Nathaniel (1999) .
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955:"The New American Dream"
572:Karabel, Jerome (2005).
452:Risk, Robert K. (1908).
181:New York Social Register
438:August 7, 2010, at the
612:Story, Ronald (1980).
404:(Chinese universities)
306:
194:
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135:
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1247:Public policy schools
992:. December 10, 2002.
913:"Off the Beaten Path"
521:. November 15, 1963.
138:Edward Digby Baltzell
116:
1290:Princeton University
1181:Basketball (women's)
1021:on February 20, 2005
968:on February 20, 2007
809:on December 10, 2007
292:), the next two—the
94:Princeton University
1237:Nude posture photos
1135:Dartmouth Big Green
892:on October 15, 2016
431:Synnott, Marsha G.
298:New York University
198:Socially Registered
1280:Harvard University
1176:Basketball (men's)
987:Marjorie Coeyman,
917:The New York Times
834:The New York Times
777:The New York Times
455:America at College
397:SKY (universities)
345:American Civil War
327:Theodore Roosevelt
262:Economic diversity
223:Harvard Schmarvard
155:Theodore Roosevelt
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86:Harvard University
18:HYP (universities)
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1052:on August 7, 2010
500:Project Gutenberg
488:The Rough Riders,
190:Social Registers,
165:, of Boston, and
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16:(Redirected from
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1212:Business schools
1150:Princeton Tigers
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1164:Competitions
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1227:Law schools
1222:Ivy Council
1120:Brown Bears
961:Korea Times
724:December 7,
343:Before the
286:UC-Berkeley
278:Pell Grants
1295:Ivy League
1274:Categories
1242:Public Ivy
1105:Ivy League
1069:; pg:84-93
419:References
367:Ivy League
269:The Chosen
102:Ivy League
1207:Big Three
925:0362-4331
756:March 28,
402:C9 League
256:U.S. News
131:Cambridge
62:Big Three
1253:Take Ivy
1171:Baseball
994:Archived
929:Archived
870:June 13,
838:Archived
781:Archived
750:Archived
691:Archived
529:March 1,
523:Archived
436:Archived
387:Oxbridge
356:See also
339:Big four
319:football
248:Stanford
229:Rankings
211:Stanford
163:Somerset
147:Southern
72:arvard,
1186:Fencing
1056:June 6,
1025:June 7,
1000:June 7,
972:June 6,
935:May 2,
923:
654:
626:
588:
552:
288:, and
127:Oxford
92:, and
1191:Rugby
1113:Teams
1050:(PDF)
1039:(PDF)
1031:(HYP)
1006:(HYP)
978:(HYP)
76:ale,
1058:2005
1027:2005
1002:2005
974:2005
937:2017
921:ISSN
898:2016
872:2008
846:2017
815:2011
789:2017
758:2006
726:2014
699:2018
652:ISBN
624:ISBN
598:FDR,
586:ISBN
550:ISBN
531:2013
296:and
250:and
219:WASP
173:The
129:and
60:The
582:562
498:at
66:HYP
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