LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The University of Wisconsin at Madison beat storied institutions like Harvard and Yale in terms of brand presence on the Internet in 2010, according to a survey released on Thursday.

The University of Wisconsin at Madison was deemed the top U.S. university in a TrendTopper MediaBuzz Internet analysis by the Global Language Monitor.

The list is compiled using a mathematical model to measure the “brand equity” of colleges in terms of their global impact on the Internet and social media during the year.

The University of Chicago came in second place for 2010, followed by Harvard, while Yale was ninth. Some other top-ranked universities, including Stanford, Princeton, and UCLA, did not make the Top 10.

Global Language Monitor president Paul JJ Payack said the survey also looks at the perceived value of an education at the different universities, and their popularity.

“The savvy consumer of the education market place appears centered on the price sensitive public ivies and technology-centered schools, as well as online alternatives,” Payack said.

“One aftermath of the recession is that consumers understand it is smart not to accept ‘retail pricing’ and that colleges are no different in this regard from any other institutions,” he said.

The Top 10 U.S. universities for 2010 according to the survey are;

1.University of Wisconsin, Madison.

2.University of Chicago

3.Harvard

4.Massachusetts Institute of Technology

5.Columbia

6.University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

7.Cornell

8.University of California, Berkeley

9.Yale

10.University of Texas, Austin.