4. NYU: Largest Private Research University in the United States

Founded on April 18, 1831, NYU is now one of the largest private universities in the world and the largest in the United States. NYU’s first semester started with 158 students. Now, there are 50,000 graduate and undergraduate students who attend NYU. These students currently come from every state in the union and 133 foreign countries.

The campus is still expanding after 188 years, far beyond its main campus in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The campus has three degree-granting campuses in New York City, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai. There are also study away sites in Africa, Asia, Australia Europe, North and South America.