Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, founded in 1869.

The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta.

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

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, or colloquially the University of Illinois or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois.

Washington University in St. Louis (WashU, or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus (Danforth) mostly split between St. Louis County and Clayton, Missouri

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois, founded in 1851.