<p>Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford (and Columiba to a lesser extent) all have the academics I want. But which one has the aesthetics? I enjoy the city, but I prefer a cleaner city (I prefer DC over NY). Which of these college campuses will I enjoy the most? Assuming I have a choice.</p>
<p>You prefer DC but you haven’t included any DC campuses. Georgetown is a nice campus</p>
<p>Aesthetically, out of those you listed, I’d say Stanford probably is the best (but I haven’t visited, only from what I hear from other people who have). I heard Columbia doesn’t have too much of a campus, it’s too in-the-city. But note, this is just from what I heard, no first-hand experience here. If I had a choice for all of these, I’d probably go Stanford…but it’s hard to say no to Harvard/Princeton</p>
<p>edit: btw, imagine how much better the weather would be</p>
<p>Of the four I think Princeton is the most aesthetically pleasing. However, it is certainly not urban but is located in a small town, so if that matters to you than I’d opt for one of the others. Princeton is very serene, green, and basically looks/feels like a big country club. I think it’s considered to have Gothic architecture- lots of stone and arches and the like. Harvard has a nice consistent brick thing going for it and Cambridge is definitely more urban. When I visited Harvard it looked fairly clean, although it did have a ton of construction going on which kind of disrupted any semblance of cleanliness/serenity. Stanford looks nice, but it’s Mission Revival architecture isn’t my favorite (purely a personal preference)- that looks like a bunch of sandstone with red tile roofs. Stanford, however, also isn’t urban-- it’s more suburban. I can’t really comment on Columbia.</p>
<p>You make it seem like you’re already admitted to all of these universities…? </p>
<p>It really varies from person to person. I know many people think Stanford has one of the nicest campuses in the world. I wasn’t as impressed.</p>
<p>I am also certainly not a fan of Stanford’s architecture. Too plain and boring. </p>
<p>Pton and Harvard probably look better, but it’s all about your personal preferences.</p>
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<p>Just sayin’, Stanford’s campus is more, much more, than a few buildings. It’s an extraordinarily beautiful tree-covered paradise . . . if you take the time to explore it! Yes, I’m biased . . . I spent much of my childhood there. And unlike another poster (who shall remain unnamed :)), I LOVE the smell of eucalyptus . . . and it always reminds me of Stanford.</p>
<p>The architecture at Stanford certainly isn’t impressive, but it’s a great campus for being able to be active and outside, and for its gorgeous scenery. I wasn’t a fan of Princeton’s campus when I visited - it seemed a bit unapproachable.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your help. Allow me to clarify, I believe I have a chance at these schools and am deciding which to apply to for Restrictive Early Action. They all have the academics I want but I’m looking for which campus is most appealing.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t base your REA/ED decision off of the opinions of others, especially when it comes to campus preference. You’re best off visiting the campus, or if this is not possible, going through slideshows and videos displaying each campus. That will help you form your own personal opinion.</p>
<p>I agree with Pat1120, “beauty” is WAY too subjective. There were lots of times on our campus tour where I would think “Nice campus” and my son would say “Ugly campus!”. If you are still keen on this, google the lists for beautiful campuses put out by Princeton R. and others. Such as this -
[College</a> Rankings 2012: Most Beautiful Schools (Photos) - Newsweek and The Daily Beast](<a href=“http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/galleries/2012/08/05/college-rankings-2012-most-beautiful-schools-photos.html]College”>http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/galleries/2012/08/05/college-rankings-2012-most-beautiful-schools-photos.html)</p>
<p>If you are evaluating simply on visual aesthetic, I would rate from most appealing to least appealing: Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, Columbia. That does not at all reflect how I would rank those schools in terms of experience, academics or any other aspects but only in terms of visual appeal.</p>
<p>I definitely think that personally Harvard and Stanford are the best out of those two, but I’d like the weather better at Stanford. It depends on what you like… Stanford has that kind of old Mexican mission style, Harvard and Princeton are more traditional, and Columbia I’m not sure about. I definitely wouldn’t like a campus in the middle of NY.</p>
<p>kenyon, muhlenberg, college of wooster ,haverford, duke (most of the campus)</p>
<p>I have visited all the campuses the OP lists, and IMO Princeton is the best looking. Princeton is Faux-Gothic (but done very well). Harvard is a mishmash but the predominant look is red brick New England Colonial. Columbia is mostly urban Neo-Classical. And Stanford is mostly of the Taco Bell Modern style.</p>
<p>have you been admitted into all three OP? beauty is in the eye of the beholder. it is the least important factor in school selection.</p>
<p>Below is a quick categorical listing. Coureur is correct in his/her post. The top schools all have very different looks and feel, so it depends on what you prefer.</p>
<p>Gothic
Princeton
Yale
Cornell
Boston College
Georgetown
Duke</p>
<p>Colonial
Harvard
Dartmouth
Brown</p>
<p>Spanish Coast
Stanford
UCLA</p>
<p>Postmodern
MIT</p>