The new College Sustainability Report Card is out, ranking schools on their green cred. Sierra magazine and The Princeton Review also rate campuses on their sustainability.
But students might not want to choose their college based on eco-savviness alone. Which schools make the green grade and know how to party? Where can you join a bike co-op, compost your dorm waste, and then get completely trashed while owning at beer pong? We have you covered, brosky.
Badgers can guzzle down a brew and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions; already emissions are down 24 percent since 2006. Photo: Eyton Z
University of Wisconsin-Madison
UW-Madison scored an A on the College Sustainability Report Card, making it one of just seven schools to earn the highest marks possible in overall sustainability. In addition to making the green grade, the university was ranked No. 3 among party schools by Playboy and No. 12 by The Princeton Review.
ASU’s West campus has solar panels at one of its parking lots, offering shade to tailgaters. Photo: Kevin Dooley
Arizona State University
The Sun Devils have a notorious party-hearty reputation, ranking No. 6 on Playboy‘s list of party schools. As well, ASU is No. 33 in the Sierra Club’s Cool Schools ranking, getting kudos for founding the country’s first school of sustainability. ASU also boasts a robust plan to make the university carbon neutral by 2025.
Gnarly bike paths, dude! UCSB has seven miles of bike paths, providing plenty of ways to get to all those beach parties. Photo: Christa
University of California-Santa Barbara
The 420-friendly Gauchos are all over the Princeton Review party rankings, scoring No. 8 in “party schools” and No. 9 in “reefer madness.” They also have one of the best campuses for bicycling; the League of American Bicyclists awarded the university a Bicycle Friendly Business Gold Award. The school is also ranked No. 44 by the Sierra Club, and showcased on Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll for having the most LEED-certified buildings in the UC system.
Bulldogs love to party and conserve water.Photo: Dave Akins
University of Georgia
Woof woof! The Bulldogs topped the 2010 party school ranking at The Princeton Review (plus they’re No. 7 in “lots of beer” and No. 2 in “lots of hard liquor”). The school also scored an A- on the College Sustainability Report Card, made The Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll for cutting water use on campus by 30 percent, and ranked No. 97 on the Sierra Club’s Cool Schools list. This year, UGA instituted a $3 student fee to fund sustainability efforts.
Penn State knows how to tailgate — and buy green power. Photo: William F. Yurasko
Penn State University
Penn State was ranked the No. 1 party school in the nation by The Princeton Review in 2009, and No. 3 this year. The football-loving Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten in purchasing green power for the fourth year in a row with a formidable 83 million kilowatt-hours. PSU is also ranked No. 80 by the Sierra Club, scored high on the Princeton Review’s 2010 Green Ratings (97 out of 99), and has a new research center focused on energy-efficient building design.
The Mountaineers whoop it up when it comes to saving energy. Photo: April and Randy
West Virginia University
West Virginia University scored big on the party school rankings this year — No. 2 on Playboy‘s list and No. 4 according to The Princeton Review. It was also recognized by the Princeton Review’s Green Honor Roll for its trayless dining initiative, which has cut food waste by 42 percent, and its Ecolympics, which pits residence halls against each other to conserve the most energy and recycle the most waste.
