It’s 10:42 p.m. on a Wednesday evening, one week before classes begin at the University of Wisconsin.

Tim Kong, a UW junior, is headed out with friends to the Madison bars for a night of drinking and partying.

Kong is one of hundreds UW undergraduates who help the university live up to its party reputation.

UW was recently named the No. 3 “party school” in the nation in the Princeton Review annual survey, dropping a spot from last year’s No. 2 ranking.

Kong’s first stop of the night, the Kollege Klub, is crowded, smoky, and full of loud music and dancers. He’s taking full advantage of the “free shot with every beer” drink special.

“We’re a wild campus,” Kong said, reveling in the high ranking. “We drink a hell of a lot and are always partying.”

The rankings are based on survey questions regarding students’ alcohol and drug use, time spent studying and involvement in fraternities or sororities.

Not all on campus agree with UW’s party standing.

“I think the ranking is ludicrous,” UW Provost Peter Spear said. “It doesn’t reflect the nature of activities at this university at all.”

Spear said the ranking information used by the Princeton Review is useless because they use “awful sampling technology.”

“If [a student] were to do this for a research project in a social-science class, [he or she] would flunk,” he said.

The survey questions were administered to randomly selected students at the Memorial Union, according to Spear. He noted that students who go to the terrace are typically there to drink beer and will likely have characteristics of a “partier,” which is not representative of the student body.

Spear said Colorado University at Boulder was the No. 1 “party school” one year ago and is not even in the top 10 this year.

“How do you explain that? Has that [campus] had a massive change in just one year?” Spear said. “Quite frankly, it’s just a gimmick to sell magazines.”

At 1 a.m., Kong and his friends head to another bar — Amy’s Café.

As he walks the streets of Madison, he notes that students at UW are smart enough to balance classes and partying.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a party school,” Kong said. “College is about having a good time and learning about yourself.”

Spear said he is not opposed to partying or legal drinking. He and other university officials are mainly concerned with the negative affects of binge-drinking, alcohol abuse and underage drinking.

There is also a concern such activities will worry parents or influence their decision to send their children to UW, according to Spear.

“That would be a shame,” he said.

By 1:45 a.m., Kong stumbles home, clearly drunk.

According to Kong, Madison has all the characteristics of a good party town.

“It has a big downtown area with lots of bars and plenty of drunk kids walking around,” he said. “Well, I wouldn’t call them kids; young adults.”