Best spoken of as schools known for their notorious reputation because of extensive drug and alcohol consumption, party schools are often the first choice for a lot of youngsters these days. After all, isn't that what college or university life is perceived as by most? Let's face it, we've all been there and done that, so why the fuss? Undoubtedly, career education is essential, but believe it or not, even these schools do more than just party, and most certainly aren't as fickle as one would imagine. They are often actively involved in sports and other campus activities, and excel at them too. I guess, based on that, they definitely deserve more credit than they receive. Anyway, how does one decide on party schools unless they have a source that's a little more reliable than word-of-mouth? Here's how... a list generated by The Princeton Review or the Playboy magazine would acquaint almost everybody with some of the best schools in America, but for those of you who can't get their hands on either of them, simply continue reading. Here's the listing that helps compare the universities picked by The Princeton Review and the Playboy magazine as the top 10 party schools in America:

Sr No.	Princeton Review	Playboy
1	University of Georgia	University of Texas at Austin
2	Ohio University	West Virginia University
3	Pennsylvania State University	University of Wisconsin-Madison
4	West Virginia University	University of Miami
5	University of Mississippi	East Carolina University
6	University of Texas	Arizona State University
7	University of Florida	Rollins College
8	University of California-Santa Barbara	University of California-Santa Barbara
9	University of Iowa	Plymouth State University
10	DePauw University	University of Iowa

Some other schools that also qualify are: Florida State University, University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa, Indiana University - Bloomington, University of Colorado - Boulder, University of Missouri, University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign, University of Maryland, College Park, and Michigan State University. So how exactly are these schools graded or what's the deciding factor that makes them the best? The Princeton Review has its own standards, as does the Playboy magazine. The former mostly gives them a ranking based on the combination of the hours devoted to academics, popularity, and involvement of the Greek system, and most importantly, the consumption of alcohol and drugs. At the end of the day, everyone knows about the effects of binge drinking, and needless to say, it isn't something to look forward to. On a more serious note, we all know that going to college is an important part of our academic formation, but why is college important, and how do you know that you've made the right decision and picked your college well? It goes without saying that academics are the primary deciding factor when speaking about any educational institution. So you can rest assured that it is the same for these universities as well. Other than that, if you do think there's a difference between party schools versus the ones who don't rank in the same list, it's true. However, keep in mind that the only real difference between the two is the level of commitment towards the more fun aspects that any student's college life is made up of, especially because most party schools stand high on Greek participation. For most girls, there's nothing more precious than being part of a sorority, while for the guys, it's decided, being part of a fraternity makes you a jock. Plain and simple, this is what party schools provide you with. Unfortunately though, because of being indirectly reflected on in a negative light, most universities that show up in the list don't see much reason to rejoice. Also, it hasn't necessarily been well received by school authorities, and reasonably so. Infamy isn't really anyone's purpose in life, let alone an educational institute. To be known for reasons that could quite possibly make parents rethink sending their kids to a certain school most certainly does nothing for most of them, and this is resulting into an attempt by a lot of the above mentioned universities to get themselves taken off the list. All said and done, the purpose of college education isn't a real brain-teaser, so where you want to go study is purely up to you. A mere list can't really be the element to decide upon your choice of college. If one of the previously mentioned universities is where you want to be, go right ahead, and don't forget to party hard!!