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Maybe it is Penn students’ caffeine fix that makes them so polite.

The University made recent headlines in both The Huffington Post and Business Insider for having the most polite and caffeine-guzzling students, according to new data collected by GrubHub. Penn has also made another top ranking, coming in at number six for ordering the most ethnically diverse food as students order from more than 30 different types of ethnic restaurants.

Philadelphia dominated both of the rankings, with Drexel University nabbing the number 10 spot for the most polite GrubHub colleges and the number two spot for highest caffeine fix. Temple University also held its own with seven percent of its orders containing caffeine and coming in at number seven for most polite. 

While GrubHub is happy to fuel the hectic, caffeinated lifestyle of the average college student, it is unclear why the rankings contain a larger number of Philadelphia schools.

“From schedules packed full of studying, partying and socializing, it makes sense that students crave caffeine,” Allie Mack, a public relations representative for GrubHub Inc., said in an email. “Rankings like this speak to the availability of these beverages at the restaurants in a given area. It surprises me that more NYC and Chicago schools aren’t on the list.”

Looking closer at the data collected by GrubHub reveals that almost 60 percent of the restaurants serving Penn students offer coffee and that students are 89 percent more likely to order in the morning than all other college students. However, college students are 83 percent more likely to order energy drinks and 15 percent less likely to order coffee drinks than the GrubHub average.

With the highest rates of “please” and “thank you” as well as 10 percent of online orders containing coffee, espresso and energy drinks, Penn has established itself in GrubHub history.

Six out of the top 14 most caffeine-ordering schools are located in the Philadelphia area. This interesting find could be contributed to the fact that GrubHub orders must have at least a 10 dollar minimum.

And as to why Penn students are the most polite, GrubHub analysts remain perplexed.

“We have no idea why so many Philly schools are on this list,” Mack said. “Knowing that students at many Philadelphia universities hail from across the country, we aren’t sure what is driving this politeness trend.”

College students still have more room for improvement in their politeness. According to GrubHub’s most recent press release, published on Aug. 19, college students across the board are 18 percent less likely than the rest of the public to submit words of thanks with their GrubHub orders.

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