Consideration of the party scene is a must when you are choosing a college. After a hard week, or just on some random Tuesday, who doesn’t want to find an easy way to unwind?
Here are America’s most epic party schools.
1. West Virginia University offers a great all-campus party in Fallfest, legendary couch-burning opportunities when the sports teams win (or lose) and a raucous bar scene. Greek life is also huge. In short, the Mountaineers get rowdy.
2. Pennsylvania State University is located in State College: “A drinking town with a football problem.” Football is huge. Tailgating is huger. Greek life and God knows how many hopping bars and nightclubs keep everybody happy.
3. There’s really no question that Iowa City is America’s most underrated college town. Students at the University of Iowa enjoy a bar scene and a downtown area that can compete with any in America for collegiate charm and for drinkability.
4. At Ohio University, students go all out. The number of bars on Court Street will keep anyone busy for four to seven quality years. On Halloween, check out C Street’s annual Halloween Block Party. How about a music festival? Ohio University has three in a single month. Try and keep up.
5. From downtown to Midtown to Fraternity Row, you will find a party at any time of any day at the University of Florida. Tailgates are so fun that many students don’t even make it to the game — and that’s by choice, man. On weeknights, you can always find a crowded bar. But you better dress to impress.
6. Students at the University of Georgia can — and do — take advantage of over 100 bars in beautiful, energetic downtown Athens. Game days begin with the Dawg Walk and are a sea of hot-red shirts, cold kegs and Bulldog pride. As a bonus, everybody is generally gorgeous.
7. At Florida State University, they don’t call the surrounding city Tallanasty for nothin’. The partying never ends, and it seems like the town never sleeps. With the best football team in the country (again), it’s easy to see why these ‘Noles enjoy a good celebration. From rooftop parties to line dancing, you’ll find it all.
8. On the frozen tundra of Syracuse University, students party like rock stars through the frigid winter months. Thought an orange was a boring fruit? this school is anything but. Tailgates include all fraternities and sororities getting together for one huge party. Yes. Every. Single. One. Today the end of the school year, Syracuse’s biggest all-day event, Mayfest, gets you hyped for summer, and in need of a few days off.
9. Everything’s bigger in Texas, and Austin is a rollicking town full of frat boys and zany oddballs and everybody in between. If you run out of options for things to do anywhere near the University of Texas at Austin, then face it: You are a boring person.
10. Miami University is the kind of school where people go out every night, because thy can. Head over to Brick Street to watch your favorite musicians. Don’t forget to try one of Miami’s signature drinks, the Trashcan. The number of bars is ridiculous. Try to visit them all during the annual Barstool Blackout Tour.
11. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is home to a wild party scene. No college town can beat Madison. Most can’t even compete. State Street is where a lot of the action happens. On Halloween, the popular street hosts the annual Freakfest. Badger football games are a blast. Sit in the student section, of course, and don’t forget to Jump Around.
12. At the University of California, Santa Barbara, the ocean is on one side of campus and the mountains are on the other. It seems like life can’t get better but it does, thanks to a constant party scene. The beachside location just a couple hours from Los Angeles makes anything possible.
13. At Louisiana State University, the frat scene scene is huge and the bar scene is epic. Football season is dangerously fun. There’s a party going on every day of the week. Oh, and two more words: Mardi Gras.
14. Greek life makes up a huge part of the nightlife at the University of Maryland. Cornerstone bar is always packed. Head over to Bentley’s bar to hang out with an athlete, or 12. Tailgates happen almost every weekend during the fall, and day drinking is practically part of the curriculum. Don’t forget that the parties continue in D.C. and Baltimore, too.
15. The campus is beautiful at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The locale offers a lot more than beauty, though. The Hill is where you will find a lot of the nightlife, with Greek row and house parties flooding the area. Check out Pearl Street to find pretty much anything and everything. And, of course, weed is legal here.
16. It’s an annoyingly over-popular thing thing for college students to say they “work hard and play hard.” But at Lehigh University, it happens to be true. Lehigh was allegedly a trailblazer in making beer pong (a.k.a. Beirut) a huge, drunken deal. Hillside Avenue is where most house parties are at, with Greek life parties all over. Don’t forget to check out the bar scene too. Lehigh will always keep you entertained.
17. At Arizona State University, the bronzed, beautiful students will make a party out of anything. Fall semester is football season, Spring semester is pool party season. You’ll never be bored. Dress it up and head over to Scottsdale for a fancy night out. There tons of nightclubs, and they won’t disappoint.
(All videos come from YouTube and all images are screenshots from YouTube videos. Very special thanks to the makers of YouTube’s I’m Schmacked video series.)