Post Academic

So some of you are probably aware that the Princeton Review just released its updated list of top party schools this week.  I myself found out about it listening to sports radio, of all things.  For your viewing pleasure, here’s the top 10 and the last 1:

"UGA Statue College Square" by Josh Hallett (Creative Commons license)

1. University of Georgia

2. Ohio University

3. Penn State

4. West Virginia University

5. University of Mississippi

6. University of Texas at Austin

7. University of Florida

8. University of California – Santa Barbara

9. University of Iowa

10. DePauw University

Last Place. Brigham Young University (apparently, many, many years running)

According to the site Suite101, the party school rankings are based on over 100,000 surveys that take into account the following “criteria”: alcohol and drug consumption, the average number of hours studying, and Greek life on campus.  Apparently, the AMA has asked the Princeton Review to cease publishing this list, while campus higher-ups deem such attention as less than flattering.  But, hey, if you’re UGA, at least you can beat Florida in something, since that hasn’t happened in football so much over the last two decades.  Looking at the list, I guess there’s a reason the annual grudge match between the schools is known as the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party”.

Considering that the top 10 party schools list has overshadowed the Princeton Review’s rankings for such categories as best classroom experience (Mount Holyoke) and most accessible profs (Air Force Academy), maybe we should rethink the idea of banning kids from attending college–even if you won’t be saving $200 K in tuition at these state schools.  I guess if party school rankings are getting more attention than anything else, maybe James Altucher is on to something in his comment rebutting our rebuttal of his anti-college manifesto: “But realistically, think about what most kids do in college.”