Students have the opportunity to consider dozens of college reviews before they apply to and eventually pick a college or university to attend. After a year during which many people could not go to college at all, the number of applications have risen sharply. The competition to go to the best schools is so high that only 3.4% were accepted at one college.
Among the best-regarded ratings of schools, students and their parents often turn to U.S. News and The Wall Street Journal. These take into account what students make after they graduate; the total cost of tuition, room and board; and the ratio of teachers to students. The U.S. News analysis includes the SAT scores needed to get into colleges and the levels of financial aid given to students.
Some other, alternative, ratings of colleges include the qualities of sports teams, crime on campus and the number of student organizations. One ranking is aimed at students who like to drink. The latest version of this “drinker’s list” has just been issued by MatchCollege.
The 2021 Alternative College Ranking Index reviewed 50 of the country’s biggest colleges based on six factors. These were quality of life, safety, sustainability, sports participation, student organizations and bars. The measurement for bars was based on the number of locations within one mile of campus.
For students who want bars close by, New York University in New York City ranked the highest by far. It has 240 bars within a mile of campus. The balance of the top 10 based on this measure were well behind. The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor ranked second at 58, followed by Rutgers in New Brunswick, New Jersey, with 52. Next was Arizona State in Tempe (48), University of South Carolina in Columbia (46), University of California at Berkeley (44), Florida State at Tallahassee (42), Texas State at San Marcos (36) and University of Georgia at Athens (35). Finally, 10th place was held by Texas A&M at College Station, which has 35 nearby bars.
How many students go to college to drink? The study does not show that. However, it does tell drinkers many of the places that are best to go.
Click here to see the American college that is hardest to get into.
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