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Articles / Applying to College / Spring Break Sites: Rank(ed)

Spring Break Sites: Rank(ed)

Dave Berry
Written by Dave Berry | Feb. 14, 2012
Spring Break Sites: Rank(ed)

I never went on a wild and crazy spring break. Of course, back then, most of today's favorite spring break locations were just swamps, weed-filled fields, or too hot to occupy since the earth was still cooling after its formation. Yeah, that was a while ago. Anyway, it's that time of year again, when thousands and thousands of underworked and oversexed college kids head for America's (and other countries') beaches and bars.

If you've ever watched MTV's Spring Break, you can get a feel for the tone (sometimes known as "mob mentality") that these young collegiate people can generate. One fun exercise is to search the Web for "spring break." The "images for spring break" speak for themselves. (Note to parents: You may be better off not digging too deeply into the Web's massive archive of information about spring break. Perhaps the better attitude might be: "I don't wanna know.")



So, where do these spring breakers head to when classes cease? Jayne Clark writing in USA Today found an interesting list of "The 10 trashiest spring break destinations." Is your (or your son's or daughter's) city on the"trash" list? Check it out.

The 10 trashiest spring break destinations

By Jayne Clark

You don't have to tune into MTV Spring Break to know that for many college students the annual rite revolves around booze, beaches and babes.

Coedmagazine.com has ranked the most popular U.S. spring break destinations by their degree of trashiness (that's a positive in this context), factoring in the prevalence of strip clubs, liquor stores, tattoo parlors and Hooters franchises, among other elements that underpin the Girls Gone Wild ethos.

Here's their list.

1. Las Vegas -- "…home of gambling, strip clubs, and anything else you can buy with money."

2. Key West -- "During the high spring break season, open container laws are not enforced…" Don't miss the clothing-optional Garden of Eden bar.

3. South Padre Island, Texas – "How can it get any trashier than South Padre, a beach that essentially exists for the sole purpose of having wild parties?"

4. Daytona Beach, Fla. – "According to the Orlando Sentinel, Daytona Beach has become the 'undisputed party capital for underage drinkers'. "

5. Myrtle Beach, S.C. – "South Myrtle (the trashier side) is run by three defining places: the beach, Broadway on the Beach, and the strip clubs."

6. Miami Beach -- "The Jersey Shore went here. Plus, it's probably one of two places where you can wear a shiny button-down shirt, rent a Lambo, and wear white pants ... "

7. Panama City Beach, Fla. – "Take a trip down to the beach in your pickup and make sure to have lawn chairs and coolers in the back – only poor people walk in Panama City."

8. Fort Myers, Fla. – Head for Lana Kai, "an older, run-down area of the beach that is perfect for hosting the daily 'booty contests' that happen during high season."

9. Lake Havasu City, Ariz. —"… chicks with humongous fake implants wearing tassels on a couple dinghies in a lake …"

10. San Diego -- "…most of the people who live in the San Diego area head to other destinations for spring break, but that just means the people left partying here are extra trashy."

***

For college students, this list is required reading. For parents, it may be required to be hidden. For most college students, however, spring break is no time to be broke!

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Be sure to check out all my admissions-related articles and book reviews at College Confidential.

Written by

Dave Berry

Dave Berry

Dave is co-founder of College Confidential and College Karma Consulting, co-author of America's Elite Colleges: The Smart Buyer's Guide to the Ivy League and Other Top Schools, and has over 30 years of experience helping high schoolers gain admission to Ivy League and other ultra-selective schools. He is an expert in the areas application strategies, stats evaluation, college matching, student profile marketing, essays, personality and temperament assessments and web-based admissions counseling. Dave is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University and has won national awards for his writing on higher education issues, marketing campaigns and communications programs. He brings this expertise to the discipline of college admissions and his role as a student advocate. His College Quest newspaper page won the Newspaper Association of America's Program Excellence Award, the Pennsylvania Newspaper Publisher's Association Newspapers in Education Award, the Thomson Newspapers President's Award for Marketing Excellence and the Inland Press Association-University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Mass Communications Inland Innovation Award for the Best New Page. His pioneering journalism program for teenagers, PRO-TEENS, also received national media attention. In addition, Dave won the Newspaper Association of America's Program Excellence Award for Celebrate Diversity!, a program teaching junior high school students about issues of tolerance. His College Knowledge question-and-answer columns have been published in newspapers throughout the United States. Dave loves Corvettes, classical music, computers, and miniature dachshunds. He and his wife Sharon have a daughter, son and four grandchildren.

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