Methods for preparing T cell populations useful for a variety of purposes requiring a highly active, long-lived T cell population. The T cell populations are enriched for: nave T cells (TN), memory stem cells (TSCM) and central memory T cells (TCM). These cell populations can be derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) by both: 1) depleting unwanted cell populations such as CD14 expressing myeloid cells and CD25 expressing cells; and 2) enriching for CD62L expressing memory and nave T cells.