Princeton Review: UW-Madison the nation's top party school, again

MADISON — The University of Wisconsin-Madison is the nation's top party school, again.

The Princeton Review's 2017 edition of the "The Best 381 Colleges" says West Virginia is second, followed by the University of Illinois, which was the top party school last year.

Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, was the most sober school in the country for the 19th straight year. And Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, has the best financial aid.

The rankings are based on The Princeton Review's survey of 143,000 students attending 381 colleges.

UW-Madison last earned the best party school designation in the 2005 edition.

Officials at UW aren't all that happy that the flagship Madison campus wound up first on a list of the nation's top party schools.

A statement from the school made no mention of the ranking, instead calling alcohol use on campus a "pressing public health concern" that hurts academic achievement and makes schools less safe. They noted that incoming students go through mandatory programs educating them about the dangers of alcohol.

The school also notes that many students drink moderately or not at all.