LSU is dropping in the recently released Top 20 Party Schools ranking, and administrators are happy with the decline.
The 2004 Top 20 Party Schools ranking was released Aug. 19. For the seventh time in the past eight years, LSU was included on the list, this time at No. 17.
The ranking is part of Princeton Review’s “The Best 351 Colleges” guide, which ranks 63 different sectors of 351 nationwide colleges.
Erik Olson, the guide’s senior editor, said rankings are compiled using answers given by students from each of the schools represented in the book. Questions regarding the school’s Greek scene, alcohol use, drug use and the number of hours students spend studying outside of class are used to determine the school’s party ranking, Olson said.
About 106,000 students took the survey, administered mostly online, with each school averaging 300 students, Olson said.
Chancellor Mark Emmert said he does not see any validity in the ranking and believes the list is just an attempt by the Princeton Review to boost sales for its yearly college guide.
Emmert said the Princeton Review has stated openly that the rankings are not done scientifically, and therefore Emmert does not believe it casts a black eye on the University’s image.
Olson agreed that the rankings are not scientific but did state all of the participants in the survey are current students of the universities, meaning the rankings show how much students agree or disagree with social aspects of the school.
Olson said the Princeton Review college guide mostly is used as a tool for entering college students and their parents to view before making a college selection.
The party school ranking allows prospective students and parents a chance to see what type of social atmosphere schools have, Olson said.
“It does not have to be a bad thing; it could just mean there could be a robust party scene,” Olson said.
Some students on campus agree with the Top 20 ranking the school received.
Tim Brown, a political science senior, said he views the University as a big-time party school.
“A lot of people go out, and they all seem to be having fun,” Brown said.
Brown is not alone in his assessment that the University is a party school. Incoming freshmen also have a preconception that the school is a place to party while studying.
Rachel Overleitoer, a marketing freshman, said prior to enrolling at LSU she understood that the school possessed a strong party atmosphere she hopes to witness firsthand this semester.
Overleitoer said she did not base her decision to attend LSU on its partying reputation, but the social atmosphere did help in the selection process.
The party ranking is nothing new to the University, but this year’s low ranking is.
In 2001, LSU reached the pinnacle of the party school world when it received the No. 1 spot. The following year, the University kept the drinks coming with a No. 2 ranking, dropping one slot to the University of Tennessee.
Among other notable schools on this year’s list are the University of Colorado at No. 1, University of Florida at No. 10, University of Alabama at No. 11, University of Mississippi at No. 13 and University of Georgia at No. 15.