You worked hard to get into the Ivy League. Top grades, near-perfect scores, thousands of volunteer hours, multiple leadership positions. You know you’ll be just as busy in college, but you also know it’s four years of your life you’ll never get to do again. So, why not make some memories?
If you’re wondering which Ivies have the best party scenes, this guide breaks it down. The best Ivy League party schools are Dartmouth and Penn, followed by Cornell. But if you put yourself out there and meet the right people, you can have an incredible social life at any of them.
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The Best Ivy League Party Schools
People treat the Ivy League like a monolith. But in reality, the eight schools couldn’t be any different. Just put the finance bro from Wharton into the same room as the Brown student who’s designing their own major in gender studies and see how much they have in common.
With that in mind, the best Ivy League party school for you might not be the best for someone else with a different personality and different interests. After all, what good is an active social scene if you feel like a fish out of water when you venture into it? The best Ivy League school for you from a social perspective is the one where you can find your tribe. The party element will flow naturally from there.
We’d be remiss, however, if we didn’t acknowledge that in general, some of the Ivies go harder than others on Friday and Saturday nights. The following list breaks down the Ivy League from best to worst — or worst to best, depending on your perspective and how you feel about partying — when it comes to their party scenes.
#1: Dartmouth College
- Location: Hanover, NH
- Greek participation rate: 40% (men), 52% (women)
- Female-to-male ratio: 50/50
- Percentage who live on campus: 84%
Dartmouth brings home the award for the frattiest Ivy League school. More than half the women and about four out of 10 men participate in Greek life, and the frat houses are hotbeds of debauchery on Friday and Saturday nights.
Just how wild is the Dartmouth frat scene? According to alum and reformed frat bro Andrew Lohse, who wrote a memoir aptly titled “Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy: A Memoir” after leaving school, it was off the charts, and not always in a good way. Brutal hazing, predatory behavior toward women, the whole nine.
It’s worth noting that Lohse’s anecdotes aren’t backed by much corroboration, and people associated with the university — both in and out of Greek life — have pushed back against many of his claims.
But regardless of the book’s veracity (or lack of), there’s no question that Dartmouth isn’t a school for choir kids. With its rural campus, Greek-heavy population, and high percentage of on-campus living, it has all the elements of a school where partying is the de facto pastime.
#2: University of Pennsylvania
- Location: Philadelphia, PA
- Greek participation rate: 20%
- Female-to-male ratio: 54/46
- Percentage who live on campus: 58%
Penn is known as “The Social Ivy” and takes a backseat only to Dartmouth when it comes to the amount of partying seen on campus in a typical weekend. Because the campus is located just across the Schuylkill River from Center City Philadelphia rather than in rural New Hampshire, the party scene at Penn arguably has a higher level of energy than at Dartmouth, even though a smaller percentage of students participate.
The Greek participation rate is right at 20% for both guys and girls, which is right in line with a typical SEC or Big Ten school. It sounds like a small number, but that 20% tends to dominate not just the social scene but leadership positions on campus as well. At certain colleges within Penn, such as Wharton, the percentage of students who join frats or sororities is much higher.
The cool thing about Penn’s party scene is that it isn’t limited to just the Greek houses on campus. Center City is full of bars and entertainment options, and as students become upperclassmen, they tend to migrate away from the campus parties and into the city.
#3: Cornell University
- Location: Ithaca, NY
- Greek participation rate: 25%
- Female-to-male ratio: 54/46
- Percentage who live on campus: 47%
With a 25% Greek participation rate, Cornell actually frats harder than Penn. It comes in just below them on our list, however, because its party scene outside of Greek life isn’t as robust. Ithaca, while a thriving college town, doesn’t have the 24-hour pulsating energy of a place like Philadelphia. Plus, it’s frigid for several months of the school year, which can put the brakes on bar-hopping.
Something else Cornell has going for it: the largest student body — by far — of any of the Ivies. With an undergraduate enrollment of more than 15,000, Cornell’s student body is more than double that of any other Ivy except Penn. So, no matter how you choose to spend your weekends, it won’t necessarily feel like the same parties with the same people all the time like in high school.
#4: Brown University
- Location: Providence, RI
- Greek participation rate: 7%
- Female-to-male ratio: 53/47
- Percentage who live on campus: 70%
Although Brown has one of the lowest Greek participation rates in the Ivy League, the school is still known for being social, and yes, a party school to some extent. Compared to frat-heavy schools like Dartmouth, Brown has more of a laid-back party scene. Its students, many of them highly progressive, eschew putting labels on others or themselves. With 70% of students living on campus, Brown always has something going on.
#5: Harvard University
- Location: Cambridge, MA
- Greek participation rate: Officially 0%, but 36% claim to be involved with an underground or off-campus “final club.”
- Female-to-male ratio: 51/49
- Percentage who live on campus: 96%
Harvard has an interesting party scene. You won’t find ragers all over campus on a typical Friday or Saturday night, but there’s definitely a party crowd in Cambridge — you just might have to look a little harder to find it.
For one, Harvard has no official Greek scene on campus. But that doesn’t mean the social scene is open and laid-back like at Brown. In place of fraternities and sororities at Harvard are organizations called “final clubs.” These clubs are not sanctioned by the university but are responsible for a good portion of the social scene on campus. There are male final clubs, female final clubs, and coed final clubs. Harvard also has several traditional frats and sororities that operate underground.
#6: Yale University
- Location: New Haven, CT
- Greek participation rate: 11%
- Female-to-male ratio: 50/50
- Percentage who live on campus: 79%
Yale is another Ivy League school with a low Greek participation rate, but like at Harvard, a decent portion of its social scene is driven by underground organizations. Final clubs don’t exist at Yale to any significant degree, but the university is known for its “secret societies,” the most famous being the Skull and Bones. Several former U.S. presidents, including George W. Bush, were purported to be members, and the organization was depicted in the 2000 movie The Skulls (which tanked at the box office and garnered terrible reviews).
#7: Princeton University
- Location: Princeton, NJ
- Greek participation rate: Officially 0%, but roughly 15% belong to underground Greek organizations and 68% of upperclassmen belong to an “eating club.”
- Female-to-male ratio: 50/50
- Percentage who live on campus: 94%
Princeton has one of the most unique social scenes in the Ivy League. It isn’t known for raucous parties or keggers, and there is no official Greek scene on campus, as the university banned fraternities years ago on the basis of their “exclusionary” nature. Frats and sororities do exist at Princeton, though, albeit underground, and roughly 15% of students participate.
Among upperclassmen, what really drives the social and party scene at Princeton are the eating clubs. These organizations serve as dining halls for upper-class students and as social organizations that throw parties, host formals and retreats, and provide networking opportunities for jobs, internships, and grad school. More than two-thirds of Princeton upperclassmen join one of these organizations. So, the social scene can feel a little stifling for the minority of students who choose not to participate.
#8: Columbia University
- Location: New York, NY
- Greek participation rate: 30%
- Female-to-male ratio: 51/49
- Percentage who live on campus: 92%
Even with a Greek participation rate of 30%, Columbia comes in last on our list of Ivy League party schools because the social scene is so fragmented. On any given Friday or Saturday night, the students who choose to party and socialize are often found scattered throughout the bars in the area rather than packed into a frat house basement doing keg stands and playing beer pong. That doesn’t mean you can’t party at Columbia — it’s NYC, you can do just about anything — but the nightlife feels much more cosmopolitan and young adult than it feels “college.”
The Bottom Line on Ivy League Party Schools
The Ivy League offers much more than just a social scene. With top-notch academics and plenty of extracurricular opportunities, these institutions provide an excellent education and a well-rounded experience. But that doesn’t mean you can’t party there. The top Ivy League party schools can hold their own against any SEC or Big Ten school. Like with everything else in life, it’s all about balance.
