Most beautiful college campus is...?
 

Before we know it, we will be looking at colleges. While I know that the beauty of the campus is not the main draw of a school by any measure, it is a factor. We will be looking at schools with strong academics but not at all limited to the ivies. All womens schools are a possibility, too. Fodorites have often provided great info in the past so I am asking you opinions. Thanks so much.

Hofstra University on Long Island has a beautiful campus. It's academically sound, and its location is about 30 miles east of NYC and convenient to some of the best beaches ( the Hamptons and Jones Beach) in the country.

We love the U. of Wisconsin in Madison. It's on Lake Mendota, and sitting on the Union Terrace can't be beat.

One of the Seven Sister Schools, Sweetbriar. Sits on several thousand acres of the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.

Pepperdine
UC Santa Cruz
Stanford
Wellesley
Smith
Dartmouth
Bucknell
Miami (Ohio)
Duke
Northwestern
U Washington (Seattle)
Bryn Mawr
Williams
Washington and Lee

(Many of these are from Princeton Review's top 20 list, at least the ones I've visited, plus some I think belong in the top 20).

Perhaps a little bias, but Michigan State Univertity's campus (especially in the fall) is beautiful. The trees in full autumn glory along the Red Cedar River is simply gorgeous.

U of North Carolina in Chapel Hill gets my vote.

Furman University, just north of Greenville, SC, makes a fuss about its status as "one of the most beautifully landscaped public institutions in America." That's a quote I've read in several guides to American colleges and universities.

Meanwhile, Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga., is also quite lovely -- and oddly enough, for a look at it, rent Scream 2, which was filmed on the campus.

For a beautiful college campus in a beautiful city, I recommend Salem College in Winston-Salem, NC, which is also home to Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University, which is an historically black college.

I also have to give high marks to Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, NC, north of Asheville, for a beautiful college in a beautiful village set amidst some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the eastern US -- beautiful to the third power, in other words.

Unfortunately, many of the other higher education options in Western North Carolina tend to consist of rather bland modern buildings, although UNC-Asheville makes up for it by boasting botanical gardens as well as mature landscaping, plus its location in North Carolina's most architecturally diverse city, if not its most beautiful.

My alma mater, Tulane in New Orleans, has a beautiful urban campus. Lots of green space and beautiful oak trees.

Another thumbs up for LSU in Baton Rouge. VERY nice.

I debated about saying this but Sweetbriar is not a Seven Sisters college. All of the Seven Sisters are in New York or Mass. I have heard Sweetbriar is amazing though.

UC Santa Cruz.

Hofstra might be the worst campus in the US. It's bisected by the 8 lane Hempstead Turnike and the town of Hempstead could charitably be called the home of winos and latin gangs.

University of Kansas (no joke) in Lawrence, KS.

University of Colorado in Boulder. At the base of the Rocky Mountains, with amazing views of the Flatirons. The weather is beautiful, they never close the golf courses! It can snow one day, and be 70 and sunny the next! 300 days a year of sunshine! An hour and half to some of the best skiing in the world! Good looking students from all over the country as well!
Go Buffs!

Colorado State University has a beautiful campus. I agree with Lawrence...there is also a small college close by called Baker University in Baldwin, a very pretty little town. MSU is also beautiful.

Berry College in Rome, Georgia. Has a 28,000 acre wooded campus.

I'll vote for Miami of Ohio. Beautiful campus, great academics. I'm biased though since both our kids have attended. Daughter '01 grad, son a senior.

Frank

My vote goes to Pepperdine University just north of Los Angeles, on the coast.

It's in Malibu...along the Pacific Coast Highway, high up on a hill, with a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean.

UC Santa Cruz.

Dartmouth up in New Hampshire.

Hofstra...ech. What about Nassau Community College? Or Pratt...in the heart of Bed-Sty Brooklyn?

Michigan State University. The Red Cedar River is not only beautiful, but it also has a rubber bottom!

One of our girls went to Mount Holyoke. We visited every year in November for her birthday, staying in Northhampton. It was beautiful and leafy and looked just the way a New England college should look.

I stand corrected.

haunted, how could you leave Duke University off your list? That chapel is amazing.

Someone mentioned Furman University in Greenville, SC -- I'll second that! It's absolutely beautiful; set in the foothills of South Carolina near the North Carolina border, the school takes extra care to keep it always neat, well-tended and beautiful. The Rose Garden is a must-see and is often used for wedding photographs (this is according to our son, who attends Furman).

Another vote for UC Santa Cruz. If you haven't seen it, you have no idea.

Seven Sisters: Vassar, Radcliffe, Smith, Wellesley, Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke, Barnard.
At least that used to be the all girls "Ivies". Believe it or not I was taught those names when I was a little girl. Not that I ended up attending any of them. All in MA or NY except Bryn Mawr which is in Pennsylvania.

As for beauty. Looks like many of us vote for our Alma Mater. Here is to Michigan State University. The old campus has an Ivy look to it and the agricultural compenent to the university keeps the grounds looking beautiful. Walking on campus in the fall was majestic. LilMsFoodie

The most Beautiful West Point Military Academy,West Point New York 10996

ducks53, you would help us all if you gave us a little more sense of what your daughter is looking for in a school. For example, does she want to go to a relatively large school or a relatively small one? One in a small town, which may be beautiful but which she may find boring, or in a larger city where there are more cultural opportunities? Does your daughter want to go to a college espousing certain values (e.g., particular religious values or a sense of civic responsibility)? Does she want to go to a particular part of the country...or is there a part of the country that she definitely doesn't want to go to? What kinds of academic programs interest her? Give us an idea of your daughter's parameters, and we'll be able to offer better suggestions.

By the way, Seven Sisters schools aren't limited to NY and Mass. Bryn Mawr is in Pennsylvania. They're down to at least six, as Radcliffe is gone.

Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Gorgeous, gorgeous campus.

Hofstra - awful...

If you are looking for a college on the smaller side in the New England area St. Anselm College in Manchester NH is beautiful. As well as beautiful, it is also ranked among the top 10 for small, private colleges in the northeast.

Washington & Lee, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, sports stately red brick neo-Georgian buildings sitting atop a lush green lawn. The administration favors wimpy southeners, but the campus is magnificent.

Ugh, I was wrong too. Oh well. I also stand corrected.
I vote for Vassar, definately a Seven Sisters.
The worst is SUNY Albany.

On the West Coast I'd vote for University of Washington (Seattle), UC Santa Cruz, and UC Santa Barbara.

I have to agree with Kindra-Vandy is great!!! Of course I"m biased b/c I graduated from there. However, as a college/guidance counselor I have seen hundreds of schools. Some that stand out as being absolutely stunning (in my own opinion) are:
Dartmouth
Northwestern
Bryn Mawr
University of Richmond
UNC Chapel Hill
UCLA
University of Wisconsin Madison
Swarthmore

There are so many more. It just depends on what you are looking for and need/want in a school. If you have questions please email me at [email protected]. I"m happy to help in this area.

Villanova University in PA

I'll second the ugghh on SUNY Alabany - an incredibly sterile campus. I worked at Cornell for four years inthe 90's and walked to work acrosss the gorge and the old campus every day - it's a lovely camnpus but doesn't hld a candle to Vassar. I've probably seen no more than a few dozen campuses in my time but Vassar is remarkably beautiful as having high academic standards (and it is coed - yes.... about 35% men).

Hello,
I vote for Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. My oldest daughter just graduated from there and we loved visiting her for Parents Weekend and other activities. The campus is beautiful, has a traditional quad, and the fall foliage is stunning. Brunswick is a cute town with many great restaurants, including seafood and many different ethnic restaurants, such as Thia, Indian, Italian, etc. Brunswich is also located on Casco Bay, which is beautiful.
My younger daughter is at Emory, which I also think is stunning with beautiful white marble buildings. It's very different from the New England colleges. Other beautiful campuses we have seen during our campus tours are:
Connecticut College in New London, Ct.
Hamilton College in Clinton, NY
Colby College in Waterville, ME
Colgate University, Hamilton, NY
Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY is nice but not as nice as some of the ones I just listed.

My daughters did not care for the Syracuse U. or Lehigh campuses.

Academics are obviously the most important criteria but location and campus are important, too.

Bucknell University in Lewisburg PA.

Not only academically excellent, but a lovely campus set in the middle of Pennsylvania. Princeton University is also lovely. Not only is it one of the top schools in the nation but is also rampant with history. Both are set in charming towns.

It's been years since I visited but Vassar had a beautiful campus. It is now coed and has the added advantage (IMO) of being a reasonable train ride to NYC. So in the country, but not inaccessible. The campus of U Va looks beautiful in pictures.

http://www.virginia.edu/

The most beautiful college campus by far is Lewis and Clark College in Portland Oregon.