But when it comes to the highest ranked universities

只是，當我們提到世界百大頂尖學府時

these and other Ivy League schools don't even cracked the Top 5

哈佛大學、耶魯大學和其他長春藤盟校卻擠不進前五

So what are the world's best universities?

所以到底，世界頂尖學府有哪些呢？

Well, according to an index by the Times Higher Education

根據《泰晤士高等教育》的世界大學排名

Stanford ranks third in the world

史丹佛大學名列第三

Most people associate Stanford with Tech capital "Silicon Valley"

很多人會將史丹佛大學與科技重鎮矽谷做聯想

which is where the school is located

因為矽谷就是這間大學的所在位置

and in fact it is largely because of Stanford

事實上，很大部分的原因是史丹佛大學

that the region is now the global capital of entrepreneurship and technology

造就了全球的科技重鎮–矽谷這個地方，使創業家與科技雲集

In the 1940s and 50s

在 1940、1950 年代

the university heavily encouraged students and faculty to start their own companies

史丹佛大學相當鼓勵學生和師資創業

eventually leading the companies like Google and Snapchat

這造就了像是 Google、Snapchat 這些領先群雄的大公司

and still today the school is known to produce some of the most successful entrepreneurs

直到今天，史丹佛大學仍因培育成功的創業家而為人們所熟知

A Stanford degree is extremely high demand

史丹佛大學的學位是人人所渴求的

and the school maintains the lowest acceptance rate in the country

但就美國的眾多大學而言，史丹佛大學的學生錄取率極低

It admits less than 5% of applicants

僅開放不到 5% 的申請者就讀

Much of Stanford's credibility and desirability come from an impressive list of alumni

因為一串串知名的校友，成就了史丹佛的信譽和威望

which includes Chelsea Clinton, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer and president John F. Kennedy

這包括了雀兒喜·柯林頓（美國前總統柯林頓之女）、梅麗莎·梅爾（雅虎執行長）、甘迺迪（美國前總統）

Even better than Stanford is the California Institute of Technology

比史丹佛大學排名更前面的是加州理工大學

also known as Caltech

也就是加州理工

The university is predominantly focus on engineering, technology and applied sciences

加州理工在工程、科技、應用科學上非常著重

In the 1930s, the university founded NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

在 1930 年代，加州理工創立了美國航太總署的噴射推進實驗室

which builds space robots and conducts astronomy missions

負責研發太空機器人以及發起各項星際任務

Caltech continues to manage JPL and the two work together on dozens of space missions

加州理工持續管理噴射推進實驗室，和美國航太總署協力完成數十項的太空任務

The school's faculty and the alumni include 34 Nobel Laureates

總計有 34 位師資群和畢業校友獲得諾貝爾獎的殊榮

and according to a 2015 study, more Caltech graduates go on to earn PhD than any other alma mater

根據 2015 年的統計資料，比起其他學校的研究生，加州理工的研究生會選擇留在母校攻讀博士

But the best university in the world is located outside of the United States

但第一名的世界頂尖學府並不在美國（因為上述第二、第三都在美國）

Oxford University in the UK is regularly ranked first

位於英國的牛津大學是第一名的常勝軍

Compared to Caltech and Stanford, Oxford is enormous

比起加州理工和史丹佛大學，牛津大學非常之大

with 44 colleges and more than 100 libraries

有 44 個學院和 100 多座圖書館

It's also one of the oldest universities with historian tracing instructions as far back as the 11th century

根據歷史學者指出，它同時是最古老的大學之一，在 11 世紀時便已出現

Oxford's ascension to the Top comes in part from its exceptionally high research income

牛津大學得以在頂尖中屹立不搖，部分歸功於它坐擁超高的研究經費

Between 2014 and 2015, charities, individuals and businesses funded nearly 680 million dollars into the university for research

在 2014 和 2015年之間，慈善機構、個人與企業就贊助了 6.8 億的研究經費

Oxford is also home to the largest university press, and one of the oldest and most prestigious scholarships - The Rhodes Scholarship

牛津大學同時也是最大校園出版社的故鄉，還設置了最久遠、最富盛名的羅德獎學金計畫

While there are many lists ranking colleges around the world

儘管還有很多世界頂尖大學在不同名單中

most tend to rank these three schools near the top

多數名單把上述三所大學列為頂尖中的頂尖

Although most of the top schools are in the west, a number of schools in China are quickly making their way up the list

雖然大部分頂尖學校在西方國家，有些在中國區域的學校正扶搖直上

Over the last 2 decades, China has invested more than 30 billion dollars in its best universities

在過去二十年裡，中國已經在其最好的幾間大學挹注了逾三百億美金

And it seems to be working

而且現在看來，那些錢砸得值回票價

The number of Chinese universities in the top 200 doubled in 2016

在 2016 年，中國的大學躋身前兩百名的數量明顯翻倍

with Beijing's Peking University ranking highest, although still only in 42nd place worldwide

在其中，位於北京的北京大學最高，但僅位居全世界第 42 名

Chinese parents are known to send their children to study in the United States

中國家長們喜歡把小孩送到美國讀書

However, with China's own universities on the rise

但隨著中國本土的大學名次逐年提升

we may someday see the tables turn

我們也許可以預見中國家長心態的翻轉

We can't do episodes like this without our sponsors

沒有贊助人的幫助，這集節目是沒辦法做出來的

And this episode is brought to you by Domain.com

這集節目是由Domain.com贊助的啦

If you're an entrepreneur, innovator or building a small business

如果你是個創業家、創新先驅者或正建立個小公司

Domain.com is the place to go when that next great idea hits you

Domain.com 是你有新點子時的最佳去處

Get 20% off, Domain.com's already affordable domain names and web posting

你可享八折優惠，Domain.com 已經可以接受網域名稱付費和網站張貼

when you use the coupon code 'Seeker' at checkout

只要你用折價券代碼 'Seeker' 結帳

When you think domain names, think 'Domain.com'

想要註冊網域名稱，想到 Domain.com 準沒錯

So the best schools don't seem to be a part of the Ivy League

所以顯然地，最佳大學不一定全是長春藤盟校（共有八所）的天下

but these eight private universities are still in high demand

但這八所私立大學還是可以招來不少學生

and taking millions of dollars every year

然後每年還可收數百萬美元

So why is the Ivy League so powerful? Find out in this video

到底為何長春藤盟校們如此強大？你可以從這支影片得知

Together the eight schools in dominance add up to nearly $120 billion dollars

這八所主導的大學總共吸收了 1200 億美金

that's roughly equal to the entire worth of the US state of Arkansas

相當於美國整個阿肯薩斯州的淨值

Harvard leads the pack by a large margin

其中領頭羊–哈佛大學收到的款項最多

reporting a nearly $40 billion dollar in 2015

在 2015 年就有大約 400 億美金

Thanks for watching Seeker Daily everyone, don't forget to like and subscribe and you'll get new videos from us everyday

謝謝大家收看 Seeker Daily，別忘了按讚加訂閱，這樣每天才能收到我們的新影片通知唷！