"Ohio University is the perfect mixture of business with pleasure"
10 Schools That Party the Heartiest
Article provided by The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review's annual survey of college students reveals that kids at these ten schools are partyers without peer. Results are based on a combination of survey questions concerning the use of alcohol and drugs, hours of study each day, and the popularity of the Greek system.
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1. University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, Wisconsin)
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is home to "nice Midwest people" who are characterized as a "fun and crazy bunch." The city of Madison is widely considered the ultimate college town, with a senior bragging that "State Street compares to Bourbon Street on weekend nights." A content math major summarizes, "No better college atmosphere can be found anywhere than in Madison.”
Students who considered UW-Madison also looked at Arizona State University, University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, and University of Southern California.
2. Ohio University-Athens (Athens, Ohio)
"Ohio University is the perfect mixture of business with pleasure," students tell us, adding, "We get the work done on the weekdays so we can party hard on the weekends." Most agree that OU is "a rip-roaring good-time party school."
Students who considered OU-Athens also looked at Bowling Green State University, Kent State University, Ohio State University-Columbus, and University of Notre Dame.
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3. Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
Overall, "friendliness" is the glue that holds together this undergraduate body of 4,700 students. While "a decent amount of off-campus parties" provide bibulous opportunities, most of the partying takes place on "The Hill," where the university's 23 fraternity houses lie.
Students who considered Lehigh also looked at American University, Dickinson College, Lafayette College, and Syracuse University.
4. University of California-Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, California)
UCSB's idyllic setting results in "a relaxed atmosphere, an ideal place in which to learn and enjoy life." Surrounding the campus is Isla Vista, "a small college town where [many] students live [that is] home to insane parties."
Students who considered UC-Santa Barbara also looked at San Diego State University, University of California-Davis, University of California-Santa Cruz, and University of San Diego.
5. State University of New York at Albany (Albany, New York)
Many students warn that "Albany is a good school, but the partying can take over your normal good student. You have to be mature to learn to balance both." Nearly everyone tells us that the bars are the place to be; the location is so crucial to social life that, by junior year, many students "move downtown by the bars."
Students who considered SUNY at Albany also looked at Hofstra University, Penn State-University Park, SUNY at Binghamton, and University of Connecticut.
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IU’s location has much to do with its party-school rep: "Sometimes it seems all there is to do is party," says a typical student, "because Bloomington is such a small town." But at a school as large as IU, students agree that "life can be whatever you want it to be. You can go to massive house parties. You can stay at home [and] watch movies with a group of friends. You can go to a coffee shop, smoke, and listen to music. You can study in any one of the libraries. You can join all sorts of clubs and organizations (including the Greek system). You can do whatever you want, really. And you should be able to find people to do it with."
Students who considered IU-Bloomington also looked at Ball State University, Miami University of Ohio, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
7. University of Mississippi (University, Mississippi)
Students tell us that Ole Miss is "a huge party school." The Greeks, who claim one-third of the student body, are integral to the action: "On game nights, fraternities have big parties at their houses." You should know that "people either really like Ole Miss or really hate Ole Miss. It is a Greek-oriented school, and if you aren't that type of person, or an athlete, you probably won't like the school."
Students who considered U. Mississippi also looked at Auburn University, Louisiana State University, Tulane University, and University of South Carolina-Columbia.
8. University of Iowa (Iowa City, Iowa)
The "beautiful town" of Iowa City "has a lot to offer," mainly in the form of bars, "packed to capacity every night of the week." The resulting University of Iowa scene is "quite crazy, and most everyone seems to enjoy it." The campus's location right in the thick of things allows the "weekend to start on Tuesday and end on Sunday"--even though the on-campus sororities and fraternities are dry.
Students who considered Iowa also looked at DePaul University, Iowa State University, University of Georgia, and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
9. University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Amherst, Massachusetts)
The university is home to so many parties that some students refer to the school as "ZooMass." One student explains, "Off-campus keg parties are huge at our school." "Everyone seems to get along well," observes one student. "It is a good social environment, as you can meet any imaginable type of person."
Students who considered U Mass-Amherst also looked at Northeastern University, Quinnipiac University, Syracuse University, and University of Hartford.
10. Loyola University New Orleans (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Because "on any given night of the week you can go out and have a great time with tons of people your own age," "it's easy to get involved in really shady situations, e.g., running into a classmate at 4 AM on a Tuesday on Bourbon Street." The university clearly isn't oblivious to its students' extracurricular activities. In fact, "the school even takes into account that we live in New Orleans when planning school holidays, which is nice. For example, we always get the day after Halloween off and the days surrounding Mardi Gras."
Students who considered Loyola University New Orleans also looked at Centenary College, Florida State University, Loyola Marymount University, and Loyola University of Chicago.
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