The Princeton Review's newest edition of its annual report, "The Best 368 Colleges," ranks colleges based on factors such as frequency of use of marijuana, prevalence of fraternities, diversity of student population, and even the quality of the college library.

The University of Florida was ranked as the No. 1 party school in the nation in the annual report, while UT was ranked 18th, which is just ahead of the University of Alabama.

UT is historically high on the "party list," but things are changing. UT was ranked 15th last year, and in 2001 UT was ranked first.

The Princeton Review sorts through more than 120,000 surveys taken by students at 368 U.S. colleges and ranks them in eight main categories: Academics, Demographics, Extracurriculars, Parties, Politics, Quality of Life, School Type and Social.

I'm sure a lot of people may not admit it, but they did come here to party
-Senior Chad Kitts on UT as a top party school

Todd Diacon, vice provost for academic operations, said he pays little attention to The Princeton Review. He instead notes that incoming freshman have broken academic records for the last five consecutive years.

This fall's freshman class boasts an average core GPA of 3.76 and received an average of ACT score of 26.6. These scores surpass every freshman class' score in UT's history.

Of the 4,200 freshman this year, nearly 87 percent are from Tennessee. Almost all are Tennessee Education Lottery HOPE Scholarship recipients.

Diacon believes the sixth year of the HOPE scholarship's existence has much to do with the increasing credentials of applicants.

"I think the lottery scholarship has made it financially beneficial to stay in-state," Diacon said. "It's given us more ways to create financial packages for the top, top students."

While the choice in the past for students may have been between paying $10,000 for UT or $18,000 to $25,000 for an out-of-state school, the choice now is often between paying nothing and the $18,000-plus, Diacon said.

As Tennessee's land grant university, UT has different goals than the exclusivity of a private Ivy League school because of its commitment to educate a larger demographic of students across the state, Diacon said.

In addition, bright students initially lured by the HOPE scholarship can act as advertisers for the University with younger people they know, he said.

"We see once students from a high school that traditionally don't go to UT come here, more come from that high school the next year," Diacon said.

I think that UT should stand out in people's minds as students who are willing to learn, not just wanting to party twenty four hours a day, seven days a week
-UT alumna Mollie Robinson

While many welcome the change in caliber of students, others are a little hesitant to accept it.

"Yeah it sucks, I'm no longer the nerd," Laura Bingham, a UT senior, said. "Damn freshman."

Bingham's high GPA in French and international business may have stood out in the past, but now she has competition she never expected.

"It's not the same atmosphere as it used to be," she said. "The smarter students are taking away from UT's long standing rep as a party school."

Chad Kitts, a senior majoring in business, said about UT being the former No. 1 party school, "It used to be a point of pride really, and I'm sure a lot of people may not admit it, but they did come here to party."

On the other hand, UT alumna Mollie Robinson dislikes thinking of UT as a party school.

"I think that UT should stand out in people's minds as students who are willing to learn, not just wanting to party twenty four hours a day, seven days a week," Robinson said.