For some college is about exploring life, which means having a good party is part of the education requirement. Every year a list of top 10 party colleges is created. Some make it on the list every year and others are not quite high enough to be national top party schools. For example in 2015, a prominent North Carolina school is not mentioned in the top ten list, but if you were looking at only colleges in the state then it would be top of the list.
The Princeton Review creates the list of top 10 party colleges and universities. Students are surveyed to determine the correct listing. Some of the schools on the list consistently wind up in the top spots, while others may have been knocked off the last few years only to re-emerge for 2015.
Here is the list of Party Colleges:
Syracuse University in Syracuse NY
University of Iowa in Iowa City IA
University of California-Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara CA
West Virginia University in Morgantown WV
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Champaign IL
Lehigh University in Bethlehem PA
Penn State University in University Park PA
University of Wisconsin-Madison in Madison WA
Bucknell University in Lewisburg PA
University of Florida in Gainesville Fl
The first five on the list have been in these positions since 2014. The order is slightly rearranged from previous years. West Virginia is the only college that is in forth position like it was during 2014. Syracuse University rose from 5th position to be the top school for partying in just 12 months.
Bucknell University is totally new to the list. It has not been considered a party school in the last three years, but in this year it managed to gain the 9th position. While colleges below ten are not mentioned in the list there are a couple worth mentioning. University of Delaware in 20th place is also new to the top party university list. University of Texas at Austin and University of Maryland are two schools that actually got knocked off from the list all together.
The survey information used to draft this list was based on questions of alcohol/drug use, hours of study, and popularity of Greek houses. The list is also only 20 in length, which means some schools that were knocked off the list may still be party schools they are just not in the top spots for the upcoming year.
The Opposite of Party
There is an opposite list that you may be interested in if you have no intention of going to college to drink and party. For the top 10 most sober schools, in which colleges have not gone wild, you will find some interesting options.
Brigham Young University in Provo UT
Wheaton College in Wheaton IL
College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout MO
Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula CA
United States Military Academy in West Point NY
Grove City College Grove City PA
Wesleyan College in Macon GA
United States Coast Guard Academy in New London CT
United States Naval Academy in Annapolis MD
Calvin College in Grand Rapids MI
These are colleges you can expect to go to where students are concentrating on their studies. They are taking on more hours of study than going out for drinks or doing drugs. They are not known for their toga parties either. You might find the occasional keg party, but more often than not nothing of this sort will be happening at these 10 colleges.
If You Want to Party
If you are a student who wishes to party, gain access to alcohol and other forms of entertainment the list of 10 sober colleges is definitely not the place for you and now you know where they are. For those who truly want to party more than education you are also able to choose from the top10 list knowing that those schools will offer more keg, toga, and other parties than other schools throughout the entire US.
Marrying Partying with Study
You might be interested in colleges where studying can be cool, but a party can still be found. There are certainly over 300 universities and colleges in the US to choose from including small city colleges and community colleges to A list schools that will provide a nice mixture of study and partying.
With the list of top 10 party colleges and 10 top sober colleges, you know at least 20 schools that do not fit your needs.
Other Forms of Comparison
Before you make up your mind on which school to choose from you may want to look at the student body available at the school, the amount of students to class ratios, rules for attendance and the city where the college is located. There is a general stereotype that colleges and universities in California and New England are some of the best party schools in the US. You have some of those universities on the list above. However, are the cities going to offer you the entertainment you want? Can you truly get everything you want from that location?
For example some students like to choose a party school in New York so that during spring break they can warm up in Florida at some of the hit Miami locations. Yet, if you go to school in Gainesville you can party all the time, drive to the beach or Miami and party more. The decision is all in what you truly want from your education period at school.
If you start out at a party school and then wish to get serious you can always change it up and apply elsewhere too. As you explore the schools you might want to consider if you enjoy the friends you have and the parties you are already apart of and thus an online college may work better for you.
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