The 20 Most Beautiful Colleges in the USA

20. Wagner College - The views of this school makes it part of the Beautiful Colleges list. Looking out the window of many dorm rooms, you’ll see the skyline of Lower Manhattan. It’s in New York, but its Staten Island campus secludes it enough from the hustle and bustle of the city. The theater and artsy types best fit in here, and many have dreams of Broadway. The diverse population and extraordinary location makes it the “best of both worlds,” according to the college.

19. CUNY Brooklyn - There are 26 acres of the Brooklyn campus in the New York City. The real world city experience now has college feel. Since it’s mostly a commuter campus, there isn’t a sense of unity here like in other colleges, but the buildings and the architecture, especially its prime location, still make it worthwhile. The culture of the city is brought together with a liberal arts instruction that is quite different from other colleges. Brooklyn has the unique aspect many students are looking for with an atmosphere of achievement.

18. Rhodes College - Memphis offers so much to students at Rhodes, they’re often over-involved. The campus itself is well-designed with classic architecture that makes it feel collegiate, but its surrounding area only adds to the appeal. Memphis caters to every type of person, whether they’re artsy, country, or anything under the sun.

17. University of Alabama - The University’s campus at Tuscaloosa has some wonderful architectural buildings and is surprisingly diverse. The Southern comfort and friendliness makes students feel right at home. Football is quite popular, so students are kept busy in-season cheering on their school. The school houses the Alabama Museum of Natural History, which is a popular tourist spot. Pretty much all the bases are covered at this state school, and students with various interests can all find their niche comfortably, Southern-style.

16. Flagler College - Flagler used to be a pricey, elegant, and historic hotel in St. Augustine in Florida. So it’s no surprise that luxury is the basis of living for students here. Most of them are wealthy, and have come to appreciate the pristine details of the buildings and the town’s abundance of beaches. But one thing they complain about? No dorm visits of the opposite sex. Well, you can’t have everything.

15. Mercer University - The Georgia easy living incorporates itself into Macon’s social activity at Mercer. Off campus hops on weekends, and Mercer even has a group whose mission is to make sure that students have something to do. Back on campus, there are some beautiful buildings that give it that down-home Southern feel. A far cry from East Coast Gothic, Mercer is a nice mixture of fun and function.

14. New College of Florida - The Gulf of Mexico is the backdrop; arts and sciences take the cake. Sarasota is home to this college for honor students who get away to gorgeous, free public beaches. But if they can’t make it to the beach, they have their dorms with private entrances and courtyard design to attend to. Students at this free-thinking school are living the life of expression and freedom every kid dreams of.

13. College of the Atlantic -The outdoors adds fuel to the fire of this environmentally friendly school. The coast of Maine is the setting for these liberal vegetarians, and is beautiful in the spring/summer as a lovely tourist area. The Arcadia National Park is only a hop, skip, and a jump away for a placid escape from this tiny hippy school.

12. University of Hawaii, Manoa - Hawaii may take the crown as to students that know how to live it up. Sandwiched between the beach and the city, parties are frequent and students have a laid back attitude on the weekends after a grueling school week. The fabulous Hawaii skies, surf, and sun makes the Hawaii scene pretty darn spicy.

11. Swarthmore College - The whirlwind of activity that buzzes by you when you enter the Pennsylvania campus might mask its beauty at first. The students around here know how to keep busy. The university grounds are serene and peaceful: the perfect atmosphere for these intellectual groupies to study. They don’t leave campus much, because, lets face it, Swarthmore isn’t the chicest city, but the location fits these students to a tee.

10. Elon University - The country club-like atmosphere exudes rich, preppy ooze. Seemingly because the surroundings are so boring that you have to have a car to get anywhere fun. So, the rich ones usually have cars. It figures. Like country clubs, the campus grounds are painstakingly sustained to perfection. Lawn care 101 should be what this school is known for.

9. Scripps College - Once again, California makes the list. Scripps has beautiful views and Princeton review christens its dorms “like palaces.” Its resort-like feel and sunny gardens, fountains, and trees (not to mention the food is great) make it a popular choice for women. Women have a tough decision to make here, it seems, because so many beautiful colleges are single-sex! Can’t say it’s surprising, though. Women are cleaner.

8. Kenyon College - Now to the lovely town of Gambier, Ohio. Nothing much to do outside here, but the architecture lures students back into their rooms for a debate. The outstanding numbers of intellectuals encourage this frequent activity, and students aren’t complaining. Their fabulous, structurally sound buildings make it all worth it.

7. Sewanee - the University of the South- Tennessee’s Episcopalian university sits on a lovely campus with caves, streams, and mountains. No wonder it attracts the outdoorsy types. The university boasts an outdoor program that sponsors every kind of adventure possible (canoeing, snowshoeing, hiking, caving, bicycling, etc). If you like being outside, it would be a sin not to go here.

6. Agnes Scott College - Women at this single-sex school enjoy their gorgeous dorms, with high ceilings and hardwood floors. But the real beauty is outside in the Atlanta/Decatur, Georgia surroundings. With lush trees, flowers, stunning quad, and free-flowing design, who’d want to leave? Oh, well Princeton Review named it a “Stone-Cold Sober School.” Now you see.

5. Mount Holyoke College - Hmm, another women’s school. There must be something about these Mount Holyoke women that take advantage of the Pioneer Valley- the most beautiful area of New England- right in their backyard. The beautiful atmosphere of this small town further entices you as you enter. Boys? What boys?

4. Sweet Briar College - Southern beauty is done right in this lovely Virginia campus. Obviously, no boys allowed, so males can’t enjoy the scenic 3,250 acres like the girls do. Maybe that’s why the campus is so clean. The outdoors calls the sporty girls to enjoy a long run around the campus. Grab a trail map and go. Observatory loop, anyone?

3. Loyola Marymount University - Obviously, another California beauty. Los Angeles is primo spot for all things glamorous. Looking out your window at the vibrant California sky and the palm trees does everything but remind you you’re at college. Tough life, huh?

2. Princeton University - When you think of Princeton, you usually think of smart kids shooting for the best education possible. And most of these kids are too busy study to appreciate the gorgeous gothic architecture that makes up the buildings of their campus. The lush greens (ivy is quite fitting) make the campus feel like an old movie set that you get to be part of just by going to school.

1. Pepperdine University - Nothing beats the California beach location of Pepperdine. The homes in the greater Malibu area go for millions. And you get to live there for measly room and board? Luxury doesn’t even begin to cover it.