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Queens College is 14th on the list of the top-20 most “stone-cold sober schools” in the United States as ranked by Princeton Review in the company’s annual “Best 368 Colleges.”

The publication’s rankings, which are based on the survey of 120,000 students, are designed to enable prospective college students to make informed decisions about where to go to school – even if they are unable to make a campus visit.

The list is seen as a resource for parents and students concerned by increased trends of drunk driving, binge drinking and alcohol-related accidents on college campuses across the nation.

Around 1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related injuries, according to a 2005 study done by the Center to Prevent Alcohol Problems Among Young People at the Boston University School of Public Health.

Although prospective students and their parents may be inclined to use Princeton Reviews’ rankings to guide their decision-making process, students who attend Queens College question the list’s accuracy.

Conversations with students who attend or who have recently transferred from the College indicate that while no “party scene” currently exists on campus, students interested in finding locations to drink alcohol and engage in other illicit activities have no trouble doing so off-campus.

Michael Moutal, a second-year economics major at the college who lives in Howard Beach, explained that what makes Queens College a contender for the top-20 ranking has more to do with the campus itself than its student body.

“There’s no real party scene at Queens because it’s a commuter school. I don’t see how a place without dorms can really have parties or anything crazy. But people who want to drink just go to their friends’ dorm rooms in other schools, bars or house parties,” he said.

Christina Mastrolembo, a Floral Park resident who transferred out of Queens College in 2007, echoed Moutal’s sentiments.

“I think students who attend Queens College are generally the partying type,” she said. “Not everyone, certainly, but those who want to simply can’t do so on campus.”

The current atmosphere at the College is one in which a student could go through four-years of study without being exposed to a typical college party. However, a recent decision by the College may put this climate in jeopardy.

In 2007, Queens College announced that it would build its first on-campus dorm on the site of the current outdoor tennis courts.

In a statement released by the College, the main impetus behind constructing a dorm on campus is to attract honors students who desire a residential college experience.

“We need to remain competitive both within and outside CUNY in attracting the best students,” President James Muyskens said.

According to the College, access to the dorm after hours will be secured and security officers will be present at the main entrance as well as the entrance to the campus on Kissena Boulevard.

Despite these safeguards, some students suspect the dorm will dramatically change the school’s character.

“When Queens is done with the dorms I don’t think it will still be the fourteenth most sober school,” Moutal said. “Kids will stay in the dorms and party there all the time instead of going to house parties or clubs.”