s/o Most Beautiful College Campuses

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Princeton and Yale will always be my top two in terms of campus beauty: Yale for the beauty of individual buildings and Princeton for the overall campus appeal.

+1,000

DC didn't like the “mismatched” and crowded architecture at Princeton. Quite a few newer (but not the newest) buildings were truly ugly and detracted from the more beautiful parts. And it felt like they were squeezed in haphazardly. But we loved having Nassau Street right there, and the art/sculptures on campus were fantastic!

DC thought Duke was much prettier. Same Gothic architecture but laid out in quads with a more spacious feel. The newer buildings seem to mirror the Gothic style in modern and interesting ways, and didn’t feel crammed in. And the gardens are gorgeous! Downside is no cute town within walking distance (except off of the Freshman campus on East - which also very pretty with completely different architecture than the main campus.)

Duke's campus is separated by a freeway.

We thought of them as two separate campuses. Each is self-contained and beautiful - and an easy shuttle bus ride to the other when needed.

It is not a freeway - I ran Campus Drive easily a thousand times and mostly it was bus traffic and I often ran on the road. How anyone could be so inaccurate is a mystery.

Any map will show you Duke East and West are separated by the Durham Freeway.

Again what a dumb comment. Campus Drive goes underneath the freeway. Have you ever been to Duke?

Why are you attempting to deflect something that is so readily apparent? There is a freeway that separates East and West campuses. Yes, there is a road that connects the campuses, but the campuses are not contiguous. This is not different from other schools like JMU, where there is an interstate dividing its east and west campus. I didn't claim you had to risk your life dodging cars and trucks to traverse from one to the other.

You can spend years on Campus Drive and never know the freeway exists. Again, don’t be stupid. I probably ran 1500 miles on Campus Drive - something you clearly did not do - and know every inch of it.

Shoutout from a fellow Duke grad who spends many hours of my 20s running back and forth between East and West on Campus Drive. Just remembering makes me feel young and strong again!

I do not understand this thread. Of course the campuses are not directly adjacent and there is a freeway that runs through the area that separates them. The fact that Campus Drive isn't that bad doesn't negate those facts.

If you actually were a student at Duke you would understand. Yes, there is an East campus and a West campus. And yes, there is a freeway in the vicinity. As you said, you can see it on a map.

But the student experience (and therefore the prettiness of the camps) has NOTHING to do with the freeway. Neil I read this thread, I forgot that it even existed.

How can that be, given what you see on a map? Because students move easily by shuttle bus (and in their free time, run/walk) from East Campus to West Campus via Campus Drive, which is beautiful.

The only time I used the freeway was when someone had a car and we went off campus or when my parents came to visit and again, we went somewhere off campus.

The freeway is literally not an element of campus in any way. If anything, campus Drive is more like Washington Road, which divides the main part of the Princeton campus from the engineering buildings, Frick, and the football stadium. EXCEPT Washington Road is well-traveled by the public - lots of local traffic, as well as students crossing back and forth. Duke’s campus drive is so separate from Durham and public traffic. It’s just a quiet, local road used by students and faculty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UC Santa Cruz, Yale, Amherst, Rice, Duke.

Santa Cruz is an absolute sh*thole.

It's been a while, but the last time I was there, the town was cute.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Princeton and Yale will always be my top two in terms of campus beauty: Yale for the beauty of individual buildings and Princeton for the overall campus appeal.

+1,000

DC didn't like the “mismatched” and crowded architecture at Princeton. Quite a few newer (but not the newest) buildings were truly ugly and detracted from the more beautiful parts. And it felt like they were squeezed in haphazardly. But we loved having Nassau Street right there, and the art/sculptures on campus were fantastic!

DC thought Duke was much prettier. Same Gothic architecture but laid out in quads with a more spacious feel. The newer buildings seem to mirror the Gothic style in modern and interesting ways, and didn’t feel crammed in. And the gardens are gorgeous! Downside is no cute town within walking distance (except off of the Freshman campus on East - which also very pretty with completely different architecture than the main campus.)

Duke's campus is separated by a freeway.

We thought of them as two separate campuses. Each is self-contained and beautiful - and an easy shuttle bus ride to the other when needed.

It is not a freeway - I ran Campus Drive easily a thousand times and mostly it was bus traffic and I often ran on the road. How anyone could be so inaccurate is a mystery.

Any map will show you Duke East and West are separated by the Durham Freeway.

Again what a dumb comment. Campus Drive goes underneath the freeway. Have you ever been to Duke?

Why are you attempting to deflect something that is so readily apparent? There is a freeway that separates East and West campuses. Yes, there is a road that connects the campuses, but the campuses are not contiguous. This is not different from other schools like JMU, where there is an interstate dividing its east and west campus. I didn't claim you had to risk your life dodging cars and trucks to traverse from one to the other.

You can spend years on Campus Drive and never know the freeway exists. Again, don’t be stupid. I probably ran 1500 miles on Campus Drive - something you clearly did not do - and know every inch of it.

Shoutout from a fellow Duke grad who spends many hours of my 20s running back and forth between East and West on Campus Drive. Just remembering makes me feel young and strong again!

I do not understand this thread. Of course the campuses are not directly adjacent and there is a freeway that runs through the area that separates them. The fact that Campus Drive isn't that bad doesn't negate those facts.

If you actually were a student at Duke you would understand. Yes, there is an East campus and a West campus. And yes, there is a freeway in the vicinity. As you said, you can see it on a map.

But the student experience (and therefore the prettiness of the camps) has NOTHING to do with the freeway. Neil I read this thread, I forgot that it even existed.

How can that be, given what you see on a map? Because students move easily by shuttle bus (and in their free time, run/walk) from East Campus to West Campus via Campus Drive, which is beautiful.

The only time I used the freeway was when someone had a car and we went off campus or when my parents came to visit and again, we went somewhere off campus.

The freeway is literally not an element of campus in any way. If anything, campus Drive is more like Washington Road, which divides the main part of the Princeton campus from the engineering buildings, Frick, and the football stadium. EXCEPT Washington Road is well-traveled by the public - lots of local traffic, as well as students crossing back and forth. Duke’s campus drive is so separate from Durham and public traffic. It’s just a quiet, local road used by students and faculty.

The Duke campuses are nearly 2 miles apart. The Princeton buidings you mentioned are a short walk

[Anonymous]

The answers on this thread 🤣😂

[Anonymous]

Kenyon, Middlebury, Sewanee, Yale, Richmond, Wash U, Vassar, Wellesley, Yale

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Middlebury, Sewanee, Yale, Richmond, Wash U, Vassar, Wellesley, Yale

Yale and Yale

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Princeton is still pretty but is rapidly getting overbuilt. Recent projects like the new colleges and art museum have turned their back on what made the campus special.

Agree with this. When we toured, my son said why are they making it look like every other college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Middlebury, Sewanee, Yale, Richmond, Wash U, Vassar, Wellesley, Yale

Yale and Yale

All lovely schools

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I've always thought that Virginia Tech, UVA and William and Mary have beautiful campuses and college towns.

UVA’s campus is average, and Charlottesville is a dump. I know I’m in the majority here on that statement, but I continue to be amazed by people who think Charlottesville is a cute college town.

I agree with you, 100%

[Anonymous]

Virginia Tech is what a university should look like. I love the Hokie stone buildings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia Tech is what a university should look like. I love the Hokie stone buildings.

That’s your opinion. I don’t like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kenyon, Middlebury, Sewanee, Yale, Richmond, Wash U, Vassar, Wellesley, Yale

Yale and Yale

My proofreading skills must be in decline. But I'd like to think my eye for beauty is still OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia Tech is what a university should look like. I love the Hokie stone buildings.

Agree 100%. We loved the Hogwarts feel of some of the buildings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Princeton is still pretty but is rapidly getting overbuilt. Recent projects like the new colleges and art museum have turned their back on what made the campus special.

Agree with this. When we toured, my son said why are they making it look like every other college.

We had the opposite reaction. Some of the newer Princeton buildings demonstrate that the school is keeping up with the times architecturally and not just trying to be a set piece.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Princeton is still pretty but is rapidly getting overbuilt. Recent projects like the new colleges and art museum have turned their back on what made the campus special.

Agree with this. When we toured, my son said why are they making it look like every other college.

Because the founder of Duke, James B. Duke, wanted it that way. He was building an elite school in the south and wanted it to emulate the schools of the north. Duke's Farm's is located in Somerville, NJ, less than 20 miles from Princeton. Princeton's Holder Hall is often seen as a possible inspiration for the Duke Chapel's architecture