Chris Wahal said he tried to do his part last year to make Penn State the No. 1 party school on Princeton Review's "Best 366 Colleges Rankings."

But Wahal (junior-biochemistry) and others have come up short -- five places short, that is.
Ranked second last year, Penn State dropped to No. 6, with West Virginia University claiming the top slot.

"I think everyone needs to step it up," Wahal said.

Geoff Rushton, university spokesman, discredits the ranking system, calling it "ultimately meaningless."

"We don't really take these kinds of things very seriously. Period," he said. "When Penn State has issues with alcohol, as most schools do, we certainly work to address those, and we don't really find this particular ranking to be of any consequence whatsoever."

Surveying 120,000 students at 366 colleges nationwide, averaging about 325 participants per campus, the "party school" ranking is based on questions about the popularity of campus greek life, participation in intercollegiate sports, number of hours spent studying and drug and alcohol use, said Adrinda Kelly, senior editor for Princeton Review.

Aside from mentioning that students at Penn State "party as hard on the weekends as they study during the week," Princeton Review said it could not provide university specifics on the four subcategories of evaluation.

This method of research leaves some questioning the validity of the book, Kelly said.

"What makes us controversial is that we survey the students because they are the experts," Kelly said. "You can get a good education at any one of those 366 colleges. Academic rankings, at the end of the day, aren't that significant. Our rankings speak to campus culture."

Rushton said that after seeing Facebook groups dedicated to making Penn State the No. 1 party school, he believes some students see it as a "badge of honor."

Among the partying placement, Penn State snagged No. 3 for "lots of beer" and No. 17 for hard liquor consumption.

Keith Lesho, manager of Beulah's BBQ and Bar Bleu, said that despite the alleged partying shortcomings, he still anticipates the usual annual increase in social drinking.

"Every bar is going to sell more alcohol," he said. "It's just the way it goes. If sales go down in the future, then maybe we might start to think these rankings are accurate."

Clifford Lutz, assistant director of Penn State University Police, said the "media marketing campaign masquerading as science" only draws attention to a nationwide health hazard, and the drop in ranking does not correlate with any police activity.

Though Penn State's entry in the book credits football as "a religion," some students think team records are to blame for the lower ranking.

"It goes hand in hand with football season," Ryan Chaffo, Class of 2007, said. "An Outback Bowl isn't an Orange Bowl. I think the tailgating rule and not being able to drink during the game is also a big culprit."

Regardless, Rushton said he encourages disregarding the book and its claims.

"You can go to any college and really find out what they are about and what they offer. You don't need rankings like this to decide where you want to go," he said. "The party school ranking doesn't play into it. Schools on that list are world-renowned research institutions and that should stand for itself."