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Princeton Review ranks UF No. 1 party school
At a glance
- The college rankings were based on 120,000 student surveys from 368 colleges
- UF spokesman Steve Orlando said UF's two NCAA basketball championships and one national football championship contributed to this year's No. 1 ranking
- UF was also named No. 1 in categories that included Students Study the Least and Students pack the Stadiums
By THOMAS STEWART, Alligator Contributing Writer
Gainesville may not have won ESPN’s TitleTown USA contest Monday night, but UF students still have something to party about this week.
The Princeton Review named UF the No. 1 party school in the nation Monday.
The infamous ranking, based on 120,000 student surveys from 368 colleges, means UF has high levels of drug and alcohol use, a popular Greek system and students who don’t spend much time studying, according to survey results.
The Princeton Review named UF the No. 1 party school in the nation Monday.
The infamous ranking, based on 120,000 student surveys from 368 colleges, means UF has high levels of drug and alcohol use, a popular Greek system and students who don’t spend much time studying, according to survey results.
This is the first time in the 17–year history of the ranking that UF has earned the top spot. Last year, UF was ranked No. 4. The highest ranking UF achieved before this year was No. 2 in 1999.
UF’s two NCAA basketball championships and one national football championship in the past few years likely contributed to this year’s No. 1 ranking, said Steve Orlando, UF spokesman.
“If (the ranking) means our students know how to have a good time, we knew that already,” Orlando said.
He was quick to point out that UF students may play hard, but they know how to work hard as well. He said UF’s incoming freshmen have average SAT scores of 1300 and high school GPAs exceeding 4.0.
Even so, UF students’ affinity for drinking was made clear a few years ago when five students died from alcohol–related deaths in less than two years. And soon after his 2003 arrival, UF President Bernie Machen launched a campaign to curb underage and binge drinking.
The campaign included banning liquor ads at campus venues and in UF television productions. Machen also canceled Lex & Terry, a syndicated radio show with a live drinking segment, from WRUF, and he criticized all–you–can–drink specials at bars.
Being a top party school is just one of 62 rankings included in “The Best 368 Colleges,” a yearly book aimed at providing information for college–bound students and families. The 2009 edition went on sale today.
Robert Franek, author of the book, said it helps to prompt discussion at colleges unhappy with their rankings.
For example, he said the University of Colorado at Boulder was ranked as the top party school four years ago and implemented policies to reverse that ranking. This year, the university was ranked No. 13 on the list of party schools.
UF had two more No. 1 finishes in the book’s other rankings. These were in categories labeled Students Study the Least and Students Pack the Stadiums.
The Students Study the Least category was based on the reported number of hours students study per day outside of class, and the Students Pack the Stadium category was based on responses to questions about the popularity of intercollegiate sports.
UF freshman Chelsea Cohen said it seems like other schools, such as the University of Central Florida and Florida State University, are bigger party schools than UF.
FSU placed 10th in the party rankings. Cohen said the rating surprised her because the police in Gainesville are “so strict.”
Dennis Sison, a UF nutritional science junior, said UF’s rankings as both the top party school and the school that studies the least actually shows the intelligence of UF students.
“We don’t even need to study that much,” Sison said. “We know that we’ll still get the grade, even with a hangover."
UF’s two NCAA basketball championships and one national football championship in the past few years likely contributed to this year’s No. 1 ranking, said Steve Orlando, UF spokesman.
“If (the ranking) means our students know how to have a good time, we knew that already,” Orlando said.
He was quick to point out that UF students may play hard, but they know how to work hard as well. He said UF’s incoming freshmen have average SAT scores of 1300 and high school GPAs exceeding 4.0.
Even so, UF students’ affinity for drinking was made clear a few years ago when five students died from alcohol–related deaths in less than two years. And soon after his 2003 arrival, UF President Bernie Machen launched a campaign to curb underage and binge drinking.
The campaign included banning liquor ads at campus venues and in UF television productions. Machen also canceled Lex & Terry, a syndicated radio show with a live drinking segment, from WRUF, and he criticized all–you–can–drink specials at bars.
Being a top party school is just one of 62 rankings included in “The Best 368 Colleges,” a yearly book aimed at providing information for college–bound students and families. The 2009 edition went on sale today.
Robert Franek, author of the book, said it helps to prompt discussion at colleges unhappy with their rankings.
For example, he said the University of Colorado at Boulder was ranked as the top party school four years ago and implemented policies to reverse that ranking. This year, the university was ranked No. 13 on the list of party schools.
UF had two more No. 1 finishes in the book’s other rankings. These were in categories labeled Students Study the Least and Students Pack the Stadiums.
The Students Study the Least category was based on the reported number of hours students study per day outside of class, and the Students Pack the Stadium category was based on responses to questions about the popularity of intercollegiate sports.
UF freshman Chelsea Cohen said it seems like other schools, such as the University of Central Florida and Florida State University, are bigger party schools than UF.
FSU placed 10th in the party rankings. Cohen said the rating surprised her because the police in Gainesville are “so strict.”
Dennis Sison, a UF nutritional science junior, said UF’s rankings as both the top party school and the school that studies the least actually shows the intelligence of UF students.
“We don’t even need to study that much,” Sison said. “We know that we’ll still get the grade, even with a hangover."
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July 2nd, 2009 CorrectionThe UF-Georgia football game is held annually at the Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. The contract for the game is between UF and the city of Jacksonville. An article in Tuesday’s paper stated otherwise. |
12 comment(s) |
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The following are comments from the readers.
kookbutt wrote on Jul 29, 2008 4:38 PM:
" Yet another great accomplishment for Machen! UF drops in the academic rankings but we still remain number one on the party rankings despite all of Machen's anti alcohol, anti greek, anti party and anti student policies he implemented to curb drinking and partying at UF. Machen is as useless as a second bunghole. "
flagator wrote on Jul 30, 2008 3:41 AM:
" sure it'd be nice to have the reputation of a school like harvard but it's not going to happen. work hard and stand out and you'll do fine after college. i'm working on wall street with a bunch of kids who went to ivy league schools on the same level and they don't have the fun stories to share like gators do. also, i have three friends from arizona state working up in new york who are geniuses and are making it big. "
ufgrad10 wrote on Jul 30, 2008 11:57 AM:
" This should not be a surprise to anyone, when our "esteemed" President Machen issued his repeated missives urging instructors to relax attendance policies during championship sports events. Is a championship a big deal? Sure! Is it a legitimate reason to skip class? Absolutely not! UF students are supposed to be adults, and adults make choices - no instructor should have to excuse a student for deciding that football is more important than their education. "
logical wrote on Jul 31, 2008 11:00 AM:
" The Princeton review who do these people think they are? Do they really think the measurements they made really tell us who parties the most? This seems to me like slander.
Everyone believes some retard that had to pic top schools for their worthless book. I love how they brand uf as everyone does not study and or all of us "pack the stadium". Look I study all day and night no one asked me about my study habits. They just sweep all of us into a sweeping generalization. I find the Princeton review to be more of a witch hunt then a scientific statement. They only make that thing for money anyway! "
Everyone believes some retard that had to pic top schools for their worthless book. I love how they brand uf as everyone does not study and or all of us "pack the stadium". Look I study all day and night no one asked me about my study habits. They just sweep all of us into a sweeping generalization. I find the Princeton review to be more of a witch hunt then a scientific statement. They only make that thing for money anyway! "
vaio wrote on Jul 31, 2008 4:34 PM:
" We really need to get rid of that ineffective, yet very well-compensated President. It will take years to restore the reputation of this university. "
Inflatable Jesus wrote on Jul 31, 2008 4:59 PM:
" so what, exactly, is wrong with partying? What are you, a bunch of Puritans? Life is short a cruel, partying is the only thing that makes it somewhat palatable. Get some perspective, ladies. "
pepa123 wrote on Jul 31, 2008 9:17 PM:
" Really?! Are we really proud of this label? I know that this statistic may not be truly representative of the whole gator student body because it's only a survey, but I was appalled to see a facebook group of nearly 6,000 members lauding the ranking. I thought that this would be something that perhaps a Seminole would be proud of, but not the gators--we're above that.
And yes, Inflatable Jesus, perhaps the ranking of #1 party school isn't so bad because we all like to have fun, but what about the #1 ranking of students who study the least? Not so nice.
Perhaps there are some of us who care a little more about the reputation of our school because we don't want this title to follow us in the future...well, you know, for those of us who don't want to end up bagging groceries for a living. "
And yes, Inflatable Jesus, perhaps the ranking of #1 party school isn't so bad because we all like to have fun, but what about the #1 ranking of students who study the least? Not so nice.
Perhaps there are some of us who care a little more about the reputation of our school because we don't want this title to follow us in the future...well, you know, for those of us who don't want to end up bagging groceries for a living. "
pepa wrote on Aug 1, 2008 1:25 AM:
" Really?! Are we really proud of this label? I know that this statistic may not be truly representative of the whole gator student body because it's only a survey, but I was appalled to see a facebook group of nearly 6,000 members lauding the ranking. I thought that this would be something that perhaps a Seminole would be proud of, but not the gators--we're above that.
And yes, Inflatable Jesus, perhaps the ranking of #1 party school isn't so bad because we all like to have fun, but what about the #1 ranking of students who study the least? Not so nice.
Perhaps there are some of us who care a little more about the reputation of our school because we don't want this title to follow us in the future...well, you know, for those of us who don't want to end up bagging groceries for a living. "
And yes, Inflatable Jesus, perhaps the ranking of #1 party school isn't so bad because we all like to have fun, but what about the #1 ranking of students who study the least? Not so nice.
Perhaps there are some of us who care a little more about the reputation of our school because we don't want this title to follow us in the future...well, you know, for those of us who don't want to end up bagging groceries for a living. "
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j.sant wrote on Jul 29, 2008 8:05 AM: