Nicest college campuses?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I'm considering going to UT Austin, Vanderbilt and USC. I've also applied to Duke and Northwestern, but those are reaches for me.</p>

<p>I want to go to a school that has a good economics or business program, but also one with a nice campus. Of these schools, which do you think is the best?</p>

2

<p>They’re all different. You need to go on Bing and do a map search, using their “bird’s eye view” app.</p>

3

<p>“Nice” could mean many things to many people, including:

  • good weather
  • a beautiful or convenient setting (close to mountains, to water, or to urban attractions)
  • campus architecture in a style you prefer (Gothic? Georgian? Modern?)
  • low crime rates
  • etc.</p>

<p>Most colleges try to keep everything nice according to somebody’s definition.
A college president once said, the job of a university is to provide sex for the students, sports for the alumni, and parking for the faculty. So what are your priorities?</p>

4

<p>UT’s campus is crowded…too many students on a small campus.</p>

<p>USC is in a not-so-safe area…which isn’t too attractive, either.</p>

<p>Vandy has a lovely campus and Nashville is cool.</p>

5

<p>Architecture - Duke
Setting - NW
Leafiness - NW and Vandy</p>

6

<p>Duke has one of the best.</p>

7

<p>par72:</p>

<p>Regarding Duke, is it true that the town itself is not very good?.</p>

8

<p>Interesting to see all these Duke comments when in my opinion UNC - Chapell Hill is the nicest campus in the US.</p>

9

<p>^ … but Durham, not so much.</p>

<p>UNC - Chapel Hill wasn’t on the OPs list.</p>

10

<p>“Nice” is in the eye of the beholder! I can only speak for Vanderbilt (been there several times). I think it’s a great campus and Nashville is a fun town. It is fairly urban - lots of cool restaurants/bars nearby. However, my daughter didn’t care for it. She wants something smaller and more rural. So it’s all really subjective.</p>

11

<p>

UNC is far too eclectic architecturally to be beautiful, in my opinion, mostly due to its age. It doesn’t help that parts of campus feel a bit claustrophobic with slightly too many buildings in slightly too small a space. I’ll grant you that UNC has some nice buildings - Old West and Wilson, for example, and the forest theater. It also has some downright hideous ones (Davis, Hinton James, etc.). The Bryan Center at Duke is an eyesore, as are a few of the newer dorms, but generally it is a bit better about having attractive buildings. Coker is a poor substitute for the Sarah Duke gardens, as is Battle Park for the Duke Forest. </p>

<p>I would place UNC fourth in NC after Duke, Wake Forest, and Davidson and would consider it more charming than nice or beautiful. They’re all much prettier than NC State, though!</p>

<p>I will concede that the area around UNC is much nicer than the area around Duke. I’ll also concede that it’s nicer to see bunnies on campus at UNC than the squirrels and mangy cats one sees at Duke.</p>

<p>

Durham is the sort of place that’s much more attractive to grad students and young professionals than college students; most grad students at Duke will tell you they love it, but the attitude of undergraduates can best be described as indifference. It’s very cheap, has great food, and has access to a decent music scene; Durham has received high ranks for good housing, access to jobs, good food, environmentally friendly, etc. On the downside, however, parts of Durham are definitely sketchy, and it lacks a big club scene.</p>

12

<p>Vanderbilt’s campus is a national arboretum… So its quite pretty. Very naturey</p>

13

<p>If you’ve never been to UT Austin, here are some pics of the campus. It has several different types of architecture.</p>

<p>[Tower</a> at Night](<a href="http://www.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/images/Tower-%231-for-Rose-Bowl-championship-from-2-1-4’-Jan_-2006-copy.jpg]Tower"&gt;http://www.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/images/Tower-%231-for-Rose-Bowl-championship-from-2-1-4’-Jan_-2006-copy.jpg)
[Tower</a> during Day](<a href=“http://www.utexas.edu/ssw/dl/files/about-us/tower_sunset.JPG]Tower”>http://www.utexas.edu/ssw/dl/files/about-us/tower_sunset.JPG)
[Main</a> Building Facade](<a href=“http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/kut/files/201111/UT_Tower_Main_Building_Entrance.JPG]Main”>http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/kut/files/201111/UT_Tower_Main_Building_Entrance.JPG)
[Main</a> Building Loggia](<a href=“http://www.nomadicpursuits.com/storage/UT%20main%20bldg%20HDR%203%20-%20Version%202.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1286373253285]Main”>http://www.nomadicpursuits.com/storage/UT%20main%20bldg%20HDR%203%20-%20Version%202.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1286373253285)
[Battle</a> Hall](<a href=“http://farm5.static.■■■■■■■■■■/4023/4499598169_da90ac4ffa.jpg]Battle”>http://farm5.static.■■■■■■■■■■/4023/4499598169_da90ac4ffa.jpg)
[Sutton</a> Hall](<a href=“http://publicschool.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/004_sutton-CF057814.jpg]Sutton”>http://publicschool.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/004_sutton-CF057814.jpg)
[Waggener</a> Hall](<a href=“http://publicschool.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/018_waggener-CF057682.jpg]Waggener”>http://publicschool.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/018_waggener-CF057682.jpg)
[Texas</a> Union Building](<a href=“http://www.utexas.edu/universityunions/sites/default/files/texasunion.jpg]Texas”>http://www.utexas.edu/universityunions/sites/default/files/texasunion.jpg)
[Garrison</a> Hall](<a href=“http://farm3.static.■■■■■■■■■■/2432/3653808625_8bb6025d6d.jpg]Garrison”>http://farm3.static.■■■■■■■■■■/2432/3653808625_8bb6025d6d.jpg)
[Architecture</a> and Planning Library](<a href=“http://soa.utexas.edu/news/archive/20111118/images/battle_readingrm.jpg]Architecture”>http://soa.utexas.edu/news/archive/20111118/images/battle_readingrm.jpg)
[BiomEng</a> Building](<a href=“http://brochure.parsons.com/images/technology/UT_Main.jpg]BiomEng”>http://brochure.parsons.com/images/technology/UT_Main.jpg)
[Blanton</a> Art Museum](<a href=“http://www.terminartors.com/files/museums/1/1/1/11/Blanton_Museum_of_Art-Austin_TX-USA.jpg]Blanton”>http://www.terminartors.com/files/museums/1/1/1/11/Blanton_Museum_of_Art-Austin_TX-USA.jpg)
[Goldsmith</a> Hall Courtyard](<a href=“http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/4081/64211309.jpg]Goldsmith”>http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/4081/64211309.jpg)
[Norman</a> Heckermann Building](<a href=“http://www.structuremag.org/images/0911-f1-1.jpg]Norman”>http://www.structuremag.org/images/0911-f1-1.jpg) opened in 2011
[Student</a> Activity Center](<a href=“http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/users/dbt336/sac.jpg]Student”>http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/users/dbt336/sac.jpg) opened in 2011</p>

<p>There are also 3 buildings under construction:
-The $130 million [Computer</a> Science Complex](<a href=“http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/kut/files/201010/gates_complex.jpg]Computer”>http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/kut/files/201010/gates_complex.jpg)
-The $100 million new [Liberal</a> Arts Building](<a href=“http://sites.la.utexas.edu/lifeandletters/files/2010/09/UTLA-building.jpg]Liberal”>http://sites.la.utexas.edu/lifeandletters/files/2010/09/UTLA-building.jpg)
-The new $55 million [Belo</a> Center for New Media](<a href=“http://giving.utexas.edu/campaignreport2010/files/facilities_belo.jpg]Belo”>http://giving.utexas.edu/campaignreport2010/files/facilities_belo.jpg)</p>

<p>I’ve heard the Duke campus is really nice, but a lot of people don’t like how it’s so incredibly spread out. The buildings there are probably a lot more ornate. I’ve been to USC once, and that campus wasn’t that nice to be honest. I don’t know anything about the Vandy or NW campuses.</p>

14

<p>My favorites have been (in no particular order)</p>

<p>Occidental College
Trinity University Texas
Washington University in St. Louis
Kenyon College</p>

15

<p>No one campus is going to be the most beautiful to everyone. I know someone who loves Wake Forest’s campus because “all the buildings look the same”. Others call the campus “matchy-matchy” and prefer someplace with more architectural variety. Many people love Duke’s architecture; others say it’s dark and depressing.</p>

<p>What’s more important about a campus is what it’s like to live and study there. A campus with unattractive architecture can look very attractive when it is populated with a happy, intellectually curious student body.</p>