Parents and Governments Waste $ Billions on Education

If you've ever wondered why receptionists, people in call centers, and even some of today's executives seem to have an IQ just slightly higher than their shoe size, you might have a look at party schools: the colleges where how much you drink is more important than how much you achieve.

Alcohol addiction is rampant in party schools, which is how they got their name - and drug abuse isn't slouching either. When you consider that one night of drinking impairs critical thinking for a month, it's a wonder young adults can tie their shoes.

The University of Wisconsin, which has been on the top 10 party school list for years, was featured in a news item because the students are now taking drugs at close to the rate they drink. The news item said 35% of UW students have taken illicit drugs so far this year. And it includes some heavy hitters - heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and a variety of illegally obtained prescription drugs.

Alcohol is also a gateway drug - after all, if you'd get into a car drunk and risk killing someone or rape a fellow student, surely they'd take a drug if it were offered. What do school officials expect?

Law enforcement around UW is stretched beyond the limit and has its hands so full with the drinkers, they can't even get around to the kids abusing drugs.

But UW is not the only college with a problem. Here are the top ten party schools this year, courtesy of pub.com.

University of Texas
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of Wisconsin
University of Alabama
University of California Santa Barbara
University of Georgia
Ohio University
Florida State University
Arizona State University
University of Southern California

If you're a parent, you might want to seriously consider keeping your kids out of these schools (and the others in the top 20 or 30 of the list). If they're already in one of them, start doing something about it before your kid winds up in detox, the ER, an addiction treatment center, or the morgue.

Some schools around the country have a much better reputation. Here's a list of schools that do not pride themselves on their ability to hoist a few.

California
Pepperdine University (main campus in Malibu)
University of California-Davis
University of California-Irvine
University of California-San Diego
University of San Francisco

Connecticut
University of Connecticut (main campus in Storrs)

DC
George Washington University (Washington)
Howard University (Washington)

Florida
Flagler College (Saint Augustine)
University of Miami)

Georgia
Georgia Institute of Technology (aka Georgia Tech, Atlanta)
Agnes Scott College (Decatur)
Wesleyan College (Macon)
Spelman College (Atlanta)

Illinois
DePaul U (Chicago)

Louisiana
Tulane University (New Orleans)

Massachusetts
Emerson College (Boston)
Emmanuel College (Boston)
Simmons College (Boston)
Suffolk University (Boston)
Wheelock College (Boston)
Boston University
Brandeis University (Walthan, MA)
Northeastern University (Boston)

New Jersey
Rutgers (New Brunswick, NJ)

New York
Brooklyn College
Manhattan College
New York University (NYC)
Syracuse University
Wagner College (Staten Island)
Yeshiva University (NYC)

North Carolina
Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem)

Ohio
Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland)
Miami University (Oxford)

Pennsylvania
Temple University (Philadelphia)
University of Pittsburgh
Villanova University (near Philadelphia, PA)

South Carolina
College of Charleston

Tennessee
Fisk University (Nashville)

Virginia
College of William and Mary (Williamsburg)

Washington
University of Washington (Seattle)

Of course, this is not a complete list. But it's enough to get started with. And there is no guarantee that your kids are not going to end up with an alcohol, cocaine or prescription drug addiction problem - all of which are rampant in many U.S. universities and colleges. But at least you know you'll be sending your kid to a school where the peer pressure is not focused on alcohol and drugs and they'll have a fighting chance.

Kids go to college to set themselves up for a successful life and career. Sending them to a college that demonstrates the same intention, by their actions, gets your kids off to a good start.