Student guide says the party's not over at WSU
And while University of Washington students face a 16 percent tuition increase next year, the guide lists the UW among the best bargains in the country.
The results are drawing everything from chuckles to outrage around the state.
"The surveys are not based on fact. They have not done their research," said Scott Dickinson, president of the Associated Students of Washington State University.
"WSU is not any more of a party school than any other campus of its size. The students are all here for academics," added Sue Hinz, a WSU spokeswoman.
The cause for such response is the 2003 edition of "The Unofficial, Unbiased Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges" (Kaplan; $20).
It is one of a number of national guides ostensibly published to help prospective students choose the school of their dreams but which college leaders greet skeptically.
"I always find these books fun, interesting and sometimes filled with good information, but I also don't take them too seriously because I don't believe that categories like 'party schools' and 'geek schools' are meant to be taken seriously," said Jack Faris, the UW vice president of university relations.
Still, he said, "We are always happy to be ranked favorably and annoyed when not."
The "Unofficial Insider's Guide" was written by Kaplan vice presidents Trent Anderson and Seppy Basili, based on surveys sent to high-school guidance counselors. It is the first edition of the guide published by Kaplan Inc., which also produces standardized test-preparation courses and study guides.
In addition to UW and WSU, The Evergreen State College in Olympia and Whitman College in Walla Walla are listed as "hidden treasures." And WSU won plaudits for "best freshman housing" and "best career services."
The guide includes detailed profiles of the UW; Evergreen; Whitman; Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Puget Sound in the Tacoma area; and Gonzaga University in Spokane.
High-school guidance counselors recommended WSU and Central Washington University in Ellensburg as good schools to look into.
For WSU, the ratings come at a time when President V. Lane Rawlins is trying to play down the school's reputation as a place where drinking outpaces learning. Earlier this year he criticized the Wazzu nickname as derogatory to the school's image.
In fact, WSU had turned around its boozy reputation with at least one other national guide, the Princeton Review. In April 2000, WSU dropped from the No. 9 party school in the country to completely off the Review's Top 20 list. WSU officials were ecstatic.
But now, in the "Unofficial Insider's Guide" released today, WSU is ranked among the best 20 colleges in the country for "parties and pranks: 'Animal House' schools," conjuring up images of debauchery in the "Animal House" movie.
Others in the category include the University of Florida, University of Georgia, San Jose State University and the University of Texas at Austin.
"My personal opinion is that WSU is changing that reputation. But many people still believe that, and the point of the book is to present what the people believe is true," said Anderson, one of the co-authors.
When it comes to best value, the University of Washington found itself in the company of such private heavyweights as Stanford, Harvard and Duke universities.
While most of the news in recent months has been over a tuition increase that will push undergraduate costs at the UW to more than $4,500 a year this fall for state residents, Anderson said value to him means the education a student gets is worth the money he or she invested in the school.
Shannon Smith, who graduated from the UW in 1994, agreed with Anderson: "Most other colleges are way more expensive, and you don't get 10 times the education."
But Sandra Rehn, a fourth-year student from Seattle majoring in mathematics and English, doesn't think she has gotten a good bargain.
She criticized the quality of teaching and the "random" grading she's found at the university.
"I had a much better experience at the community college than here at UW," she said.
At Pacific Lutheran University, spokeswoman Katherine Hedland, when told of the results, said simply, "It's nice to be recognized as interesting."
PLU was cited for challenging academics and good accessibility to faculty.
Nandini Jayarajan will be a senior this fall at Mariner High School in Everett. She recently participated in the Journalism Summer Workshop for minority high-school students at Seattle University.