On a more pleasant note: A most beautiful college campus list

momofthreeboys · October 2015

Unbelievable that I've seen all but a couple of these campuses and the list,in my opinion, a pretty darn good list.

http://www.greatvaluecolleges.net/40-most-beautiful-college-campuses-in-rural-areas/

Fourthmom · October 2015

I'm glad to see that St. Olaf is on that list. We toured it a year ago. It is absolutely stunning. My daughter didn't end up going there, but we absolutely loved the morning we spent visiting that school.

Pizzagirl · October 2015

Wellesley at 12 is indeed gorgeous, but rural it ain't. It's upscale suburbia.

Wje9164be · October 2015

Great list how about West Point. Not everyone's cup of tea but a beautiful campus

Joblue · October 2015

I visited Elon a few years ago with DD and while she didn't end up applying, we did think it was a stunning campus. I'm surprised it wasn't ranked higher.

northwesty · October 2015

I guess the "rural" definition excluded two of my favorites -- Indiana and Colorado.

Mr. Jefferson's Academical Village at #4 is a complete travesty. UVA is required to always be #1 on this list -- that's actually written into the U.S. Constitution.

compmom · October 2015

Surprised Bennington is only #38...

Charliesch · October 2015

Some colleges are mainly beautiful because of their landscaping and trees (such as Penn State). Some are beautiful because of the architecture of their buildings. Others are mainly beautiful because of their settings, with mountains and lakes.

Ruby789 · October 2015

I would not describe Evergreen State College as rural by any stretch of the imagination. And I find the buildings to be quite ugly. It is true that it is close to the Olympics and Puget Sound, so the location is near beautiful areas. But the campus itself has a lot of sixties and seventies style concrete block.

If Evergreen qualifies as rural, then I would replace it at #17 with Hope College in Holland, Michigan. Although there is a small town around it, the campus, and buildings are charming.

twoinanddone · October 2015

Boulder is more 'rural' than Wellesley. I noticed they didn't show any of these schools in the 'mud' season or even in a blizzard. If only every day at St. Olaf's was a beautiful fall day.

momofthreeboys · October 2015

At the end they describe how they defined rural - if memory serves me it was a area with less than 50,000 people.

panpacific · October 2015

"Most beautiful"? that gotta be very subjective ranking. Here's another one: http://www.bestcollegereviews.org/features/most-beautiful-college-campuses/

fractalmstr · October 2015

One vote for my own alma mater, Embry-Riddle Prescott. Great campus in a beautiful location!

NAU is another one.

bclintonk · October 2015

At the end they describe how they defined rural - if memory serves me it was a area with less than 50,000 people.

LOL. Wellesley College is located in the Town of Wellesley, Massachusetts, an upscale suburb of Boston located about 16 miles from the heart of Boston proper and completely surrounded by other suburbs including Newton, Needham, Weston, and Natick. Perhaps they didn't notice the other 4.7 million residents of metropolitan Boston surrounding Wellesley? Lovely town and lovelier campus, but "rural"? I don't think so.

carolinamom2boys · October 2015

2 of them are on my son's short list .

crepes · October 2015

My daughter's school is very high on both of those lists. It has all the features @Charliesch mentions above: beautiful historic buildings and architecture, landscaping, and natural setting with lakes on campus and hills surrounding it. We visited last weekend and with the fall foliage it was gorgeous.

Pizzagirl · October 2015

"At the end they describe how they defined rural - if memory serves me it was a area with less than 50,000 people."

That's so stupid - practically every suburb of a city would be "rural" then.

MiamiDAP · October 2015

I am happy that Miami made a list at #22. Pretty campus was one of D's reasons to attend there. Whatever makes them happy...she had great 4 years there. And our state of OH has few others, nice to know!

OHMomof2 · October 2015

For http://www.greatvaluecolleges.net/40-most-beautiful-college-campuses-in-rural-areas/

The point system we used in our ranking works as follows:

-Awards and Recognition: International accolade (2 points), national accolade (1 point), appearance on the National Register of Historic Places (1 point)
-Other Recognition: Inclusion on other noteworthy “most beautiful college campuses” list articles (1 point per list)
-Notable Features: Features, such as significant architecture, famous buildings, outdoor activity centers, farms, botanical gardens, arboretums, historical relevance, etc. (1 point each, or 2 points if there are several types of one feature, such as gardens)
-Location: If the location is of certain significance, such as part of a national park or forest, on a hilltop or mountain, forest, etc. (1 point)
-Student Enjoyment: Full-time student retention rates, as reported by College Navigator, above 75% (1 point) and 90% and above (2 points)

In cases where two or more schools have the same number of points, their rank order is determined by the schools’ affordability. The schools with lower net costs, as reported by the College Navigator Database, received the better ranking (lower net cost = lower number).

whereas this list: http://www.bestcollegereviews.org/features/most-beautiful-college-campuses/

Methodology

To create this piece, nominations were selected based on 1.) inclusion in dozens of comparable “most beautiful college campuses” list articles, and 2.) an informal survey of friends and colleagues both in and out of academia.

Picturesque natural features such as green spaces, bodies of water and arboretums were the key criteria, as was elegant architecture – and specific buildings and areas were then singled out for their outstanding looks. The ordering was selected simply on the basis of which, as a whole, seemed to be the most beautiful.

Of course, MY kid's school is top ten on the second list and only top 20 on the first, so the second's methodology is clearly better

northwesty · October 2015

"Of course, MY kid's school is top ten on the second list and only top 20 on the first, so the second's methodology is clearly better."

Clearly list # 2 is right. Since UVA is #1 rather than a ridiculous #4 on the other list.

donnaleighg · October 2015

funny, 4 schools in all in our family and all in the top 15. Guess that's what we value

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