Princeton Review says: Hoosiers can still party
 

Princeton Review says:

top 10 party schools:

the Univ. of Colorado, University of Wisconsin-Madison;
Indiana University, Bloomington; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign;
Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia; University of
Texas-Austin; The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee; DePauw
University, Greencastle, Indiana; Saint Bonaventure University, Olean, New
York; and the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Just saw several of their "best" lists. They're even harder to believe this year than they've been in the past.

The one thing you can say for them is that whoever thought this scam up is probably making a lot of money on it.

Again, I'm not surprised that there are so many Big Ten schools or that Wisconsin was ranked so high (it always is), but I do think these lists are pretty lame, considering their criteria. I am surprised at the absence of ASU and many other campuses listed on "top party schools" lists, though.

Isn't the Greek system at Colorado completely dry?? I know you can party without partying in the houses, but that just screams un-party school to me.

Saint Bonaventure U???? Can someone from NY fill us in??

W&L
 

I am shocked that Washington and Lee made the "party school" list. I can't remember being on it in years past, though we have always been high on the Greek list and the beer list. Yes, W&L kids do go out a lot, but I don't think we belong in the same category with the rest of the colleges that made the top 10. W&L is a tiny 1st tier liberal arts college, smaller than many high schools. I wouldn't call W&L a party school because it's quite selective and the academics are very rigorous. The whole WORK HARD/play hard thing, and they're not kidding about the work hard part.

I bet the administration is pissed... hehe

OK, here's my mantra from every year. There is no apparant methodology to these "surveys." The Princeton Review has absolutely nothing to do with Princeton University. They just use the name.

My very big suspicion is that it's simply a numbers game. If more people from School X reply, they make the list.

The whole thing strikes me as bogus.

But, we've been through this before, haven't we?

The Greek System does not necessarily make a party school.

Think of some of the folks who come to C.U. High income kids who want to go to classes and ski. Or Mountain Bike. Or hike.

You should see the number of Beemers and SUV's driven by the student population.

(Of course there are some folks there who really are looking for the excellent education you can get at Colorado -- it's an excellent school)

We closed our chapter there three times for drug and alcohol violations. I don't know that we'll ever recolonize. Our former international president called them "A bunch of rich ski-bums." The alumni of the chapter agree.

It's definitely a party school. I've been to "The Hill" with some of my former students there -- pretty hard core -- and I went to a pretty good party school myself. Maybe they're number one up there in Boulder, but I'll never believe Princeton's alleged "survey" though.

OK, so I'm obsessed with pointing out how bogus this whole Princeton Review Ranking stuff is. I copied this from another thread:

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by AEPhiSierra
I think a lot of it has to do with who responds. A few years ago my schools name wouldn't be found on anything - good or bad. Then a couple of years they started promoting that students should vote in the survey. after we got a shocking top 5 placement in most beautiful campus i am sure everyone voted this year.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Pretty much exactly what I've suspected, and said many times. But these things keep coming up, and people actually believe them.

(I also thought it was interesting that Harvard didn't appear on the top twenty colleges list.)

Re: W&L
 

hrm...
I thought in the edition of the Princeton review I had, W&L wasn't listed because sports popularity figured into the party school calculation. They must have changed their calculations.

That said, I'm not really that surprised that W&L was that highly ranked. Even if people do work their butts off, most of them drink like fishes, too. There's this whole complex of us WANTING to be high on the lists for drinking--I think probably the people who drink the most take this survey hehe.

I bet the website will list the good rankings and not the bad. :) Crazy pissed administration is right.

Univ. of Colorado parties to top of list

BOULDER, Colorado (AP) --The University of Colorado topped the list of
party schools in the nation, while Brigham Young University was "stone-cold
sober," according to the Princeton Review's latest survey.

The "Best 351 Colleges" survey, based on responses from more than 100,000
students at U.S. campuses, ranks colleges in such categories as "most
religious students," "most beautiful campus" and "best campus food." The
review, which has no affiliation with Princeton University, has been
conducting the study since 1992.

Despite a six-year effort to curb binge drinking at the University of
Colorado, the school ranked third in widespread use of marijuana, fourth in
the prevalence of hard liquor consumption and 11th in the prevalence of
beer usage, Princeton Review reported in its 2004 findings. CU also ranked
first among schools where students study the least.

Last year, it came in at No. 8 on the party list.

Brigham Young University was ranked the top "stone-cold sober" school,
according to the study, while Army's military academy at West Point, New
York, was the hardest to get into.

Nearly 63 percent of students at the Boulder school binge drink, according
to Bob Maust, coordinator of the A Matter of Degree Program, which tried to
reduce binge drinking at CU. A Harvard study showed about 44 percent of
college students nationwide binge drink.

CU student Alexandra Kass, 21, said her study habits haven't suffered at a
university that also rated three out of four stars for academics in the survey.



Rankings under fire
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.

University officials questioned the latest Princeton Review report. They
said that the faculty also includes Nobel Prize winners, and that numerous
students have won awards.

"If they want to study hard and play hard, they will get a great degree,
but if they come here just to play hard, they won't be here long," said Ron
Stump, CU's vice chancellor for student affairs.

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.

Princeton Review editorial director Robert Franek said the survey merely
reports on conditions at the schools.

Other top 10 party schools included the University of Wisconsin-Madison;
Indiana University, Bloomington; University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign;
Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia; University of
Texas-Austin; The University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee; DePauw
University, Greencastle, Indiana; Saint Bonaventure University, Olean, New
York; and the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

(c) 2003 The Associated Press.

I think you're right, DeltAlum. I know that there are about 15 people from Pville (friends of mine, perhaps?) who gave them the lowest rankings possible on everything, and it shows up nowhere. And Marquette only showed up on "The students here never stop studying" which is sort of shady.