California university is ranked top party school in the US

A California university has been named the best party school in the US

The University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) has taken the top spot for the ‘2025 top party schools’ for the third year in a row, according to the ranking site Niche.

The education research website annually compiles a diverse database of more than 500,000 student reviews of their U.S. colleges.

The five categories used to compile the rankings include bar accessibility, restaurant access, Greek life, school sports and transparent student surveys.

The school’s sun-drenched glow, beachfront campus and mountain views are rightly dubbed ‘Deltopia’ by partygoers.

In late July, a younger student said the following about the school: “It is literally heaven on earth for an 18- to 21-year-old, as long as you don’t overdo it.

‘You have to consider school more important than partying, because the study load is quite heavy.’

Other students added that the ‘party school’ is ‘beautiful’.

Every year the university hosts the ‘Deltopia’ street party, which often involves the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

The event, which takes place on Del Playa Drive in Isla Vista, typically draws thousands of visitors, many of whom are arrested, fined or require medical attention.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement officers arrested 23 people and issued 151 tickets in 2023.

In 2023, there was a 500 percent increase in arrests and a 400 percent increase in fines compared to the previous year.

However, law enforcement did indicate that crowds would be “significantly higher” in 2023 due to many off-campus visitors.

In 2022, only four people were arrested and 34 fines were issued.

Authorities said their staff were “inundated” with medical calls, most of which involved alcohol poisoning.

Sheriff’s spokesperson Raquel Zick noted KTLA that the Sheriff’s Office desperately sought help and activated their volunteer and rescue team.

The volunteers assisted the fire brigade and emergency services, and most local residents also helped to put an end to the out-of-control festivities.

In 2019, 38 people were arrested, 94 fines were issued and 19 people were hospitalized.

The annual Deltopia event started almost twenty years ago.

The festival used to be called ‘Floatopia’ because participants celebrated the festival on the beach, sitting on rafts and tires.

Just a few years after its launch, the event was shut down by Santa Barbara authorities due to excessive beach litter and complaints from local residents.

UC Santa Barbara subsequently withdrew its approval for the event and attempted to prevent students from continuing to attend.

In 2014, the festival attracted the most visitors, more than 20,000 people. Riots broke out and many people were arrested and fined.

During that year’s drastic celebration, more than 130 people were arrested and 50 participants were hospitalized.

Since those difficult times, authorities have been proactively trying to reduce the number of arrests and medical calls by imposing parking restrictions and launching campaigns in an attempt to keep the event ‘local’.

‘Deltopia’ did not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.

The University of Oklahoma ranked second in Niche’s annual 2025 party-school rankings, with the University of Cincinnati ranking third.