America’s Most Scenic Institutions of Higher Learning

The%20University%20of%20California%2C%20Santa%20Cruz%20lies%20on%202%2C000%20acres%20of%20rolling%20hills%20directly%20above%20the%20Monterrey%20Bay.%20Students%20take%20full%20advantage%20of%20the%20beautiful%20campus%2C%20hiking%20and%20jogging%20the%20miles%20of%20trails%20and%20exploring%20the%20redwoods.

Rice%20University%20sits%20on%20a%20heavily%20wooded%20piece%20of%20land%20near%20Houston%26%238217%3Bs%20museum%20district.%20Legend%20has%20it%20that%20there%26%238217%3Bs%20a%20tree%20for%20every%20student.%20Campus%20architecture%2C%20Byzantine%20in%20style%2C%20features%20large%20archways%20and%20columns.

The%20University%20of%20California%2C%20San%20Diego%20is%20situated%20on%201%2C200%20acres%20of%20coastal%20woodland%20next%20by%20the%20Pacific%20Ocean.%20Public%20art%20projects%20dot%20the%20campus%2C%20including%20a%20colorful%20winged%20statue%20known%20as%20the%20Sun%20God.

Occidental%20College%20is%20a%20small%20liberal%20arts%20school%20located%20in%20the%20Los%20Angeles%20neighborhood%20of%20Eagle%20Rock.%20Much%20of%20the%20campus%20is%20done%20in%20a%20Mediterranean%20style%2C%20with%20tile%20roofs%20and%20covered%20walkways.

Indiana%20University%20is%20located%20in%20Bloomington%2C%20Indiana%2C%20which%20is%20about%2045%20minutes%20from%20Indianapolis.%20Much%20of%20the%20campus%20was%20built%20during%20the%20Great%20Depression%20from%20Indiana%20limestone%20found%20locally.

Vanderbilt%20University%20is%20a%20renowned%20research%20university%20located%20in%20Nashville%2C%20Tennessee.%20The%20oldest%20section%20of%20campus%20features%20plenty%20of%20trees%20and%20green%20space%2C%20which%20provides%20a%20nice%20respite%20from%20the%20surrounding%20city.

Flagler%20College%20is%20located%20in%20St.%20Augustine%2C%20on%20the%20northeastern%20coast%20of%20Florida.%20The%20nearest%20beach%20is%20only%20five%20miles%20from%20campus%2C%20making%20it%20an%20ideal%20school%20for%20those%20who%20love%20to%20soak%20up%20the%20sun.

The%20United%20States%20Air%20Force%20Academy%20is%20located%20in%20the%20snow-covered%20mountains%20of%20Colorado%20Springs.%20Young%20cadets%20build%20leadership%20skills%20as%20well%20as%20character%20traits%20essential%20for%20military%20service.%20%28Photo%20by%3A%20AFP%2FGetty%20Images%29

Scripps%20College%20is%20a%20small%20women%26%238217%3Bs%20liberal%20arts%20school%20located%20in%20Claremont%2C%20California.%20The%20college%20focuses%20most%20activities%20on%20helping%20the%20environment.%20So%20it%26%238217%3Bs%20no%20surprise%20that%20the%20campus%20is%20appreciated%20by%20so%20many.

Duke%20University%20is%20situated%20on%20about%209%2C000%20acres%20of%20land%20in%20Durham%2C%20North%20Carolina.%20Students%20sometimes%20refer%20to%20the%20campus%20as%20%26%238220%3Bthe%20Gothic%20Wonderland%26%238221%3B%20due%20to%20the%20predominant%20architecture%20of%20its%20West%20Campus.%20%28Photo%20by%20Sara%20D.%20Davis%2FGetty%20Images%29

Not%20only%20is%20Stanford%20University%20considered%20one%20of%20the%20most%20prestigious%20schools%20in%20the%20country%2C%20but%20it%20has%20one%20of%20the%20most%20inviting%20campuses%2C%20as%20well.%20Students%20are%20drawn%20to%20the%20school%20for%20its%20palm%20trees%2C%20nice%20weather%20and%2C%20most%20importantly%2C%20its%20rigorous%20curriculum.

Trinity%20College%20is%20located%20in%20Hartford%2C%20Connecticut%26%238217%3Bs%20capital%20and%20largest%20metro%20area.%20But%20the%20seemingly%20endless%20trees%20let%20students%20experience%20a%20more%20traditional%20New%20England%20way%20of%20living.

Don%26%238217%3Bt%20let%20the%20castle-like%20buildings%20of%20Kenyon%20College%20deceive%20you.%20This%20small%20liberal%20arts%20school%2C%20located%20in%20central%20Ohio%2C%20enrolls%20only%201%2C600%20students.%20The%20campus%20matches%20Collegiate%20Gothic%20architecture%20with%20a%20rustic%20setting.

With%20buildings%20dating%20as%20far%20back%20as%201701%2C%20Yale%20University%20is%20one%20of%20the%20world%26%238217%3Bs%20great%20historic%20universities.%20The%20campus%20is%20located%20in%20New%20Haven%2C%20Connecticut%2C%20giving%20it%20a%20colonial%2C%20New%20England%20vibe%20with%20a%20hint%20of%20gothic%20and%20contemporary.%20%20%28Photo%20by%20Christopher%20Capozziello%2FGetty%20Images%29

Thomas%20Jefferson%2C%20the%20third%20president%20of%20the%20United%20States%2C%20founded%20the%20University%20of%20Virginia%20and%20considered%20it%20one%20of%20his%20biggest%20accomplishments.%20The%20school%20was%20established%20in%201819%2C%20but%20didn%26%238217%3Bt%20grant%20its%20first%20degree%20until%201824.%20Before%20that%20time%2C%20they%20were%20considered%20%26%238220%3Bartificial%20embellishments.%26%238221%3B

Princeton%20University%20is%20one%20of%20only%20nine%20colonial%20colleges%20established%20before%20the%20American%20Revolution.%20The%20campus%20features%20Collegiate%20Gothic-style%20buildings%20on%20a%20well-groomed%20campus.

In%20addition%20to%20being%20the%20nation%26%238217%3Bs%20oldest%20school%2C%20Harvard%20University%20is%20also%20one%20of%20its%20most%20beautiful.%20Located%20in%20Cambridge%2C%20Massachusetts%2C%20much%20of%20the%20school%26%238217%3Bs%20campus%20surrounds%20Harvard%20Yard%20and%20extends%20along%20the%20banks%20of%20the%20Charles%20River.%20%28Photo%20by%20Darren%20McCollester%2FNewsmakers%29

The%20University%20of%20Chicago%2C%20located%20in%20the%20Hyde%20Park%20and%20Woodlawn%20neighborhoods%20of%20Chicago%2C%20is%20considered%20one%20of%20the%20most%20beautiful%20metropolitan%20campuses.%20The%20first%20buildings%20were%20patterned%20after%20buildings%20at%20the%20University%20of%20Oxford.

Bryn%20Mawr%20College%20is%20home%20to%20about%201%2C300%20undergraduate%20women.%20The%20school%20was%20established%20in%201885%20with%20hopes%20that%20women%20would%20be%20%26%238220%3Bintellectual%20peers%20of%20men.%26%238221%3B%20The%20campus%20is%20an%20arboretum%2C%20with%20many%20of%20the%20older%20buildings%20inspired%20by%20Cambridge%20University.