Which Ivy League throws the best parties?
If you're wondering which Ivies have the best party scenes, this guide breaks it down. The best Ivy League party schools are Dartmouth and Penn, followed by Cornell.
Some of the top party schools in the United States include the University of Wisconsin Madison, Florida State University, Michigan State University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Alabama.
Recent data shows Cornell University is the Ivy League school with the highest acceptance rate.
Campus happiness: Brown is widely known as the happiest Ivy, perhaps because of students' freedom to choose courses with almost complete autonomy. Students report feeling less competition amongst themselves and an overall sense of campus community.
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- University of Iowa.
- Miami University Ohio.
- Ohio University.
- University of Mississippi.
- University of Delaware.
- University of Colorado-Boulder.
- Arizona State University.
- macalester college. it's not known to be a party school, and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church.
- pepperdine university. can have some parites, but not known as a party school. parties are rare. ...
- st olaf college. known as a 'sober school'. not many parites. ...
- baylor university.
- Princeton University.
- Brown University.
- Vanderbilt University.
- College of William and Mary.
- Kansas State University.
- University of Iowa.
- Fairfield University.
- University of California, Berkeley.
As some of you may have heard about, Dartmouth is known for its prominent party culture. When applying to colleges last year, many of my friends who came to school in the US warned me about how intense weekends at the Big Green can be.
Is Princeton a party school?
In 2019, The Princeton Review ranked the university as the number one party school. Since then, The Princeton Review has downsized its lists for the 2023 surveys from 62 to 50, removing the list naming the top party schools in the country.
Yale is definitely a party school, though perhaps not in the traditional sense. There are several frats and a couple sororities, and they do throw parties, but they aren't necessarily the place to be on a Saturday night.

With a thriving Greek scene and one of the best college towns in the country, Cornellians have access to a great social life and one of the Ivy League's most "gorgeous" campuses — landing in the top three for both Campus and Student Life.
Cornell University
The easiest Ivy to get into based on acceptance rate, Cornell offers over 4,000 courses through its seven undergraduate schools, meaning that students are sure to find a subject of interest to study.
Penn was the winner, followed by Brown and Columbia. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, which ranked the highest out of all universities on US News' annual college list, brought up the rear. Tinder also showed data schools that got the most matches in September overall (Columbia) and "Super Likes" (Harvard).
1. What's the easiest Ivy League school to get into? While all Ivy League schools have a low acceptance rate, Cornell University has the highest acceptance rate among them. Cornell's acceptance rate is 11%, but try not to get too hung up on the numbers.
Yale students mention happiness more than their Harvard peers, but they all agree that these Ivy League universities shaped their lives, and gave them the best possible start in their careers – as well as an amazing network of friends and colleagues to take with them into the future.
New data confirms what you've probably already guessed: Princeton is the whitest Ivy in the League.
First and foremost, it has a higher acceptance rate than many, more selective Ivies. Secondly, the open curriculum we've been discussing gives students more freedom to choose classes they're genuinely interested in, making it easier to perform well.
Is Penn the party ivy?
The gist of it is this: UPenn is a highly ranked, private Ivy League institution, while Penn State is a large, well-ranked public university. In reality, the two schools aren't connected to each other in any major way, except for the fact that they're both well known and located in Pennsylvania.
- Miami University, Oxford. 86.1.
- University of Mississippi Main Campus. 85.6.
- Coastal Carolina University. 85.6.
- University of California, Santa Barbara. 85.5.
- Rollins College. 85.4.
- University of Southern California. 85.0.
- Villanova University. 84.7.
- University of Arizona. 84.6.
- #1 Clemson University. Clemson, South Carolina.
- #2 Penn State University. State College, Pennsylvania. ...
- #3 Syracuse University. Syracuse, New York. ...
- #4 Tulane University. ...
- #5 University of Iowa. ...
- #6 Virginia Tech University. ...
- #7 Kansas State University. ...
- #8 Florida State University. ...
- Clarkson University. ...
- Duquesne University. ...
- Emerson College. ...
- George Mason University. ...
- Illinois Institute of Technology. ...
- Indiana University of Pennsylvania. ...
- Marywood University. ...
- New Jersey Institute of Technology.
...
Methodology.
#1 | Claremont Mckenna College Claremont, CA |
---|---|
#2 | Harvard University Cambridge, MA |
#3 | Stanford University Stanford, CA |
#4 | California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA |
#5 | Yale University New Haven, CT |
Harvard University — 3.19%
With a record-low admission rate of just 3.19% for the class of 2026, Harvard currently ranks as the most difficult school to get into.
- University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, MI. ...
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill, NC. ...
- University of California. Los Angeles, CA. ...
- University of Virginia. Charlottesville, VA. ...
- University of Florida. ...
- University of Maryland, College Park. ...
- University of Wisconsin. ...
- University of Texas at Austin.
- Washington University in St. ...
- Pennsylvania State University. ...
- University of Virginia. ...
- University of Florida at Gainesville. ...
- Yale University. ...
- Ohio State University. ...
- University of California-Los Angeles. ...
- Stanford University.
Cornell is landing at the top of rankings which it doesn't usually frequent. In addition to its ranking as 13th best party school, Cornell was the number one douchiest college in America, according to GQ.
Cornell University is unique in that it has the highest acceptance rate among the Ivy Leagues. It's a large school with parties almost nightly. As a matter of fact, it was named by Newsweek as the 13th best party school years ago. Cornell is known for its programs in the business and STEM fields.
Is Dartmouth a dry campus?
Possession, consumption, or service of hard alcohol (30 proof or higher) by undergraduate students and organizations is prohibited on campus and at events held by College recognized undergraduate organizations and athletic teams both on and off campus.
Tons of raging parties almost any night of the week.
Unlike fraternities and sororities, to which the clubs are sometimes compared, all of the clubs admit both male and female members, and members (with the exception of some of the undergraduate officers) do not live in the mansion. The eating clubs also provide many services for their members.
- University of California Santa Barbara.
- Tulane University.
- Florida State University.
- University of Alabama.
- Howard University.
- University of Wisconsin.
- University of Georgia.
- Syracuse University.
Those are questions that are as meaningful to one's sexual life as they are to one's intellectual openness.” In the same way that Yale's academic culture allows students to pursue professional success under the guise of intellectual exploration, its hookup culture encourages students to “explore” sex while accompanied ...
Alcohol is forbidden in first-year suites and entryways on campus. In addition, no alcoholic beverages may be served at organized or private functions on the Old Campus, except at functions confined to rooms occupied solely by upper-level students or when authorized by the Yale College Dean's Office.
In addition to being a great academic school, Stanford is also famous for being a party school. While that might raise the eyebrows of some readers, it simply means that the school has a vibrant campus culture, thanks to its many clubs and active student life office.
Princeton. Princeton is commonly regarded as the “cheapest Ivy” thanks to its extensive financial aid offerings.
How is each Ivy League school unique? Brown: It has the Open Curriculum and is known as the “happiest” Ivy. Columbia: It has the Core Curriculum and is located in the epicenter of the nation, New York City.
Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Penn, Harvard, Yale, and Cornell were ranked among the 75 best food schools in the country.
Which Ivy has the hardest workload?
Harvard Admission Statistics
Harvard is the oldest institution of higher education in the US and consistently ranks #1 hardest Ivy League to get into.
The term Little Ivy derives from these schools' small student bodies, standards of academic excellence, associated historic social prestige, and highly selective admissions comparable to the Ivy League.
Penn has been nicknamed the "Social Ivy," and Penn's campus culture finds much resonance in the phrase “work hard, play hard.” Although some of us couldn't help but laugh when Playboy named Penn the number one party school in America in 2014, there's some truth to the title, even if it is more than a little undeserved.
you can see that the average IQ of all college graduates was 111. The average IQ of Ivy League colleges was 120.
In total, one out of every 20 Harvard freshmen attended one of the seven high schools most represented in the class of 2017—Boston Latin, Phillips Academy in Andover, Stuyvesant High School, Noble and Greenough School, Phillips Exeter Academy, Trinity School in New York City, and Lexington High School.
The Hidden Ivies include many small colleges, such as Davidson College, Pomona College, Carleton College, and Oberlin College, as well as some large research universities, like Georgetown University, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Southern California.
- Swansea University. ...
- University of Liverpool. ...
- University of Aberdeen. ...
- Aberystwyth University. ...
- Newcastle University. ...
- University of Glasgow. ...
- University of Leeds. ...
- University of Birmingham. Congrats Birmingham students — you are the number one hardest partying university!
But while some Cantabs admit partying at Harvard is more of a hassle than it should be, others insist Harvard boasts a healthy nightlife. Although Harvard does not officially recognize fraternities and sororities, that does not mean they do not exist.
Yale's football program is of particular note, considered by some to be the best Ivy League football team. The “Father of Football” himself, Walter Camp, turned the Bulldogs into one of the winningest football programs in history, and Yale's rivalry with Harvard on the football field is legendary.
- Princeton University.
- Brown University.
- Vanderbilt University.
- College of William and Mary.
- Kansas State University.
- University of Iowa.
- Fairfield University.
- University of California, Berkeley.
What college has the most happy students?
University of Southern California
#1 Colleges with the Best Student Life in America.
1. What's the easiest Ivy League school to get into? While all Ivy League schools have a low acceptance rate, Cornell University has the highest acceptance rate among them. Cornell's acceptance rate is 11%, but try not to get too hung up on the numbers.
The smallest Ivy League school, Dartmouth, was established in 1769 in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Yale students mention happiness more than their Harvard peers, but they all agree that these Ivy League universities shaped their lives, and gave them the best possible start in their careers – as well as an amazing network of friends and colleagues to take with them into the future.
This critical characteristic of Harvard's hook up culture forces students to choose their sexual partners carefully. As one 2025 student puts it, “If I did have a random hookup here, it would turn out to be not that random… Eventually I would have to be around them or their friends.”
Yale is definitely a party school, though perhaps not in the traditional sense. There are several frats and a couple sororities, and they do throw parties, but they aren't necessarily the place to be on a Saturday night.
Football. The football team has competed since 1876. They have won nineteen national championships when the school competed in what is now known as the FBS. They are perhaps best known for their rivalry with Harvard, known as "The Game".
Both the Harvard heavyweight and lightweight teams are typically considered to be among the top teams in the country in rowing, having won numerous national championships in recent years.