"Public Ivy" is an informal term that refers to public colleges and universities in the United States that are perceived to provide a collegiate experience on the level of Ivy League universities.
The term was first coined in 1985 by Yale University admissions officer Richard Moll, who published Public Ivies: A Guide to America's Best Public Undergraduate Colleges and Universities.
[1] In 2001, college guide authors Howard Greene and Matthew Greene, released their own book, The Public Ivies: The Great State Colleges and Universities,[3] which included 30 schools.
[9] He traveled the nation examining higher education institutions, and selected eight that were comparable to the Ivy League.
Moll's original ranking methodology included factors such as academic rigor, quality of faculty, and cost of tuition, as well as assessments of campus facilities, available resources, age, and major cultural traditions celebrated at each institution.