Well there's that, and there's the fraternities. MIT, in my experience of having lived in Cambridge, is very much "work hard, play hard" for its undergrads.
Dude, GT also has a drinking song as it's official school song; yet there are no real parties on campus - you know regular events with tons and tons of debauchery. I think this is what you don't get if you've never experienced a real party school: there's mainly only playing hard and there's barely any work for a lot of your time there (or even all of it if you so choose). There are classes where all you have to do is show up and you'll pass...
>I think this is what you don't get if you've never experienced a real party school: there's mainly only playing hard and there's barely any work for a lot of your time there (or even all of it if you so choose).
Funny thing: I did my undergrad at the famously party-focused UMass Amherst, and it wasn't like that at all.
I don't feel that party schools can exist in places that have a good amount of snow and ice but that's my opinion. It's also possible not to experience the pitfalls of a party school even if you attend one if you hang with the right crowd.