Ohio University is ranked as the nation's fifth-best party school in the 2005 edition of The Princeton Review's The Best 357 Colleges.
In addition, the university is ranked 18th in Their Students (Almost) Never Study
20th in Major Frat and Sorority Scene and 7th in Full of Beer. OU also finished 20th in the Happy Students category.
I don't know that you have to immediately make the connection between happy students and the use of alcohol OU spokesman Hub Burton said.
Past editions of the book, the latest of which was released Tuesday (Aug. 17), often have drawn fire from officials at universities around the country, said Princeton Review Public Relations Director Harriet Brand.
This is not The Princeton Review's opinion. This is the opinion of 100 000 students across the country
Brand said.
The book has 64 ranking lists, which include the top 20 schools in each category. 60 of the lists are compiled from 70-question surveys answered by 110,000 college students from the 357 schools. The other four lists are based on institutional data. The book also features a two-page profile of each college.
The Princeton Review has been publishing its Best Colleges book annually since 1992.
I think that the book is very helpful to students who are looking to find a college where they'll feel comfortable
Brand said. (Elsewhere) you're not really finding out the quality of life issues that make or break the college experience.
Brand said both of her children used the Best Colleges book to help them choose their school.
Burton was less enthusiastic about the value of the book's information.
Princeton Review could really use a much less anecdotal and a much more scientific measure
Burton said.
He said being included on the Party Schools list was not a legitimate concern because of the method of surveying students.
He also noted the inclusion of the University of Wisconsin and the University of Texas on the list, calling them good company for OU.
On the one hand I guess you can lament these so-called rankings
or you can be realistic and note that student health and well-being are concerns that stretch way beyond the publication of these things
Burton said.
The book's author, Robert Franek, said officials nearly always try to discredit the survey when their school is listed in a category like Party Schools
but he hopes the rankings are an honest reflection of life on those campuses.
However, A parent and a student should never cross off a school because they're on a party list
Franek said. It should equip them with some information to start a smart search.
Franek said no school should be upset with the book's assessment because just to be in the book a school must be deemed to be in the top 13 percent of schools nationwide. He encouraged students to take the survey online for next year's edition, available at http://survey.review.com. Any student can fill out the survey once per academic year.
Student opinion of the ranking ranged from enthusiastic to skeptical.
I think it's fantastic
said Chris Steel, a fifth-year senior from Dayton. Steel said the ranking is nothing to be ashamed of.
OU is similar to any other school, said sophomore Anita Tobin from Cleveland.
We do get our work done
