BYU is soberest in nation — again

Make it an even dozen.

For the 12th year in a row, Brigham Young University has claimed the title of the most stone-cold sober school in the nation.

No other school has come close to that kind of dominating performance in any category, said Rob Franek, editorial director for the Princeton Review's annual survey of the nation's universities, this year titled "The Best 371 Colleges: 2010 edition," which goes on sale Tuesday.

The rankings are based on a survey of 122,000 students at the 371 colleges.

"Brigham Young has had such exceptional longevity on this list and other lists," Franek said. "There has been no other school with this kind of longevity."

BYU spokesman Michael Smart, with tongue in cheek, said the university doesn't intend to rest on its laurels.

"I'll borrow from the world's football coaches and say that we are happy but we are not satisfied," he said. "This year, like very other year, we will take it one day at a time and hopefully this time next year we'll be talking about number 13."

In fact, BYU ranked first in five of the 62 different categories in this year's survey, including "Don't Inhale," a ranking of low marijuana use, and "Future Rotarians and Daughters of the American Revolution,"

BYU ranked second in "Most Religious Students," behind Thomas Aquinas College, a Catholic liberal arts school in Santa Paula, Calif., fourth in "Most Conservative Students" and seventh in low acceptance of gay students.

BYU's Harold B. Lee Library was ranked 16th among college libraries, and the university is ranked 20th for student participation in intramural sports. Notre Dame ranked first.

Two other Utah schools made the rankings.

Westminster College ranked 12th for "Best Quality of Life," and the University of Utah ranked 20th for "Most Religious Students."

Penn State University earned the distinction of "Top Party School" and Bennington College in Vermont was ranked "Least Religious Students."

Franek said the lists are designed to help potential college students pick out the university that best fits their personality.

"The ranking lists should be information to students, family and guidance counselors," he said.

Other student survey-based ranking lists in the book reveal the schools at which students most highly rated their administrators, campus career centers, and athletic facilities.

The ratings for both stone-cold sober and party schools are based on students' answers to the same questions about the use of alcohol and drugs, the number of hours they study each day outside of class, and the popularity of fraternities/sororities at their school. BYU has no fraternities or sororities.