Believe it or not, the University of Pennsylvania was named the top party school in the nation by Playboy magazine on Monday, making that the first time we can recall an Ivy League university claimed such a title.
Syracuse University, this year's top party school according to the Princeton Review, was placed at No. 10 by Playboy for the 2014 countdown. Other known party animal hot spots like West Virginia University and the University of Iowa came in third and fifth, respectably. The University of Wisconsin-Madison scored the runner up slot.
"Casual sex is rampant, as coeds value careers over coupling," Playboy writes. "Philly's boisterous bar scene keeps off-campus-carousing options numerous. School-sponsored day drinking hits a high note during Spring Fling, an outdoor music fest that pulls in acts such as Passion Pit, Tyga and Janelle Monáe and turns the Quad into a sloshed mosh pit."
As Playboy notes, UPenn does have an above and below ground Greek scene where bros make shopping trips to get 174 bottles of vodka. Still, we just watched the I'm Shmacked video for Penn's "Spring Fling," and it seems kind of tame compared to some of the other videos.
Playboy explained in an email that they determined the rankings based on "access to nightlife and musical events, and creativity when planning social gatherings." The magazine also used information from the National Center for Education Statistics, the NCAA and the U.S. Economic Census.
Among Playboy's "Party Pioneer" honors, Vassar was dubbed the "Coolest Indie Music Scene" and Oberlin College is named the "Sexiest Small School."
It's hard to draw too much of a line on the history of Playboy's party school rankings, since they were sort of haphazard up until 2009, and have been annual since then. The first ranking appeared way back in January 1987, and popped up again in 2002 and 2006.
You can get the top 10 ranking below or pick up Playboy's October 2014 issue for more details.
