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University of Illinois

Illinois named top party school in the U.S.

Alexandra Samuels
The University of Texas at Austin

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Editor's note: Information pertaining to additional schools rankings was contributed by The Associated Press.

The Princeton Review’sannual ranking just named the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign the top party school in the country, followed by the University of Iowa who won the coveted title for 2013-2014.

UIUC is no stranger to The Princeton Review’s list. In 2014, they earned the number five spot and landed at number three the year prior.

While this is the first time the university has been number one, many students are confident that their school is well-deserving of the esteemed title.

“There are a lot of parties on campus,” Elijah Okpogie, a rising senior at the UIUC, says.

Rankings are gathered from a survey of tens of thousands of college students across hundreds of campuses. According to The Princeton Review’s website, the survey contains over 80 questions and includes like 'Students' and 'Life at Your School.'

RELATED: Campus drinking: How a party school sobered up

Okpogie says that the largest party at his university is a weekend of festivities known as “Unofficial.” Students wear green to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, and according to Okpogie, will “go out early and begin drinking (as early) as 8 or 9 a.m.” Besides this annual celebration, Okpogie says students frequently enjoy going out to bars.

School officials, however, are no too thrilled with their university earning the top spot. In an emailed statement to USA TODAY College, spokeswoman Robin Kaler sent a statement from the school’s chancellor, Phyllis Wise.

“This is not a scientifically based ranking. It’s a promotion for The Princeton Review.

Our student body is comprised of the brightest, most hard-working students anywhere. Their graduation rates and achievements in their careers and lives demonstrate that they take their studies seriously and that they are at Illinois to get a world-class education.

It’s disappointing that, once again, Princeton Review is promoting this pseudo ranking as though it were meaningful. It’s insulting to all of our students, since they are here to prepare to become leaders of their generation.”
Okpogie, however, advises officials who disagree with the ranking to “come check out Unofficial.”

Not every student shares Okpogie’s excitement at being named the number one party school, however. Some students, including junior Charmaine Balisalisa, are uninterested in this news.

“I have no doubt that U. of Illinois is a big party school, especially with the incredibly accessible bars — I mean, they're at the heart of the campus! As to whether or not we deserve the No. 1 spot is not something I care about,” she says.

While spokespeople for the school may not be thrilled with The Princeton Review’s results, they said one good thing may come out of the school’s top spot on the party leaderboard.

“It gives us a chance to talk with our students and their parents about celebrating and relaxing safely,” Wise says.

"We have such a high regard for each of the 380 schools," Robert Franek, publisher at The Princeton Review told the Associated Press. "The University of Illinois, it is an exceptional school.

RELATED: Colleges can be doing more to combat drinking culture, study says

For now, however, Okpogie says he plans on going out more this semester, planning events with venues in Champaign, and to celebrate his school’s top spot, he says he “will be going out every day for the first week of school.”

“The social scene is very, very good here. People are not afraid to get out of their comfort zone and introduce themselves to others,” Okpogie says. “There’s a really diverse crowd and I really had fun this year.”

For those who don't imbibe, the top stone-cold sober school is Brigham Young University, the private Utah school affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tops for most religious students? That's BYU, too.

Looking for the best campus food? Try the small, exclusive Bowdoin College in Maine.

Most satisfied students? Claremont McKenna University, under what one student told the review was "the constantly beaming California sun."

Want a job? Go to Clemson University in South Carolina, where students say they're instantly part of a worldwide network.

The party rankings, like most parties themselves, change over time. The University of Iowa is a former No. 1, but came in at No. 2 this year.

Freshmen due in Iowa City this month will find dozens of bars downtown and many house parties awaiting them. But the city has also made it harder for those under 21 to get into bars, and police officers will be patrolling neighborhoods to break up rowdy parties.

Rounding out the top five party schools are, in order: The University of Wisconsin-Madison, Bucknell University in Pennsylvania and last year's No. 1, Syracuse University in New York.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.

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