Six architecturally interesting colleges

A school's architecture says a lot about it - both in terms of age and ambiance. Think of your own bedroom at home - how you've set it up, how clean your keep it, what sort of décor you've put up and a number of other factors reveal a lot about your personality. When it comes to colleges, the same can be said of their design schemes.

As you embark on a new season of college tours, consider the architecture and campus layout as you walk around. Do you like it? Why do you like it? Perhaps something as simple as a few arches or the rustic charms of an old carriage house could convince you to matriculate.

Consider these six iconic universities and their particular architectural styles for a few hints of what you might like. Who knows, it could become a passion, and before you know it, you'll be shipping off to an architecture school yourself!

1. Yale University - New Haven, Connecticut. A mix of boxy colonial buildings and soaring gothic arches and spires, almost all the structures on this campus still stand out from the surrounding city of New Haven.

2. Northwestern University - Evanston, Illinois. This campus gets its charm from its surroundings as much as architecture. Abutting Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline to the south add as much atmosphere as the scattered concrete Brutalist architecture.

3. Stanford University - Stanford, California. This school's Spanish mission-style architecture makes even more of an impression than the balmy California coastal weather.

4. Bennington College - Bennington, Vermont. Surrounded on all sides by the Green Mountains, this college blends colonial style clapboard housing, a Georgian mansion and old farmhouse classrooms.

5. University of San Diego - San Diego, California. The Spanish Renaissance style of this school's architecture is stunning and the closest you'll come to Madrid or Barcelona's classic cathedrals outside of Europe.

6. Kenyon College - Gambier, Ohio. This school is outfitted with all the Gothic revival architecture of the elite Ivy Leagues, but is noteworthy for its isolation from any city. At once rustic and cosmopolitan, Kenyon's architecture outshines any other collegiate buildings in the state.

These six schools are only an iota of the sorts of campuses you'll see across the country. Find the school of your dreams and seek out the financial aid and scholarship opportunities that'll help you get there!

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