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See the 2025 top party schools in America, according to Niche

By Jeremy Tanner,

22 hours ago

(NEXSTAR) – For the “work hard, play hard” students out there, this one is for you.

Education research and ranking site Niche has released its round up of the top party schools in the United States for 2025, and for the third straight year, the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) takes the top spot.

Using a database of over 500,000 student reviews of U.S. colleges, Niche’s data scientists assigned scores based on the following factors: student surveys, access to bars, athletics grade, Greek life grade and access to restaurants.

Reviews from a number of current and former students mentioned UCSB’s “stunning” beachfront campus, mountainous backdrop and the social aspect of the university, but also addressed its reputation as a “party school.”

CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 17: Cincinnati Bearcats students cheer during the game against the Miami Redhawks and the Cincinnati Bearcats on September 17, 2022, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. (Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
LOS ANGELES, CA – AUGUST 23: Students on the USC campus Monday for the first day of in-person classes. USC and California State University campuses start in-person classes on Monday, serving as a test case for whether vaccine mandates, masking, regular testing and other protocols can minimize spread of the Delta variant even as thousands of students congregate in classes, dorms and social events. USC campus on Monday, Aug. 23, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images).
NORMAN, OK – SEPTEMBER 25: Oklahoma Sooners students cheer and hold up their phones at the start of a game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on September 25, 2021 in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma won 16-13. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Amherst, MA – May 18: UMass Amherst held their commencement at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Undergraduates whoop it up at the start of the commencement. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

“It is literally heaven on Earth for an 18-21 year old as long as you don’t overdo it,” wrote a UCSB junior student in late July. “You need to prioritize school over partying because the academic load is quite rigorous.”

An unsanctioned, annual beachfront event dubbed “Deltopia” has become infamous in recent years , with the 2023 street party resulting in 151 citations, 23 arrests and a flood of medical emergency calls.

In second place among the nation’s top party schools is the University of Oklahoma, according to Niche, where the social scene is closely tied to the Sooners’ athletic programs. In an unofficial poll, more than half of OU students (57%) said the biggest social event of the year was “every gameday,” with 95% of students saying that varsity sports were either a big part of campus life, or that “almost everything on campus revolves around them.”

Rounding out the top five are the University of Cincinnati, University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Southern California.

See the list of the top 25 party schools in America, according to Niche:

University	Metro Area	State
University of California – Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara Area	CA
University of Oklahoma	Oklahoma City Area	OK
University of Cincinnati	Cincinnati Area	OH
University of Massachusetts Amherst	Springfield, MA Area	MA
University of Southern California	Los Angeles Area	CA
Syracuse University	Syracuse Area	NY
Howard University	Washington, D.C. Area	DC
University of Georgia	Athens Area	GA
Vanderbilt University	Nashville Area	TN
The University of Alabama		AL
The Ohio State University	Columbus Area	OH
Florida State University	Tallahassee Area	FL
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign		IL
University of Texas – Austin	Austin Area	TX
West Virginia University		WV
University of Minnesota Twin Cities	Minneapolis-St. Paul Area	MN
University of Florida		FL
University of Michigan – Ann Arbor	Detroit Area	MI
San Diego State University	San Diego Area	CA
Temple University	Philadelphia Area	PA
University of Wisconsin-Madison	Madison Area	WI
Tulane University	New Orleans Area	LA
Southern Methodist University	Dallas-Fort Worth Area	TX
University of California – Los Angeles	Los Angeles Area	CA
Penn State		PA

(Credit: Niche)

Niche’s annual college rankings span a variety of topics that include athletics, campus reviews, academic programs, admissions and more.

See the 2025 top party schools in America, according to Niche

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