This California university, home of many Nobel laureates, topped 2025 party school list

A California university that’s home to a number of Nobel laureates has also gained the distinction of being the top party school in the United States, according to a recent ranking.

UC Santa Barbara took the top spot in a list of party schools in the U.S. for 2025, released by Niche, an education research and ranking site.

To calculate the rankings, Niche — which uses a database of nearly 500,000 student college reviews — factored in student surveys on the party scene, access to bars, athletics grade, Greek life grade and access to restaurants.

Reviews from current and former students describe the university as “combining academic rigor with a laid-back coastal lifestyle” and praised the “vibrant student community.” More than half a dozen Nobel Prize winners in economics, physics and chemistry — including David Card, Alan J. Heeger, Herbert Kroemer and Shuji Nakamura — have taught at UC Santa Barbara over the years.

“I used to be an over the top party guy but living in Santa Barbara/Isla Vista helped me form new healthy outdoor habits while learning out how to be more responsible,” one student wrote. “There are so many activities you can partake in around town and on campus that is not partying ... It is literally heaven on earth for an 18-21 year old as long as you don’t overdo it.”

But one person, who described themselves as the parent of an alum, rated the university only two stars, complaining that students “party all day.”

“College kids party, but UCSB is out of control,” the person wrote.

One of the best-known party events is “Deltopia,” an unsanctioned spring break party that unfolds in April. The party, made popular among UC Santa Barbara students who live in Isla Vista near the campus, was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed in 2022, resulting in multiple arrests and citations during the weekend-long event.

In 2014, more than 20,000 people were estimated to have attended Deltopia, which devolved into a riot resulting in dozens of injuries and more than 100 arrests. The UC Santa Barbara student association at the time issued a statement saying that “The ‘wild party’ stereotype and image exists because we, the students, allow it to exist.”

This year and last year, Santa Barbara County officials closed the beaches in Isla Vista in anticipation of Deltopia. Last year more than 150 people were issued citations, while 23 people were arrested.

The most recent Deltopia marked the most citations issued in the history of the event at 256, according to The Daily Nexus, a campus newspaper.