<p>Colgate is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous and got snow yesterday. S2 is at Oberlin, and I really don’t think its that pretty–it’s nice, but not gorgeous.</p>
<p>Smith is beautiful…just amazing
Scripps is pretty
Union(ny) is super cute</p>
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<p>I’m sure it’s a function of where I grew up and now live (east and midwest). Mission architecture, no matter how nicely done, doesn’t denote “college” to me. But that’s just me and my own personal taste. Nothing wrong with someone who likes / prefers that style of architecture. But the whole point, it’s like saying what’s the prettiest picture or the best song. Different people have different tastes, and unless you narrow it to an architectural style or a certain theme or feel, everyone’s just going to name his or her favorite campus and it all goes nowhere. What’s “prettier,” an English Tudor or a Frank Lloyd Wright inspired house or a Victorian with a wrap-around pouch?</p>
<p>“S2 is at Oberlin, and I really don’t think its that pretty–it’s nice, but not gorgeous.”</p>
<p>FWIW the campus always looked pretty darned nice to me, particularly in the Fall.</p>
<p>I’ll say it til I’m blue in the face - the prettiest college I’ve ever seen is Rhodes College. Coming close are Sewanee, Hamilton, Carleton, and Southwestern.</p>
<p>PSU. Certainly not the prettiest but pretty (surprisingly for me since I had never visited until my son became interested). Lots of snow yesterday and today. White blankets on orange trees…weird. BTW, PSU has an excellent music program…although it’s hard to get in.<br>
I also like Richmond, William and Mary. Didn’t like BC. Didn’t like Emory. Thought parts of UNC and UVA were beautiful.</p>
<p>^^I agree with Consolation. I grew up near Wellesley and BC and am not a BC fan at all. It has turned into a big sports school thanks to Doug Flutie. Known in the area as a big party school. Pretty enough but not gorgeous and there are better music programs elsewhere.</p>
<p>For sheer pretty factor - Colby, Bowdoin, UVA, William and Mary…but it is so subjective. Wellesley is pretty but is divided up by a road and funny open areas/gardens…I think it loses the college feel. </p>
<p>Funny that no one has mentioned Smith. Personally I am not impressed as there is no real campus feel, but usually people love it. Or maybe I missed the posting. However, the individual buildings have a summer resort feel to them - all those old houses are huge and pretty. Just not my kind of campus.</p>
<p>Ok, so shame on me someone did post re: Smith. Woops…</p>
<p>I have to agree that it’s hard to top Pepperdine. Almost every building has a gorgeous view of the Pacific Ocean. DD goes to Santa Clara (Which we also think is gorgeous…even with the “Mission architecture” it’s the beautiful gardens that we think make it gorgeous. BUT still…we have more pictures from our tour of Pepperdine than any other campus. I will say, I think the buildings at Bryn Mawr are beautiful.</p>
<p>Not fans of Pepperdine, which we thought looked exactly like a Marriott hotel. The views are wonderful, but all those hills!</p>
<p>I’ll give the prettiest vote to Principia College in Illinois. Its 2500 acres include forests, cliffs overlooking the Mississippi, and buildings designed by Maybeck. And to add to its charm, there’s an ongoing archeological dig of a woolly mammoth right smack dab in the middle of campus.</p>
<p>It’s not snowy, but another lovely campus is Lewis and Clark. We visited 20 small LACs and thought they all were appealing in one way or another. OP, have you visited many schools? I haven’t seen Lawrence U in WI but enjoyed the descriptions I’ve read. Music conservatory and probably lots of snow.</p>
<p>Colgate, Williams, Dartmouth, Stanford, UChicago, all beautiful campuses. Some parts of UVA and Northwestern are pretty but other parts of each campus are not at all attractive. And I love the Columbia quad.</p>
<p>I know it is only a tier 3, but my vote goes to Carthage right on the shores of Lake Michigan. Hope the link works,</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.carthageswims.com/men/images/Carthage-Aerial.jpg[/url]”>http://www.carthageswims.com/men/images/Carthage-Aerial.jpg</a></p>
![http://www.carthageswims.com/men/images/Carthage-Aerial.jpg[/url]](http://www.carthageswims.com/men/images/Carthage-Aerial.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
<p>I’m glad to have 2 kids at the most mentioned schools and 1 at one mentioned a few times. It is obvious that college ambiance matters.</p>
<p>Prospective students and their parents are going to be highly persuaded by the environment. Especially affluent parents. If a parent is going to fork over a large dollar for entrance, the parent will feel better if it “looks good.”</p>
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<p>Of course it is, but colleges understand that beauty is nevertheless important. Most campuses that I’m familiar with make an effort to present their most attractive face to the world, especially to prospective students. Nothing wrong with a pretty girl or a pretty campus – provided beauty is an addition to, not a substitute for, substance.</p>
<p>OP: Earlham College in Richmond, IN has a lovely campus, all beautiful brick buildings, and very well maintained. It does get cold and snowy there, of course. My D reports that right now the campus is on fire with fall color; gorgeous, she says.</p>
<p>After visiting colleges all up and down the East Coast with my niece, nephew, and two sons, my H and I saw University of Mississippi in Oxford (Ole Miss) last summer. Prettiest place ever, hands down.</p>
<p>Northwestern University’s Bienen School (formerly the School of Music) would certainly be reachable, and allows a non-conservatory music major, option to transfer into one of the other schools, and one of the most uniquely beautiful campuses in the world. True, some parts of campus have what many consider to be ugly buildings (the center), but the southern sorority quad and the northern fraternity quad, along with the MILE of pristine campus on Lake Michigan, make it pretty much the picture of beauty much of the year.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.enjoyillinois.com/illinoismediacenter/images/pics/HighRes/Chicagoland/northwestern_university.jpg[/url]”>http://www.enjoyillinois.com/illinoismediacenter/images/pics/HighRes/Chicagoland/northwestern_university.jpg</a></p>
![http://www.enjoyillinois.com/illinoismediacenter/images/pics/HighRes/Chicagoland/northwestern_university.jpg[/url]](http://www.enjoyillinois.com/illinoismediacenter/images/pics/HighRes/Chicagoland/northwestern_university.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
<p>That picture shows campus at its worst (only the ugly, middle part).</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s one bit like saying you want to marry the prettiest girl in some group! And in this case the OP is looking for a place that’s “pretty” in a particular way-- the sense of history, of proportion, solidity, and care, that comes with a beautiful campus, can be a huge part of an education. Truth is beauty, and a beauty can be an essential part of the study of truth.</p>
<p>Wellesley has the prettiest campus that I have personally visited.</p>
<p>Stanford is very beautiful too, but in a sterile or artificial sort of way - like Disneyland - everything arranged just so and not a piece of litter or cigarette butt anywhere in sight.</p>