Top Party Schools

What is a party school? In recent times, there are several publications that have come out with lists of those colleges and universities that have a reputation of having a huge party culture on campus which basically means a heavy use of alcohol and drugs. The Princeton Review releases a list of top party schools every year. The Playboy is another publication that comes out with such a list but the latter releases this on an irregular basis. Most schools like to disassociate themselves from the tag of party schools. These lists have also been condemned by many organizations cited as being an impetus for dangerous behavior.

Top Party Schools in the Nation

Ranking of the best party schools in America is very arbitrary and is generally based on rankings as given by students. For example, the Princeton Review's list of top party schools is based on nation-wide survey conducted amongst as many as 122,000 students and generally based on categories like the usage of alcohol and drugs, the proliferation of Greek fraternity and sorority systems, and questions like how little time do people indulge in academics. Since the data received from these surveys are less than scientific it is impossible to practically state that one school is more of a party school when compared to another school. The Princeton Review has been releasing a list of the top 10 party schools in the country every year since 1992. This year's list of the best party schools to attend, according to the Princeton Review are given below.

Princeton Review's Top Party Schools
Rank	College
1	University of Georgia
2	Ohio University
3	Pennsylvania State University
4	West Virginia University
5	University of Mississippi
6	University of Texas
7	University of Florida
8	University of California-Santa Barbara
9	University of Iowa
10	DePauw University

Other colleges that feature on the list of the top party schools in the country released by Princeton Review are Florida State University, University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa, Indiana University - Bloomington, University of Colorado - Boulder, and University of Missouri. Another list of those colleges and universities that are known for their partying methods is released by Playboy magazine. But this list has been released only five times by Playboy; in the years 1987, 2002, 2006, 2009, and 2010. The latest list of top party schools as released by Playboy magazine is given in the table below.

Playboy's Top Party Schools
Rank	College
1	University of Texas at Austin
2	West Virginia University
3	University of Wisconsin-Madison
4	University of Miami
5	East Carolina University
6	Arizona State University
7	Rollins College
8	University of California-Santa Barbara
9	Plymouth State University
10	University of Iowa

These lists of top party schools have been often condemned by organization such as the America Medical Association as it fuels the notion of partying being an integral part of college life and academics. The organization has repeatedly asked Princeton Review to discontinue the publication of this list. Also the rankings in itself have been often questioned due to the lack of any scientific analysis of the data acquired. Based only on surveys of a sample size of students, it is not a truthful or accurate depiction of life at a certain college. There have also been concerns raised about how such lists influence the decision making process of the choice of a college. Most college administrations go out of their way to disassociate themselves from such lists. These lists of top party schools, after all, are in no way a clear indication of the academic or overall standing of a university or college. While choosing a college for further education, it is important that you take into consideration the academic courses that the college offers you.

Best Universities in South America

South America or Latin America as it's popularly known to many of us is the southern continent of the Americas. It's situated in the western hemisphere but it's major part comes in the southern hemisphere. On the west, it's surrounded by the Pacific ocean; North America and Atlantic ocean borders the Latin world from the east and the north. The Caribbean sea lies to the northwest of South America. With a rich and varied location, South America also has some of the best universities in the world. As more and more countries in South America are progressing towards economic progression, more and more students are coming from all the world to study in some of the best universities in South America.

Best Universities in South America

As prices of education keep rising, it's becoming more and more difficult for students to get admission in colleges and universities. Not everyone is lucky enough to get admission in Harvard or Cambridge, so, talented yet unfortunate students keep hunting for the best universities in the world, but they get nothing. If you're one of those students who are on a lookout for good education and training, I suggest you have a look at some of the best universities in South America. I know there are many people who still feel that Latin America is a land of conflicts, but that's the thing of the past. Today, the countries of Latin America are considered as top vacation spots and one of the best places for education too.

Research University in South America
Majority of the students have a special interest in doing things their own way. They like to research, understand and then reach to a conclusion. So for students who would like to make their own mark in this world, I suggest you opt for the University of Sao Paulo. The university of Sao Paulo has been ranked as the best university of South America by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). In the list of top universities in the world, there are at least nine names from South America. The university of Sao Paulo has remained the best university of South America since 2003. In the list of "Top 500 universities of the World", 6 were from Brazil, 2 are in Chile and 1 is located in Argentina.

The University of Sao Paulo (USP) is one of the best public universities for students interested in making their career in research. The USP was started in 1934 and has 7 campuses, out of which 4 are located in Sao Paulo itself. It also offers various graduate and undergraduate programs for students.

College Education in Peru
Education in Peru is under the control and jurisdiction of Ministry of Education. Education is compulsory and free in public schools for initial, primary and secondary levels. Education is compulsory and also free for students who have good academic performance. According to latest educational reports, world bodies like UNESCO, World Bank and The Inter-American Development bank have stated that Peru has the best education system in Latin America. Education in Peru begins from age 3 for better development, then it goes to primary school, then secondary, then higher and then to the university level.

List of South American Universities

Now after saying so much about this great continent, it's time to list out the best universities in South America. Here are the names,

    Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
    Universidade de São Paulo
    Universidad de Chile
    Universidad de Buenos Aires
    Tecnológico de Monterrey
    Universidad Nacional de Colombia
    Universidade Estadual de Campinas
    Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro
    Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
    Universidade de Brasília
    Universidad de Costa Rica
    Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana
    Tecnológico de Monterrey
    Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
    Universidade Federal Fluminense
    Universidad de Guadalajara
    Universidade de Brasília
    Universidad de Puerto Rico
    Universidad Autónoma de Puebla

So these were some of the best universities in South America. Most of them have also ranked as some of the best universities in the world by the ARWU. For more information on the admission procedures of these universities, you can visit their websites and get in touch with their help desk.

News Flash: College Students Not Really Learning Too Much

If you’ve ever taken the time to wander around the typical college campus on a Friday night – or even a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Weekend night for that matter – you likely already know that the most popular things to do in college are drink, do drugs, engage in sexual congress and otherwise wile away the hours in non-academic and unproductive pursuits. A new study, however, points out officially that college students are not actually learning very much in school. The study, which tracked 2,300 undergraduates, found that 45% of them showed no real improvement in various important measures of critical thinking, reasoning and writing abilities.

As it turns out, American universities and colleges also appear to be dumbing down the curriculum to meet the specific "needs" (if you will) of students. Half of the students in the study did not take a course that required 20 pages of writing or more during the prior semester of their studies. The findings of this particular study are presented in a new book titled "Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses." The study was put together by a pair of sociologists, who have a knack for studying the obvious. Still, the work produced by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa does shed light on what most must suspect already.

Noted David Paris, the president of the New Leadership Alliance for Student Learning and Accountability, "The great thing, if you can call it that, is that it’s going to spark a dialogue and focus on the actual learning issue. What kind of intellectual growth are we seeing in college?"