That’s a beauty, as is Bates’, which @Lindagaf posted. Let’s do chapels shall we?
Here is Midd’s:
A different perspective for Bates
Wesleyan
Trinity
Williams
Amherst
Bowdoin
Conn
Hamilton
Hard to pick a winner. Don’t know where the OP went, but if they ever come back I’m sure they’ll be impressed with our efforts.
I’m a complete sucker for Perpendicular Gothic, so I know my winner. But they are all beautiful examples of their respective styles.
All beautiful, but Trinity. Looks more like a cathedral. It was, in fact, designed by the same architect who designed the National Cathedral in DC. Notice the similarities?
On east coast college visits last year, I started assigning a “Hogwarts score” to campuses for fun. My kid definitely liked schools that scored higher in that respect and also ones with traditional quad layouts.
NESCAC schools wouldn’t score very high in general compared to some other campuses we visited, but Trinity’s Old Walk area does.
Would love to hear which campus had the highest “Hogwarts score”!
Not to derail the convo too much, but probably Bryn Mawr and Mount Holyoke.
Good brutalism even at BMC though:
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That ship sailed 87 posts ago. 
I’m starting a new thread . . . .
That’s fair. Although similar in style, I can’t remember now if Williams’ is of the same scale as that of Trinity’s. If so, then I guess they’re both DQ’d from the chapel competition.
Appreciating this is a totally personal list that shouldn’t impact anyone elses decisions… for the ones we’ve visited…
School name | Campus rank | Town rank | Overall (order listed) | 5 words or less |
Bowdoin | 4 | 1 | 1 | Gelato. Interesting campus. Super town.
Hamilton | 1 | 4 | 2 | Love campus. Clinton is small.
Middlebury | 2 | 3 | 3 | Great campus. Love Vermont
Amherst | 3 | 2 | 4 | Buildings are hit or miss
Colby | 5 | 5 | 5 | All brick = Boring
Bates | 6 | 7 | 6 | Lewiston = dump. Maine +
Connecticut College | 7 | 6 | 7 | Seemed OK…but nothing special.
Apologies to all those offended by the ranking, and congrats to those we never visited.
These NESCACs may offer the most distinctive campuses (in no obvious order):
Trinity. No other NESCAC offers an equivalent to Long Walk.
Williams. I’d think twice before disagreeing with Thoreau. The Paresky Center is probably underrated as a campus gathering place.
Hamilton. Offers a choice of distinctly different atmospheres for dining, living, studying and socializing. Has two main glens on campus and a smaller, emergency back-up glen.
Love Thoreau, but I have to disagree about the new quadrangle with Paresky Center as its anchor:
I was just at Colby yesterday for the first time. The athletic center is jaw dropping. Miller library has the quintessential NE vibe, and all of the campus is very pretty. Yesterday was 83 and sunny during our visit, but we were trying to picture it in subzero temps with 2 feet of snow on the ground. Not a pretty picture! I’ve also visited Trinity, Tufts, Williams, and Wesleyan. My favorite is Colby.
Two feet?? Be more ambitious in your thinking! My kid, btw, felt like you did. Even when the snow came up to his dorm windows…
What he found toughest were the very short winter days, not the cold or snow.
Colby is the most northerly NESCAC, and therefore receives the least winter daylight from this group. Nonetheless, it might be worth mentioning that Waterville receives more winter daylight than, say, Portland, Oregon or Paris, France.
Love your description of the Glen collection. My dog and I walk them often, they seem to be more appreciated by non-students though.
For those interested in exploring Root Glen at Hamilton, the following article might be of interest:
Agree with this! It seems most descriptions of Hamilton include winter weather that is akin to remote Alaskan tundra. We have visited Hamilton in all seasons and are from an area with comparable winter weather. To me, Hamilton’s weather is “typical” NE or Upstate winter weather; no different than Maine (or VT) schools (maybe better), Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo (probably better). Many colleges one may choose in NE or similar regions have similar weather. Definitely overstated.
Based on a standard measure of winter cold (average January low temperature), the coldest NESCACs, from coldest to warmer, are Colby, Middlebury, Bates and Bowdoin. Hamilton, alrhough warmer than these schools, receives the most snow. Middlebury experiences the fewest sunny days annually.
Source: bestplaces.net
