When you hear the phrase "Ivy League," what do you think of?

Myths and misconceptions plague the eight schools of the Ivy League and their students. Many people equate schools like Yale with the concepts of arrogance, wealth, and elitism. Students at Columbia forsake the social scenes of other schools to devote their time to studying. The way to guarantee admission to Dartmouth is to have a parent who attended—preferably a parent who knows the president and is willing to finance a new library. It is a rare person who can name all eight Ivies, but it is a rarer person who does not have notions about them.

The eight schools of the Ivy League—Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, and Yale—are among the most selective and academically rigorous institutions in the world. Each Ivy has its own history and personality, and each attracts brilliant and accomplished students from around the world. These students flock to idyllic campuses in the northeast to learn, live, and party with their peers.

In the 2004-2005 academic year, Sean-Michael Green conducted research for a new book titled, What I Learned in College: A Year in the Ivy League. He spent approximately 30 days at each Ivy, sitting in on classes, speaking with students, and participating in activities. He joined the freshmen as they arrived on Cornell's campus in August, and he was at graduation at Princeton in May. Along the way, he maintained a travelogue of his adventures.

The goal was to produce a book. The book, however, was never published. The best record is the travelogue below.

The Research Schedule:

Cornell University
August 24 - September 20

Brown University
September 20 - October 20

Dartmouth College
October 20 - November 15

Yale University
November 15 - December 19

University of Pennsylvania
January 17 - February 17

Columbia University
February 25 - March 20

Harvard University
March 20 - April 20

Princeton University
April 20 - May 31

Travelogue
Many of the people with whom I talked as I worked on this project had expressed great curiosity about my adventures at other schools. The students at Dartmouth wanted to know what I thought of Brown; people at Cornell wanted to hear what happened when I was at Harvard.

Thus, I kept a travelogue. I tried to update it weekly, so that students could keep track of my project, and my friends and family could find my body if I had disappeared.