<p>caltech was gorgeous. pasadena is stunningly beautiful.
too bad it's impossible to get into and you never see the world outside of your study space.</p>
<p>I've never seen the campus in person, but Flagler College (St. Augustine, FL) looks really nice.</p>
<p>Ursinus College in PA is lovely. UC Santa Cruz is really nice too.</p>
<p>the nicest college i have ever been on is prolly loyola marymout in la.Also maybe even JHU and New Mexico TECH.</p>
<p>Ucsd is beautiful</p>
<p>absolutely magnificent</p>
<p>Visited: Lehigh University, Carnegie Mellon University, American University, George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, University of Virginia, Rutgers-New Brunswick, University of Pennsylvania, University of Rochester, Cornell University, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Lawrence University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, Princeton University, Bowdoin College, Boston College, Tufts University</p>
<p>The Good:
Virginia- everything matches (same orange-red brick, neoclassical architecture), the big lawn with the symmetical rows of columns going down the sides (the firewood outside the doors makes it seem almost colonial), the rotunda...I love grounds! I also happened to visit on a crisp February morning.</p>
<p>Northwestern- really a lot of ugly brutalist buildings mixed in with a few nice gothic ones, but the campus is VERY well-maintained, lush and green, lots of flowers and ivy, and the setting on the lake is fantastic</p>
<p>Cornell- very eclectic architecture, but such an expansive, rolling campus overlooking downtown Ithaca and the finger lakes. Everything well-maintained</p>
<p>UW-Madison- the buildings reminded me of Cornell...overall pretty, very eclectic (mainly neoclassical and Spanish mission, with some weird-looking red-brick gothic), lots of red and sandstone. Some really ugly buildings in there, too, but overall, very well-maintained, very bustling, lots of flowers and natural areas (there's one road that goes through the trees along the lake that's absolutely stunning), and of course, Lake Monona (or is it Mendota?)</p>
<p>Bowdoin College- super well-maintained, the insides of all the buildings are new, modern, attractive, and clean; the buildings themselves represent all styles: gothic, colonial, victorian, neoclassical, one really ugly baroque-ish building, modern, postmodern, but most are the same dark red brick, which ties everything together nicely. The campus is also the perfect size and perfectly spaced out, with loads of big evergreens</p>
<p>Boston College- every building has the same stately, almost over-the-top gothic architecture (BC was built at the end of the neogothic period, when things started getting too ornate); even the newer buildings have gothic overtones and all are made of the same stone (think old French farmhouse color); beautiful neighborhood and campus setting on the hill</p>
<p>Johns Hopkins- when I visited, I wasn't crazy about the school because everything was TOO quiet and perfect...the most well-maintained campus of them all; all buildings are the same red-brick Georgian; not even a speck of dirt on the sidewalks</p>
<p>Princeton- SOOOO many beautiful gothic buildings, including Whitman hall, which is new but (refreshingly) not postmodern at all; a good mix of other styles, notably the Woodrow Wilson school's beautiful modern (those words go together?) building; lots of eastern hardwoods throughout</p>
<p>The Medium:
UChicago- all of the buildings are super-traditional gothic (think Hogwards), which is beautiful at first, but then kinda suffocating; very crowded semi-urban campus is in a dangerous neighborhood</p>
<p>Lehigh- the buildings are the closest I've seen to that college stereotype: dark brown stone (or brick...I can't remember); gothic (but less ornate than BC or Chicago); loads of ivy and trees everywhere; campus is beautifully set on a steep hillside...however, the buildings are in need of restoration, one of the most poorly-maintained campuses</p>
<p>Carnegie Mellon- surprisingly attractive campus, given it's a techy school in Pittsburgh (no knock on Pittsburgh...I love the city); buildiings are a unique beige color; LOTS of open space and big quads, set on rolling terrain; would be considered "beautiful" if it wasn't for a few real architectural clunkers, including the infamous brutalist Wean Hall</p>
<p>Rochester- pretty setting on river; well-maintained; buildings are a uniform deep red brick; Eastman Library is one of the most beautiful buildings anywhere; however, the campus is smallish and lacks "wow" factor; architecture itself is nondescript (a mix between neoclassic, georgian, and gothic, I guess) other than Eastman</p>
<p>Georgetown- campus is small, cluttered, crowded, and a little dirty, but that's why I love it...it has lots of character; architecture is mainly gothic, with two grey stone buildings (they look like castles) and the rest dark red brick; love the setting over the Potomac</p>
<p>Penn- some beautiul buildings, including the modern home of Wharton, but the campus is very crowded, congested, and even chaotic, and I'm not a fan of Philly in general</p>
<p>Michigan- lots of pretty buildings, but Ann Arbor itself is not my favorite "college town" and again, lack of "wow" factor</p>
<p>The Ugly:</p>
<p>George Washington- what campus? It's in downtown DC, so there's no real campus.</p>
<p>Rutgers- well, maybe it's just because, as a Jerseyan, Rutgers is just like a continuation of high school, but I don't like the place; campus is very spread out (as in, they offer bus tours, not walking tours), with loads of nondescript Georgian buildings</p>
<p>American- architecture is neoclassical, and I think it was meant to resemble all of the neoclassical government buildings in DC, but it doesn't have the grandeur; the campus overall felt kinda depressed; great neighborhood, though...</p>
<p>Tufts- kinda like Lehigh, with lots of hills and some buildings that could use some touch-ups, though less architecturally beautiful...lots of nondescript brick modern and georgian buildings that look like municipal government buildings</p>
<p>Lawrence- small, dreary campus in Appleton, a small, dreary town; due to relatively small endowment/reputation, lots of the things they consider cutting-edge there are old news at top colleges; buildings are postmodern, art deco, and neoclassical and all are an ugly yellowish color</p>
<p>Overall, I'd rank 'em like this:
1. Virginia
2. Princeton
3. Northwestern
4. Boston College
5. Wisconsin
6. Cornell
7. Johns Hopkins
8. Bowdoin
9. Chicago
10. Penn
11. Carnegie Mellon
12. Lehigh
13. Georgetown
14. Michigan
15. Rochester
16. Tufts
17. Rutgers
18. George Washington
19. American
20. Lawrence</p>
<p>I think I just won the award for longest post ever.</p>
<p>WOW!! You visited 20 schools?? I am tired just thinking about it!! </p>
<p>We visited 13 with older s and 10 with younger s, but had several years break between the two! How long did it take to see 20 schools, and are your feet tired? :D</p>
<p>University of Notre Dame? Beautiful, also.</p>
<p>It took exactly one year, starting November of 2007 (junior year). We did them in clusters, kinda like mini-vacations (we live in Jersey).</p>
<p>November 07:
Drive to Bethlehem in morning for Lehigh tour, drive to Pittsburgh in afternoon, overnight in Pittsburgh.
Carnegie Mellon, drive to D.C. in afternoon, stay in D.C. overnight
Doubleheader: American in morning, GW afternoon, drive home at night</p>
<p>February 08:
Drive to Baltimore in morning for Johns Hopkins, then quickly to D.C. for G'town afternoon, overnight in D.C.
Drive to Charlottesville next morning, UVa tour, drive home all afternoon</p>
<p>March 08:
Spent long weekend visiting Penn and Rutgers (didn't need to stay anywhere but home for these!)</p>
<p>April 08:
Drive all afternoon to Rochester, overnight in Rochester
U of R next morning, then drive to Niagara Falls, then back down to Ithaca; overnight in Ithaca
Cornell all day next day, drive home at night</p>
<p>August 08:
First flight in the morning to Chicago (at like, 5:30 AM); quick drive to Ann Arbor from airport, tour UMich in afternoon, overnight in Ann Arbor
Early next morning (like, 3:00 AM) start ridiculously long drive to and through Upper Peninsula, down through Wisconsin to tour Lawrence in afternoon, then to Madison, overnight in Madison
Morning tour of UW-Madison, drive to Chicago, Cubs game that night :), overnight in Skokie (near Nwestern)
Morning/afternoon doubleheader of tours at Nwestern and UChicago next day
Fly home day after that</p>
<p>November 08
Spent a day of from school touring Princeton</p>
<p>LATER THAT SAME WEEK drove up to Brunswick, Maine for afternoon Bowdoin tour; overnight in Brunswick
Next day: drive to Boston for BC/Tufts doubleheader, then drove home</p>
<p>Well...that's all of it in graphic detail!</p>
<p>amazing that u of colorado boulder hasn't been mentioned</p>
<p>I would say:</p>
<ol>
<li>Dartmouth</li>
<li>Stanford</li>
<li>Princeton</li>
</ol>
<p>I've only been to see UC schools, and i have to say that the most beautiful to me was UC Santa Cruz.</p>
<p>I haven't read the 20 pages of this thread, but I want to give a mention to Brigham Young University. The buildings are OK. They are not what makes the campus so great. The natural setting is simply spectacular. The snow capped mountains seem to shoot straight up out of the campus.</p>
<p>There are a lot of campuses, mainly in the west, where the setting trumps the actual campus buildings. Haven't seen BYU, but others include:</p>
<p>U of Washington
U of Montana
U of Arizona
U of Colorado
U of British Columbia
U of Nevada-Reno</p>
<p>of what ive seen</p>
<ol>
<li>Georgetown (gorgeous architecture, cute college town)</li>
<li>Wake - great campus</li>
<li>Tufts (if youre into the cutesy, old campus feel)</li>
<li>BC - love the churches and its so close to Boston which is a huge plus</li>
<li>Elon</li>
<li>Emory</li>
</ol>
<p>ive also heard great things about duke, princeton, and stanford</p>
<p>and even though NYU isnt the prettiest to look at - its in Greenich Village which is the coolest place ever. Very eclectic - in a good way</p>
<p>scripps</p>
<p>tenchar</p>
<p>Hampden-Sydney
Washington and Lee
Davidson</p>
<p>Of the schools I've visited here's the order-</p>
<p>UVA
Georgetown
William and Mary
ND
GWU
American
Purdue
Indiana U.</p>
<p>tonytet? You thought Georgetown, GWU, American, and Purdue had more attractive campuses than IU? Did you visit IU at night?</p>