<p>I don’t understand what makes Yale fake, though. Its not like its cheap, or has poor facilities, or if you look behind the appearance its really just cardboard cutouts being propped up like a movie set.</p>
<p>It sort of sounds like a strange sell to me. “Sure, they might be more beautiful, but we’re authentically ugly.”</p>
<p>And that’s obviously exaggerating the point, because UPenn isn’t ugly, but I don’t see any problem with a school that’s built in a gothic style. Its the style of the school, it was built very beautifully (with the exception of a couple spots of modern architecture) and its full of great facilities. Even if its an imitation of something else, isn’t all (decent) architecture an imitation of something else?</p>
<p>I’m obviously biased because I chose not to apply to UPenn (I didn’t like the feel of the school) and got into Yale, but “its fake” seems a little weak to me. Although I agree exactly with the person who was surprised everything at Yale was like 4/5 size of how they imagined it.</p>
<p>I’ll flat out say Penn is nowhere near the prettiest campus, among Ivies or otherwise. It doesn’t have the imposing beauty of Princeton or Yale. It doesn’t have the charm of Harvard (though one could argue Harvard is rather…uniform and stale). The urban elements of intersections and sidewalks can really detract from the overall feeling of an overall beautiful campus; but Penn still has a unique kind of beauty. It’s very different, and I find it’s charm comes from the unique character of the campus layout itself: that it is on a grid, and that it harkens back to the days when many of the walkways were thoroughfares for cars.</p>
<p>There are the obvious architectural standouts: the Quad, College Hall, Fisher Fine Arts. There are a number of nice buildings, nothing particularly awe-inspiring. But that’s okay to me, because what really makes it great is that it almost feels like a village. The buildings lining Locust remind me of a village lane. Especially in the spring, with trees full of leaves and sun piercing through, Locust is magnificent, pretty, and peaceful. It filters out onto College Green, which really resembles a park to me. It’s the little details that stand out to me, the little scenes here and there that collectively add up to creating a the cozy feeling of a miniature town.</p>
<p>Of course, there are some really hideous parts of campus. The Highrises, Stouffer/Mayer, Commons and that whole brutalist catastrophe, DRL–they’re awful. But pretty much everything east of 38th is great. I even find Van Pelt to be a lot more agreeable than most people seem to find it. I especially love the little walkway near Lippincott that leads up to the Annenberg Public Policy Center. It’s not about the striking scenes of magnificently awe-inspiring towers and fortresses. It’s the atmosphere that’s beautiful. The picturesque spots that combine to make a really unique, distinct campus.</p>
<p>Yale and Princeton are very pretty, no doubt about it, and I’m not one of those people who say that the fact that they’re not actually that old detracts from their beauty (although I will say that they lose points for originality :-P). They are not, however, even close to Oxford or Cambridge…now those are beautiful universities. None of the Ivies can claim the obsessively manicured lawns, the meticulously planted scholars’ gardens, or the gently arching bridges over a river sporting swans and punters. Indeed, it’s not the buildings alone, it’s how the campus feels as a whole (to support what CAPA says above, with which I agree wholeheartedly).</p>
<p>(This is not directed at anybody in particular, but we should also note that Yale and Princeton are perhaps some of the more notable Gothic-inspired campuses in the country, but by far not the only ones…Duke, BC, Bryn Mawr, Washington, parts of Michigan, and many others also lay claim to imposing Gothic architecture. It’s not as though the Ivies have a monopoly on it, or that it is any more or less beautiful for being on an Ivy League campus.)</p>
<p>We just got back from graduation, and the campus really struck me positively this trip. The weather was good, which helps. To do the graduation walk down Locust Walk is worth it all. That is just a really cool thing for the grads. And Franklin Field is beyond compare. If Alabama’s football team played there, it would be even more fun!</p>
<p>When I’m on Locust Walk, I feel as though I’ve been transported to another world. It’s our haven. It’s our citadel. It’s home.</p>
<p>I love the different building styles. I love the way the campus is so contained, and yet within a city. And, I like to know that despite the urban campus, I can always escape to the biopond, should I need to forget about the outside world.</p>
<p>I think that I’m not alone in feeling this way. Move-out day was pretty emotional this year. I miss Penn terribly, and there’s really no place I’d rather be.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your son! I remember my commencement trip down Locust Walk…ahh memories.</p>
<p>I also remember the part I nicknamed “the walk of death” as they had you pass by representatives of past classes, from the year prior through the 2000s, 90s, 80s, 70s, 60s, etc…watching the alum reps get older and older…it is at once funny, a bit terrifying, and very humbling. </p>
<p>All of this has happened before…all of this will happen again</p>
<p>As pennalum right stated, its very hard to be impressed by HYP when comparing them to the ox-bridge campuses which HYP is primarily based on. Not only do they look much much better from outside but even inside the buildings of oxford the architecture and the atmosphere is something unparalleled.</p>
<p>Infact, the circular building on the on the right edge of the photo (second link of pennalum) is the actual oxford library the Bodleian Library [[url=<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bodleian_Library.jpg]]Error[/url”>File:Bodleian Library.jpg - Wikipedia]]Error[/url</a>] and everyone will agree that that library is probably one of the finest in the world though Furness obviously comes close. No library/building in HYP is as fine. And it is really magnificent inside too with its numerous basements and intricately architectured/designed reading rooms. Mindblowing. Just sitting in the reading room with its various different historical artifacts and symbols and walking in the truly majestic courtyard i got a very different vibe as i did when i visited the campus of Brown/H/Y/Stanford.</p>
<p>PS- Before someone argues and refutes my claim of actually seeing the Bodleian from inside (as ONLY oxford students and faculty have permission to go inside) i just want to add that that was one privilege being called for an oxford interview i guess (but i HAD to read the declaration of the Bodleian too!)</p>
(but i HAD to read the declaration of the Bodleian too!)</p>![http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TrinityCollegeCamGreatCourt.jpg]File:TrinityCollegeCamGreatCourt.jpg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TrinityCollegeCamGreatCourt.jpg%5DFile:TrinityCollegeCamGreatCourt.jpg){kind=link}
![http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_mid_eastern_side_of_radcliffe_square.jpg]File:The](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_mid_eastern_side_of_radcliffe_square.jpg%5DFile:The){kind=link}
![http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bodleian_Library.jpg]]Error[/url](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bodleian_Library.jpg%5D%5DError%5B/url){kind=link}
