Harvard. Yale. Stanford. The names of these elite or top colleges are synonymous with prestige and academic success. Many ambitious students dream of one day graduating from such institutions and with good reason.

Numerous presidents, business leaders, and well known scholars hail from these top colleges. Almost any parent would beam with pride if his or her child received an acceptance letter to an elite school. In the world of academia, acceptance to a top school is the reward for hard work in high school and stellar College Board scores.