DePauw has established a place among larger, public institutions on the Princeton Review’s annual list of the nation’s biggest party schools. This year, the university made national headlines as the only private institution in the top-10, and the smallest by more than 15,000 students.
The Princeton Review released the 2011 edition of its “Best Colleges” book series in August, which ranks the top colleges in the U.S. and Canada each year. Rankings are compiled from surveys of 122,000 students from 371 colleges.
DePauw came in as the No. 10 biggest party school in this year’s rankings, up five spots from last year. In the past, the university was also listed among the top schools in categories such as “lots of beer” and “lots of liquor.”
Director of Media Relations Ken Owen said he discredits The Princeton Review’s findings because of its emphasis on partying and drinking within the rankings’ categories.
“There is no apparent effort to market anything related to academic excellence, experience in the classroom or student experience outside of this list,” he said. “We’ve been on the party school list three or four times in the past 10 years on and off. The Princeton Review has never been willing to share with us how they get their data.”
Bill Tobin, director of institutional research, said he feels that the consulting company’s ranking methods do not appear to be scientifically based.
“We were No. 15 last year, and now we’re No. 10. How did we change that much in a year?” Tobin said. “When you see this kind of instability, you have to question it.”
The Princeton Review does survey students about other aspects of campus culture, such as its ranking of the country’s best college radio stations. This year, WGRE came in at No. 1.
“It’s always rewarding because we like to think we work hard,” said professor Jeff McCall, faculty advisor and general manager for the station. “We’re not obsessed with it, but we’re glad to know it. The bottom line is if we’re serving our audience well, that type of recognition will happen.”
However, McCall also observed that the ambiguity surrounding the company’s survey procedures make its findings difficult to interpret.
“The Princeton Review has never been very forthcoming with their methodology, so it’s hard to assess. Pretty much all we know is what the rankings come out with,” McCall said.
Students’ reactions to the results are wide-ranging, but some say they are proud to know that the university ranks as a top party school.
“I’m excited about it,” said junior Luis Paulino. “It shows people that we’re a rigorous school, but not so rigorous that we can’t unwind.”
Despite concerns over the legitimacy of the company’s findings, Owen said it’s difficult to completely disregard them.
“You want to be thought of highly,” he said. “But you can’t get giddy about the nice things they say about you, and you can’t get too down about the bad things they say about you.”