NM

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Just off the top of my head so I'm sure I'm missing some that I've been on, but my top 10 campuses I've been on would be:

1) Pepperdine
2) Stanford
(Big Gap)
3) Santa Clara
4) UCLA
(Big Gap)
5) UC Santa Barbara
6) Boston College
7) University of Washington
8) Rice University
9) Xavier
10) University of Texas

Stanford is truly a beautiful and impressive campus.  The turn off for us was that is something like 8,900 acres, and so it seems a little bit isolated in a sense.  We found out that 96% of students stay in on-campus housing for all four years.  Seemed a little too self-contained.

[warriorchick]

Sometime soon a person’s looks change.

(See Kaitlyn Jenner & ZFB as examples)

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Only if you like strip malls, hey?

I mainly appreciated the sidewalks.

[Galway Eagle]

How is ASU not #1 on everyone's list.  Beautiful scenery there, aina.

Beautiful campus. The classrooms look like they have comfortable seating.

[4everwarriors]

Seams like dey got no air conditionin' in dem classrooms two, aina?

[GooooMarquette]

Stanford is truly a beautiful and impressive campus.  The turn off for us was that is something like 8,900 acres, and so it seems a little bit isolated in a sense.  We found out that 96% of students stay in on-campus housing for all four years.  Seemed a little too self-contained.

Yep. My daughter’s best friend just finished her masters at Stanford and lived on campus the entire four years of undergrad and her year of grad school. Part of the reason most students stay on campus is the size, but the cost of surrounding real estate is ridiculous as well.

Now she has a job at the nearby Google campus. She couldn’t afford any housing in the immediate vicinity, so she had to opt for “affordable“ housing in San Francisco. Mind-boggling to think that a nice apartment in San Francisco is the more affordable option.

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Yep. My daughter’s best friend just finished her masters at Stanford and lived on campus the entire four years of undergrad and her year of grad school. Part of the reason most students stay on campus is the size, but the cost of surrounding real estate is ridiculous as well.

Now she has a job at the nearby Google campus. She couldn’t afford any housing in the immediate vicinity, so she had to opt for “affordable“ housing in San Francisco. Mind-boggling to think that a nice apartment in San Francisco is the more affordable option.

Congratulations to her!

[GoldenEagle323]

Does anyone know if Butler has a nice campus?

[warriorchick]

Does anyone know if Butler has a nice campus?

It's okay.  It's in a really nice part of town, but the dorms are pretty spartan, although they do have newer upperclassman apartments that have balconies that look over the football field.   They have a very nice rec center.

Hinkle is the best thing about Butler's campus.

[Benny B]

It's okay.  It's in a really nice part of town, but the dorms are pretty spartan, although they do have newer upperclassman apartments that have balconies that look over the football field.   They have a very nice rec center.

Hinkle is the best thing about Butler's campus.

This is a gross over-simplification, but a good way to describe Butler is to think about what MU would look like if it had UW-Milwaukee's location and a basketball arena that looked exactly like the one in Hoosiers.

[MU82]

Back in the day, I only visited one school...so my list is:

1. Marquette

In more recent years with my daughters, the campus setting/aesthetic/feel would be something like:

1. Vanderbilt
2. Mizzou
3. Yale
4. Northwestern
5. Yale
6. Arizona State
7. Marquette
8. Minnesota
9. NYU

Before anyone debates #6, I will point out that my daughter was looking at Journalism schools, and ASU’s J-school is in downtown Phoenix, a few miles from the main Tempe campus. She ended up at Mizzou, which has a better J-school and a great campus. My other daughter went to MN, and had a terrific experience despite the blah campus.

Goooo, is your daughter still at ASU? If she has graduated, is she now active in journalism? If so, doing what? If she's still in school, what does she hope to do with her journalism degree?

As a former journalist who has watched with sadness as it has become more and more difficult for people to make an actual living in the industry, I am always curious when I hear about young people opting for J-school.

Obviously, I wish her great success and good fortune.

[GooooMarquette]

Goooo, is your daughter still at ASU? If she has graduated, is she now active in journalism? If so, doing what? If she's still in school, what does she hope to do with her journalism degree?

As a former journalist who has watched with sadness as it has become more and more difficult for people to make an actual living in the industry, I am always curious when I hear about young people opting for J-school.

Obviously, I wish her great success and good fortune.

She went to Mizzou, not ASU.

She just graduated in May. Her goal is to get a job in news editing (any platform), but she would be open to editorial work at a publishing company.

Yeah, the job market is tough, and her job search has been complicated by location issues. Her boyfriend is from St. Louis and was working toward a management position, so she originally limited her search to that area and had a couple of promising leads. Then in the middle of the summer, he was offered a big promotion if he moved to Kansas City. They just moved a couple of weeks ago, so she is starting from scratch. There are a couple of leads, but  decent entry-level positions are relatively scarce.

I am optimistic that she will find something reasonably decent before too long. She graduated with honors from a great J-school, so I’d think she has at least a fighting chance....

[rocket surgeon]

How is ASU not #1 on everyone's list.  Beautiful scenery there, aina.

I’ve driven thru, past around ASU’s campus a few times, yessireeee bob the scenery there is worth the price of admission.  Ya know what they say-you can dress for the cold but ya CAN’T dress for the heat, eyeyey  Eyn’er? 

[Daniel]

She went to Mizzou, not ASU.

She just graduated in May. Her goal is to get a job in news editing (any platform), but she would be open to editorial work at a publishing company.

Yeah, the job market is tough, and her job search has been complicated by location issues. Her boyfriend is from St. Louis and was working toward a management position, so she originally limited her search to that area and had a couple of promising leads. Then in the middle of the summer, he was offered a big promotion if he moved to Kansas City. They just moved a couple of weeks ago, so she is starting from scratch. There are a couple of leads, but  decent entry-level positions are relatively scarce.

I am optimistic that she will find something reasonably decent before too long. She graduated with honors from a great J-school, so I’d think she has at least a fighting chance....

My daughter went to the J school at Mizzou also.  She’s a copywriter for an ad agency in Chicago.  Great J school - the first in the world I believe they claim.  All the best to your daughter.  The Mizzou alum is very strong. 

[jsglow]

This is a gross over-simplification, but a good way to describe Butler is to think about what MU would look like if it had UW-Milwaukee's location and a basketball arena that looked exactly like the one in Hoosiers.

I disagree with parts of this statement although the UWM location is a fair one.  Butler's campus is okay, better than many.  Is it better than MU?  Not in my mind both in terms of its actual campus and location relative to the rest of the city proper.  I'd put it on par with SLU.  Would I consider going there?  Sure.

[Benny B]

I disagree with parts of this statement although the UWM location is a fair one.  Butler's campus is okay, better than many.  Is it better than MU?  Not in my mind both in terms of its actual campus and location relative to the rest of the city proper.  I'd put it on par with SLU.  Would I consider going there?  Sure.

Let me guess... the part you agree with is that their basketball arena looks like the one in Hoosiers?

I don't think the campus itself is better.  Generally, Butler's buildings may be a bit older overall, and I think MU has a larger footprint - especially if you take away the athletic fields & Hinkle (and appurtenant parking) - but I was talking more along the lines of curb appeal... it's still an urban campus, i.e. the campus itself has very little green space (relative to the flagships), it definitely has that "private university" look to it, and it's tucked in the middle of a densely populated single-family home neighborhood (hence the need to bring in UWM on that part).  Though Meridian-Kessler is a bit sleepier than the Upper East Side, proximity to Broadripple is about the same as UWM is to the North Ave "district."

But truth be told, overall, Butler definitely sucks compared to MU.

[source?]

1) UNC
2) West Point
3) Boston College
4) Trinity
5) Loyola Chicago
6) NUI-Galway
7) Dominican University
8) Depaul
9) Iowa
10) Marquette
11) Notre Dame
12)Madison
13) Xavier
14) Dayton
15) Purdue
16) Beloit
17) Northern Illinois
16) UWM
17) Benedictine University
18) UW- Whitewater
19) UIC
20) SLU

Admittedly a couple of these were not official tours but being shown around by family/friends and a few were from staying there for Lacrosse camps thus I may not have the most thorough look but I feel like a saw a decent amount. Plus I tend to favor universities in cities but tried to be objective.

I've never seen your top three, but they must be something to be ahead of Trinity. I was extremely impressed when I visited, the library/book of Kells is worth the visit alone.

[79Warrior]

Just off the top of my head so I'm sure I'm missing some that I've been on, but my top 10 campuses I've been on would be:

1) Pepperdine
2) Stanford
(Big Gap)
3) Santa Clara
4) UCLA
(Big Gap)
5) UC Santa Barbara
6) Boston College
7) University of Washington
8) Rice University
9) Xavier
10) University of Texas

UC Santa Barbara is pretty amazing. Charlie Munger recently gifted $68mm to the school. MU needs to find a sugar daddy.

[theBabyDavid]

My oldest went to Middlebury and theBabyDavid's mother went to Dartmouth. This time of year, there are no more beautiful campuses than those of small colleges in rural New England. Foliage season there is sublime. We are making a trip to Hanover in October where she has a Tuck function; one needs lodging reservations almost a year in advance during foliage.
 
I was stationed at RAF Bicester which is just down the road from Oxford. We spent many a weekend there and viewed the entire Oxford ecosystem as a genuinely regal place. But for just the campus, Trinity is the more exquisite. Of particular note is the Old Library with its Long Room.

My son teaches uni in Firenze but he has guest lectured on Boccaccio at the University of Bologna. It is genuinely awe-inspiring to walk around that campus and its environs.

In the US I think Chicago, UVA, and Princeton are the stellar campuses. In particular, I cherish the influence of TJ on UVA's campus which is clearly evident throughout. There is a reassurance in the greatness of this Republic in that direct link back to a founder.   

I know this is all a matter of taste but some here have mentioned UDub's campus. I have spent a lot of time there over the years but I have never found it particularly special. Perhaps, we in Seattle are spoiled since we are surrounded by snow capped mountains and water so any place here qualifies as having a fantastic setting. The UDub campus itself isn't particularly special. I liken it to being very similar to Michigan's campus which is a typical large university with a mish mash of architectural styles.

From a strictly personal perspective, the very best college venues:

1. A filled to the rafters Milwaukee Arena for Marquette vs Notre Dame. The building was ALIVE.

2. The Big House. Michigan vs Ohio State. Hail!

3. The Milwaukee Classic Final. Marquette vs Wisconsin. F#ck Bucky.

4. Harvard-Yale. The Regatta. Crimson tie optional.

5. The Lanche on the first Saturday night of the new school year. 

6. McCormick. Room 810. LG from Cleveland.

7. The Rose Bowl. Michigan vs Wazzou. Natty. Go Blue!

8. Real Chili. Zero Dark Thirty. Beans no noodles.

9. Middlebury, Columbia; Wazzou, Michigan; Columbia, Harvard. Commencement Days. Watching your children blossom as adults.

10. The Ardmore. First Date.       

[real chili 83]

Believe it or not, last fall I was on campus at TAMU and a professor told me I should see the Baylor campus in Waco because it was the best campus in Texas.

[GGGG]

Believe it or not, last fall I was on campus at TAMU and a professor told me I should see the Baylor campus in Waco because it was the best campus in Texas.

The top turd on the dung pile.

[brewcity77]

Believe it or not, last fall I was on campus at TAMU and a professor told me I should see the Baylor campus in Waco because it was the best campus in Texas.

It was probably TAMU Eagle, and he knew who you were.

[real chili 83]

It was probably TAMU Eagle, and he knew who you were.

Nope, but TAMU and I did have a beer summit on that trip.  Corner Bar for an MU game. 

[TAMU, Knower of Ball]

Nope, but TAMU and I did have a beer summit on that trip.  Corner Bar for an MU game.

True story,  Marquette is undefeated when RC and I share Shiner Bocks during the game.

Baylor is the best Texas campus I have personally been to. I think my favorite is the University of Utah but that had everything to do with the scenery around it and nothing to do with the buildings.

[forgetful]

True story,  Marquette is undefeated when RC and I share Shiner Bocks during the game.

Baylor is the best Texas campus I have personally been to. I think my favorite is the University of Utah but that had everything to do with the scenery around it and nothing to do with the buildings.

Interesting.  I've been to a lot of campuses in both TX and around the country.  I don't like Baylor's campus, and Waco is complete crap. 

On my list of top campuses, in no particular order.

Berry College
Cornell
Washington
UVa
UC-Santa Cruz
BYU
San Diego (largely because of the Immaculate Church)
Furman
Dartmouth (gorgeous in fall)
Yale (but New Haven is a craphole)