Vance "Van" Wilder is a confident and sardonic seventh-year senior at Coolidge College who spends his days driving around campus in his customized golf cart, posing nude for
figure drawing classes, and organizing soirees and fundraisers for his peers. His father severs financial support upon learning that his son is still in school. Van seeks a payment extension from the
registrar, Deloris Haver. After having sex with her, she hands him the paperwork for an extension, whereupon Van realizes he only needed to ask for it. After a couple of attempts to get money fast, Van is approached by the Lambda Omega Omega
fraternity, offering to pay him $1000 to throw them a blowout party to boost their popularity. Gwen Pearson, a reporter for the school paper, writes a story crediting Van as the party's host. Van, who usually refuses to do interviews for the paper, realizes the article can be the "cash cow" he needs to stay in school and agrees to sit down with Gwen for a follow-up piece. Gwen's boyfriend, Richard "Dick" Bagg, is a pre-med student and the president of his fraternity Delta Iota Kappa, as well as of the student government. As he learns of Gwen's work with Van, suspecting a growing bond between them, he moves to sabotage their prospective romance. Van and Richard exchange escalating pranks. Gwen learns that Van stopped attending classes years ago, 18 credits short of graduation. Angry that she dug into such personal details, he disassociates himself from her, taking a contemplative look at his life. Richard arranges to sabotage Van's latest party with Jeannie, a member of a sister sorority, by smuggling children in and getting them drunk, then calling campus police to the scene. Van is arrested for providing alcohol to minors and faces expulsion from Coolidge. He prepares to leave the college until his friend Taj inspires him to fight the charges. Van throws himself at the mercy of the court, asking that rather than expelling him, they force him to graduate. He offers to complete his remaining credits before the semester ends, earning a
degree in
leisure studies. The academic board votes 3–2 in favor of Van's reinstatement; the decisive vote is surprisingly cast by his least favorite professor, Prof. McDougal. Van begins studying for the finals, which will be held in six days. Outside the court, Jeannie reveals Richard's plot to Gwen and his infidelity. Angered by this, Gwen pretends to forgive Richard and then spikes his protein shake with a powerful
laxative just before his entrance exam to
Northwestern Medical School. While taking the exam, Richard begins to have uncontrollable
flatulence and hurries down the line with his exam, not even reading the questions due to his dire need for release. As he rushes to the bathroom, Richard is intercepted by his future alumni, intending to interview him for his entrance. Unable to hold it in any longer, Richard drops his pants and proceeds to defecate violently in a wastebasket in front of the doctors, much to their horror and disgust. Van uses the entire exam period for his last final with Prof. McDougal, who later delivers the news to him that he passed. McDougal explains that he had been so harsh on Van all those years because he believed that he was not living up to his potential, not because he had also hooked up with McDougal's daughter freshman year. Gwen finishes her article on Van for the graduation issue. In it, she reveals his many contributions to the students and staff of Coolidge in the last seven years, his superhuman accomplishment of doing a semester's worth of studying in just six days, and Richard's plot to have him expelled. Both Richard's reputation and his medical school dreams are shattered. The university celebrates Van's graduation with a wild party in his honor. After reading Gwen's article, his father admits that he was wrong and expresses his pride in Van's success. Gwen arrives, lovingly reuniting with Van. ==Cast==