What is the number 1 party school in Virginia?

Sponsored Result, The University of Virginia's College at Wise

Blue checkmark.

4 Year,

WISE, VA,

242 Niche users give it an average review of 3.6 stars.

Featured Review: Junior says Academically, the college lacks consistency. Certain programs, such as general education requirements, lack substantial teaching and learning. However, other areas of academics, for example, Biology,...The smaller size of campus and student body aids to facilitate a familial and belonging feeling. Despite the low number of students, social events are happening frequently to foster community. I have learned factually, socially, and internally with my time at UVA-Wise, so overall the experience has been beneficial. Issues with the school would include a lack of diversity, small local community outside the campus, and fluctuations in academics. However, with adversity comes resilience and ability to foster....

Read 242 reviews.

Overall Niche Grade: B,

Acceptance Rate: 83%,

Net Price: $9,418,

SAT Range: 980-1170,

Story highlights

Rankings are from Princeton Review

College preparation company says it surveyed more than 122,000 students

WVU also topped the list of beer drinking schools

University says lists like these have no merit

CNN —

Perhaps right now in Morgantown, West Virginia, they are raising a glass, or rather a mug, to celebrate their No. 1 ranking from the Princeton Review.

Not as the best university for academics, but for being named the best party school in the United States.

The 22,000-plus students there like to let some steam off every now and now, according to the survey, which asked questions of about 325 people on 377 college campuses.

All the schools on the top 20 list have more than 15,000 students, save for DePauw, which came in at No. 12, and No. 19 University of Maine.

“The schools on this list are mostly large, public universities with strong academic and research profiles, as well as highly successful athletic programs,” West Virginia said in a news release. “But in the big picture, clearly this list has no real credibility.”

West Virginia also topped the “Lots of Beer” list while Providence College was No.1 for “Lots of Hard Liquor.”

Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, led the “Stone Cold Sober” list.

“Schools on the ‘Party Schools’ list are those at which surveyed students’ answers indicated a combination of: low personal daily study hours (outside of class), high usages of alcohol and drugs on campus and high popularity on campus for frats/sororities,” the Princeton Review said on its website.

The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University. It is a test preparation and college admissions consulting company based in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Here is the full list of the top 20 party schools:

1) West Virginia University
2) University of Iowa
3) Ohio University
4) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
5) University of Georgia
6) University of Florida in Gainesville
7) University of California-Santa Barbara
8) Florida State University
9) Miami University of Ohio
10) Syracuse University
11) Penn State University
12) DePauw University
13) University of Wisconsin-Madison
14) University of Mississippi
15) University of Texas-Austin
16) University of Maryland
17) University of South Carolina
18) James Madison University
19) University of Maine
20) University of Tennessee

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia University is back on top for the first time in five years, bumping off Ohio University to reclaim its title as the nation's No. 1 party school.

WVU hasn't held the top spot since 2007, but the rankings announced Monday by The Princeton Review make it the third time. WVU was also No. 1 in 1997, and it's been among the top 20 party schools 12 times in the 21 years the rankings have been published.

Not surprisingly, WVU also ranks No. 1 in the "Lots of Beer" category.

Topping the Stone-Cold Sober Schools for the 15th straight year? Utah's Brigham Young University.

The current rankings are in the 2013 edition of "The Best 377 Colleges," which goes on sale Tuesday. There are 62 ranking lists, each based on surveys of 122,000 students during the last school year. Students answered 80 questions about academics, administration, campus life, the student body and themselves.

WVU administrators, who have worked for years to tone down or eliminate the party school image, dismissed the survey.

"If you look at the schools on this list, they are mostly large, public universities with strong academic and research profiles, as well as highly successful athletic programs," said spokeswoman Becky Lofstead. "But in the big picture, clearly this list has no real credibility."

"As always, we focus on celebrating and supporting WVU's long history of academic achievements," she said. "Our students, faculty, alumni, parents and friends have made it clear that is their focus as well."

And even the lists make clear that WVU isn't all about drinking. The Morgantown campus, which has nearly 30,000 students, also scored well in two other areas: It got 95 points of a possible 99 for being environmentally friendly, and it scored 93 for fire safety.

The latter might come as a surprise in the city of Morgantown, where students and other revelers regularly set street and trash bin fires to celebrate everything from the beginning or end of a semester to a major athletic victory.

As of late June, after the end of the last semester, city fire officials said they'd responded to 115 fires. They tend to occur in batches, and 36 were set over St. Patrick's Day weekend alone.

The record is 274 fires set in 2003.

WVU was also ranked third for students who study the least and third for best athletic facilities.

Robert Franek, the book's author and Princeton Review senior vice president, says schools aren't ranked overall because they're culture and academic offerings vary widely.

"Instead, we tally lists of the top 20 schools in 62 categories based entirely on what students at these schools tell us about their campus experiences," he said. "Our goal is not to crown one college 'best' overall, but to help applicants find and get in to the college best for them."

Some of the other "bests" in the eyes of students include:

¦ Most Beautiful Campus - Florida Southern College

¦ Best Career Services - Northeastern University in Massachusetts

¦ Best Campus Food - Bowdoin College in Maine

¦ Best College Dorms - Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.

¦ Happiest Students - Rice University in Texas

¦ Best Athletic Facilities - U.S. Military Academy

Students reporting the highest overall satisfaction with their school are at California's Claremont McKenna College.

The Princeton Review is an education services company known for its test-prep courses, tutoring, books, and other student resources. Headquartered in Framingham, Mass., it's a private company that is not affiliated with Princeton University.