The Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1876.

Cornell University is a private Ivy League and statutory land-grant research university, based in Ithaca, New York. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White.

Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin.

Michigan State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan.

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (the U of M or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota.