How Old?
What is the oldest university in America? And how old is it? What about the 50th oldest college in the country? We will be answering both those questions—and all the ones in between—right now...
50: Allegheny College
Founded: 1815
Allegheny college was founded by a graduate of Harvard's School of Divinity, Timothy Alden.
Established in 1815 as Nichols Academy.
Control: Private
Location: Meadville, Pennsylvania
Motto: n/a
Enrollment Range: 1,000-1,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 70-79%
49: Nichols College
Founded: 1815
Established in 1815 as Nichols Academy.
Control: Private
Location: Dudley, Massachusetts
Motto: Your success is our business
Enrollment Range: 1,000-1,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 80-89%
Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
48: Spalding University
Founded: 1814
Originally founded as Nazareth Academy by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth
Control: Private
Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Motto: Building on Tradition. Focused on the Future
Enrollment Range: 1,000-1,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 90-99%
Unknown Author, CC BY 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
47: Colby College
Founded: 1813
Founded as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution in 1813. Renamed Waterville College in 1821. Donations from Christian philanthropist Gardner Colby saw the institution become Colby University and then eventually Colby college.
Control: Private
Location: Waterville, Maine
Motto: Lux Mentis Scientia (Knowledge is the Light of the Mind)
Enrollment Range: 2000-2999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 0-9%
Colby Mariam, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
46: Lycoming College
Founded: 1812
Lycoming College is affiliated with, but operates as an independent institution, from the United Methodist Church.
Control: Private
Location: Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Motto: Truth
Enrollment Range: 1,000-1,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 70-79%
Casey Spencer, Wikimedia Commons
45: Hamilton College
Founded: 1812
Hamilton has been a coeducational institution since 1978 when it merged with its sister school, Kirkland College.
Control: Private
Location: Clinton, New York
Motto: Know Thyself
Enrollment Range: 2,000-2,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 10-19%
kenneth c zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
44: Miami University
Founded: 1809
Nicknamed the "Mother of Fraternities" for the fact that five Greek-letter organizations were founded there.
Control: Public
Location: Oxford, Ohio
Motto: Prodesse Quam Conspici (To accomplish rather than to be conspicuous)
Enrollment Range: 15,000-19,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 80-89%
Miami U. Libraries - Digital Collections, Wikimedia Commons
43: Mount St Mary's University
Founded: 1808
Has the largest Catholic seminary in the country.
Control: Private
Location: Emmitsburg, Maryland
Motto: Spes Nostra (Our Hope)
Enrollment Range: 2,000-2,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 80-89%
42: University Of Maryland, Baltimore
Founded: 1807
Founded in 1807 as the Maryland College of Medicine.
Control: Public
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Motto: The Founding Campus
Enrollment Range: 7,000-7,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: n/a
UMBCPA, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
41: Pennsylvania Academy Of The Fine Arts
Founded: 1805
PAFA is the longest continuously operating art museum and art school in America.
Control: Private
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Motto: n/a
Enrollment Range: under 250 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 80-89%
Difference engine, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
40: Ohio University
Founded: 1804
First conceived of in the 1787 contract between the territorial legislature approved the College Lands to support a university in 1802 and the Ohio General Assembly approved it in 1804. The university was opened for students in 1809.
Control: Public
Location: Athens, Ohio
Motto: Religio Doctrina Civilitas, Prae Omnibus Virtus (Religion, Learning, Politics; Above All, Virtue)
Enrollment Range: 20,000-24,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 80-89%
Miami U. Libraries - Digital Collections, Wikimedia Commons
39: United States Military Academy
Founded: 1802
It is the oldest of the five American service academies.
Control: Public
Location: West Point, New York
Motto: Duty, Honor, Country
Enrollment Range: 4,000-4,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 10-19%
Chad J. McNeeley, Wikimedia Commons
38: University Of South Carolina
Founded: 1801
Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, it has the world's largest Ernest Hemingway collection.
Control: Public
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
Motto: Emollit mores nec sinit esse feros (Learning humanizes character and does not permit it to be cruel)
Enrollment Range: 35,000-39,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 60-69%
Dfscgt21, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
37: Vincennes University
Founded: 1801
Founded in 1801 as Jefferson Academy.
Control: Public
Location: Vincennes, Indiana
Motto: n/a
Enrollment Range: 15,000-19,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 100%
36: Middlebury College
Founded: 1800
Middlebury was the first college or university in the state of Vermont.
Control: Private
Location: Middlebury, Vermont
Motto: Scientia et Virtus (Knowledge and Virtue)
Enrollment Range: 2,000-2,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 10-19%
35: University Of Louisville
Founded: 1798
Control: Public
The university is mandated to be a "Preeminent Metropolitan Research University" by the Kentucky General Assembly.
Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Motto: It's Happening Here
Enrollment Range: 20,000-24,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 70-79%
Nolanwebb, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
34: Hartwick College
Founded: 1797
Began with the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797.
Control: Private
Location: Oneonta, New York
Motto: Ad Altiora Semper—"Ever Higher"
Enrollment Range: 1,000-1,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 90-99%
ErixS, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
33: Union College
Founded: 1795
Union College was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents.
Control: Private
Location: Schenectady, New York
Motto: Sous les lois de Minèrve nous devenons tous frères (Under the laws of Minerva, we all become brothers and sisters)
Enrollment Range: 2,000-2,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 40-49%
UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
32: University Of South Carolina-Beaufort
Founded: 1795
A prep school and college was chartered as the Beaufort College in Beaufort in 1795.
Control: Public
Location: Bluffton, South Carolina
Motto: n/a
Enrollment Range: 2,000-2,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 80-89%
Hamish uscb, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
31: The University Of Tennessee, Knoxville
Founded: 1794
Founded in 1794—two years before Tennessee became the 16th state.
Control: Public
Location: Knoxville, Tennessee
Motto: Veritatem cognoscetis et veritas te liberabit (You will know the truth and the truth shall set you free)
Enrollment Range: 30,000-34,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 70-79%
Jake Sumner, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
30: Bowdoin College
Founded: 1794
Bowdoin operated a medical school—The "Medical School of Maine"—between 1821 and 1921.
Control: Private
Location: Brunswick, Maine
Motto: Ut Aquila Versus Coelum (As an eagle towards the sky)
Enrollment Range: 1,000-1,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 0-9%
29: Tusculum University
Founded: 1794
Tennessee's first university.
Control: Private
Location: Greeneville, Tennessee
Motto: Sit Lux (Let There Be Light)
Enrollment Range: 1,000-1,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 70-79%
Kwiltinfool, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
28: Williams College
Founded: 1793
Established as a men's college, women began being integrated into Williams in the 1930s.
Control: Private
Location: Williamstown, Massachusetts
Motto: E liberalitate E. Williams, armigeri (Through the Generosity of E. Williams, Esquire)
Enrollment Range: 2,000-2,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 0-9%
27: University Of Vermont
Founded: 1791
Now public—UVM was founded as a private institution the year that Vermont became a state (the 14th state).
Control: Public
Location: Burlington, Vermont
Motto: Studiis Et Rebus Honestis (Through Studies and Upright Affairs)
Enrollment Range: 10,000-14,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 60-69%
26: University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill
Founded: 1789
It was chartered 1789, and first began enrolling students in 1795.
Control: Public
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Motto: Lux Libertas (Light and Liberty)
Enrollment Range: 30,000-34,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 20-29%
Yeungb, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
25: Georgetown University
Founded: 1789
The first federally chartered university in the country.
Control: Private
Location: Washington, DC
Motto: Utraque Unum (Both into One)
Enrollment Range: 15,000-19,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 10-19%
ajay_suresh, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
24: University of Pittsburgh
Founded: 1787
Began as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787, became Western University of Pennsylvania in 1819, and the University of Pittsburgh in 1908.
Control: Public
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Motto: Veritas et Virtus (Truth and Virtue)
Enrollment Range: 25,000-29,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 60-69%
Dllu, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
23: York College Of Pennsylvania
Founded: 1787
Control: Private
Location: York, Pennsylvania
Motto: Servire Est Vivere (To Serve Is to Live)
Enrollment Range: 3,000-3,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 70-79%
Hobiecat93, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
22: Franklin And Marshall College
Founded: 1787
The college is named after Benjamin Franklin and John Marshall.
Control: Private
Location: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Motto: Lux et Lex (Light and Law)
Enrollment Range: 2,000-2,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 30-39%
21: University Of Georgia
Founded: 1785
Control: Public
Location: Athens, Georgia
Motto: Et docere et rerum exquirere causas (To teach, to serve and to inquire into the nature of things)
Enrollment Range: 35,000-39,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 40-49%
Coxonian, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
20: Washington College
Founded: 1782
The first college chartered after American independence.
Control: Private
Location: Chestertown, Maryland
Motto: n/a
Enrollment Range: 1,000-1,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 70-79%
Washingtoncollege, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
19: Washington & Jefferson College
Founded: 1781
The college can trace its origins back to three Presbyterian missionaries in the 1780s.
Control: Private
Location: Washington, Pennsylvania
Motto: Juncta Juvant (Together We Thrive)
Enrollment Range: 1,000-1,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 80-89%
18: Transylvania University
Founded: 1780
Control: Private
Location: Lexington, Kentucky
Motto: In Lumine Illo Tradimus Lumen (In That Light, We Pass On The Light)
Enrollment Range: 500-999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 90-99%
TUPictures, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
17: Hampden-Sydney College
Founded: 1775
The last college founded prior to the American Declaration of Independence
Control: Private
Location: Hampden-Sydney, Virginia
Motto: Ye Shall Know the Truth
Enrollment Range: 500-999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 30-39%
Ncstateguy2013, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
16: Dickinson College
Founded: 1773
Named after Founding Father, John Dickinson.
Control: Private
Location: Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Motto: Pietate et doctrina tuta libertas (Religion and learning, the bulwark of liberty)
Enrollment Range: 2,000-2,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 40-49%
15: Salem College
Founded: 1772
The oldest women's college in the country.
Control: Private
Location: Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Motto: Shine
Enrollment Range: 250-499 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 90-99%
Bjoertvedt, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
14: College Of Charleston
Founded: 1770
The oldest municipal college in the United States.
Control: Public
Location: Charleston, South Carolina
Motto: Sapientia Ipsa Libertas (Knowledge itself is liberty)
Enrollment Range: 10,000-14,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 70-79%
Lkeadle, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
13: Dartmouth College
Founded: 1769
Originally established to educate Native Americans in Christian theology.
Control: Private
Location: Hanover, New Hampshire
Motto: Vox clamantis in deserto (A voice crying out in the wilderness)
Enrollment Range: 6,000-6,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 0-9%
12: Rutgers
Founded: 1766
Chartered as Queen's College in 1766, and renamed Rutgers College in 1825.
Control: Public
Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey
Motto: Sol iustitiae et occidentem illustra (Sun of righteousness, shine upon the West also)
Enrollment Range: over-50,000 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 60-69%
Zeete, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
11: Brown University
Founded: 1764
The first US college to codify that admission and instruction was to be equal regardless of the students' religious affiliation.
Control: Private
Location: Providence, Rhode Island
Motto: In deo speramus (In God we hope)
Enrollment Range: 10,000-14,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 0-9%
chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
10: Columbia University
Founded: 1754
The oldest institution of higher education in the state of New York.
Control: Private
Location: New York City, New York
Motto: In lumine tuo videbimus lumen (In Thy light shall we see light (Psalms 36:9))
Enrollment Range: 30,000-34,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 0-9%
Unknown Author, Wikimedia Commons
9: Washington And Lee University
Founded: 1749
Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy.
Control: Private
Location: Lexington, Virginia
Motto: Non Incautus Futuri (Not Unmindful of the Future)
Enrollment Range: 2,000-2,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 10-19%
8: Princeton University
Founded: 1746
Founded in 1746 as the College of New Jersey—It officially became a university in 1896 and it was then that it was renamed Princeton University.
Control: Private
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Motto: Dei Sub Numine Viget (Under God's power she flourishes)
Enrollment Range: 8,000-8,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 0-9%
Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
7: University Of Delaware
Founded: 1743
Control: Public
Location: Newark, Delaware
Motto: Scientia Sol Mentis Est (Knowledge is the light of the mind)
Enrollment Range: 20,000-24,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 70-79%
Raul654, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
6: Moravian University
Founded: 1742
Founded as a girls school in 1742.
Control: Private
Location: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Motto: Via Lucis (The Way of Light)
Enrollment Range: 2,000-2,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 70-79%
5: University Of Pennsylvania
Founded: 1740
Benjamin Franklin was the university's founder and first president.
Control: Private
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Motto: Leges sine moribus vanae (Laws without morals are useless)
Enrollment Range: 20,000-24,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 0-9%
4: Yale University
Founded: 1701
Began as the Collegiate School in 1701 and the original curriculum was all about instructing ministers in theology and sacred languages.
Control: Private
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Motto: Lux et Veritas (Light and Truth)
Enrollment Range: 10,000-14,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 0-9%
Nick Allen, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
3: St John's College
Founded: 1696
Control: Private
Location: Annapolis, Maryland
Motto: Facio liberos ex liberis libris libraque
Enrollment Range: 500-999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 50-59%
Alexanderstock23, Shutterstock
2: College Of William & Mary
Founded: 1693
Not only is it the second-oldest institution of higher education in America—but it is also the ninth-oldest in the entire English-speaking world.
Control: Public
Location: Williamsburg, Virginia
Motto: n/a
Enrollment Range: 9,000-9,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 30-39%
1: Harvard University
Founded: 1636
With an endowment valued at $50.7 billion, Harvard is the wealthiest academic institution in the world.
Control: Private
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Motto: Veritas (Truth)
Enrollment Range: 20,000-24,999 students
Acceptance Rate Range: 0-9%
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Daderot., CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
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