Ivy League universities are already shrouded in mystery to the average American, so just imagine how mysterious secret societies within the Ivy League must be! Students at Ivy League colleges have formed underground organizations since the inception of American higher education, and many of these have lived on through rites, rituals, and meetings that are elusive even to other students on campus. Sure, schools like Dartmouth and Princeton are full of exclusive organizations, but how many of them actually operate below the radar of campus at large? And what sorts of nefarious, arcane, or downright bizarre things do these societies do? Let’s take a look.

Secret Societies at Each Ivy League

Brown University

According to a 2023 podcast recorded by The Brown Daily Herald, “Societas Domi Pacificae, also known as Pacifica House, is one of the only secret societies that persists on Brown’s campus today.” Pacifica House was originally established in 1823 as “The Franklin Society,” which functioned as an alternative to the literary-debating society scene. Details are limited as to the goings-on of Pacifica House, but allegedly 15 prominent seniors are tapped to join the society each year, and the group lays claim to the impressive moniker “America’s oldest student secret society.”

Columbia University

Columbia is home to the inaugural chapter of St. Anthony Hall, a fraternity and literary society with ten active chapters across the nation. Founded in 1847, St. Anthony Hall accompanies the Nacoms and Sechems senior societies as one of three secret organizations on campus. With New York City at large drawing most students away from campus social life, these organizations contain members who are focused more on honing their artistic discipline and academic merits as opposed to out-right partying.

Cornell University

Cornell’s first president, Andrew Dickson White, was well-versed in the intrigue of undergraduate secret societies, as he was himself an alumnus of Yale’s Skull and Bones club (more on that later!). His tenure as president produced a rich legacy of secret societies on campus. Today, the Sphinx Head senior honor society (est. 1890) and the Quill and Dagger senior honor society (est. 1893) are among those that remain. These organizations place great emphasis on academic achievement and service to the Cornell community, and their membership rolls are anything but secret.

Dartmouth College

Famed for the variety of its undergraduate social life, Dartmouth unsurprisingly boasts a multitude of secret and not-so-secret societies. By some estimates, roughly 30% of seniors count themselves as members of at least one society. Some groups distribute distinctively carved canes for members to wield during commencement, but others are wary of such a display of affiliation. Among those societies that are truly secret, the Sphinx (est. 1885) and Dragon Society (est. 1898) are perhaps the most mysterious.

Harvard University

Harvard does not have secret societies in the traditional sense (nor university-recognized Greek life organizations), but the Harvard final clubs more or less check many of the secret society boxes. While most students know who is in which club, many do not know how members spend their time, or what they do in their enormous clubhouses when they’re not throwing parties. The Porcellian Club, founded in 1791, is the most secret and ancient of these clubs. They’re so secret, in fact, that they don’t let women step foot inside their Massachusetts Avenue clubhouse!

Princeton University

Much like their Crimson counterpart, Princeton does not have a lively secret society scene so much as its famed eating clubs conduct many of their proceedings in secret. There are, however, a select few secret societies that are so far underground, due to a historically tense relationship with university administration, that not much is known about them beyond their names: Phi, 21, and Foxtail. Princeton also boasts a chapter of St. Anthony Hall.

University of Pennsylvania

UPenn is yet another school that does not place a huge premium on secrecy, although campus is still home to countless senior honor societies that fill their membership rolls on the basis of such things as academic achievement, affinity, and post-grad industry. Friars Senior Society, founded in 1889, is the oldest of these, but members, who have to make significant contributions to the UPenn community during their undergraduate years to be considered, do not keep their affiliation a secret.

Yale University

More than any other school on this list, Yale has a campus culture that places great emphasis on secret society membership. The oldest and most influential secret society on campus, and perhaps in the world, is Skull and Bones. Founded in 1832, Skull and Bones lays claim to an incredible roster of famous alumni, or “bonesmen,” including three U.S. presidents and a Yale president. However, so much popular speculation has been levied against this group that it would be difficult to call them that “secret” these days!