Ranking Methodology and Sources: 30 Best and Most Beautiful Small College Campuses

Ranking Factors

This ranking highlights the 30 Most Beautiful Best Small Colleges. We define a small college as one with no more than 5,000 undergraduate students. The mix of aesthetic, academic, and value aspects we considered for this article are as follows:


1: Aesthetics

The following lists were consulted.

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  • Business Insider: The 20 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America
  • Princeton Review: The Most Beautiful Campuses of 2022
  • Thrillist: 25 Most Beautiful College Campuses
  • Travel and Leisure: America’s Most Beautiful College Campuses

Points: 

Appearance in 1 list: 1 point
2 lists: 2 points
3 lists: 3 points
4 or more lists: 5 points


2: College Ranking

Points: 

U.S. News Best National University Ranking: 2 points
Best Regional University Ranking: 1 point

U.S. News & World Report National Liberal Arts College Ranking:

Top 100: 1 point
Top 50: 2 points
Top 25: 3 points
Top 10: 5 points


3: Cost of Attendance

Points: 

Under $20,000: 3 points
$20,001 – $39,999: 2 points
$40,000 and above: 1 point


4: Accreditation

To be included in this list, schools must bear regional accreditation. Schools with AACSB accreditation earned 1 point.


5: Ties

In the cases of ties, preference was given to those schools that appeared on the highest number of national lists, followed by higher ranking on the U.S. News & World Report Best National Liberal Arts Colleges list, and finally, the lowest tuition rates.

Sources:

AACSB
Business Insider: The 20 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America
Princeton Review: The Most Beautiful Campuses of 2022
Thrillist: 25 Most Beautiful College Campuses
Travel and Leisure: America’s Most Beautiful College Campuses
U.S. News and World Report – Best Colleges

Brenda Rufener
Author

Julie McCaulley
Expert

Carrie Sealey-Morris
Editor-in-Chief