In the Big Ten Conference, where college rivalries are huge, the University of Illinois just lost a title.
U. of I. was dethroned as the top party school in the Princeton Review’s annual list of college rankings. The new winner in that category is the University of Wisconsin at Madison, according to the college guide released Monday. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign claims third place among party schools. Rounding out the top five are: West Virginia University (No. 2), Lehigh University in Pennsylvania (No. 4) and Bucknell University in Pennsylvania (No. 5).
The rankings are based on a survey of 143,000 students at 381 top colleges and published in the 2017 edition of the “Best Colleges” guidebook, on sale Tuesday. Students rate their schools on a number of topics ranging from financial aid and best campus food to level of happiness and most beautiful campus. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University.
The Princeton Review included feedback from unnamed students, who commented on the social scene at the University of Illinois, which has nearly 33,000 undergraduates enrolled. It quoted one student as saying, “The bars in downtown Champaign are great and super relaxed, plus there is an awesome music scene that most people don’t expect from a college town.”
Students surveyed pointed out the “19-year-old bar age” and the large Greek system, but also said the large variety of social opportunities means “there’s also tons to do beyond the bars,” according to the guidebook.
The third-place ranking riled U. of I. officials, as the No. 1 spot did last year.
“Whatever ranking they attach to us is insulting to our students, who are some of the brightest, most hardworking scholars anywhere,” said Robin Kaler, a university spokeswoman. “This pseudo ranking is nothing more than a promotion for Princeton Review.”
On the other side of the spectrum is the “stone-cold sober school,” a title that belongs to Brigham Young University in Utah.
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