The Top 20 Schools With the Most Extreme Party People

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July 18, 2024 3:32PM EDT

Graduating students party during the first Schoolies celebrations following the end of the year 12 exams, on Surfer's Paradise beach on November 18, 2007 on the Gold Coast, Australia. Schoolies is the annual celebration by year 12 students following the culmination of their HSC exams. The celebrations happen in several official locations throughout Australia, but the Gold Coast kicks off the celebrations as the Queensland exams finish ahead of all other states. This year sees a new fence erected daily for the night-time celebrations in an effort to stop gate crashers and non-Year 12 revellers. (Photo by Sergio Dionisio/Getty Images)

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See the list of the top 20 party schools in America, from the East Coast to the West Coast and to the South.

Whether it be sports life or the night life, a handful of colleges across America are infamous for their insane parties. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has topped the list because of its energetic student body and on-campus events, and Indiana University Bloomington is known for its lively Greek life and weekend soirees.

Aside from state universities, a handful of top colleges are also considered the best places to cut loose, including the University of Southern California.

Click through the gallery to see the top party schools in the country.

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Florida State University

Florida State University — FSU has been widely described as a top party school, as students have access to several clubs minutes way from campus. Not only that, but Greek life on campus is also known for its nightlife.

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Ohio State University

Ohio State University — According to one online commenter, “OSU had much more going on party-wise,” in comaprison to other schools in the state. “We’d hit up 2-4 parties in one night,” they added.

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University of Texas at Austin

University of Texas at Austin — Depending on how much time a student has in their day, the party life is widely accessible thanks to the nightlife around the area.

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University of Southern California

University of Southern California — USC is considered one of the most prestigious universities. However, according to one online commenter, “The school has lots of loud parties adjacent to campus, and I hear them every night. So if you want to party, you will find your parties.”

5 of 20

University of Colorado Boulder

University of Colorado Boulder — UC Boulder ranks as one of the top universities with a strong party culture, as the university has a large student population.

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University of Alabama

University of Alabama — UA Tuscaloosa is known for its Greek life and sports, specificially football. And students tend to hit up the bars and parties downtown.

7 of 20

Tulane University

Tulane University — This private university is known for its academics, but students still make time for a good time.

According to one online commenter, “Party culture is present. There is a lot of alcohol and a lot of hard drugs (during Mardi Gras especially).”

8 of 20

University of Wisconsin Madison

University of Wisconsin Madison — As one commenter wrote, “the only time where the party culture can get pretty unavoidably distracting is freshman year. The residence halls are pretty intimate and you will definitely be hearing your neighbors partying on the weekends.”

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Penn State University

Penn State University — Penn State is famous for its sports and, therefore, students don’t hesitate to party hard whenever their team wins.

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University of Mississippi

University of Mississippi — Dubbed “Ole Miss” by many, the university has been described as a huge party school by countless current and former students.

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Michigan State University

Michigan State University — MSU is known for its dorm parties, so freshman can especially look forward to their first year. However, the nightlife doesn’t stop after that!

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University of Iowa

University of Iowa — One online commenter described their experience best at Iowa:

“There are probably many reasons it is a party school. One obvious reason that contributed to why I partied while I was there is because it was simply available and easy to do. The Ped Mall had something like 100 bars in it. One for whatever night you wanted to have. You could rave, karaoke, be a bro, have a martini, this made bar hopping really fun to do. On top of that it was easy to get a cab or walk wherever you wanted to go making it a really easy choice. There also seemed to be a lot of house parties. I threw a couple my friends threw a few. It was easy to find an invite to a house party if you really wanted to. I think ultimately it is just part of the culture there and it has been perpetuated by the idea it is known to be a party school.”

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University of Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati — With a blend of Greek life and plenty of bars down the road, this college is known for all the fun students can have during their undergraduate years.

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San Diego State University

San Diego State University — According to many alumni, SDSU is known for its frat parties, but students don’t need to wait around for fraternities to throw something big.

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University of Miami

University of Miami — Since Miami is known for its big-city nightlife, one commenter described the university party life best: “The fact that there is Coconut Grove and South Beach nearby, that’s where a lot of the partying happens. I’d say the club scene and the fact that it’s Miami means that people are more likely to encounter coke and ecstasy easier than some other schools.”

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West Virginia University

West Virginia University — WVU was known to be one of the biggest party schools, but in recent years, some students have claimed the outrageous parties have died down a bit. Nevertheless, they all still manage to have fun.

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Howard University

Howard University — Students at Howard have noted that weekends are the main days for parties.

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Syracuse University

Syracuse University — As one student put it, “I can confirm that Syracuse is a party school. When i went there, it was 4 days minimum per week of parties.”

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University of Georgia

University of Georgia — Although frats and sororities are credited for their huge events, one student commented online, “No, you don’t have to be in Greek life to party here. There’s bars open every night with tons of different kinds of people.”

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University of South Carolina

University of South Carolina — One commenter advised incoming students online, “You’ll have a plethora of options for bars, house parties, and just kinda, sober party nonsense,’ staying up late, dorking around campus with random people.”

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