OT: Campuses across the country.

Submitted by natesezgoblue on

I was in the Bay Area for work this week.  I had some extra time to kill so I decided to drive to Palo Alto and take a look at the Stanford Campus.  I couldn't believe how nice it was.  Everything from the architecture to the setting.  I've been to quite a few campuses on the west coast and this would rank as the best.

My question is what other campuses outside the B10 have you guys seen and how would you rate them?

I've been to these and would rate them is this order.

Stanford A+

Washington A

UCLA B

Hawaii B

Oregon C++

Oregon State C+

Temple C

WSU D

 

M-Dog

February 25th, 2011 at 9:19 PM ^

Michigan is not an A campus wise.  It's a mish-mash of styles, some of which don't look that great together (I'm looking at you LSA building along side the Union across the street from Angell.) 

Every once in awhile the campus tries to get on a roll with the unified look of brick and white cement trim, ala the Union, West Quad, East Quad, and now North Quad, but it is broken up all over the place.  The Law quad is phenomenal and the Ross B-school is bad ass, but they don't look like they are part of the same campus.

There is no central main focal point like the sweeping grassy lawn of Old Main at Penn State.  The Diag is mostly hidden and a little bit swampy.

The weather is the weather.  Eight months of the year are actually decent for a college experience, but Dec/Jan/Feb/Mar are cold, windy and gray.  The worst is actually March.  Dec/Jan/Feb are winter and you expect winter.  The snow can be very pretty.  But in March, you are ready for spring and it just won't freakin come.

What makes Michigan rank so highly however is the ultimate college town of Ann Arbor and how it is right at your doorstep.  There are prettier campuses than Michigan, but some of them get old fast, like Duke.  There are few places better to spend four years actually living there than Michigan/Ann Arbor.      

 

jmblue

February 25th, 2011 at 9:47 PM ^

I have to disagree about there not being a main central point - the Diag serves that purpose well.  IMO, the walk from the corner of State and North U through the Diag to the Engin Arch is one of the best strolls you can take on a college campus anywhere, especially when it's nice out.  

The campus is definitely a mix of styles, but it's gradually getting prettier.  (And I don't mind  some variety; Indiana's campus is 100% limestone and it gets a little monotonous.)  Most of the newer buildings fit in well architecturally (and the stadium renovations finally bring it in harmony with the rest of the campus).  The only big exception there are the B-school buildings, which are definitely out of place.  The newest one looks like it belongs in Arizona or New Mexico.

M-Wolverine

February 25th, 2011 at 10:05 PM ^

If you've been around it recently, it amazing the upgrades they've made. The Life Sciences section is beautiful (compared to the factory the area used to look like). But if you haven't been back in 10-15 years, and remember some of that awful construction, it might not hold fond memories. I mean, the Ugli isn't even ugly anymore....

Mgoblue2011

February 25th, 2011 at 7:05 PM ^

hard to be impartial but michigan is probably a legit A- with the combination of a great town and some awesome architecture (law quad especially) the only negative is the distance between some areas and that makes it not an A for me.

Wisconsin - A

Northwestern - B-

ND - Campus itself is an A+ but the surrounding town sucks so Ill give it an A-/B+

UChicago - B+

MSU - B

Hope - B

Miami Ohio - Like ND campus is cool but surroundings are weak... b+

Miami Florida - B+

Indiana - B+

Kenyon - A (amazingly beautiful place, check it out if you have the chance)

Virginia - A+... the gold standard for me

 

I3lackcell

February 25th, 2011 at 7:05 PM ^

Michigan - A

No need to explain.

Wake Forest - B+

As green as MSU, nice weather, nice campus in general, but no really close bars.

MSU - B 

Really green, but huge, and too spread out.

Loyola - B

Right on the water but too far from downtown to get the perks.

DePaul - B

Right in the middle of where you want to live.

Michigan Tech - C

Beautiful, but nothing to do other than winter sports.  Also there are no chicks.

Wayne St. - D

Lots of bums, surprised I was not shot.

 

ChiefLB

February 25th, 2011 at 7:21 PM ^

Using Ann Arbor as the basline:

Pepperdine: A+

NW: A

Wisconsin: A

Rice: A

Georgia: A

Cal: A-

Georgetown: A-

Arizona St: B+

Tulane: B+

Kentucky: B

Sparty: B

UCLA: B-

Michigan Tech: B-

ND: C

USC: C-

Miami: D+

 

I will never go to Columbus.

LandryHD

February 25th, 2011 at 7:25 PM ^

Indiana State- B- I currently go there, nothing real special but its real nice in the spring and summer.

Purdue- C-

Indiana- B+

Cal Berk- A-

LSU- D+ I just hate Baton Rouge, that place looks and feels dead to me.

Texas A&M- B+

Kansas- A+ Loved everything about KU and the parties were amazing.

Illinois- D-

Rose Hulman- B- Engineering school in Terre Huate, IN that looks nice.

 

estrombe2015

February 25th, 2011 at 7:36 PM ^

As a high school senior visiting college campuses have pretty much consumed my life for the last year or so!  So here are some of my favorites:

U of M: B+   Has what many others do not... a nice city that surrounds campus.  A nice combination of new and old buildings.  Kind of big and spread out though.

Northwestern: A-  Some people aren't as high on NU as I am.  I personally loved it.  The campus was nice and it is right on the length.  In addition, the surrounding areas are super nice.  Negative: its frickin' cold in the winter!

State: C  Well... enough said (possibly slightly biased)

.

Washington University in St. Louis:  A  OBVIOUSLY not a sports powerhouse, but a very beautiful campus and an ivy league-caliber education.  Campus known as the "WashU bubble" since it is separated from any kind of college town.  Most amazing dorm area I have ever seen.

Duke: N/A  I have never been on campus but have heard it is beautiful!  Hopefully I will be accepted and can go see it later this spring.  I love U of M but I am sort of ashamed to say that duke is my "dream school" ... and then U of M for medical school!

Ohio State: F  For fail.

justingoblue

February 25th, 2011 at 7:42 PM ^

Northwestern didn't do much for me. It had a lot of the tangibles (very close to home for me, on the lake, prestige) but the campus wasn't all that impressive apart from one of the professional schools. It must have been journalism, but I don't remember for sure. Their union building seemed outdated, but their geographical location is amazing.

justingoblue

February 25th, 2011 at 10:10 PM ^

I like the more central-oriented campuses. In the two schools I've attended (Pitt and IU) I've never had classes in three different buildings in a semester and I really like that. NU was nice, but too spread out for its size in my opinion.

Speaking of spread out, I absolutley hated the PSU campus. 

Cville-Blue

February 25th, 2011 at 10:48 PM ^

I lived in or near Evanston for 7 years. There is loads of stuff to do in Evanston... entertainment, fantastic food, natural beauty, shopping and great people. The fact that you can then just jump on the El or Metra and be downtown in minutes is gravy! You must have had a bad host or bad map while visiting.

M-Dog

February 25th, 2011 at 9:25 PM ^

Columbia:  Damn if they didn't figure out a way to put an actual college campus right in the middle of Manhattan.   It's small, but once you are off the street it's an actual college campus with grass and frisbees and students just hanging out.

NYU:  The exact opposite of Columbia.  There is no "there" there.  The only way you can tell you are on a college campus is by the purple banners hanging on some of the high rises.  Other than that, you can't really tell where NYU begins and where it ends.  (George Washington University in DC is like this too.)

Lehigh:  The entire campus is built on the side of a mountain along a winding switchback road.  No matter where you are, if you look down you see rooftops of buildings below you, and if you look up you see foundations of buildings above you.

Stanford:  I mentioned this above. Stanford is more Palm Springs resort than college campus.  It is very pretty in a country club sort of way, but it is not very college-y.  It does feel like there is money all about.

Cornell:  Cornell is one of those places that IS very college-y.   Built into gorges in the finger lakes region of upstate New York, it is a spectacular college setting in the fall.

Duke:  Duke is like going to school and church at the same time.  The entire campus is stone cathedral architecture.  It's pretty but it can weigh on you sometimes.  There is no break from the sameness.  Durham is meh at best and is far away.

Penn State:  Penn State is not unique per se, but from a Michigan perspective it is quite different from Ann Arbor.  Everything in Penn State is very clearly segmented.  On one side of the main road is the university, on the other side is the town.  Behind the town is the frats.  Behind the university off to the side is the athletic complex.  You always know where you are, never the twain shall meet.  It's not like Michigan/Ann Arbor where the town and the university are interspersed together all over the place. 

Virginia:  Virginia, personally designed by Thomas Jefferson, looks exactly what you would think the founding fathers had in mind for a university.  It's like a Colonial time-bubble.  Virginia is what Harvard looks like in your mind, until you actually visit Harvard and are a little bit disappointed by it.

WolverineinSB

February 25th, 2011 at 8:04 PM ^

I would say Indiana- A+ but i go there and it feels like home even tho im from South Bend.

Notre Dame- B-/C+ its just really small and not nearly as special as people make it sound.

Michigan- A i love going to games up there. Its a great atmosphere.

Pepperdine is by far the best A++++++. Words dont describe it

M-Dog

February 25th, 2011 at 8:31 PM ^

I like to "collect" college campuses.  Every time I am in a new city or town, I make it a point to visit the local college campus and hang out. 

I get extra points if I can get into their football stadium and on the field.   This used to be a lot easier pre 9-11.  You could walk on into the stadium and on the field at just about every school.

Just curious for the folks who just gave letter grades to campuses, what were your personal observations that led to those grades?

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

February 25th, 2011 at 10:31 PM ^

I'm with you.  I love visiting college campuses and usually do try and at least mosey around if I'm somewhere and I have the chance to.  Since you asked:

- Virginia: obvious bias, but I'd have given it that grade the first time I visited as a HS junior.  Beautiful buildings, beautiful landscaping, beautiful landscapes, scads of history, gorgeous style throughout, easy to get around.  The buildings don't overwhelm with their size.  Brick sidewalks everywhere.  Very light vehicle traffic.  Excellent college town.

- Cornell and UGA also epitomize "college town" for me.  UGA is very similar in many respects to UVA.  Cornell has that amazing Gothicy architecture and beautiful natural features all around.

- Washington is incredible.  It's in a big city but it feels like a college town.  Again, beautiful architecture, and the mountains are fantastic.  They really knew how to take advantage of their surroundings when they built that place.

- Some schools like Maryland, Penn State, and Syracuse have certain parts of campus, the older parts, that are really cool, and they get ugly as you leave those areas.  The part of town that surrounds Cuse is real iffy.  College Park is a suburban dump and State College has nothing there.

- Harvard is really neat inside Harvard Yard.  And Cambridge is busy, busy, busy.  Almost too busy, actually.

- Minnesota is big.  It's got a really nice main mall area and a couple other nice parts but otherwise it's awfully urban, the buildings are just huge, and the south side of campus across the Mississippi is like the North Campus at Michigan - an architectural mistake.

- The service academies are nice but utilitarian, although I'm a huge fan of the USAFA chapel.

- Boston College would be graded higher if it were bigger.  It's surprisingly small.  Same for the Citadel, minus the surprise.  The Citadel is kind of your stereotypical old military academy, which I like.

Schools I want to see, in no real order:

- Notre Dame

- Virginia Tech (blasphemy, but all the buildings are the same style, very military-academy looking, and it actually looks like it'd be really neat.)

- Missouri.  (The six columns left over from the burned-down building are cool.)

- Penn

- Ohio University.  My mom took my little brother on a college visit and says it's a lot like UVA.

- Miami (NTM.)  Been there once, in the dark.  Looked nice and people always have nice things to say.

- Texas

- Delaware

- Indiana

- North Carolina

- Iowa

- Iowa State

- Colorado

- Utah

- Stanford

- Oklahoma

Beavis

February 25th, 2011 at 9:17 PM ^

Mizzou B+

Michigan State C+

Notre Dame B

Northwestern B+

Virginia A++

North Carolina A-

Duke A

Florida State B

USF F (commuter school)

Michigan is an A+ and Virginia is the only campus that I've been to that is "nicer".

Ed - I forgot that I live in St. Louis and SLU is an easy F and Wash U is a solid B+. 

Beavis

February 26th, 2011 at 12:59 AM ^

No it is too far west (Olivette?).  I get too drunk and too rowdy.   I either watch with buddies at my place (neighbors hate me) or around Washington Ave. if there is a big Mizzou/Illinois game going on (when I can still watch Michigan and then hang out after to catch the other game). 

 

u?

Broken Brilliance

February 25th, 2011 at 9:15 PM ^

M-A+

EMU-C-....I've been commuting there for four years, and yes Ypsi is a shit hole but due to sheer proximity to Ann Arbor some of that charm rubs off.

UCF-B...only saw it at night time, but does have some nice buildings and cool people/nightlife

SVSU-D....took a visit to saginaw with my parents, tiny campus with tiny dorms that had several buildings under constructions

UIC-B...flew threw it and it looked pretty nice

UW-Oshkosh-C-

UW-Green Bay-B+

WMU/Kalamazoo College-D+...meh

 

...parents and extended family are renting a place in Palm Springs next week...so looks like I'm missing out on the chance to see UCLA and USC

Bosch

February 25th, 2011 at 9:28 PM ^

Michigan, A+

Michigan State, B

Penn State, B-

Northwestern, A-

Iowa, C+

Illinois, C+

Harvard, A

Florida, A+

Florida State, B+

Miami (FL), B-

Notre Dame, B-

To be honest, it's hard to remove my experience on the respective campus when basing my ratings.  Also, I didn't get much further than the tailgating lots and football stadiums of some of these.

 

Geaux_Blue

February 25th, 2011 at 9:29 PM ^

Michigan A
<br>MSU B+
<br>CMU C
<br>WMU D
<br>GVSU C+
<br>Tulane B
<br>LSU B
<br>Purdue C-
<br>Miami (OH) B+
<br>ND A-
<br>NMU C
<br>UNC A
<br>WUSTL A-
<br>Illinois B
<br>GRCC N/A
<br>Univ Phoenix A+

big gay heart

February 25th, 2011 at 9:33 PM ^

Schools I've attended:

Miami University: A -

San Diego State: C -

University of Oregon: B+

Schools I've been to:

U of M: A-

UCSD: B

University of Washington: A-

Ohio University: B-

MSU: B-

Oregon State: C+

UCLA: B+

USC: C

San Francisco State: B

Wsetern Michigan: C

Central Michigan: C-

 

ST3

February 25th, 2011 at 9:33 PM ^

UCSB: A+, I like UCSB the most of the SoCal campuses. I don't understand how anyone graduates from that place. I would spend all my time at the beach.

Pepperdine: A-, I worked across the street from Pepperdine for 9 years. Having a window view of the ocean ain't bad. But, there's no campus there. There's really no place to hang out except for a small outdoor mall type place. I did see Nikki Sixx there.

UCLA: B, there are some nice spots, but really it's just too crowded for my tastes.

USC: C, imagine going to school at the University of Detroit. It's sort of like that. Much too urban for me.

CalTech: A-, It's alright, but Pasadena gets way too hot for me.

UC Irvine: B+/A-, I think they filmed one of the Planet of the Apes movies there, so it gets extra points for that.

Georgia Tech: C, same as USC

Harvard: B+, I like the old buildings and historic charm of the surrounding area.

MIT: C-, I know, it's just down the street but you can tell it was built much later than Harvard and has a real cold, impersonal feel to it. I'm an engineer, but I didn't feel like I was going to Mecca when I visited MIT.

Nebraska: F, just wanted to take a potshot at them before they fully join the B1G. Seriously, we drove past the stadium on a cross-country trip and it's just blah.

DoubleB

February 25th, 2011 at 9:39 PM ^

prettiest "campus" and best "setting." Pepperdine's "setting" is ridiculous. The only thing it's missing are the Beach Boys singing on the beach 300 yards away. I'd argue UC-Santa Barbara is even better (parts of campus are literally ON the beach). Neither, however, has a campus, buildings, or architecture that exactly wow you.

The most underrated / unknown might be the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken. Unbelievable views of Manhattan--you almost feel like you can touch the Empire State Building.

 

maizenbluesooner

February 25th, 2011 at 9:52 PM ^

Michigan: A+

MSU: B to B-

Oklahoma: C. It's not really a part of the surrounding town- which isn't much of a college town anyway- and the stadium is just plopped in the middle of campus. And there's no visitor parking to speak of.

Northwestern: B because of its location on the lake.

Central Michigan: D

Central Oklahoma (grad student there): C, looks exactly like Central Michigan

Ohio State: F times infinity

Bowling Green: C to D

Eastern Michigan: C

Western Michigan: B to C

Michigan Tech: B, small campus and gorgeous yet remote location

Northern Illinois: C+

Indiana State: D to E because it's in Terra Haute, Indiana

Notre Dame: Strong B

Colorado: A to B, like someone said, like Michigan only with mountains

Albion College: C, appealing quaint small college feel but the town smells funny

North Texas: Okay, i've never visted it, but I've driven past it and every time I do, I point out that they have a more-than-epically-horrible football team.

BlueAggie

February 25th, 2011 at 9:57 PM ^

Wow, the first two grades to come in for A&M were a B+ and a B-.  I was all set to give it a C-, and figured I'd still get accused of shilling for my employer.  We really have no natural beauty to speak of, and a distinct lack of greenspace (despite being a huge campus).  Most of the pre-WWII buildings are attractive, but kind of quirky.  The buildings that were constructed from the 50's to the 80's could probably be swapped with those of a Soviet campus somewhere and no one would notice.  We are undergoing a miniature building boom at the moment, and most of those are large, interesting looking buildings.  Definitely an improvement on the previous standard.

Some other campuses I've visited while down here:

Texas - B-

Some attractive buildings, but very closely packed together.  Also, whenever I've been there, it's felt sort of run-down and a little trashy.

Rice - B+

Very quiet for an urban campus.  Was there on a weekend, and honestly it was too quiet.  Fairly pretty though.

Houston - D+

Went to a Houston Dynamo game last year (they play on campus) and UH is in a rough part of town.  They have a couple of new buildings that look nice, but I was unimpressed overall.

UT-Dallas - F

Just a travesty.  It's an odd mix of modular classrooms and unbelievably ugly buildings.

 

bronxblue

February 25th, 2011 at 10:26 PM ^

UM - A = not just the campus, but the surrounding areas are great for running/active lifestyle.

MSU - B = they'll talk it up as a great campus even though it isn't, but it does have some aesthetic charm.  Plus, the river through campus is pretty nice.  E.L., though, is about as generically ugly as you can imagine.

Harvard - A- = Obviously a great school but is very cramped.  Cambridge is a very cool town and Boston obviously rocks, so they benefit from the proximity a bit.

MIT - A- = See Harvard above, but a little more space.  The infinite corridor does mess with you.

BC - B+ = Very cool little campus considering about 3/4 is on a hill.  Near Boston helps.

UWashington - A = Just an awesome campus and the views are astounding.  Stadium layout may be the prettiest in the country.

OSU - C = Just meh.  Far worse than MSU in terms of layout, and there are areas around the campus that would scare the sneer off of Dantonio's face.

Columbia U - B+ = Currently a student, so maybe a bit bias.  Campus itself is VERY cramped, but you can get anywhere in the city via the trains and Morningside Heights has some charm.

ND - B- = Just nothing special.  The campus itself is beautiful in the fall, but there is nothing else there to do.  Plus, they played Rudy in their bookstore on a loop, so they lose points for that.

Fordham U - A-= A very cool little campus, especially given that it is smack-dab in a not-great part of the Bronx.

NYU - C = You only know it exists because of the banner that hang from windows.  A great location, but very meh buildings.

UChicago - B- = admittedly only there once at night, but seemed quaint.  Definitely not a place you want to be alone at night, but okay right near the school.

GVSU - B = Seemed nice.  Rolling hills and all.  Kind of like State, but less Sparty-fueled idiocy.

 

Cville-Blue

February 25th, 2011 at 11:20 PM ^

Using B as my average or a meh... because... well, because its my opinion and I can.

First rating is on campus alone. Second on surroundings (town/city and beyond).

UM - A-/A (lived there, attended)

UVA - A-/A (live there now). Campus is beautiful and historic. Landscaping is a discredit to the University. Charlottesville is amazing, including the natural beauty surrounding the town.

MSU - B+/C (lived there, attended). Beautiful landscaping. Architecture is unimpressive. E.Lansing... well, lets just say I'm glad I don't live there any longer!

ND - B+/C-

NW - B+/A (lived there). Evanston and access to Chicago are great!

UNC - A/B  Chapel Hill is a pretty neat place, just not much to it

Duke - A+/D  Durham = terrible; Campus is absolutely beautiful

IU - A/B

UI - B/B+

Purdue - B+/C-  Was surprised, after hearing about how horrible Purdue was for years, at how nice the campus is

VMI - B/B+  Lexington is a cool little town

USMA - A-/C-  West Point is an impressive place to visit

USAFA - B-/B  Architecture is meh, but the surroundings are beautiful. The Springs is urban spraul meh

UW - B-/A

NCA&T - B-/D

N.Ill - C+/C+

SIU - B/C

W&M - A-/B+

JMU - C+/B-

Loyola (downtown Chicago) - B+/A  Great location! Lots of fun to be had

 

 

MMBhorn

February 25th, 2011 at 11:27 PM ^

Penn State: C

Notre Dame: C+

MSU: B+

Cornell: A-

Northwestern: B+

San Diego State University: A

UC San Diego (A long time ago): C+/B-

NMU: C- (Everything about Marquette except campus is great.)

CU Boulder: A+

 

readyourguard

February 26th, 2011 at 12:12 AM ^

UofM - A.  The feeling was confirmed this week when I took my son up for a visit and we toured the campus.  If you went there, you have an emotional attachment to the university that I can only assume other people get when they visit their alma mater.  Only theirs sucks compared to ours.

MSC - C.  It's like one giant Dollar Tree

Notre Dame - B -love the quad and the stadium.  The dorms are hot and small (spent time there at a football camp in the summer of 83).  Football Saturdays are pretty electric.  The grotto is nice too.

Wayne State - D.  Yikes

UCLA - A.  I'm originally from SoCal so I have a biased opinion.

USC - C.  If you attend a school where kids on the football practice field get hit by a stray bullet, your school sucks.

Pepperdine - A.  When you can sit on the front lawn of your school and peer out over the Pacific Ocean, your school doesn't suck.

Oregon State B- Of course it rained while we watched Oregon State beat UCLA back in 89.  The students tore down the goal posts and carried them up and out of the stadium, right through campus.  That was pretty cool.  The buildings had an Ivy League-ish appeal to them.

Stanford A - I like the California architecture with the red tile roofs and stucco siding. 

Cal Berkeley B I thought some of the buildings reminded me of Angell Hall and other Michigan buildings.  But...you know how sometimes a smell or aroma immediately reminds you of a specific time or place.  Well Cal Berkeley falls into that catergory for me, and not in a good way.

Ohio State C cuz it's in Ohio and it blows......and it's in a capital city which generally screams "dump."

Ohio B - I didn't spend any time on campus but we drove past it on our way to North Carolina last year and I thought it was situated in a very picturesque setting in a valley in one of the few hilly regions of Ohio.  Maybe the sun was hit it just right...I don't know. 

 

 

 

 

Tshimanga Cowabunga

February 26th, 2011 at 12:33 AM ^

Michigan: A. The only thing holding it back from an A+ is the disconnect between Central and North Campus. Fantastic place to go to school

MSU: B- Looks pretty but is too spread out and really only has one spot to go out thats worth anything. Also some of the dorms are down right scary

PSU B I really liked the campus. Beautiful new campus center and its all built up on one hill area. A lot of housing off of one half while the athletic campus is on the other side.  Not a great city but still a lot of fun to visit.

OSU D- Fuck getting full beers thrown at you off balconies as you walk to a game. And apparently you're gay for drinking Sam Adams instead of Natty Light... good times.

Purdue B- Okay campus but nothing to do there and in the middle of nowhere

Fordham B+ Surprisingly nice campus in the Bronx and their Manhattan Campus is small but in a great area right by Lincoln Center and Central Park

NYU C There is no campus but just being in that part of NYC is a lot of fun

Columbia B+ Manages to put a nice campus in a not so nice area. Just a subway ride away from anything. 

Wisco B. I really wasn't that impressed with the campus parts that I saw but it was definitely a fun time.

Iowa- C+ Just there for a football game but I didn't like it at all. Kinda trashy

ND- B Beautiful campus with nice buildings and a great spot to walk around but South Bend is just awful as a city. 

Harvard B+ Nice, small, pretty campus with good architecture and everything self-contained. 

MIT B+ Very weird looking campus but I like it. A lot of strange history that is intriguing to me.

George Mason C+ Not a very nice looking campus. Granted I visited after the DC blizzard last year but its far out from really anything.

 

acarrick

February 26th, 2011 at 12:59 AM ^

Michigan: A

UCLA: A- slightly cramped, but being able to wear shorts and a t-shirt in January is awesome.  Much more hilly than I expected


Illinois: B+, love greek row and their bar scene.  They also have white castle inside their stadium

Wisco: B+, not the biggest fan of urban campuses, but Madison is a pretty fun place

Iowa: B, Girls were surprisingly good looking 

Purdue: C, fairly average.  Enjoyed the trains giving tours while I was there

Michigan State: C-, too spread out.  

Northwestern: C-, based mostly on their athletic facilities.  

Arkansas: D-, built into the side of a huge hill.  Only one work out facility for the entire campus.  Architecture is vomit inducing.  Residence halls look like they were built in the 70's.  The entire campus also smells like its deep fried.

OSU: Flush twice, its a long way to Colombus 

jb5O4

February 26th, 2011 at 1:17 AM ^

Michigan - A
UChicago - A- (area is too dangerous)
UC Boulder - B (town is cool but campus is bland)
Colorado State - B (nice views)
Air Force - B+
Tulane/Loyola New Orleans - B+ (Mardi Gras floats pass down your street)
LSU - C+ (I really hated Baton Rouge and that campus)
NYU - NA (I couldnt really tell what their campus was my friend just pointed to some buildings that looked like all the other buildings in Manhatten.

Princetonwolverine

February 26th, 2011 at 10:48 AM ^

90 % of Princeton looks exactly like the Law Quad. Agree with some others UC- Santa Barbara holds classes on the beach -how do you get anything done there?

mgoblue0970

February 26th, 2011 at 11:20 AM ^

 

 
Isn't the point of rating "campuses" the campus itself?  
 
USC's campus itself is very nice... cannot help they are located smack in the middle of a warzone.  Ann Arbor would give their left nut to have something like Galen Center.
 
Just like Boulder is very nice considering the surrounding community has a tenuous relationship with the campus at best.  I wouldn’t knock CU just because half the people in the city like to protest for the sake of protest without knowing what they hell they are talking about.
 
Regarding the Air Force Academy, sure the architecture is meh -- but the cadet area is very condensed and therefore not much to look at... and while the average snotty little brat graduating from there these days knows more about collecting metrics and PowerPoint than leadership, people who would rate that campus low have never seen all the community outreach (scouting, sports camps) that goes on there during the summer and at very nice facilities.  Nor have they taken trips up StanleyCanyonor Eagle Moutain.  The USAFA gets an A in my book.
 
George Washington U. / B
 
UCF / B. Experiencing tremendous growth, lots of money being dumped into the place, 3rd largest undergrad enrollment in the nation... the new dorms look like condos at some resort somewhere.
 
Arizona State / B-
 
EMU / C-
 
tUoOS / F minus minus.  The biggest shithole on the face of the Earth.  Pyongyang is nicer than Columbus.  When I look at Columbus, I actually begin to doubt my Faith. 

Maize and Blue in OH

February 26th, 2011 at 11:46 AM ^

Stanford - A

Berkeley - B+

San Jose State - C

UCLA - B

USC - C+

CMU - B-

EMU - C

WMU - C

MSU - B -

Northwestern - B

Indiana - B

Penn State - B-

Minnesota - A-

Wisconsin - A-

Marquette - B

Cincinnati - B

Xavier - B-

BGSU - C

Cleveland State - C

Case Western - C+

Harvard - A-

MIT - B+

Providence - B+

Brown - B+

Texas - B

Stetson - B

Depaul - C

Loyola (Chicago) - B-

Maryland Eastern Shore - B-

Ponypie

February 26th, 2011 at 11:54 AM ^

1. Cornell, as long as you're not there under five feet of snow (even then it's beautiful)

2. SDSU and USD in San Diego: The latter has superb architecture and a view of the Pacific that's the equal of Pepperdine (another great spot)

3. UNC and Duke: Both really beautiful settings, especially Duke, which is like living in part forest/part botanical gardens. Plus the climate has long high points during the school year. Chapel Hill is a good surrounding environment for the university (Durham not so much).

4. Among the Big Ten/Eleven/Twelve etc., Madison is my choice for best, with Michigan and Indiana following, then Happy Valley and Northwestern.

There are also some small schools (e.g. Bowdoin in Maine, the Naval Academy and St. John's in Annapolis) that are really picturesque.