Princeton Review's Top Ten Party Schools
 

Top Ten Party Schools
State University of New York at Albany
Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
West Virginia University, Morgantown
Ohio University, Athens
Florida State University, Tallahassee
University of Texas-Austin
University of Georgia, Athens
University of Colorado
University of Mississippi

N.Y. School Tops College Party List

By MARK JOHNSON, AP

ALBANY, N.Y. (Aug. 16) -- The State University of New York at Albany returned to No. 1 on the list of party schools, while Brigham Young University kept its title as top "stone-cold sober" school in an annual survey of American college life.

The Princeton Review's report ranked Albany seventh in the use of hard liquor and marijuana, ninth in beer drinking and first in "students (almost) never study."

The annual "Best 357 Colleges" survey, conducted since 1992, is based on responses from more than 110,000 students at campuses around the country. The review has no affiliation with Princeton University.

It is the ninth time the University at Albany - a state-run school with an undergraduate enrollment of 12,000 students - has been on the party school list. It was No. 1 in 1998 and No. 14 last year. The University of Colorado at Boulder ranked No. 1 last year.

"If this were a term paper, it would get an "F" in methodology," university spokeswoman Lisa James-Goldsberry said in a statement. "The rankings are not to be taken seriously, and are certainly not reflective of the serious, hardworking students at Albany."

"It's pretty crazy," said Matt Kazimir, 21, a recent Albany graduate from Danbury, Conn. "There's always a party."

Still, some students say Albany's ranking isn't deserved.

"I wouldn't agree it's No. 1," said junior Brian Fessler, 20. "There are certainly a lot of opportunities to party, but it's also a great institution with some top programs. There are great academic opportunities, as well."

Brigham Young was ranked the top "stone-cold sober" school, the survey found. Massachusetts Institute of Technology was the toughest to get into. The happiest students overall were at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif.

Students most likely to vote for President Bush are in the Republican's home state at Texas A&M University; those most likely to vote for Democratic challenger John Kerry attend Warren Wilson College in Asheville, N.C.

The "party school" category is based on questions focusing on the amount of alcohol and drug consumption, the amount of time students spend studying, and the popularity of fraternities and sororities.

The American Medical Association has criticized party school listings, saying they legitimize high-risk drinking and portray alcohol as an essential part of student life.

Robert Franek, lead author for the survey, disagrees and says the survey accurately reflects college life - for better or worse - and can be a vehicle for change.

"I think we do a great service for college-bound students, being in a very unique position to get onto the 357 best college campuses and ask students tough questions," Franek said.

Other top 10 party schools were Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.; the University of Wisconsin-Madison; West Virginia University, Morgantown; Ohio University, Athens; Florida State University, Tallahassee; University of Texas-Austin; University of Georgia, Athens; University of Colorado; University of Mississippi.

tap a keg...
and hoist a mug

WVU keeps slipping:(

Hot damn! Alabama is no longer on there. Maybe now the administration will back off and let us have fun again. :rolleyes:

Re: Princeton Review's Top Ten Party Schools
 

It's that time of year again. This "survey" is such a joke.

Nice to see the Alma Mater back on the list. That should give the new president at Ohio University something to be proud of as he takes his new job.

Simply looking at the flucuation from year to year (Colorado drops from #1 to #9 in twelve months?) might be a good indication of how silly this is. Did half of the student body there decide to stop partying?

Give me a break.

Which reminds me...during my senior year of campus tours, the top two schools I visited mentioned how being on that list gave them a bad reputation and they were working hard to lose it.

I thought it gave them a good reputation.

Depends on which side of the institution you sit on. And whether you are a (prospective) student or an administrator or parent.

Mental note: road trip to Albany!

Re: Re: Princeton Review's Top Ten Party Schools
 

Agreed. But being on the list at all I think can show that you have a very party friendly campus.

While the actual rankings are pretty worthless, I think the fact that a school makes it on the list has some value.

Since this is based on student response, I have one thing to say:

BULLSHIT

ASU? U of A? Long Beach? SAN DIEGO FRICKING STATE?

SDSU alone should be at LEAST #5. They're basing this survey on alcohol and drug consumption for crying out loud. I mean, we're not known for our sports or academics.

There's a reason so many spoiled rich bitches form No Cal and LA come here......

GO OLE MISS! Nice to see we made the list! :)

We're slipping . . .

Down one from last year. :(

You really need to take responsibility for getting your school back on track!

My alma mater no longer makes the list, after topping it a couple years ago!

That will definitely be a goal of mine for the year.

I think Wisconsin and Marquette should ally to form a drinking team that will conquer the world.

FSU: Florida's Superior University
 

Its nice to see that we made it back into the top-10. At one time, we had the #1 spot for almost a full decade.

I don't know if any new bar has ever risen to the level of The Phyrst (it was the best bar EVER,) but if one does, I'll visit Tally more often.

So does Ohio University! Pathetic-- they are all we have going here in Ohio! hahaha

I know my sister would join forces at Marquette!

Actually, I think this year is about as high as Ohio has ever been. I don't even think we were on the list last year.

That's why the list is so bogus. As I said earlier, do you think student bodies just stop partying for a year?

O.U. was also listed a couple years ago as one of the top Greek schools in the nation by Princeton Review. And then totally off the list the next. Huh? On both.

It just doesn't track.

LSU isn't on there! WTF?!?!

This ranking is obviously bullshit if LSU ain't on there... Actually, I know that the school has done alot to take their name off of this list (i.e. drunk busses, etc) so that might be why. Ah, maybe next year.

My freshman year we were #5. Nice to see we're back in the game. Hotty Toddy!!

Hey, Oregon made #14 on the party list this year. Go Ducks! We also got #5 on the Reefer Madness and #1 on the Dorms Like Dungeons list. That sounds about right.

Ironically, this comes after they forced all the fraternities to go dry to combat the "Animal House" image. :rolleyes:

co-sign!

I'm surprised FSU can even make the list after a dorm (of all things) was built where The Phyrst used to be!

There is a sort-of-on-campus bar called Potbellies, where the AEPi house used to be in the 80's. It's the new version of The Phyrst, but as with all sequels it doesn't even come close to being as wonderful as the original (although I'm sure the current generation will disagree with me). I bet they don't even have Bladder Bust.

/nostalgia

Well, W&L's administration is squirming in their seats right now--normally they at least update the webpage with our good rankings in professors, happy students, pretty campus, stuff like that, but they're so ashamed of the party school ranking this year they haven't even had the nerve to post it.

Y'all will enjoy this story:

W&L's administration and admissions office always thinks that the ratings we get are based on a few very extreme (ie, drunken) people answering the Princeton Review's poll... so this year they did this huge campaign to all the honors students, student leaders, etc. for us to answer the poll and provide some more moderate views. Well--we did. Nearly everyone I know took the poll. And guess what? Our rankings were even more extreme this year.

LOL. Poor administrators.

Heh- I saw some article in the Des Moines Register trying to justify that other Iowa school being on one of the lists is because of "widespread alcohol abuse".
My ass.

What happened to ECU!!!
 

If Playboy loves us year after year, why doesn't the Princeton Review give us our props?

A link to the The Post at Ohio University with a story about the O.U. ranking:

http://www.thepost.ohiou.edu/N.php?a...N4&date=081904

The Phyrst
 

I've been in Potbellies. Its not even close. One room, too small, and no character.

Where you there for the last two nights of The Phyrst? The second to last night was a double bladder bust. The last night was supposed to be a triple bladder bust, but things got so out of hand (in a good way) that the third one never happened.

Once I turned 21, I almost never missed a bladder bust. Me and some of my phellow Phi Psis had it down to a science. There was the pre-bust, where we homesteaded in front of a bar, and started with a few pitchers (usually the one by the kitchen.) Then there was the bust, where we drank the "free" beer (if you didn't tip the bartender, he would ignore you.) The post-bust had two distinct stages. First we would drain a kidney. I would leave the Phyrst (as opposed to waiting on line inside) and go behind a certain building where I would do what I had to do. The second stage of the post-bust was the best part of the night. Socializing/staggering in one room in the Phyrst, then another, then another.

I also miss their wings. Absolutely amazing.

One of my best memories was turning 21 in the Phyrst. UF had beaten us for 6 straight years. The 1988 FSU-UF game was in Tally during Turkeyday weekend. I flew back in that Friday night. I was on line to get in, and at 11:15 pm a bouncer was denying me entrance. I was explaining that I would be 21 in 45 minutes. He was having none of this. Finally, the other bouncer said, 'let the guy in" and I was in! I found a bunch of my bros, and a few minutes later the Marching Chiefs entered the bar playing fight tunes. Everyone was pumped. I ordered beer and I wasn't carded. I was disapointed because I wanted to show my drivers licence. I really was 21!

A few hours later. we stumbled out and got some drunk food at Steak & Egg (remember that hole?)

The next day, on my 21st birthday, we beat UF. It was great.

Anyway, I'm still upset that George (George also owned The Pub, which was another great place with character, and that's gone now too) and Scott sold the joint. I couldn't believe that the Florida legislature did not call a special session to landmark The Phyrst and keep it in business. What were they thinking?

If I ever come into several billion dollars, I just might buy that dorm, tear it down, and rebuild The Phyrst.

I considered going to Albany. Quite a few people I know go there and apparently it does live up to it's reputation. However, I believe my school is hightly unrepresented in the Princeton Review. ;)