https://www.princetonreview.com/press/college-hopes-worries-press-release-2025
The first question on the survey—"What 'dream college' do you wish you (your child) could attend if acceptance and cost weren't issues?"—invited a fill-in-the-blank answer. Respondents entered in the names of more than 165 institutions as their "dream colleges." Among them were highly selective schools (including all the Ivies and many other well-known private colleges), flagship state universities, technology schools, nursing schools, and community colleges. Some schools were named by hundreds of respondents as their "dream college." Some by just one.
The 10 schools most named by students surveyed this year as their "dream college" were:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Harvard College (MA)
- Stanford University (CA)
- Princeton University (NJ)
- Yale University (CT)
- Columbia University (NY)
- New York University
- University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of California–Los Angeles
The 10 schools most named by parents surveyed this year as their "dream college" for their children were:
- Princeton University (NJ)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Stanford University (CA)
- Harvard College (MA)
- Yale University (CT)
- University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
- Columbia University (NY)
- Duke University (NC)
- New York University
- University of Texas–Austin
