Princeton Review has just released their list of America’s top party schools, and unsurprisingly, a school that’s set in the middle of nowhere is on top: Ohio University, which is located in Athens, Ohio (Where? Exactly).
Among the top ten are University of Georgia, in Athens, Ga. (coincidence?), University of Iowa, Penn State, University of Florida, and UT Austin.
UC Santa Barbara comes in at number five, which doesn’t surprise me at all. I spent a Halloween weekend there once, and let’s just say I woke up with a bloody knee, several bruises, and absolutely no memory of how it happened. I had to depend on a few pictures and my friends stories to help piece the mystery together. Still, all I really have is tainted memory of thousands of beautiful half naked people running around in awesome costumes, celebrating youth, drinking heavily, and a lot of cops on horses (how I didn’t get arrested for extreme public intoxication is beyond me). Ah, good times.
Here is the list in order:
1. Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
2. University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.
3. University of Mississippi, Oxford, Miss.
4. University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
5. University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, Calif.
6. West Virginia University, Morgantown, W. Va.
7. Penn State University, University Park, Pa.
8. Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fla.
9. University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
10. University of Texas, Austin, Texas
11. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
12. Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
13. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.
14. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wis.
15. DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind.
16. Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.
17. Arizona State University, Tempe, Ariz.
18. University of Maryland, College Park, Md.
19. University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt.
20. University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.
Did your school make the list?
[via WLTX]
guest
lol no I go to a private Jesuit school. But I’ve partied at OU (almost went there) and Indiana (applied there too!)
daisy / 617 posts
WVU: the best four years of your life. Minus the couch.
guest
Nope.
daffodil / 1601 posts
Nope, but that’s OK because I go to school to learn.
sunflower / 416 posts
I considered applying for University of Texas in Austin, but they required an essay. And I didn’t want to write an essay, haha. Not to mention I live about three hours from Austin, and I don’t know very many people who live there (I’m shy as hell… even when I lived in the dorms for the college I DID go to, I never made any friends because I didn’t talk to anybody). I do know people who have gone to UT though, and they’ve always said it’s a big “party” school. Austin itself is quite the “party” town, so to speak. It’s very much the social mecca of Texas.
daisy / 658 posts
lol i heard something like 1/4 in ucsb has an std. fact or myth?
guest
Haha my school is up there >
I thought that the party culture was kinda huge here… it’s all good b/c every weekend I have hot dates with my textbooks and a Disney movie.
guest
Good thing I won’t be attending Uni Park. I’m not a party girl, anyway… choosing college was never about that for me.
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I have a friend who goes to OU and is not happy with this list. That being said, my school is not on the list, nor should it ever be.
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lol FSU is before UF. I find that strange.
guest
UCSB!
I personally don’t make a habit of sleeping around, but I’m pretty sure the UCSB STD myth is NOT true.
guest
UT Austin is always up there. I didn’t go to school there, but I lived in the campus area for a while, and this list is probably accurate.
tulip / 15 posts
OU is about 45 minutes from where I live, and where my younger sister is hoping to attend school. Oh dear…
The majority of my graduating class (at least those who are attending college) go to WVU, so I hear plenty of stories. My school isn’t up there, probably because it’s tiny and mostly a commuter school.
guest
Yes, my campus is on the top 20 list, sadly, especially I didn’t apply there to party either.
But, FEAR THE FUCKING TURTLES!
@ohveryoung@xanga - Dub V whaaat whaat.
guest
UF & FSU are here! The two schools I will try to transfer to, would much prefer UF because I wouldn’t have to move, after next fall
orchid / 242 posts
Lol, I go to the University of Miami and am SO GLAD it’s not on this list! There’s definitely tons of partying, but it’s about time we’re viewed as what we are: a top 50 school that’s moving quickly up the ranks.
/nerd.
guest
Sad that ASU got bumped down, apparently…
Also… The title or description of this list should be more specific. Specify population size/enrollment total. Because my school is pretty small but it is a really HUGE party school. In fact, we have some pretty insane parties… It’s more like a “hole-in-the-wall” school because not EVERYONE knows about it… but we do have a load of party people here… And it’s the best because we’re in a small town (basically dominated by this one university) and we’re in the woods. Pine country.
guest
I go to OU and I’m graduating at the end of the summer. The ranking is probably not such a great way to start off the job search. My advisor even told me not to be surprised if it’s mentioned in a job interview.
magnolia / 1357 posts
My school’s obviously not on here, as I go to college in Mexico.
But there is a pretty big party scene here… or was, before so much insecurity forced us to stay at home with small, quiet parties (as the “bad” guys started to go into clubs and parties just for their fun and our terror).
guest
My school is there! But then again it’s always somewhere on the list. When I applied I didn’t know it was a party school, but now I’m hella glad it is.
rose / 802 posts
Indeed, mine is. That party rep – combined with the fact that while sober, no one at Ohio University is actually friends – is what prompted me to transfer in my junior year to Kent State. SO GLAD I did.
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university of texas at san antonio is crazier than austin
daffodil / 1607 posts
@bittersweetromantic@xanga - high fivez
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@swtaznxtc90@xanga - o/
daffodil / 1607 posts
@bittersweetromantic@xanga - \o HEYO!
guest
lol definitely not
guest
or did they mean the top relevant party schools? Georgia Southern is a huge party school notorious for STDs and just about everyone smoking weed or drinking ad nauseum but it’s not a respected school, so.
rose / 903 posts
I feel like half of these “party” schools are on the list because there’s nothing else to do.
guest
WVU!!!! Woot!
guest
just so you know, athens is located in the south eastern part of ohio, net to west virginia and pennsylvania. it’s in the middle of nowhere, hence the drinking. halloween is totally chaos, since everyone in ohio tends to go there for that weekend, even some of my teachers in high school.
tulip / 19 posts
Proud to say I am an incoming freshman at the #11 school on the list, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
sunflower / 286 posts
ha incoming freshman at ucsb right here <3
guest
WVU is absolutely amazing (: Can’t believe we slipped down to 6 though!
guest
Nope. Apparently back in the day my school was a huge party school, but not any more.
guest
Yes, my school made the list…Personally, I’m not particularly proud of it but my Facebook has blown up since the list came out, and plans are already being made of making my school #1. I don’t pay $50,000 a year to party though, I pay to get a good education, so I’d much rather open a book than open a beer can.
guest
No I go to Tulane in New Orleans, but I’ve partied plenty at LSU. The way I see it no matter what school you go to if you want to party you’ll party.
guest
Yes! UW Madison!!!
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Ole Miss went down to number 3? Travesty.
magnolia / 1066 posts
lol these people have never been to Georgia Southern, I have never seen such insanity in all my days.
yay for UGA though haha. it is possible to party & be smart! ;D
guest
I graduated with my BA and MEd from OU (#1).
guest
My school is #20 and, honestly, if that made the list, I’m thinking most schools could. There were the very typical college parties but campus was pretty quiet at night. Not sure how it made the list.
hydrangea / 86 posts
#4!
They’ve fallen in the rankings since I was there.
guest
Haha UT at Austin is always on the list lol. I almost went there (I’m from Houston,TX).
guest
Nope but I actually avoided party schools. I know a lot of people who went to University of Illinois though and it is the school to go to for anyone who is tired of my school not being a party school since it’s only a few hours away.
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Yup..UT
guest
UGA dropped to number two. Sad face. haha
guest
What happened to ASU??? I live near campus nowhere near the dorms and people party here every week. You will find people pass out in the halls and wasted people from all apts partying together at 3:00 am. on a monday .. It’s just awesome. And where I live its not even your typical student apartment community, it was also reviewed as a quiet community where the majority of the residents are busy grad students lol ….
guest
helll yeah iowa’s number four! go hawks
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Mine’s not but everytime I hear people cheer about this I feel like punching them in the face
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Mine’s not on there. It’s an underrated party school though. Nothing else to do in Davis except drink, smoke, and party when you’re not studying or in class.
guest
IOWA IOWA IOWA IOWA WOOOOOOOO PARTY PARTY PARTY DRINK ALCOHOL DIE ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD YES YES YES.
Okay yeah, I’m a part of that, but I hate it. #gohawkeyes
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I almost went to University of Texas at Austin, buuuuut I turned it down for a better school….that is not on the list
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WOOT TERPS!
tulip / 5 posts
#10 Really??? It looked lame to me….
guest
Wellll, I definitely think USM should be on here. -.- But at least ONE Mississippi school made the cut!
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my school is #11! but some of those party animals at my school are also the ones that study the hardest… so yea.. i also don’t party much because i can’t handle much alcohol, and i hate the taste of it (i can taste it in almost anything)
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yepp xP
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@KickDrumHeart@datingish - My schools on the list, & its in a big town with plenty to do.
rose / 903 posts
@xOhUgSaNdKisSeSx05@xanga - Like I said… half.
magnolia / 1369 posts
FIU didn’t make the list but FSU and UF did. Hah!
guest
I go to OU and I’ll admit that students there like to party, but I feel like every college campus likes to party for the most part. With the school being in the middle of nowhere and over ten bars on the main street partying is kind of inevitable. However, the parties that OU is known for (Halloween, all the street fests such as Palmer Fest and High Fest) have more students from other schools than from Ohio U. I think this past year there were 150 arrests from all the fests and less than ten students went to my school, and I know that Athens police said this was one of the best Halloween parties the school’s had in awhile, in regards to arrest and things getting too out of hand. I don’t mind the parties, but I hate how people act like I don’t go to class or work hard toward my grades.
Basically, yes Ohio University parties, but it’s still a good college. The Journalism College (which is my major) is one the best in the country, so it’s unfortunate that people downplay the school just because of it’s social activities.
guest
I personally though that Ball State would make the list, but rock some socks IU!!
guest
Can’t wait, I’m transferring to UF!
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I went to UT-Austin.
It’s kind of hard not to be on the list when you have a whole 6th street full of bars.
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i have a lot of friends that go to wvu, and are going to try to single-handedly reclaim the #1 title. haha
sunflower / 281 posts
PRAISE THE LORD IT IS NOT!
However, I do wish the morons at my school would drop the drinks and hit the books more often…… idiots -_-”
guest
Really?! University of Iowa???
I go to UIC, which is a sister-school to UIUC, but I’m actually surprised that UIUC (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) is on the list.
guest
@katethoughts@xanga - 1/3
HOORAY! UCSB!!! But in all honesty, it’s not the school. We live with the community college kids in a small place called Isla Vista. So, imagine 2 universities living in a very small congregated area. The CC kids party extremely hard. I feel like it’s an illusion that UCSB is a party school. I love my school and we have some extremely amazing programs.
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NUMBER 12! GO ORANGE! After 2 years I’m back in the ‘cuse for grad school. Haven’t partied yet, but my college is hosting a happy hour event at the bar today and my prof is taking us out next week. Parties started to get dull my last year of undergrad, but we had some RIDICULOUS times in undergrad. Halloween weekend and Mayfest are the craziest!
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Nope but I’ve been to No. 3 for a football game. Lushes everywhere. Yuck.