Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor.

Washington University in St. Louis (WashU, or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus (Danforth) mostly split between St. Louis County and Clayton, Missouri

The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public flagship research university in Eugene, Oregon, founded in 1876.

Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873

Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, Long Island, in the metropolitan area of New York.

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California.