Florida Slips In Party School Rankings

ABC News on Campus reporter Vanessa de la Vina blogs: It looks like the party’s dying down at the University of Florida. Once ranked as the No. 1 party school in the nation just two years ago – and No. 2 last year — the school is now ranked 7th.  This year the University of Georgia partied its way to the top, making its first appearance as No. 1 in the latest Princeton Review rankings for top U.S. party schools. UGA ranked fourth last year. Last year’s first place school, Pennsylvania State University, now sits at No. 3. The rankings are based on the e-mail surveys of 122,000 students at more than 370 colleges across the nation. The list is just one of hundreds compiled in this year's edition of "The Best 373 Colleges." For the infamous party school list, colleges are ranked based on alcohol and drug use, popularity of Greek life on campus and the amount of time spent studying outside of class. Many students eagerly await the rankings each year hoping their school will earn bragging rights by topping the list. “I think it’s a sad day for students here at UF, especially losing to Georgia,” said University of Florida telecommunications senior, Kari Beckerman. “Not that I really party that much, but now I can’t say I go to the number one party school anymore.” Some potential students even look to the list as a factor in deciding where to attend college. Others are indifferent to the rankings, saying they don't have much effect on UF's atmosphere or reputation. We visited a popular library on UF's campus to hear from students currently in the midst of studying for summer school final exams — what did they think about UF's latest ranking? "I don't really care too much. I think Gainesville will always be seen as a party town regardless of its ranking," UF business graduate student Hadi Nosseir told us, as he grabbed a coffee on a quick study break. "Either way, I don't pay thousands of dollars a year to party." Surrounded by papers and textbooks, UF animal sciences senior Jessica Ashley, took a moment from studying for her microbiology final to express her feelings about the drop in ranks.
 
"It's a bit of a disappointment, but I'm really here for the academics, so it's not a big deal," said Ashley. "I don't think it's a great thing for UF to be considered a party school, but it has a great academic reputation, so I don't think the party thing has a negative impact." While ranking high on the list is a plus for some students, school officials cringe at the thought of being ranked No. 1. In fact, being ranked at the top tends to prompt university officials to beef up their schools’ alcohol and drug resistance programs. As for the soberest university in the nation? Coming up on the 13th year in a row, Brigham Young University, in Utah, takes the cake. It was also the No. 1 school for drinking milk and ranked third for having the most conservative students. Here’s the official list: 1) University of Georgia
2) Ohio University — Athens
3) Pennsylvania State University — University Park
4) West Virginia University
5) University of Mississippi
6) The University of Texas at Austin
7) University of Florida
8) University of California — Santa Barbara
9) University of Iowa
10) DePauw University
11) Florida State University
12) University of Wisconsin-Madison
13) University of Alabama — Tuscaloosa
14) Sewanee — The University of the South
15) Indiana University — Bloomington
16) University of Colorado — Boulder
17) University of Missouri
18) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
19) University of Maryland, College Park
20) Michigan State University