Top 5 Party Schools

Top 5 Party Schools

By Jenny Hunt

Why do people go to college? To learn, right? To get an education, a leg up in the business world, and to earn a degree, yes? Well, it’s no secret that kids also go to college to party and socialize. Every year, the Princeton Review releases its top 20 party school list, and students around the country log on to see who made the cut.

So what constitutes a “party school”? It’s a college or university with a reputation of heavy drug and alcohol use. Usually, the data is culled from drug and alcohol law violation statistics, along with stats relating to drug and alcohol prevalence on campus as well as night life and Greek life information.

For better or for worse, the “party mentality” has become part of the modern college culture. The list has come under fire for promoting dangerous behavior. Administrators, professors, and some students at the top party schools have tried to distance themselves from the list. Others criticize the list for being unscientific and not using a big enough sample size to draw conclusions. Whatever the reaction, we thought we’d explore the top 5 party schools on the Princeton Review’s list to see why they made the cut.

5. University of California-Santa Barbara: As far as location goes, number 5 on our list of top 5 party schools in the US may be the best. UCSB is located on cliffs directly above the Pacific Ocean. It is also just a happy place to be. UCSB ranked 11^th on the Happiest Students list.

4. University of Iowa- Iowa City: University of Iowa has a massive Greek life. Much of the student night-life in Iowa City revolves around the pedestrian mall which contains tons of restaurants, local shops, and over thirty bars. Sports are also a huge happening on the U of I college campus. They are number 14 on the Students Pack the Stadium List

3. University of Mississippi: Ole Miss is more than just a top 5 party school. It seems that Ole Miss tops several lists. Ole Miss is number three on the Major Fraternity and Sorority Scene list. In fact, the first fraternity founded in the south was on this campus.  Sports are HUGE on the Ole Miss campus. They are number 7 on the Students Pack the Stadium List. In addition, Ole Miss was the site of the world’s first human lung transplant and has a long list of famous alumni including William Falkner, John Grisham, and United States Senators Trent Lott, Roger Wicker and Thad Cochran.

2. University of Georgia- Athens: While University of Georgia held the number one spot on the list of top party schools just last year, in 2012 they lost the top ranking. But University of Georgia is still a great place to party! The thing that sets University of Georgia apart from the rest is its ranking on the campus food list; they are the only school on the top 5 party schools list that can tout some of the best campus food in the country. Greek life and college athletics are also a big part of campus life at the University of Georgia, and they have some of the most state of the art athletic facilities in the country!

1. University of Ohio-Athens: While it always ranks high in lists of party schools, this year the University of Ohio took the top spot on the list of top 5 party schools. They have an amazing athletic department, one of the most beautiful campuses in the country, and a very active fraternity and sorority life.

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