Sorry, CU Boulder: You're Slipping on Princeton Review's Reefer Madness List

Administrators at the University of Colorado Boulder have long hated the school's frequent appearances on lists identifying the best party schools in the country, and their concerted efforts to change the school's reputation seem to be paying off.

Note that in 2013, CU Boulder failed to make the Princeton Review's party-schools top ten.

That same year, however, CU Boulder ranked second on the publication's list of reefer madness schools after previously topping that particular chart.

The school's continued crackdowns on 4/20 celebrations on campus appears to be having an effect, however. CU Boulder's reefer-madness ranking slid to fourth place last year, and on the just-released 2015 roster, it's fallen even further.

Where did CU Boulder wind up? Find out by counting down the photo-illustrated top ten, featuring excerpts from Princeton Review data and its description of each institution in question.

Also note that another college in Colorado made the cut, too — as you'll see. To read the complete Princeton Review reefer madness item, click here.

Number 1. Ithaca College
Ithaca, NY
$39,532 Tuition
6,124 Enrolled

“Small class sizes” that afford plenty of “personal attention,” “outstanding” scholarships, and cross-registration with nearby Cornell University are a few great reasons to choose Ithaca College, a smallish school in central New York....

Number 2. Skidmore College
Saratoga Springs, NY
$46,390 Tuition
2,632 Enrolled

From the School: Founded in 1903 and located in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Skidmore is an independent, coeducational liberal arts college that prides itself on its creative approaches to just about everything....

Number 3. Eckerd College
St. Petersburg, FL
$38,342 Tuition
1,802 Enrolled

Located on Florida’s Gulf Coast in St. Petersburg, Eckerd College is a small liberal arts college that prepares students to be “well-rounded, educated people for the ‘real world’, rather than for just one job"....

Number 4. University of Vermont
Burlington, VT
$35,832 Tuition
10,992 Enrolled

At the University of Vermont — “a mid-sized university in a cute town that offers a quality education” — you’ll get that quintessential college experience: a relaxed but academically-focused atmosphere amid big stone buildings and beautiful foliage.

Number 5. Evergreen State College
Olympia, WA
$20,901 Tuition
3,878 Enrolled

“Keeping education in its purest form alive and well in the heart of the Northwest,” The Evergreen State College offers “a unique approach” to academics. The school provides an “interactive environment—with a diverse, enriching learning method,”


Number 6. Green Mountain College
Poultney, VT
$32,594 Tuition
572 Enrolled

Green Mountain College, located in Poultney, Vermont, is a small, private, liberal arts college in the Vermont countryside. One of the goals of Green Mountain is its active focus on sustainability....

Number 7. University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, CO
$30,528 Tuition
26,426 Enrolled

Located in the Rocky Mountain region, the University of Colorado Boulder is a “comprehensive public research university” boasting “five Nobel laureates and more than 50 members of prestigious academic academies"....

Number 8. University of California-Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA
$35,070 Tuition
16,277 Enrolled

The University of California-Santa Cruz offers one of the nation’s best combinations of “focus on scholastic endeavors in a beautiful forest setting” and is, by all accounts “a great place to live and study!”

Number 9. Colorado College
Colorado Springs, CO
$48,576 Tuition
2,050 Enrolled

Students are drawn to Colorado College for its unique “Block Plan,” in which students take one intensive class at a time. The academic year is structured as eight blocks of 3–5 weeks each, punctuated by 5-day “block breaks"....

Number 10. Pitzer College
Claremont, CA
$46,720 Tuition
1,081 Enrolled

From the School: Pitzer is a comprehensive liberal arts college founded in 1963 as the sixth member of The Claremont Colleges and ranks as the fifth most diverse private coed national liberal arts college.....
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