With early classes, twin-sized beds and dining-hall food, college can be full of #princessprobs for regal collegiettes. But never fear, we’ve rounded up the colleges and universities that offer luxurious amenities, provide spacious dorms (with enough closet space for your ball gown collection) and boast regal alumni, making every girl feel like royalty. Even princesses have to get an education, and these 10 schools are definitely fit for a princess!
10. BRYN MAWR COLLEGE (Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania)
Being a princess is hard work, and there’s nothing better than returning to your spacious bedroom at the end of a long day and feeling like the queen you are. At Bryn Mawr College, you’ll not only have luxurious dorm rooms, but you’ll also enjoy a pristine and gorgeous campus at this all-female school.
"Whenever I am giving someone directions to a building on campus, they always ask, 'Is it the building that looks like a castle?'" says Allegra, a recent graduate. Indeed, in recent years Bryn Mawr has topped the Princeton Review’s list of schools with “Dorms Like Palaces.”
The administration clearly understands the importance of spacious and luxurious rooms. "Some dorms on campus have fireplaces, others have bay windows, all have character," Allegra says. In fact, it’s not uncommon for students to feel they almost have too much space and not enough to fill it with. That’s a #princessprob we’d like to have!
9. BROWN UNIVERSITY (Providence, Rhode Island)
Brown University is one of those colleges that wouldn’t, at first glance, appear to be particularly princess-like. The Rhode-Island-based university’s hippie reputation is ironic given the positively regal students who have attended the institution, most notably silver screen-starlet and Hollywood royal Emma Watson, who graduated in May 2014. Members of the royal families of Iran, Austria, Jordan and Greece have all attended Brown, as did Lady Gabriella Windsor of Britain and Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark. If American political royalty counts, then it’s also worth mentioning that the son of JFK, John F. Kennedy Jr., also attended the Ivy.
It’s not just the famous alumni that make Brown a college fit for a princess, though. The university was founded in 1764, meaning the pristine grounds and quintessential New England feel are steeped in tradition. “[Take] a quick walk around College Hill and you’ll find architecture spanning several centuries, as old as our country,” says John, a junior. Princesses are well-versed in history as well as grand buildings (they do live in them, after all), so if you’re looking for world-class academics, regal grounds and a shot at having a crown prince in your physics class, Brown might be the place for you.
8. ARCADIA UNIVERSITY (Glenside, Pennsylvania)
If you’re looking for a college that looks just like a castle, then Arcadia University might be the place for you. Often compared to Hogwarts, Arcadia is home to Grey Towers Castle, the most iconic landmark of the university and one of the most regal-looking buildings to ever house an admissions office (or so we think). “You know you’re at Arcadia when you text your friends to tell them, ‘See you at the castle for some wine and cheese!” says Chantel, a collegiette at Arcadia.
While castles and towers are definitely regal, the true sign of royalty is being able to jet set around the world at a moment’s notice; after all, the world is your oyster. Arcadia’s College of Global Studies allows students to travel and study abroad all over the world, providing plenty of opportunities for students to sharpen their international diplomacy skills. “If Grey Towers Castle, complete with ballrooms, a grand staircase and student housing, doesn’t convince you, with Arcadia’s … study abroad program… you can travel anywhere in the world to work and study in a country where real royalty lives,” says Miranda, a sophomore.
If you want to walk by a bona fide castle every day on your way to class and be regaled with stories by your jet-setting friends, Arcadia could be your perfect fit.
7. AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF PARIS (Paris, France)
Is anything really more opulent than Paris? There’s the Louvre, Versailles and, of course, the American University of Paris. Besides the obvious elegance of the City of Light, AUP has attracted its fair share of gorgeous royals over the years, including Princess Claire of Luxembourg and Grace Kelly’s grandson, the second in line to the throne of Monaco, Andrea Casiraghi. Unfortunately, he was just married last year, crushing the dreams of all of us who envisioned ourselves as the next Grace Kelly.
For royalty a little closer to home, American socialite Olivia Palermo also attended the university (and anyone who has seen her fabulous wedding dress will not dispute that she is royalty). “Actual princes and princesses go to the school,” says Sofia, a student at the university. “But [students] who are not princes or princesses most likely live like them anyway.”
With the glamorous grandeur, impeccable designer fashions and accents to die for that Paris has to offer, it’s no wonder that Sydney, a freshman, feels that “AUP is fit for a modern-day princess because you have everything you could ever want from a city school right at your fingertips!”
6. GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY (Washington, D.C.)
If there were ever a place to meet your very own Prince Charming (or just a royal bestie), Georgetown is it. Georgetown is world-renowned for the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, which attracts would-be diplomats and international royalty from all over the world (including the dreamy Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark).
Additional royal men from Greece, Denmark, the Netherlands and Jordan also attended Georgetown and undoubtedly rubbed elbows with the bigwigs in U.S. politics. “Georgetown is one of the most internationally oriented universities with amazing international diplomacy opportunities,” says Sara, a senior and a student at the School of Foreign Service.
With such an amazing international diplomacy program, access to (hopefully) eligible royals from all over the world and a front-row seat to the inner workings of American politics, Georgetown would be a great fit for any would-be princess.
5. HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY (High Point, North Carolina)
High Point has definitely ticked all the boxes when it comes to keeping students satisfied and entertained. The university has spent more than $700 million on upgrades such as hot tubs and movie theaters, according to The Epoch Times.
The picturesque campus is often compared to Disney World, and that obviously means that it’s home to princesses galore. “HPU has everything you could ever dream of, from swimming pools, an arcade, high-end living accommodations and beautiful landscaping to a picture-perfect promenade that always plays classical music,” says Sarah, a senior.
If that isn’t quite enough to entice you, HPU also offers a first-class restaurant, a cinema, a putting green, a sports bar and an ice cream truck to satisfy any princess’s sweet tooth. And, of course, no Disney-themed university would be complete without a mini village – the Greek Village, to be exact. With enormous houses for each sorority and fraternity complete with a pool, it looks like dreams really do come true for these collegiette princesses!
4. PRINCETON UNIVERSITY (Princeton, New Jersey)
If you’re looking for a college truly fit for a princess, look no further than Princeton! Besides having the perfect name for princesses-in-training (thank you, A Cinderella Story, for pointing this out), Princeton actually has the palatial amenities to back it up. “Many of the buildings offer rooms with their own bathrooms and showers, which is great,” says Catherine, a junior. “[Princeton] truly does make you feel like you are walking around a castle, kind of like Hogwarts!”
As Audrey, a sophomore, explains, “Whenever I start feeling overwhelmed, I just remember to pause and look up at the buildings that surround me. I’m instantly reminded of how lucky I am to be living on such a regal campus.”
Princeton has graduated some pretty regal alumni, including actual royal Queen Noor of Jordan and a myriad of American royalty, including Michelle Obama and the ever-regal Queen of Eyebrows, Brooke Shields.
3. THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA (Tuscaloosa, Alabama)
If bigger is better, then the University of Alabama’s opulent and palatial Greek houses take the cake. When your university has almost 35,000 enrolled students, it’s to be expected that everything – including Greek life – is also huge.
So, what exactly can a sorority princess expect at ‘Bama? Well, for starters, an absolutely enormous, jaw-droppingly gorgeous house, like the new Alpha Phi house.
Still not palatial enough for you? How about Gamma Phi Beta’s new 40,000-square-foot (yes, that’s correct) home slated to be finished spring 2015? In addition to being absolutely enormous, the newest sorority house will house 68 women (that’s a lot of princesses) and even feature a study room with a coffee-shop atmosphere. Having spent over $202 million on Greek life over the past decade, Alabama is certainly not opposed to splashing out cash for a college experience opulent enough for any royal.
2. THE UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS (St Andrews, Scotland)
Our number two pick takes us across the pond to the United Kingdom, and, to be more specific, to the rolling, green hills of Scotland. You knew we had to include the University of St Andrews, seeing as it was where Prince William and Kate Middleton first fell in love, not to mention it has a rich history. “I love the traditions,” one student tells Her Campus. “They signal the end of the academic year and remind you how old this place really is.” Such rich traditions hearken back to days of lords and ladies and inspire a certain regal nostalgia and old-world charm.
Magazines and newspapers have reported that Kate Middleton deliberately chose to go to St. Andrews because she knew Will would be there, but if that’s true, can you really blame her? After all, St Andrews reported a 44 percent increase in applications after announcing that Prince William would be attending the Scottish university. We can’t help but assume that most of those applicants were princess hopefuls, and we don’t blame them one bit!
1. YALE UNIVERSITY (New Haven, Connecticut)
If you’re serious about being a princess, there’s no better choice than Yale University, the Ivy-League pinnacle of prestige and luxury. For starters, Yale actually looks like a castle, especially Harkness Tower, the gorgeous and imposing Gothic tower that has come to symbolize the university.
The buildings are just as beautiful inside as they are on the outside, according to Alison*, a recent graduate of Yale University. “It is fit for a princess because of the castle-like residential dorms (called residential colleges), the Gothic towers and the beautiful dorms,” she says. “There are even two-story [dorms] called princess suites.”
Yes, princess suites. In Welch Hall, there are actually floors reserved for “princess suites”, or female-only, two-floor dorms featuring massive common areas and bedrooms and skylights. It doesn’t get much more regal that that!
If you do manage to be accepted to the prestigious Ivy, you’ll be in royal company. Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden studied at Yale briefly in the late 1990s and Hollywood royal Claire Danes attended the university around the same time. If you’re looking for a truly royal experience, Yale is the place for you.
*Name has been changed.
Check out the rest of Her Campus's 2014 College Rankings here!