1 University of Oxford
This year one of the most prestigious universities in the UK has come out on top on for the second year running.
The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the UK and one of the best known in the world.
Currently, there are more than 22,000 students at Oxford, with an almost even number of undergraduates and postgraduates.
About 95 per cent of Oxford graduates are either employed or in postgraduate study within six months of leaving.
Admissions are extremely competitive; on average the university receives five applications for every place. About 18,300 students applied for 3,200 undergraduate places in 2015.
The university employs staff from just under 100 different countries and foreign citizens make up about 41 per cent of the student and academic body.
Dispelling the myths around elite universities
2 University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge operates on a collegiate system, much like the University of Oxford. Almost all of the 18,000 students belong to a college or hall, where they have the option to live, study and sleep on site.
In Cambridge, there are 31 colleges and 150 academic departments.
The university has a long and prestigious history dating back to 1209, when scholars in Oxford fled to Cambridge after clashes with local people.
Many famous politicians, cultural figures and scientists spent time in Cambridge, including Isaac Newton and John Harvard, who would go on to found Harvard University.
Every college has unique traditions and all students matriculate in a formal ceremony when arriving at the university.
Life at the University of Cambridge
3 California Institute of Technology
One of the most striking features of Caltech is its unusually small size; only about 1,000 undergraduates and 1,250 postgraduates are enrolled there. The college boasts a high student-to-staff ratio.
Caltech aims to foster an interdisciplinary environment in which students learn about and tackle the most challenging and fundamental scientific or technological problems.
The institution dates to 1891 when it was founded as Throop University. It assumed its current name in 1920.
There were 6,506 applicants for the entry class who will graduate in 2019 and 99 per cent of the students accepted across all years were in the top 10 per cent of their high school class.
More than half of Caltech students receive need-based financial support. The average financial aid package is $38,983 (£29,890).
Caltech’s mascot is a beaver, "nature’s engineer".
Among the unusual features of the university are the customary cookie break taken every Thursday by physicists and their students and the university’s status as a distributor of olive oil.
The world’s best small universities
Have you considered these countries?
4 
Stanford University
Stanford has generated many start-ups and entrepreneurs and was partly responsible for the development of neighbouring Silicon Valley.
Many students go on to achieve great things and in the current academic community there are 20 Nobel laureates affiliated with Stanford.
The large campus is home to 97 per cent of undergraduates and nearly 700 major university buildings alongside museums, gardens and recreational centres.
Currently, there are just under 7,000 undergraduates and 9,000 graduates at the university, with a 4:1 student-to-staff ratio.
Research at Stanford uses a $1.22 billion budget in total and more than 5,000 of the projects are externally funded.
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