U. of I.: Not One of the Most "Fun" Schools in the Country
By Olivia Leigh in News on Nov 16, 2006 3:15PM
We’ve always considered the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana a trusted source for some good, old-fashioned college partying fun.
However, CollegeHumor.com seems to disagree.
A new “power ranking” issued yesterday by the site, popular with largely male undergrads, provided an index of the 50 most “fun” universities across the nation. U. of I. managed to pull in a semi-disappointing 18th place, apparently upsetting some students.
As quoted in the Sun-Times, Jason Webber, a vice president of the student government at U. of I., said the ranking was “horrible.” Webber he believed that the ranking was low due to the school’s higher quality of academics.
To compile their index, CollegeHumor.com used a “highly scientific formula,” which awarded more points for a large percentage of female student and low SAT scores (using the rationale that easier classes equals more fun). They also used Facebook to obtain results, awarding points for the number of students that mentioned drugs as an interest, and the number of professed single girls. Schools were docked 25 points for the number of male vocal groups on campus.
Other Midwestern schools ranked high, with Indiana University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Purdue, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and the University of Michigan all showing up in the top 10. Michigan State University took home the top slot.
While we agree with Jason that the folks at CollegeHumor perhaps didn’t take into all of U. of I.’s partying potential we don’t really see why they have their panties in such a twist, given the school’s place in other rankings.
On the Princeton Review’s 2007 party school list, which is “based on a combination of survey questions concerning the use of alcohol and drugs, hours of study each day, and the popularity of the Greek system,” U. of I. does not even place in the top 20.
We’re sure at least a few of you graduated from U. of I., so what are your thoughts? Should they have been excluded, or is this truly a “horrible” situation? How was your alma mater in terms of “fun”?
Photo by new1mproved.