The Nation's Top Party School Is...

University of Iowa chiefs not toasting victory
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 5, 2013 11:54 PM CDT
Updated Aug 6, 2013 4:03 AM CDT
The Nation's Top Party School Is...
University of Iowa students react before an NCAA college football game against Penn State in Iowa City, Iowa.    (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

Despite the best efforts of city and university officials, the University of Iowa has taken first place in the Princeton Review's list of top party schools after finishing second last year. The rankings—based on a nationwide survey of 126,000 students—take into account drug and alcohol use, the popularity of fraternities and sororities, and the amount of time spent studying, the Des Moines Register reports. University of California, Santa Barbara; the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; West Virginia University, and Syracuse University rounded out the top 5.

A University of Iowa spokesman, however, says that despite the party reputation, problem drinking among students has been falling since 2009. Data released this year shows the percentage of Iowa students who reported drinking in the last 30 days is 75%, the lowest in 20 years but still above the national average, the AP reports. Iowa City has been trying to reduce binge drinking with moves including a 2010 law requiring customers to be 21, not 19, to enter bars. On the "stone-cold sober schools" list, meanwhile, Utah's Brigham Young University is once again in first place, with Illinois' Wheaton College in second place. (More University of Iowa stories.)

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