How did Yale and Harvard become so prestigious?

Most of the answers offered here have emphasized that Harvard and Yale are old institutions, that they are very rich, and that they have enjoyed a long-running positive feedback between their wealth and prestige on the one hand, and their ability to attract talent and money on the other. This is true, certainly. read more

Whereas Harvard or Yale and others are older and have larger endowments as a result, UChicago has more Nobel laureates than any other university in the country (87, at the end of 2012). By contrast, Harvard ranks eighth and Yale barely makes the top 10. read more

For instance, Harvard has 21000 students compared to Yale (12000) or Princeton (9000). Similarly, the size of MIT’s science programs is far larger than Yale or Princeton. As a result, mentions of Harvard or MIT scientists tend to pop up more regularly in the media and more academics tend to be alumni of these schools. read more

Harvard's prestige may have a large part to do with how old it is. For much of colonial New England's history, if someone of means wanted to get a higher education, the only options were to go to Harvard or back to England. read more