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The 20 Ugliest Colleges in the USA [w/PICS]

campussqueeze.com — A list of the worst looking colleges in all of the United States. These colleges might provide a great education, but they sure don't provide many great views.

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  • Bukowsky, on 12/05/2007, -18/+53How did Texas A&M make the list? They have one of the most beautiful campus' I've ever been on.... But, admittedly, there is alot of beige buildings there.
    • Avor, on 12/05/2007, -14/+9You probably havn't seen many campuses, then.
      • EditorResponse, on 12/05/2007, -2/+9I drove around the country looking at colleges and although I did not attend there IIT is not a bad campus. The architect is one of the top architects in the country too. The critic does not know what he speaks of.
        • LenzM, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Yes Mies Van Der Rohe was a great architect and Crown Hall was revolutionary, but every building is the same dull crap. There are a couple of new buildings designed by Helmut Jahn, another renowned architect, that break the mold but for the most part the buildings are eyesores.
      • LenzM, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Only one building was designed by Jahn. The other one I was thinking of was designed by Rem Koolhaas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCormick_Tribune_Cam ...
        This is the building by Helmet Jahn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Street_Village
    • course6, on 12/05/2007, -4/+9Texas A&M is on the list because it has no variety. There is one type of building (beige) and the open spaces are covered in that monotonous grass. In short, it looks like a Twilight Zone set- you know, the fake town episodes- awaiting the hand of some kid to come out of the sky and pick you up as his play-thing. A&M looks *that* monotonous and fake. Hell, the twilight zone sets looked more believable.
    • chrispix, on 12/05/2007, -5/+9Actually I beg to differ, there might not be too many color variations, but niether does Colorado Boulder, or Texas Tech for that matter. Texas A&M does variety. Look at the administration building, the journalism building, buildings out on west campus. The campus as a whole is tree covered, and I don't recall that much open grass unless you are talking about the golf course / polo fields at the front of campus.

      What is bad about this article, is that the author has obviously not visited any colleges / universities and just makeing a decision based on a few buildings.
    • FriedTurkey, on 12/05/2007, -3/+5I thought Texas A&M was wired too. I was a transplant to Texas so all the state schools looked the same so I just went to A&M because it had the best looking campus. I was originally going to go to Texas Tech but I went up there in January and it was damn cold. Texas's campus downtown was really nasty. A&M at least has trees. I just remember walking over people laying on the street right next to the campus and I was like: "***** this I guess I have to go to the damn crazy military school."
      • cmorwhat, on 12/05/2007, -2/+0HAHA yeah its a mecca for neo-con thinking. i have alot of friends there and i go at least once a month to visit and i feel like im in enemy territory ( im a hardcore liberal libertarian who smokes weed and is opposed to war) but alas, its got one of the best reps in texas so im going there next semester. bleh. i think the campus is very nice in my opinion. if youre looking for really cool campuses in texas check out UT its crazy huge and really pretty
    • iDoraemon, on 12/05/2007, -4/+8Avor's right. It doesn't sound like you've seen many campuses. I've done campus visits of UCSB and UCLA, and I used to go to USC. Those universities were beautiful. I'm doing grad at A&M now, but did my undergrad at UT, so I can easily say that A&M and UT's campus are not that beautiful for different reasons. At least UT's campus has a uniform architecture scheme. A&M is a patchwork of un-amazing.

      Even though I do hate A&M's campus, I've seen many more worse-looking campuses. And College Station is a lot lamer than Austin, anyway. I can't believe people would choose to go to A&M over UT.
      • spacebetween, on 12/05/2007, -2/+2...because...

        National Champs '39, guys!

        Actually, you're right. A&M is the ugly step-child.
    • diggmaddy, on 12/05/2007, -1/+6I agree with Bukowsky. Aggieland campus is pretty nice and does not deserve to be on that list. On a side note, I've seen some of the prettiest girls on that campus. This is from a person who has had a fair share of visiting places (including Manhattan and university campuses within)
    • arcticblue, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1My sis goes to NC State and I've visited there a couple times. I thought it was really nice looking and the brick really fit in with downtown Raleigh. The ugliest college I've ever seen is Copper Mountain in Joshua Tree, CA (pic http://www.joshuatreevillage.com/519/cmcbldg3.jpg ). It's a community college so I don't really know if it could be considered for this list, but I was there a few months ago and it was absolutely hideous. That pic looks fairly old (but still ugly) because when I was there earlier, there was a large construction project going on in front of it.
    • cougar618, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3I dont really see how the campus is ugly.. it would be nice if they would fix a lot of the roads, maybe update a building or 2, but the campus is fine imho. West campus is beautiful though. How can you hate on that? The trees, and grass... it's like 1 huge park.
      plus, If you think TAMU is ugly, then what about UofH?
      • cmorwhat, on 12/05/2007, -2/+0i think UH is really nice. its alot more modern and at least you can find some semblance of a liberal atmosphere there. A&M is straight hardcore neo-con. if that doesnt make you gag, then i dont know what wil
    • simongzster, on 12/05/2007, -1/+1Because all you have to do is put "top 20" anything on digg, and the slack-jawed morons digg it up.
    • brentis, on 12/05/2007, -2/+1I thought this was a weak topic, but having gone to A&M I was curious to see if it was listed as I know it is an ugly campus. Sure enough... #18..
  • BeckyBD, on 12/05/2007, -16/+8Haha....this list is going to piss off a lot of people....but lets be honest, architecture is everything......and these places look pretty crappy.
    • CraigB12, on 12/05/2007, -2/+5I must say that some of these are right (RIT including because I went there for a tour and all they talked about were their patented bricks, which i hated), but I actually go to Northeastern. A simple search for photos will show you that this really is a beautiful campus. Maybe they were looking at pictures from like 10 years ago, but I have never seen that building they have a picture of. In the last few years 4 buildings have been built, and three won Mass Institute of Architecture awards.
      • DavX, on 12/05/2007, -4/+2Haha, you went to the wrong school.
        • streetblader, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2What is that supposed to mean? You got something against northeastern?
      • streetblader, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3I'm also a northeastern student and I love our campus. I think it's one of most beautiful urban campus' around. I've never seen that building.. if it exists, its probably like a dumb maintenance building or something.
    • Misinformant, on 12/05/2007, -2/+1I'm an architecture major myself and the fact the Illinois Institute of Technology made the list is reason enough to bury it. It's one of the world's most brilliantly designed campuses by one of history's most brilliant architect's. (Mies van der Rohe)

      I'd say only half of those actually deserve a spot on that list.
  • Tamriel, on 12/05/2007, -3/+37I never thought CMU was that bad. The dorms are pretty fugly, I agree. Still, the guy trashes my city and he hasn't ever even been there. Yeah, yea. Welcome to the internet.
    • Lord_oftheTrons, on 12/05/2007, -2/+29"I haven’t actually been to Carnegie Mellon, just heard horrible things about it and Pittsburgh."

      This is obviously a well researched opinion. I've heard horrible things about you and your blog. But I've never actually been to it.
    • Kazbaeden, on 12/05/2007, -0/+13No CMU isn't bad at all. They do a great job of showing the ugliest building (Wean Hall) on an ugly rainy day, but the campus does an AMAZING job of making you feel like you're on a rural campus in the middle of a city. Now, CMU isn't the most amazing campus in the world, but it certainly beats out schools like UPitt and Drexel where the campus is literally sidewalks and roads.
    • lOvOl, on 12/05/2007, -0/+5It has been over 10 years, but CMU left a lot to be desired as far as a college campus was concerned. Pittsburgh on the other hand is a beautiful city and even though driving around the hills is not always fun when it comes to traffic, it sure makes for some great scenery.
    • fedak, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Thats an bizarre shot to use as representative of the CMU campus.
      (And I believe that's Pitt's Cathedral of Learning in the background- this shot is on the edge of campus looking down toward Pitt)

      Donner is pretty fugly. As was Skibo. Hardly representative of the majority of the campus, especially anything that was built in the last 20 years.
      As the above poster noted its not the prettiest campus in the world but its not bad for an urban school.
    • infamousjre, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I honestly think that CMU is one of the most beautiful schools I've ever seen. Other than being in the dismal rainy city of Pittsburgh it has some great buildings. I don't go to CMU, so I don't know the name of the building, but the great roman style architecture with marble statues and floors in the one building off the lawn (i think its a music & arts building) makes me extremely jealous of the school.

      ...but yeah, the all glass buildings are pretty ugly.
  • FireAtWill, on 12/05/2007, -1/+15If this included Canada SFU would top the list. Ever seen Battlestar Galactica? SFU is supposed to be Caprica. It was designed by a prison architect.
    • Coolkidchris, on 12/05/2007, -1/+2they also used it on an episode of stargate
    • Azio, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3SFU Burnaby has a limited retro appeal to it and the layout is kind of neat, but there's just way too much ***** concrete and I always get utterly lost every time I have a class there.

      Surrey, however? Behold! http://www.surrey.sfu.ca/about/images/6.jpg
    • pradaaddict, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1SFU Burnaby must be included in this list. It's little wonder why SFU has the highest campus suicide rate in Canada when you look at how horribly depressing the campus is, especially when its raining.
    • haxxorfreak, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2While I agree that there is a great deal of concrete, I would hardly call Arthur Erickson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Erickson) a prison architect. I don't mind it myself, but some people hate it, really a matter of opinion: http://students.sfu.ca/tour/360/academicquad.html
    • twtmc, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I always found the architecture and landscaping of SFU Burnaby to be quite beautiful. I go there every year for Anime Evolution, and it makes for absolutely wonderful photoshoots.
  • diggadigga, on 12/05/2007, -6/+116This list is an epic failure. Buried.
    • SonicRush, on 12/05/2007, -2/+25No kidding. Who's choice was it to put the images ABOVE the title of the school and description? Makes it really awkward to read and follow.
    • antifreze, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2Both of his lists are wrong... Needs Indiana University Bloomington in the top 20, and Purdue University Lafayette in the bottom 20.
    • ThinkBox, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3MY school was voted 2nd most beautiful and 3rd most beautiful in USA 2 years in a row by Princeton review my freshman and sophomore year, and it wasnt in his other list.

      He just googled for images and found these places and posted it with stupid rants on them. Buried.
    • had3l, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3And *****, compared to the colleges in my country, those look awesome. Wanna see an ugly college? Get out of the US.
  • purpl3spri7e, on 12/05/2007, -9/+3Texas A&M has a big campus, but bland and ugly. Texas Tech campus looks alot better.
  • i4mt3hwin, on 12/05/2007, -2/+40Well being at RIT I have to admit this place looks terrible.
    • davidemm, on 12/05/2007, -2/+4I attend RIT and have visited UMass Amherst several times.... as far as looks go, UMass is heck of a lot nicer!
      • bobcatred, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3hmmm... I dunno. They might be okay on the outside, but the dorms look like asylums on the inside. I have seen worse though.

        I haven't, however, tasted worse. UMass Amherst had the nastiest food I'd ever tasted.
    • bluechips23, on 12/05/2007, -3/+4I'm sure even the girls in UMass Amherst must be several times hotter and also in larger ratio too. RIT = brick factory, but go RIT for featuring in top 20 in at least something!
      • voyetra8, on 12/05/2007, -1/+2^^^ RIT alum

        Agreed. The only thing uglier than the architecture on RIT's campus are the "girls" on RIT's campus.
    • jarodsu, on 12/05/2007, -2/+4LOL I go to RIT and I have to admit RIT should be on top 20.
    • trogdorBURN, on 12/05/2007, -4/+2What is worse about RIT is that all the freaking buildings (most of them) are numbered! No names, just numbers. WTF.
      • dinostabOMG, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3Not true - the numbers are just there to find them on the maps. They all have names.
        • trogdorBURN, on 12/06/2007, -1/+1Oh...well to visitors it is damn confusing.
    • dinostabOMG, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3Boo - everyone says this and I guess it's a popular opinion - but there are really nice parts. The Japanese garden in front of the art building is serene and pretty. The art building itself sucks but is being overhauled this year I hear? (I just graduated but maybe someone can update us on this). I have high hopes for that. The IT building is gorgeous, sleek, clean and modernistic. It's too bad the older buildings (dorms especially) took a cue from some of the uglier aspects of brutalism, but they seem to be making up for it in other ways. The quad between the art building and the liberal arts building is very cool as well, although it's a bit annoying to have to walk curvedly through the paths. I also like one corner of the administration building, it has a cool design if you're on the quarter mile.

      If anyone can find the video pieces done on the subject of the campus done by Photo undergrad Matt Ward - that guy does an awesome job of showing the campus from the less-popular perspective that it can be pretty.
    • ThinkBox, on 12/05/2007, -0/+5RIT is a good school, one of hte top business MBA schools too, so it might be ugly, but man they have their academics in order from what I read.
    • bluechips23, on 12/06/2007, -0/+1But they are building this new college town thingy, and the houses so far do look really pretty from outside. Not sure how they gonna end up looking but, hey, at least there's hope!
  • def1234, on 12/05/2007, -9/+4Northeastern University looks like a mental institution.
    • witcompe, on 12/05/2007, -1/+7I went to school near Northeastern and I have never seen that building. NU's campus is a typical urban campus in Boston with a few nice new buildings. I honestly do not think this is a NU structure. Also, this list sucks. It takes one bad building out of a huge campus and then labels the entire campus as "ugly."
      • YEMandy, on 12/05/2007, -1/+1You're right, that is not a NY structure.
        • DavX, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3Northeastern is not in NY.
        • soccer5232, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1northeastern is a great campus. it is the nicest one in boston by far. for a urban campus it has a lot of green and new buildings. Also Maryland is a nice campus too. this guy is retarded.
    • SidewinderX2, on 12/05/2007, -2/+3I dont think i've ever seen that building on campus... and i think NU looks pretty good for a Urban campus... at least much better that BU... :/
    • LifeIsARhythm, on 12/05/2007, -0/+7That is a NU building but it is outside of Boston, and 10 miles away from the actual campus. I do not know what it is used for but I have driven by it many times. That building does not reflect NU at all, the campus is actually really nice.
    • mobiledescent, on 12/05/2007, -1/+2I went to Northeastern for a Year..that building is not on the Boston campus, and the Boston campus actaully has new buildings a is one of the nicer schools in boston aesthetically
    • iamdw, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2I'm deflecting to LifeIsARhythm -- I was a student at Northeastern about 10 years ago and I still live literally "across the street". There is no structure that fits that image. It has to be the satellite school or it is simply inaccurate...
      • def1234, on 12/05/2007, -0/+0I like how I'm getting dugg down for going by the pictures. lol sorry I didn't do the research.
  • coltrane68, on 12/05/2007, -6/+60What kind of jerk insults campuses he has not even visited? Pittsburgh is one of America's most beautiful cities, with a mountain and three large rivers. Carnegie-Mellon is quite attractive, and borders on a truly gorgeous park and great museum. Ithaca College is really quite attractive. It is clear that the author does not like or understand modern or post-modern architecture, because Ithaca is chock full of funky modern buildings. This also appears to be the case for UCSD, which has many important and impressive modern buildings.
    • LoungeActx, on 12/05/2007, -1/+14I think he's going off the stereotype of Pittsburgh from the 1950's-70's. Back when it was very polluted because of the steel industry. But it has made some great strides in the past few decades and is a pretty nice looking city.
    • fate3, on 12/05/2007, -1/+1i've seen CMU, it sucks
  • ahoyhoy, on 12/05/2007, -6/+8University of Maryland is basically a newer version of University of Virginia. Take a walk on the mall to experience its aesthetic beauty.
    • solidsnake1298, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I definitely agree that it doesn't belong on the list, but the author is right that the neighborhood around UMD is less then pretty. Crowded as hell and the homes are ***** and falling apart. I go to UMBC, but I have several friends that go to UMD that I visit.
      • ahoyhoy, on 12/05/2007, -0/+0UMBC looks nice because its newer, but good luck finding much of the way of entertainment around there. Your choices are: Subway, Inner Harbor, the Mall. Repeat
      • solidsnake1298, on 12/06/2007, -0/+1I go to UMBC for the IFSM program, not for entertainment. I go to school then go home. Besides, we have a bar and awesome game room (pool tables, ping pong tables, 360's, Wii', PS3's on big screens) on campus. There isn't anything particularly entertaining around UMD or UMBC. But then again, I'm not familiar with the College Park area. But from what I know there isn't anything special around UMD either.
    • ahoyhoy, on 12/05/2007, -0/+0Proof of its non-ugliness
      http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/~milan/MARYLAND.jpg
      http://www.ling.umd.edu/cnl/brochure/jj.jpg
      http://www.thewaterworksinc.com/ww/images/Universi ...
      http://www.urhome.umd.edu/marylandimages/user/imag ...
    • MaxPayne3476, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I ALMOST applied to UM until I visited it. Not only is the surrounding town dirty, but the campus was atrocious compared to the other schools I visited. Even my mom said that there was no way she would pick this school.
      • SkaAgent11, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1It's really not that bad. In fact its a pretty beautiful school once you get off route 1.
  • neomis, on 12/05/2007, -1/+13"These buildings that make up the RIT campus are all factory-esque."
    Isn't that because we bought a brick company?

    But, yes that is all I can say about RIT is ugly brick buildings... and a great education.
  • kahlessreborn, on 12/05/2007, -2/+4Was it really fair to bunch all SUNY School together I have been to quite a few of the campuses and while some suck to high heaven others look great.
    • bingobongony, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3You can tell this is someone who went to a SUNY school (he lives in Albany), chose not to study and got bad grades, and now blames SUNY for the fact that he has to write a blog and spam Digg for a living. That is why he blasted not only the buildings, but the system as a whole, when it is one of the best state systems in the country.
      • LacY, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I visited SUNY Stoneybrook to interview for Grad schools... maybe I went at a bad time, but the buildings I saw were ATROCIOUS. I can't speak to any other SUNY's, but the look of the science buildings and surrounding buildings were really unattractive.
  • BrandonMills, on 12/05/2007, -3/+2How did WVU Institute of Technology *not* make the list? Right across from the college itself is a dying town that looks like it was hit by a nuke in the 80s. Not exactly 'scenic'.
    • lieaisut53433, on 12/05/2007, -3/+0you dont like WVU Institute of Technology or Morgantown then get the ***** out. im sick of u college brats trashing my town . u continue to litter and trash everything, its *****. and u cause 99 percent of the traffic jams in the city. go to PA *****.
      • Hobofuzz, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Whine Whine Whine.
      • BrandonMills, on 12/05/2007, -0/+11st off, WVUTech != Morgantown.
        2ndly, WVUTech *wants* out of Montgomery ( you know, way south of Morgantown? Wrong place, bud. ) They tried to make a move to Charleston years ago, but the residents of Montgomery made a big fuss about it.

        The truth of the matter is the Montgomery WV died the day the Interstate wasn't routed through it. That happened a long time ago, and it's been clinging to the university for life support, trying to drag it down with it. Yes, the residents of Montgomery hate the students at the school, but without the school, the town would have died off decades ago. Sooner or later, the Engineering division of the school is going to get out of Dodge.

        None of this can be helped, because when the Interstate wasn't routed through Montgomery, it made that location bad for any business. Local state and federal routes don't just cut it anymore.

        and just so I don't leave Morgantown out of this, just know that your local economy would be jack and squat without the University around. You owe your very livelyhood to that school.
  • thatgreekguy, on 12/05/2007, -9/+1hahaha I'm applying to....6 schools on the list T_T

    Hooray for colleges in the Northeast for hiring ***** architectures!
    • thatgreekguy, on 12/05/2007, -7/+2Architects!! i meant that! Wow, I'm stupid.
      • DPowers08, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Someone won't get into his top choices...
  • diggerydoo471, on 12/05/2007, -1/+26He didn't actually see the campuses so I don't actually give a ***** about this list.
  • hyperstation, on 12/05/2007, -4/+8I really don't think UMASS should be two!
    • quadkid, on 12/05/2007, -2/+3umass looks like the designers went cement-form crazy. Its horrible.
    • tcasey22, on 12/05/2007, -2/+4UMass shouldn't be 2, but it deserves a spot on that list just because of South West... The area depicted in the article is very nice so they should have got a picture of SW. The bad part of UMass looks a lot like the Carnegie Melon photograph.
    • morninglorii, on 12/05/2007, -3/+2I think it should be. In addition to what they listed, UMass also has a horrible clash of architectures. There are old brick buildings (which are ugly on their own), random cement buildings (like quadkid said), new glass buildings, and a giant library jutting up in the middle. Nothing goes with anything else, and it's very ugly. I still love it though!
    • bloodybenny, on 12/05/2007, -0/+0The picture of UMass was of the one of the nicer parts of campus too. If he found a picture of Lederle and the Student Center (aka the Giant Concrete Waffle) together, it would have shown how truly ugly it can be... But I love it still.

      It's a very old school though... Give it a break!

  • Ohill, on 12/05/2007, -0/+27Buried as inaccurate several of those buildings are beautiful.
  • RabbiBizarro, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3I go to Suny Buffalo, its really not that bad. Dorms are shaped really 'funky' (yea kinda like lego land). But apparently the school was designed for Texas, but Buffalo bought the plans.
    Regarding CMU, I thought it was unbelievable. UPitt is also gorgeous.
    This guy googled ugly campuses and threw them together. Lame.
    • halavais, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I taught at SUNY Buffalo for a while. It's an ugly campus. The governor apparently referred to the architecture as "Attica West." The dorms have been declared the worst in the nation.

      But UCSD? They guy's on drugs. It's a beautiful campus. Not beautiful in the same way as some of the New England schools, but some of the architecture and public art on the UCSD campus is really breathtaking. He basically says it isn't his style, which says a lot more about him than the campus.
    • Infideler, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Yes..... 4 years there and I realized just how ugly the campus is as well. But that's what you get when your school is designed by someone who builds PRISONS.
  • djhomeless, on 12/05/2007, -3/+7I have to disagree on the Northeastern one.
    Correct me if I am wrong but that building isn't anywhere on the Boston campus??? Not sure where it is from. Burlington?
    I am also surprised that BU isn't listed, as BU's ugly campus is Commonwealth ave.
    • adrooo, on 12/05/2007, -1/+3It's from the NU satellite campus in Dedham.
    • streetblader, on 12/05/2007, -1/+2I gota agree, on all counts. Bu is quite ungly. I love the NU campus.
    • MaxPayne3476, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1EVen my friend who attends BU said her campus is ugly haha
    • dankirsh, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1The only reason to call BU ugly is really the construction that the city of Boston is always doing on Comm Ave. Despite BU's pleas to finish it up and leave, the city takes the big dig mentality that its acceptable for a project to last 5 years and make life difficult for everybody.

      In my opinion the actual buildings of BU are just fine. Especially the new student village is pretty awesome.
    • jdmulloy, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I agree. I'm a Northeastern Student and we have a very nice campus. The new parts are nice. IN some area's all of the buildings are made out of white brick but it's a nice brick. Apparently this guy hasn't seen West Village. Northeastern used to be Ugly but they've fixed that over the last 10-15 years.
  • D3koy, on 12/05/2007, -4/+5NC State is a hideous campus...and it's even worse in person...
    • DaffyDuck, on 12/05/2007, -1/+3Yeah, I went there and have to agree. It's a sea of red brick. The mechanical engineering building was old and no attempts were ever made to upgrade/improve it. No form or creature comforts, just pure function...kinda like the military forts at the coast. Oh well, I was an engineering student and didn't have the time to even try to appreciate the view so it didn't matter that much.
    • colinger, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2I don't think NC State is that ugly of a campus. The new centennial campus is actually pretty nice.
      • dustinrr, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2I agree, I was surprised to see NC State on the list. Plus they used a picture of Centennial as the example, which I think is far from ugly.
    • soulkitchen, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2***** UNC people.
    • icyhaught, on 12/05/2007, -1/+1Harrelson Hall ( http://www.ncsu.edu/facilities/buildings/harrelson ... ) gets my vote. Its a circular building on stilts.
      Poe Hall is another one ( http://www.ncsu.edu/facilities/buildings/poe.html ) . They much have thought it was great back in the 70s, but it is butt ass ugly.
      There are plenty more, a ton on north campus with A/C units hanging out their windows. Nothing says modern education like buildings without central air systems...
  • clivingston, on 12/05/2007, -2/+2This list fails as it doesn't mention OCAD.
    http://andrewblum.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized ...
    • loudthing, on 12/05/2007, -1/+1OCAD is in Canada.
      Also, your link doesn't work.
  • jahue, on 12/05/2007, -0/+8Illinois Institute of Technology, although rundown in some places has a really nice campus. The problem with IIT campus it that a lot of its buildings are on a historical registry so they have to be restored instead of leveled. Personally I get really tired of the "collegiate building" or the modern buildings that try to look like they were built in the 1800's. Brick with Ivy doesn't appeal to everyone. This list is crap!!!
    • GloomyYardGnome, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I'm pretty sure that all of the archies at IIT would flip if they saw this. I think this guy just hates modern architecture. If we are on Chicago architecture tours, we must be doing something right.
  • cizzop, on 12/05/2007, -1/+11Dugg because I go to Drexel and find this hilarious. BTW our president makes $800K+ a year. Luckily they just started building some park around here but somehow I think it was to get off the ugly list.
    • thejadedmonkey, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3I went to Drexel. I couldn't wait to get out because I *needed* some sort of green... I've never appreciated community college so much until I realized how beautiful (comparatively speaking) of a campus it has.
    • Setzer83, on 12/05/2007, -0/+0I also go to Drexel, and was not surprised to see this at the "top" of the list after winning that award so many times. What do you expect from a former tech school in Philadelphia, one of the dirtiest cities around? It also doesn't help that UPenn is right next to us with an amazing campus. But screw them, our engineering department is way better. Go Dragons!!!
    • MaxPayne3476, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I visited Drexel and while it's not pretty - it's got it's own personality and niche in my heart. Plus I love Philly :)
    • SavageOwnage, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I go to Drexel and this is embarrassing.
      Well Myers hall is pretty hideous.


    • hassanchop13, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1the dorms have pretty nice insides atleast. east is insane, especially for freshman (i think they use a dif. freshman dorm now tho)
      except for the calhoun and myers
    • PhoenixAvatar2, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Drexel Student here as well and this guy needs to research some before he slams the college like this. Drexel's just finished a new dorm, renovated another, is knocking down a third (Myers) and redid the quad. The new-ish Bossone Center looks amazing, the new Law Building looks great and the new building on 33rd and Chestnut looks great in the renders. Then there's the Armory being converted into an ESPN-class basketball stadium, the new fitness center by the DAC and you can hardly say that Drexel isn't doing anything to combat this.
    • gotterdammerung, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I'm right nearby at Penn, and I've always wondered about that building in the photo. Is it technically on Drexel's campus? I always imagined it being some sort of auxiliary building for septa.
    • msully725, on 12/05/2007, -0/+0It is a building for Septa. That picture is misleading. And I like how they take a picture of a building that isn't part of Drexel's campus that looks hideous, instead of looking at a beautiful building like Bossone. Misleading and skewed picture, but I still agree Drexel's campus needs help.
  • Durb, on 12/05/2007, -8/+5Buried, SPAM
    • pcjackson06, on 12/05/2007, -2/+0Do you have a link to the article at Princeton Review?
  • petebert, on 12/05/2007, -4/+3"University of Massachusetts-Amherst-The UMass dorms look like the projects, says a student"
    apprently kids who can afford to go to college have never seen a real gov. project. the pic of #2 looked pretty nice
    • hmugabe, on 12/05/2007, -4/+1that picture looks nothing like umass amherst. it is truly a depressing campus.
      • graf70, on 01/14/2008, -0/+0You're wrong because that is, indeed, a picture of the UMass campus. Unfortunately, the central core of campus has some 1960s style missteps, but there are also beautiful parts of campus too.
    • tcasey22, on 12/05/2007, -1/+3That picture looks exactly like UMass because that is a picture of North East, the nice area of UMass. What the student most likely alluded to in their comment of the projects is the South West area where most students live. And it was used as an experiment for low income urban housing so yes. Tragically it is that area that houses the most people so that is the stigma that is given to UMass as far as housing goes. It is generally a very pleasant campus. I live in North so i see the buildings in that photograph everyday walking to class.
      • smthop3, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Geez, I just applied to Amherst thinking it was a good school and all, and I know I shouldn't base my decision solely on how the college looks...but after seeing this article and doing more research, and the Princeton Review saying it was #20 in the Least Happy Students category (as well as ranking lower in other...less than desirable categories), I'm really not sure if I want to go here anymore.
        • tcasey22, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I go there and I am very happy. Try visiting and meeting people rather than reading the Princeton review.
    • bloodybenny, on 12/05/2007, -0/+0That's a picture of Central, actually. It's looking southwest with Van Meter on the left, and you can see CGB on the right
  • weezcnr, on 12/05/2007, -7/+2I attend RIT (or at least I did until I was suspended for getting caught with weed on me) and this article is absolutely correct, the campus is completely depressing.
  • msnowst9, on 12/05/2007, -8/+1Ithaca > Cornell
    • dan222555, on 12/05/2007, -1/+5LOL nope sorry.
    • fegul, on 12/05/2007, -3/+0Damn straight, go Bombers!

      They used a picture of 1 of the 2 ugliest buildings on the IC campus. The Hill Center (which is what was pictured) and Dillingham. Other than that, guess he forgot the new business building that got Platinum LEED certification. It ain't that bad looking to be honest.
  • tommanb182, on 12/05/2007, -1/+10So apparently ugly campus = good education?
    (RIT, NEU, Drexel, CMU)
    • madwelshacre, on 12/05/2007, -2/+1Uhh...Rutgers
    • MaxPayne3476, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3I go to Rutgers! :D I would never call the campus ugly, but their description of it being all scatted holds true.
  • furman, on 12/05/2007, -2/+15come on CMU students and alums i know ur all on digg

    can we gather together and get a big ***** you towards the writer of this article
  • guess88, on 12/05/2007, -0/+52i think this is really a list of schools that denied him
    • chriso1281, on 12/06/2007, -0/+1Either that, or a list of schools where he had girlfriends that broke up with him.
  • Baxattax, on 12/05/2007, -0/+6University of Illinois at Chicago should definitely be on there, it looks like something out of the USSR. About 90% of the buildings on campus look like this http://picasaweb.google.com/suresh.arunachalam/Chi ...
    • dext3r, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2I agree totally! Theres that one tall office building you can clearly see off of the Eisenhower. So bad looking.
    • mrchi03, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Definitely agree. But it was intentionally built that way. It is called "brutality" art. Gee, I wonder why.
  • blaze03, on 12/05/2007, -3/+26I could retort with insults, but I think I'll just let pictures speak for themselves.

    Here's UCSD:

    http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/4237/ucsd1to5.j ...
    http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9697/ucsd2pm2.j ...
    http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/2453/ucsd4ey9.j ...
    http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/9927/ucsd7bs9.j ...
    http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/9501/ucsd9zh2.jpg
    http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4988/ucsd10li7. ...
    http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/659/ucsd12gb5.j ...
    http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/9633/ucsd11qu2. ...
    http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/8163/ucsd13zn7. ...
    http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/8950/ucsd14sc2. ...
    http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/7481/ucsd15qn3. ...
    http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/613/ucsd16li7.j ...
    http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/8264/ucsd17hy8. ...
    http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/8869/ucsd18hs4. ...
    http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/6691/ucsd19wa3.jp ...
    http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/7088/ucsd20ix2. ...
    http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/1010/ucsd21zc1.jp ...
    http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/5368/ucsd22ge5. ...
    http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/2954/ucsd23eo0.jp ...
    http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/3167/ucsd24ss2. ...
    http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1687/ucsd25qp9. ...
    • ZestyNinja, on 12/05/2007, -0/+6Geisel is badass.
    • androothebear, on 12/05/2007, -0/+11all those pictures are ***** awesome......

      story... BURIED!
    • BigBrother87, on 12/05/2007, -0/+11Pretty sure the author would've found something ugly in all those. Besides, you shouldn't be that insulted by such an unprofessional article. Did anyone else notice the font change in the middle?
    • diulei, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1While I agree UCSD has some kick-ass buildings, I think the problem is that with each new set they try something different. So there is no "one look" and looks like a mess when talking about the whole campus. Now if you look at sets of structures that went up around the same time/place, some are very beautiful and/or avant-garde.
  • pcjackson06, on 12/05/2007, -2/+16Whoever posted this article is ignorant. That building isn't even ON the campus. Northeastern is ranked one of the most well designed urban campuses in the United States.
    • cyne, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4thank god i was waiting for someone to say that. i have no clue what building that is and its definitely not on northeastern campus. the northeastern campus is beautiful.
    • Setzer83, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1The same for Drexel. That building in the picture, known as "The Drexel Shaft" is actually on the corner of campus, and it's an abandoned facilities building in the middle of Amtrak/SEPTA's Poweltown train yard by 30th Street Station. At least show an ugly building that we actually OWN. We have plenty of those to choose from.
    • bhaggs, on 12/12/2007, -1/+0You guys were close. It's the Dedham camps:
      http://www.northeastern.edu/campusmap/printable/de ...

      Love how the commentary talks all about dreary Boston days and seeing this building (which is not in Boston). I find the modern area of campus to be quite beautiful. The signature white brick of NU past is a bit ugly though.
  • micklerlop, on 12/05/2007, -0/+13pure BS. It's the author's personal opinion.
    • Gathalimay, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1We'll, isn't aesthetics all about opinion? However, most of the people pointed out that his info is not exactly accurate regarding campuses and stuff (or just ignoring the entire campus except the one that looks bad), which is makes the author wrong and full of crap.
  • clietz, on 12/05/2007, -0/+12Not sure about the comment that IIT 'needs better architects' as the campus was designed by Mies van der Rohe.　　http://mies.iit.edu/mies/
  • dext3r, on 12/05/2007, -0/+16This list sucks. I go to IIT (Illinois Inst. Tech) and his complaints blow. He calls the "main" building incorrectly. That is Crown Hall, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and has been landmarked by the City of Chicago. Also, he fails to mention the McCormick Tribune Campus Center, which is pretty awesome and has been designed to quiet the noise from the Green Line El train that runs right above it. Also fails to mention the any of the dorm buildings on State. I really don't see how the campus looks like a bunch of office buildings, but guess what....I bet there are a lot of offices on a college campus.

    Most of the other schools looked fine too. This list belongs in the Gayzor Mountains.
  • acerra, on 12/05/2007, -5/+3I go to school #9 and let me tell you, the building in the picture is one of the more appealing buildings on campus. Buried for inaccuracy, Illinois Tech is THE ugliest campus in the USA
    • dext3r, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4I'm sitting in Stuart computer lab right now. I'm coming to get you for your disparaging remarks.
      • GloomyYardGnome, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2I'm in MSV. I might be close enough to yell at you.
        • dext3r, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1What the hell are we all doing on Digg.
          • LenzM, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2We go to IIT, why the hell are you asking?
            And I moved my ass out to Bridgeport
  • NYCowboy, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1yes my alma mater is not on the list Go University of New England. I am sure we were a runner up but the ocean front saved it. except they are ocean front in Maine.

    But we win for worst mascot. Can any school beat a Nor' Easter as the worst mascot
  • casual7y, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2yeah... one picture per college (some of them of nice buildings and nice landscaping) isnt going to do it for me.
  • Coolkidchris, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3at least ucsd has views of the pacific ocean to counteract their buildings.
  • bman784, on 12/05/2007, -2/+1It's weird that about ten of those schools are the ones flooding my email inbox after I mistakenly gave out my email on the PSATs. I now know why.
    • streetblader, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Don't go by this, it's pure opinion and mostly not true. Many of them are very very good schools.
    • bingobongony, on 12/05/2007, -1/+1Yeah...suuuurreee they are.
    • Velirno, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Well hey if you don't want that CMU e-mail throw it my way then :)
  • pintomp3, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1lame. a picture of a single building on a campus is hardly representative of the entire campus.
  • hoyati, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4UTD is finally recognized for something other than chess! Win!
    • ndnspongebob, on 12/05/2007, -1/+1yea well the people at utd suck more than the buildings, which arent all too bad
    • bonyicecream, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I've heard UTD has really nice dorms....
    • ElForko, on 12/05/2007, -0/+0Yeah, probably one that does belong on this (poorly made) list.
  • synned, on 12/05/2007, -1/+5Drexel is *****...but at least we have like a 40mbps connection...
  • liquidice5, on 12/05/2007, -0/+5I think that the design of RIT's campus is very nice, and the bricks look good all year round, especially in the snow. Some of the new buildings have less and less brick, and I really wish they had more brick, not less.

    That is one of the dorms, one of the older buildings on campus, nothing built too recently
  • camaroz06, on 12/05/2007, -1/+3No Boston University?
    Our campus, IMHO, is absolutely horrible. While it might not be ugly it is the worst "campus" out of the Boston Colleges and Universities. It stretches down Commonwealth Ave there is no real center to it, the law building is one of the ugliest buildings in Boston.
    • PJ1967, on 12/05/2007, -0/+0No to mention having the Mass Pike to the north and the above ground B line of the T running through it.

      Although you don't have to go very far to hit the nice Brookline neighborhoods and Fenway Park is right there!
  • Fourbin, on 12/05/2007, -0/+6You know what... yeah back in 2002 Drexel's campus was pretty horrendous. However, with the addition of new buildings (Bossone Center) and dorms, the campus is getting much nicer. They are even putting money into rebuilding the nearby armory as our new basketball stadium. Add the fact that the photo used in that posting isn't even of Drexel but of a nearby plant that has been shutdown for years and well... your point is moot. Here's a better shot of Drexel:
    http://www.drexel.edu/images-core/at-a-glance-enla ...
    • synned, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4And our internet connection is fantastic :)
    • mmdieterich, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1i think some of the new buildings are pretty modern and awesome looking..like the bossone.
    • ninjadave, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3Dugg for going to Drexel. :D
    • thejadedmonkey, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2You're right... I loved the dorms. Especially when we had 3 fire alarms in one night.. that was like heaven. Gotta love Myers!

      and no, that's not Drexel's building.. the buildings aren't too bad. But the campus is horrible. Lets not talk about what's not there yet, and besides, how can you have ANY picture of Drexel without the Drexel Shaft™
    • Setzer83, on 12/05/2007, -0/+0Listen Kessler, Bossone is a piece of ***** and you know it.
      • nayten, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1what the hell are you talking about? Bossone is the best looking and one of the most useful buildings on campus.
  • gthyb, on 12/05/2007, -5/+1Wow. Those do suck. Go MU.
  • FeartheKnighted, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2I'd have to nominate USF, just to give you an idea their campus used to be a bombing range for the Air Force...
  • Deemo, on 12/05/2007, -0/+10Perhaps I am biased because I go to University of Maryland, but I can tell you that it is NOT an ugly campus. They chose the worst possible picture to represent a campus that is not really that bad. There's a reason that they chose to film a scene in the film "National Treasure 2" at UMD, it is a very "collegy" campus

    That parking garage is where I park, and it is on the edge of campus next to the Comcast Center, which is a basketball stadium. Of course basketball courts dont look too good...
    • pazoned, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2Ok, I go to Binghamton and that building is nowhere to be found on our campus.... this article is *****.
      • Bootes, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1It's the side of the library across from the parking lot in front of Mountainview.

        I wouldn't call our campus pretty, but it's not terrible.
    • ahoyhoy, on 12/05/2007, -0/+0Look at the architecture on the buildings in the movie. All the buildings boarding the mall are great examples of 19th century style.
      However, our dorms sure do suck. This message was brought to the internets via the craptastic wireless connection of Centreville.
    • Psi57, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Don't complain about Centreville. Try Easton.
      • SkaAgent11, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Haha Easton is a joke. I had a friend who made the Diamondback two years ago because their floor basically broke and flooded their hallway all the time. Yeah the dorms do blow, but the classrooms are great. I'm in Leonardtown, which is pretty nice though...not your typical dorm.
    • HappyJawa, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I agree, UMCP is not that bad at all. They picked the one building on campus that could be seen as ugly and took the worst possible photo at the most horrible angle. When you consider the fact that we're considered one of the greenest schools in the country, and they're constantly working on doing away with all the concrete on campus, this article loses all credibility.

      The article does get one thing right, and that is the area around College Park is ugly as sin, but when you consider PG County as a whole, that's not too surprising. Langley Park and Hyattsville do very little to improve on the reputation of the area. Still, this is an area in constant development, and most of the nearby towns are trying to rebuild their images based largely on the fact that they want to become more appealing for the 30,000 people who attend school here. Check out http://www.rethinkcollegepark.net/blog/ it's a blog unaffiliated with the Uni, but it does good work discussing future plans for local development.
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