<p>I am currently a senior living in New Jersey.When I graduate I would like to go to a school prestigious and with a reputation for having smart kids, but I feel that college should be a place of parties also. Anyone know any "smart party school" choices? I am probably going to major in engineering/economics/statistics. I would like not be extremely far from home (5-6 hour drive at the most). </p>
<p>Some schools I am considering now: UVA, Dartmouth, U Penn</p>
<p>wake forest?</p>
<p>Don't look for a party school, look for schools with the intellectual level you want, then read up on their social scenes. If a school is social/not work oriented, it will have parties, so in that sense most colleges are "party schools" and the ones that actually have that reputation have it because that's all that goes on there.
Once you find a school that looks interesting, there are web sites have actual student surveys to look into the social/party scene. (google "college reviews" or the like, i can't post links) Make sure you take everything you read with a grain of salt though, and look for consistent things in many reviews, i.e. the students go home on weekends, everybody is study-oriented, etc as one ticked off or ecstatic student does not reveal much about a school.</p>
<p>Amen to mephist0's post.
But, to answer your question, Duke.</p>
<p>yeah I have been on student review and found it really helpful because you can see what kids who actually went there thought about the school instead of just looking at a school's rankings (although I would like to go to a highly ranked school haha). </p>
<p>I guess I'm just asking if there are any other schools like these in the eastern US, and then I'll do some more reasearch and check them out.</p>
<p>In addition to the three listed in your original post, you may want to consider Lehigh University, Penn State, Wisconsin & Bucknell.</p>
<p>what is student review?</p>
<p>Boston College (doesn't have engineering...neither does Wake Forest)</p>
<p>Dartmouth, Colgate (would have to do 3+2 for engineering), Bucknell, Lafayette, Lehigh, Union.</p>
<p>My impression of MIT is that many kids work hard all week and party hard on the weekend.</p>
<p>Duke and Northwestern fit the bill.</p>
<p>But seriously, you'll find at least a few great parties at any top universities.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt, is by far, the hardest-partying-yet-still-very-smart school</p>
<p>Parties and Engineering are not always compatible. Most engineering schools have really smart kids, so parties would tend to be "smart party school choices" no matter where you go. If you mean which ones would be the most fun, then they probably would be ones with great liberal arts programs as well, not to mention fraternities.</p>
<p>Lehigh is a huge party school, but honestly I felt that was the major negative about it, especially after reading their college newspaper in the admissions office while waiting for a tour, that two fraternities had been suspended because students had been hospitalized for alchohol poisoning. The Lehigh 'family' does seem very genuine though, so you could strike a balance. And they certainly are trying to crack down on that negative label.<br>
Duke has great spirit, from the info we got when researching and going to seminars.
Penn is coined the social ivy, though in engineering, there honestly isn't alot of time for partying (as a freshman anyway).<br>
I went to parties at MIT when I was in college. They are pretty wild. Unfortunately, life Mon-Thurs can be really rough. I was so turned off with our college tour there, when the tour guide said that they had gotten rid of official meal plans, but that was okay 'cuz, if you have time to eat, you can just grab something at the onsite Dunkin Donuts.' I was horrified. Plus, when we went on college tours, we checked out the student bodies, so to speak. MIT lost by a mile. Cornell had very physically fit students, as witnessed by visiting on a day it was 102 degrees, and all the kids were half naked going to the falls to swim/play/party.<br>
Penn had a great mix and balance.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt and Stanford seem to be the most consistently mentioned schools in the thread below. Both are known for student bodies that are very balanced between top academics and top activities outside of the classroom, including diverse and vibrant social environments mixed with nationally competitive Division I sports programs. </p>
<p>How about the University of Michigan. Best tailgate parties I've ever been to.</p>
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I would like not be extremely far from home (5-6 hour drive at the most).
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<p>It is amazing how people's reading comprehension skills fall by the wayside in the name of plugging for their favorite schools.</p>
<p>Wake Forest, Duke, UWisconsin, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Stanford, UMichigan are not remotely within a 5-6 hour drive from any point in NJ.</p>
<p>I beg to differ gellino. You've never driven with my brother! ;-)</p>
<p>UVA, UNC, Penn State</p>
<p>University of Pennsylvania Quakers
Dartmouth University Big Green
Cornell University Big Red
Colgate University Raiders
Boston College Eagles</p>
<p>Also possibly</p>
<p>Gettysburg College Bullets
Trinity College Bantams
Georgetown University Hoyas</p>