Founded in 1831 by Albert Gallatin, secretary of the Treasury under Thomas Jefferson, NYU has an undergraduate population of 40,000. Applications to this so-called "dream school" increased by 300 percent in the 1990s, and today the acceptance rate (14 percent) is lower than that of some Ivy League schools. NYU's Tisch film school is especially prestigious, having spawned directors Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone. NYU is the third largest landowner in the city.