University of San Diego is No. 1
The school is the most beautiful in the nation, according to the Princeton Review.
SAN DIEGO — Impressed with its Spanish Renaissance-inspired buildings and views of Mission Bay, the Princeton Review has named the University of San Diego the most beautiful campus in the nation.
The ranking was based on student surveys and is included in the review’s 2018 edition of best schools.
It’s at least the second time the school has received such recognition. In 2011, Travel+Leisure named the school one of the most beautiful college campuses in the United States.
The second most-beautiful school ranked by the Princeton Review was Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa. The University of San Diego was the only California school ranked in the top 10. Scripps College in Claremont came in 13th, and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles was 17th.
The publication based its ranking on how students answered the survey question, “How do you rate the beauty of your campus?”
Harvey Mudd College in Claremont was ranked as the least beautiful campus.
The University of San Diego’s website includes a page that mentions the Princeton Review ranking and how it reflects the philosophy of its founder.
“The University of San Diego is a beautiful place to be,” the page reads. “It’s one of the most common ways for people to express their fondness when they’re on campus and they’re asked about the institution. For cofounder Mother Rosalie Hill, having a beautiful place for students to obtain their education was one part of the equation.”
The page quotes Hill’s reflection on the connection between beauty and education. “There are three things that are significant in education: beauty, goodness and truth,” she said. “Beauty will initially attract people who come to the campus, and when they are here they will encounter persons in whom they find a certain goodness. This, in turn, will lead them to the truth, which will hold them.”
The university was founded in 1949 as the San Diego College for Women. It soon added the San Diego College for Men and the School of Law, which merged in 1972 as the University of San Diego.