Most beautiful college campuses in VA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Out of stater here - W&M alum with a student there now - you have SO MANY beautiful campuses in Virginia!
What a wonderful array of public and private schools. Amazing

Agreed! As a Maryland resident, I'm envious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Subjective of course. I’m partial to campuses with (1) a recurring style and (2) a big open area. Virginia Tech, Radford, and University of Lynchburg. Don’t discount Randolph Macon.

+1 for University of Lynchburg

[Anonymous]

We hit up Radford, Roanoke, and Lynchburg recently and they were all very pretty!

[Anonymous]

Richmond, WM, WL in that order with WL distant third.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia Tech, JMU, Mary Washington, and Christopher Newport are my favorites.

I graduated from Mary Washington and always thought it was an incredibly beautiful campus. The planners, however, need to be careful not to overbuild the site or eliminate the open space and vistas that give the campus such character. I understand the need to modernize, but a lot of students love the school for its classic red brick architecture.

Totally agree. W&M is my favorite campus and UMW is a close second. Really don't like CNU. Felt sterile and soulless, like a corporate conference center.

same! it's beautiful, but felt like Disney or entering a bank - just overdone for college students.

UR is just gorgeous (thou lacking a common quad area).

reading this thread - I want to visit Mary Baldwin!

[Anonymous]

For both campuses and dorms, Radford and CNU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For UVA - imo Darden and the lawn side of campus is really pretty but there are also a lot of really ugly/not in the UVA style. Clemons, Arts and Architecture buildings and some of the STEM buildings come to mind. And their new buildings don't really look that much like UVA.

W&M has the same problem on a smaller scale, but it looks like with the dorm reconstruction on west campus and the replacement of older buildings by Swem they're trying to return to the colonial style again. The b school building was built maybe 10 years ago and looks gorgeous.

I like both campuses, probably preferring W&M overall, but I differ with you in that I think both both schools are too conservative with projects for my tastes. Darden was a mini version of the lawn in an area that is far removed from the lawn. I think a less traditional approach would have been better and more appropriate for modern business education. It is out of step with what other schools have done. W&M's business school is kind of a massive traditional interpretation of the 300+ year old Wren building, and again is far removed from it in location. I think another approach for that location would have been better. (Both of these complexes had the same architect.) UVA's South Lawn project seemed kind of silly to me. UVA agonized and debated over the project, replaced architects, saw a near revolt in the Architecture school. South Lawn was a complete misnomer. It is not visible from the Lawn as the view is blocked by Cabell Hall. It is located down a hill, across a busy street, and its site is in something akin to a gully. It didn't need to try to tie back to Jeffersonian architecture. I think Jefferson would want the school to move ahead in architecture.

Perhaps both schools are a bit gun shy because their modern architecture projects in the 1960s and 1970s were not good at all and they have been trying to fix and replace them ever since. However, those project might have failed because they were too conservative. Yale had notable modern projects in that time period that have become part of the fabric of the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia Tech, JMU, Mary Washington, and Christopher Newport are my favorites.

I graduated from Mary Washington and always thought it was an incredibly beautiful campus. The planners, however, need to be careful not to overbuild the site or eliminate the open space and vistas that give the campus such character. I understand the need to modernize, but a lot of students love the school for its classic red brick architecture.

Totally agree. W&M is my favorite campus and UMW is a close second. Really don't like CNU. Felt sterile and soulless, like a corporate conference center.

same! it's beautiful, but felt like Disney or entering a bank - just overdone for college students.

UR is just gorgeous (thou lacking a common quad area).

reading this thread - I want to visit Mary Baldwin!

Richmond may appear to be the nicest campus in that it doesn't have many weak areas, unlike most schools, but I don't think it has the strongest character overall. Like CNU it perhaps feels a bit contrived. Still, it is lovely.

[Anonymous]

Now that we've established that there are many beautiful campuses, what is the LEAST attractive campus in Virginia? My vote would be VCU

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For UVA - imo Darden and the lawn side of campus is really pretty but there are also a lot of really ugly/not in the UVA style. Clemons, Arts and Architecture buildings and some of the STEM buildings come to mind. And their new buildings don't really look that much like UVA.

W&M has the same problem on a smaller scale, but it looks like with the dorm reconstruction on west campus and the replacement of older buildings by Swem they're trying to return to the colonial style again. The b school building was built maybe 10 years ago and looks gorgeous.

I like both campuses, probably preferring W&M overall, but I differ with you in that I think both both schools are too conservative with projects for my tastes. Darden was a mini version of the lawn in an area that is far removed from the lawn. I think a less traditional approach would have been better and more appropriate for modern business education. It is out of step with what other schools have done. W&M's business school is kind of a massive traditional interpretation of the 300+ year old Wren building, and again is far removed from it in location. I think another approach for that location would have been better. (Both of these complexes had the same architect.) UVA's South Lawn project seemed kind of silly to me. UVA agonized and debated over the project, replaced architects, saw a near revolt in the Architecture school. South Lawn was a complete misnomer. It is not visible from the Lawn as the view is blocked by Cabell Hall. It is located down a hill, across a busy street, and its site is in something akin to a gully. It didn't need to try to tie back to Jeffersonian architecture. I think Jefferson would want the school to move ahead in architecture.

Perhaps both schools are a bit gun shy because their modern architecture projects in the 1960s and 1970s were not good at all and they have been trying to fix and replace them ever since. However, those project might have failed because they were too conservative. Yale had notable modern projects in that time period that have become part of the fabric of the school.

Whose buildings in the 60s and 70s turned out well? Those are always a monstrosity on any campus. Or very uncomfortable

[Anonymous]

I really found Radford to be completely depressing. Maybe it was the weather that day or the general way the students carried themselves, like they were all depressed and didn’t want to be there.

Agree that CNU seem superficially nice but that it also feels a bit forced — a small university shoehorned into a small city and surrounded by strip malls.

I liked William and Mary a lot and Williamsburg adjacent is a huge plus.

Sweet Briar is also picturesque but very small and eerily deserted when we were there.

DD is at UVA. Grounds have grown on me — especially the central area around the Lawn and the old dorms. But Charlottesville is kind of the pits.

Other DD is entering VT in August. The campus is quite uniform, maybe a not to its military roots? I wasn’t wild about the stone facades but it, too, is growing on me.

Agree JMU’s vistas are nice and I liked the size and feel of the campus. I-81 is there but I don’t think it’s much of a factor for students day-to-day.

I have heard decent things about Virginia Wesleyan but haven’t been there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Toured UVA this past fall. Agree it is going downhill and needs a good pressure washing. The secrecy society grafitii is definitely a turn off as well.

Either you didn't tour or you weren't listening. Those are benevolent philanthropic societies of great historical and financial importance to the university. They have raised 100s of millions of dollars for the welfare of UVA, Charlottesville, and financial aid. Please read and learn. It is considered a great honor to be tapped for one of them. They are secret because they teach philanthropy. In some of the societies, even the member's family don't learn their family member was a member and donated time and money to the University for decades following graduation. A wreath appears at the funeral. That is all. It's a great educational tool for everyone in Charlottesville and the surrounding areas. And by the way is a world UNESCO site. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_societies_at_the_University_of_Virginia. The only university in America that is. UVA is consistently ranked one of the most beautiful campuses in America: "UVA is regarded as one of the most beautiful and prestigious universities in the world. In 1987, UNESCO named the University (in conjunction with Monticello) a World Heritage Site. This rare distinction has been bestowed upon only the world's most culturally significant landmarks..

Please stop the UVa bashing. It's not constructive. My DD wasn't even a contender for it but as a Virginian, I am very proud of the 33 institutions of higher learning that we offer, as well as the Governor's schools. It's just not cool to bash like this, especially when it's clear you don't know what you are talking about.

DP. Good grief.

No, we’re all tired of the uva bashing. It’s the end of the admittance year. We get that your kids didn’t get in or didn’t have the stats to even apply but there’s no reason to keep making up generic nonsense just to make yourself feel momentarily good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For UVA - imo Darden and the lawn side of campus is really pretty but there are also a lot of really ugly/not in the UVA style. Clemons, Arts and Architecture buildings and some of the STEM buildings come to mind. And their new buildings don't really look that much like UVA.

W&M has the same problem on a smaller scale, but it looks like with the dorm reconstruction on west campus and the replacement of older buildings by Swem they're trying to return to the colonial style again. The b school building was built maybe 10 years ago and looks gorgeous.

I like both campuses, probably preferring W&M overall, but I differ with you in that I think both both schools are too conservative with projects for my tastes. Darden was a mini version of the lawn in an area that is far removed from the lawn. I think a less traditional approach would have been better and more appropriate for modern business education. It is out of step with what other schools have done. W&M's business school is kind of a massive traditional interpretation of the 300+ year old Wren building, and again is far removed from it in location. I think another approach for that location would have been better. (Both of these complexes had the same architect.) UVA's South Lawn project seemed kind of silly to me. UVA agonized and debated over the project, replaced architects, saw a near revolt in the Architecture school. South Lawn was a complete misnomer. It is not visible from the Lawn as the view is blocked by Cabell Hall. It is located down a hill, across a busy street, and its site is in something akin to a gully. It didn't need to try to tie back to Jeffersonian architecture. I think Jefferson would want the school to move ahead in architecture.

Perhaps both schools are a bit gun shy because their modern architecture projects in the 1960s and 1970s were not good at all and they have been trying to fix and replace them ever since. However, those project might have failed because they were too conservative. Yale had notable modern projects in that time period that have become part of the fabric of the school.

W&M has started a giant 10 year building/remodeling project. I think this is the first year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For UVA - imo Darden and the lawn side of campus is really pretty but there are also a lot of really ugly/not in the UVA style. Clemons, Arts and Architecture buildings and some of the STEM buildings come to mind. And their new buildings don't really look that much like UVA.

W&M has the same problem on a smaller scale, but it looks like with the dorm reconstruction on west campus and the replacement of older buildings by Swem they're trying to return to the colonial style again. The b school building was built maybe 10 years ago and looks gorgeous.

I like both campuses, probably preferring W&M overall, but I differ with you in that I think both both schools are too conservative with projects for my tastes. Darden was a mini version of the lawn in an area that is far removed from the lawn. I think a less traditional approach would have been better and more appropriate for modern business education. It is out of step with what other schools have done. W&M's business school is kind of a massive traditional interpretation of the 300+ year old Wren building, and again is far removed from it in location. I think another approach for that location would have been better. (Both of these complexes had the same architect.) UVA's South Lawn project seemed kind of silly to me. UVA agonized and debated over the project, replaced architects, saw a near revolt in the Architecture school. South Lawn was a complete misnomer. It is not visible from the Lawn as the view is blocked by Cabell Hall. It is located down a hill, across a busy street, and its site is in something akin to a gully. It didn't need to try to tie back to Jeffersonian architecture. I think Jefferson would want the school to move ahead in architecture.

Perhaps both schools are a bit gun shy because their modern architecture projects in the 1960s and 1970s were not good at all and they have been trying to fix and replace them ever since. However, those project might have failed because they were too conservative. Yale had notable modern projects in that time period that have become part of the fabric of the school.

Whose buildings in the 60s and 70s turned out well? Those are always a monstrosity on any campus. Or very uncomfortable

Yes, most of the first generation of modern buildings on U.S. campuses were not good. But I visited Yale recently and the Morse Colleges, Beineke Rare Book Library, ice hockey rink, and art museum additions have stood the test of time. Not much I can think of at Virginia colleges from that time period have stood the test of time. Current architects can do interesting modern buildings and can be more sensitive to context, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Now that we've established that there are many beautiful campuses, what is the LEAST attractive campus in Virginia? My vote would be VCU

VCU has interesting historical buildings in the Fan that it has acquired. Like other schools in Virginia, the stuff they built in the 1960s and 1970s, etc. were pretty bad, but the more recent stuff they have built is much better.