For a university once known as a party school, UND would seem to have turned over a new leaf.
According to Greatist.com, a website promoting health and wellness, the university is the third healthiest campus in America, just behind UCLA and Stanford.
Back in 2009, UND was No. 18 among the nation's party schools, a combination of too much liquor and not enough studying, according to Princeton Review, which surveyed students to find out.
Not so today. UND isn't even among the Top 20 for liquor or beer.
Why UND?
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How a smaller school in the oft-frozen north could compete against super-sized and sunny California academies in health and wellness came down to UND's $20 million Wellness center and "reasonably priced healthy dining options," wrote Greatist.com writer Kelly Fitzpatrick.
"Our favorite thing about UND, though, is its 7 Dimensions approach to wellness, which includes often-overlooked factors like emotional, environmental and spiritual health," Fitzpatrick wrote.
UND also staved off pale Yalies (No. 11) and brave West Pointers (No. 9), as well as the more-Norwegian-and-Lutheran-than-UND St. Olaf (No. 8) and just barely the venerable Colby College, a 200-year-old private school of 1,800 in Maine (No. 4).
No doubt not hurting its chances, UND also has an assistant vice president for not only health but also for wellness, Laura Betting, who said in a news release: "We are honored to receive this recognition, a true reflection of an entire campus community working in collaboration to enhance the health and well-being."
Greatist.com used a "rigorous scoring process" starting with nominations from its readers through Twitter and email and then "scouring the Web" and the Princeton Review for any mention of schools with fabulous food or fitness facilities, Fitzpatrick wrote.
Study more
Now that UND's on the health kick, it probably just needs to crack the books a little more, if the Princeton Review is right. It named UND No. 1 for students who study the least, averaging a grade point average of 3.36.
In 2009, the university was No. 5 and the average GPA was 3.38.
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University officials have said they take these kinds of rankings with a grain of salt. After all, the Wellness Center opened in 2006 and it didn't get top rankings for health and wellness until now.
On the Web: See Greatist.com's list at www.greatist.com/health/25-healthiest-colleges. Princeton Review's rankings are at www.princetonreview.com/college-rankings.aspx .
