Top Party Colleges in the United States

Each year, The Princeton Review releases a poll of the best colleges, and students religiously flock to the internet to see if their college ranks. The college admission services company surveys over 143,000 students on subjects like best food, best career services, happiest students, and more. In fact, The Princeton Review releases a whopping 62 lists based on nine general areas: Academics/Administration, Quality of Life, Politics, Campus Life, Town Life, Social Life, Extracurricular Activities, Social Scene and Schools by Type. The most well-known list is Top Party School…duh. That’s what we’ll focus on today.

For the Top Party School list, students fill out a survey of a series of questions with “Strongly Agree” to “Strongly Disagree” or “Excellent” to “Poor” answers based on use of alcohol and drugs at the school, number of hours used to study outside of class time, and the popularity of fraternities and sororities.It’s no surprise that the schools that land the coveted position on the “Party Schools” list surveyed low personal daily study hours, high usages of alcohol and drugs on campus, and frat/sorority high popularity.If you don’t go to any of the Top 3 schools on the list, find friends who do and visit them.

1. University of Wisconsin – Madison

What the website says: University of Wisconsin-Madison prides itself on being “a catalyst for the extraordinary”. It has been dubbed as one of the Public Ivy schools, meaning the school provides an Ivy League experience with the advantage of a public school tuition rate. What students are saying: The students are super skilled at throwing parties, especially on Halloween and at its famous end-of-year block party. Tailgates and hours of drinking surround each home football game.

2. West Virginia University

What the website says: The adjectives that WVU uses to describe its students are pioneering, passionate, innovative, tireless, caring. It boasts multiple campuses throughout the state with over 32,000 students enrolled. What students are saying: With the college as the epicenter of the super small town, students spend a lot of time doing what students do best – party. Huge musical acts perform each year at FallFest (think Mac Miller, Flosstradamus, Cold War Kids), the annual St. Patrick’s Day parties rival most colleges’ parties, and again, football.

3. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

What the website says: U of I nobly boasts that its students are those that have the wherewithal to change the world. Nestled in between the cities of Urbana and Champaign, the college offers over 150 programs for students to study. What students are saying: With over 50 fraternities and 35 sororities, there is no shortage of Greek life on campus. Champaign’s 19-year-old bar entry age might have something to do with it, the annual Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day is a party day students wait for all year, and well, football.