Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio.

Indiana University—Bloomington is a public institution that was founded in 1820.

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.

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

The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin.

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