25 New Ivies

Chapel Hill, N.C.

If a moviemaker needs an idyllic setting for a film about college life, Chapel Hill might be just the place. Elegant buildings, many in Greek Revival style, dot the lush campus filled with dogwoods and azaleas. For a prestigious public university, the atmosphere is relaxed, many students say. "It's a combination of absolutely first-rate academics and a wonderful sort of collaborative, low-key culture," says Stephen Farmer, director of undergraduate admissions. Junior Heath Nettles, an education major, grew up aiming for UNC, his father's alma mater. "I sometimes tell people I had blue blood," he says, referring to the school colors. When he hears the James Taylor song "Carolina on My Mind," he says, "my heart skips a beat." The 3,838 incoming freshmen (out of 19,688 applicants) can expect to have a similar reaction. Most popular majors: business, English, psychology, biology and history.

Notre Dame University

South Bend, Ind.

It can't be the weather. "This is not God's paradise," says Dan Saracino, assistant provost for enrollment, of Notre Dame's northern Indiana location, where the temperature can sink well below freezing in winter. So why do so many alumni and students love the place? Many cite the unique spirit of this Catholic university. More than half of entering freshmen say Notre Dame is their first choice--an unusually large number. "When we survey students and ask the three things they think about when they think of Notre Dame, they'll say tradition, faith and academics," Saracino says. And, of course, football: the legendary Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame students are not slackers; 95 percent graduate in four years. (Only Harvard and Princeton have equivalent records.) Appropriately for a religious school, more than 80 percent of students are involved in community service--and more than half study abroad. Each year more than 10 percent of graduates go into community-service positions, such as the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps. Although 83 percent of the students are Catholic, religion doesn't play a role in the admissions process, says Saracino.