Vivian Bravo, Contributing Writer
Each year, The Princeton Review surveys tens of thousands of college students and publishes its Best Colleges guide, which includes rankings in categories like Most Beautiful Campus, Best Food, Best Dorms, and many others. Last month, The Princeton Review officially recognized Sewanee as the most beautiful college campus in the country.
The Princeton Review deemed Sewanee’s 13,000 acre campus, The Domain, “unbeatable.” Those who have walked through the hauntingly stunning gothic architecture, experienced the Sewanee fog permeate the air and hiked on iconic trails like Green’s View and Abbo’s Alley would likely agree. Students love the fall weather, watching the leaves change from lime to yellow, enjoying sunsets at Green’s View, and spending sunny days at Lake Cheston. What’s not to love?
In the article “The ‘Most Beautiful College Campus’ In The Country Is Tucked Away In This Tiny Tennessee Town,” Southern Living Magazine stated the University’s “incredible landscape is blanketed by deciduous forests, which are burnished with color in autumn. The oaks begin yellowing like the pages of an old manuscript, the maples put on a fiery crimson show and the ginkgoes fairly glow.”
The magazine also noted how “the Domain functions as an expansive outdoor classroom for environmental science courses as professors regularly decamp to hiking trails for their lectures and students learn the different shapes of the leaves while walking beneath them.” Sewanee students witness the relevance of their studies on campus through classes like geology, biology, forestry and environmental studies.
Beyond its scenic backdrop, the Domain’s core consists of student life. Many undergrads choose to spend their time studying outside in adirondack chairs on the Quad, go watch the sunset together at the Cross, or grab lunch on the outdoor patio of Stirling’s Cafe. The Princeton Review stated, “People don’t choose to come here just because of the academics. They choose to come here because of the strong community.” Students eagerly wait to return back to campus after breaks to a place they like to call “home.”
For students and alumni, this amazing title is less about bragging rights and more about spreading what they already knew. Next time you collect the Angel from the roof of your car, consider the tight-knit community, renowned academics and the spirit that makes the Mountain so special.