Michigan #28??? Evidently they have never been to Michigan… Lol.
3 Likes
Looking forward to the “Chance Me” posts about shotgunning the top 30 most beautiful college campuses (as ranked by Travel & Leisure).
6 Likes
I was disappointed that Santa Clara University was not on the list.
2 Likes
This is a good idea, really. For now on, for any Chance Me post that mentions T10s, T20s etc, I am going to answer based on Travel & Leisure’s beautiful campus rankings. I think we all should. Then all CC’s regular Shotgun Shamers could make comments such as “What do Bard and Berry have in common besides a T5 ranking?!”
3 Likes
I have no idea what is the most beautiful campus in the USA. However, Stanford does have quite a beautiful campus and I am not surprised to see it on the list.
The quad and the chapel are quite attractive and might be two things that people think of when they think “Stanford campus”. The view from the top of Hoover Tower is quite nice.
There are also some things that you might not think about. One example is the cactus garden. I wandered into this by mistake at one point. Fortunately this was on the way home from class so I was able to linger for a while.
The campus is quite large and mostly bicycle friendly. I say “mostly” because there are trees that drop thorn balls. You might need to get special heavy duty inner tubes for your tires. Fortunately the local bike stores have these in stock (or at least did in the late 1970’s – are they allowed to change anything after we leave?).
Is some other campus more attractive? I have no idea.
2 Likes
Interesting - niche, which is student surveys, gives Berry a B+ - so not close to tops.
To each their own.
The usual suspects are on the list.
Most colleges have at least one Instagram-worthy building, with or without vines or plam trees, but whether all of the colleges on the list have an entire campus that reflects the cover shot, is another story.
Sewanee (The University of the South) was just ranked #1 on another list that a friend of mine posted to her social media (her kid attends). My thought is that they just periodically shuffle these lists and repost.
6 Likes
Ha ha its realy true
1 Like
Articles like this are nonsensical click bait.Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Besides, college is not a vacation. It is the bridge to the rest of your life. The beauty of the campus is irrelevant to its mission.
Obviously it is up to each individual and family to decide what to prioritize, but I think it is worth noting that college is going to be where you spend a large portion of four (or more) years of your life, and you don’t really know for sure how many active years you will get in total.
In other words, in my view it is important for young people to be aware they are not just waiting for life to start, it has already started. For that matter, I think that applies to HS kids as well, and so on. These years in school count at least much as any others you will live.
So while it is obviously not the only consideration, I think when possible, choosing a college you anticipate enjoying a lot just for the inherent value of those four years, in addition to the benefits you hope to realize in the future, is quite rational.
4 Likes
I guess they didn’t consider the service academies, but it’s hard to beat USM/NA for history and grandeur:
Perhaps, but it ranks very high on my list of criteria. DH and I often walked through the Michigan law quad at night just for a sense of magic, and the dorm we lived in could have been on the Hogwarts campus. Studying in that fantasyland enriched my experience then and my memories today.
Amen.
3 Likes
Maybe - but aesthetics, size, commute times and more often make up reasons why.
My son loved looking at the palm trees on his everyday and jones when he won a geography contest to identify like 40 or 50 trees on campus.
My daughter first eliminated schools due to sprawl (UGA, UF) that she thought were very nice and chose a compact one.
So it’s a bridge - but whether from mindset or getting to class time or things nearby, etc - it does matter to many.
So “personal” beauty does matter - but you are right, it is click bait.
No kidding. I am a sucker for Collegiate Gothic, even better with a dramatic natural setting, and so that campus gets full marks from me.
2 Likes
I don’t think the look of campus should be a HUGE factor, but I don’t think it needs to be entirely ignored.
I also think noticing upkeep can show if the school has money, or not sometimes, for facilities, etc. (note, that is different than “beauty” of course).
PLENTY of adults pick where they live based on geographic factors and certainly housing prices are based on location. The idea of colleges being entirely different is weird to me.
2 Likes
There was a thread a while back that asked if there were any modernist campus buildings you like, and I posted there how important the beauty of a campus is to me, so I will repost here for others who care about their surroundings:
I prefer all buildings on all campuses to adhere to Federalist architecture or, better, look like Gothic castles (I will give West Point kudos for that) – dream spaces with lots of manicured lawns and gardens. If I were choosing a college today, this would be my main criteria and was at the top of our list when choosing boarding schools for our son. If you’re going to spend four years in a place, pick a gorgeous one and that, for me, means no glass/steel/concrete monstrosities. I loved that part of Choate’s mission statement at the time emphasized that the school “inspires students to appreciate the importance of beauty and grace in their lives,” and the campus architecture certainly reflected that. To us, this was so much more important than the mundane metrics most here consider.
I think that these privileged educations in beautiful places should be doing much more than preparing kids for careers. Along the way, they should be reaching deep inside, touching students’ finer selves and stirring young souls to appreciate, well, “the importance of beauty and grace” in their lives. A school that understands this is a school that has its priorities straight in my book. I say, choose the school that values these finer things and whispers them into the curriculum among buildings that conjure the ghosts of places past. These are halcyon days; plenty of time for hardscape later.
1 Like
Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder! We thought Lehigh was the least desirable campus we toured from an aesthetic perspective. 26DD really disliked the heavy slope, the very grey buildings, the lack of true green space and seemingly anxious students. We toured on a crisp April day with bright blue skies and yet the campus still seemed dark and brooding. I can’t imagine the school in the middle of winter. On the flipside - I personally dislike Virginia Tech’s campus. It is way too grey and monotone for me. 24DD loved it so much and thought it looked like Hogwarts. She chose to attend and is still in love with the campus. Definitely why every school being considered has to be toured in person.
4 Likes
Interesting. I love modern architecture and typically find well designed modern spaces (particularly those that embrace outdoor landscapes and vistas) much more inspiring for creative thought and positive energy than traditional architecture. But, I find other forms of campus architecture beautiful as well. They just give me different vibes.
Where the two of us agree, is that the physical space one is in matters a lot to us.
3 Likes
I see what you mean. What a dump. Lol.
Certainly, if collegiate neo-gothic and Romanesque architecture, spectacular lake and (real) mountain views and a 230 acre arboretum are not your bag, then UW is not the place for you. You can have my spots in Tuscaloosa and Tucson; I’ll hold down the fort here.
Also, next time, or if ever, you visit, it’s not “the red square”; it’s Red Square. I wouldn’t want you to come off like a tourist.
5 Likes
Compact campuses are very underrated. The ease of getting around from place to place was very important to me in college.
1 Like
100% for my daughter - who also loved her campus even though I thought it was run down and unkempt. That’s why the sprawling schools - like UGA and UF were removed first. Florida State (much smaller than UF) - made the final four while UGA and UF came off after U Tampa (different issue there) amongst the acceptances.
Everyone is different as @cquin85 pointed out.
There’s many best campus rankings and there’s like 200 top 25 campuses 
@VTByTuition said they dislike Va Tech’s campus. I personally think it’s the nicest large campus in the country.
When we went to Maine, I visited Bowdoin - and even had my pic as my Facebook profile pic for a while. I thought it was blah. Most who talk about it talk about how beautiful it is.
We are all different in how we think.
1 Like