I enjoyed reading a recent op-ed about colleges touting themselves as being similar to Hogwarts, the wizard school in Harry Potter. While none of the grad schools I visited thought to do that, and I don't suggest any grad school should, I enjoyed spending a bit of down time during finals week considering how Hogwartsian Wyoming could claim to be.
Faculty I haven't encountered any Snapes yet, nor do they wear robes or extravagant hats. Solidly muggle.
Grounds Actually, mildly Hogwartsian. Currently, the evergreens and stone buildings are white from a recent snow, making a nice comparison to all the winter scenes from any HP movie. A pair of owls hang out on campus as well. Slightly magical.
Feasting Between PiE and my home department, there's actually a fair amount of food accompanying talks and speakers. The department holiday party last weekend had plenty of tasty stuff, although that's because the faculty and grad students can apparently cook well. However, there's nothing inherently magical about that, and we tend to consume it in rooms that do not qualify as great halls. Solidly muggle.
Creatures A nice variety of species are represented, from plants to polar bears, although all are actually real. No Sasquatch research. Solidly muggle.
Housing No castles in Laramie. But my apartment seems to have insulating capabilities verging on alchemy - at times, it's 50 degrees above outside temperature without turning on the heat. A touch magical.
Superficially, then, there's not a great deal here to market as Hogwartsian. But as the high school student writing the op-ed agreed, that's not really why you choose a school.
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