“but the Spanish architecture with its red tile roofs made it feel more like a hotel or resort than an educational institution.”
yeah, we get that a lot. i liked it when I was there, but it’s a very common observation.
as to the comment that a poster’s son found Stanford’s campus “jarring” in the inconsistent architectural styles … are you sure your son saw Stanford? or Samford? because Stanford’s architecture style, use of consistent stone, tile and other materials, is about as homogeneous and consistent as you’ll find on any campus anywhere. like Connecticut College, Stanford looks like it was all built on the same day by the same guy using the same supplies.
if anything, it’s a knock on Stanford’s campus and people cite that very thing as the primary reason they find it boring.
I do admit that there is a country club feel on the Stanford campus … it is about as clean and manicured as they come.
but inconsistent? Stanford is the paradigm of the consistent and planned out campus. almost, arguably, too much so.
I like Vassar’s campus myself. Bryn Mawr is right there with it. Swat is also a nice one.