Are there top colleges whose dominant culture are not drinking and partying?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>Currently I am a freshmen at Hamilton College.
As much as I absolutely loved partying in high school, I am very sick of it now.
I was naive and thought college would be very different.
I expected a very intellectual environment in which the dominant culture revolves around intellectual and extra curriculars rather than sports and partying.
This does not mean I DONT want partying. Partying is tons of fun, but my problem with Hamilton is that its literally the only thing anyone ever does.
I want something more engaging and varied.
There is just such a lack of interest in intellectualism (as proven by our student organizations) and no one gives a single damn about anything that matters. </p>

<p>I am happy here, but I want something more and do not want to be in this monotonous environment for 3 more years. </p>

<p>Any schools on par with Hamilton College whose dominant culture doesn't revolve around partying and sports that I could get into?</p>

<p>What schools should I look at? I don't care if they are LAC or Research, as long as they are quality schools.</p>

<p>Thank You</p>

<p>P.S. Don't suggest schools like UChicago with transfer acceptance rate of 3% since there is no way I'm getting in as a transfer.</p>

2

<p>State universities tend to be more accepting of transfer students, though some private universities do accept significant numbers. But the state universities have big time sports and party scenes as well, although they are typically large enough that you should be able to find plenty of students who are not only about sports and partying.</p>

<p>The less selective state universities often have less sports and partying, but that is because they are more likely to be commuter schools with much less of any campus-based social life.</p>

<p>Also, the type of culture (e.g. party or not) may vary based on your major – and the same major may be associated with different cultures at different colleges.</p>

3

<p>How long have you been on campus? How much effort have you put into finding like-minded people? I’m sure there are plenty of kids who think exactly like you, maybe you just need to find them and hang around with them. Have you joined any clubs/activities? Have you talked to your RA for suggestions? Have you talked to residential services about substance-free housing or similar solutions?
I guess what I am saying is that transferring is an extreme solution to your problem, may be completely premature, and it is unlikely to completely solve your problem anyway. If you searched some posts within even the past few months for “party” issues, you will see how hard it is to find schools where there is little or no drinking and those schools may not have the academic qualities of Hamilton and may have other issues for you (i.e. too religious such as BYU).</p>

4

<p>The student bodies of the top 20 schools in the USNWR rankings are composed exclusively of students who sit around all evening discussing Proust and Nietzsche and advanced particle physics. Just ask anyone on CC, they’ll confirm it.</p>

5

<p>I was also going to suggest giving it some more time since you have only been on campus for a month or so. I think it’s pretty common for there to be an awful lot of partying the first few weeks of college (especially for first years who haven’t done a lot of it in high school) and then things start to settle a bit. Of course, there will always be drinking and let’s face it much of socializing involves groups of people, food and drink (“adult” beverages or otherwise) as the basis of getting together whether you’re in college or later in your 20s, 30s and on up. I would think later in the semester clubs will also start to organize other activities, a capella groups and other concerts, plays, etc. Hamilton may not be the place for you but I wouldn’t make that decision just yet, especially since you say you are happy there.</p>

6

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<p>Well, I can certainly think of some schools that are MORE selective than Hamilton that would fit the bill. (Swarthmore, Wellesley…)</p>

<p>Are you male or female?</p>

<p>Generally, you might want to look at some of the Quaker schools, such as Earlham. I’m sure Earlham isn’t devoid of partying, but it isn’t Hamilton or Colgate, either.</p>

<p>You may yet find your people at Hamilton. But if you do decide to try to transfer, keeping your grades up is the most important thing you can do.</p>

7

<p>try Caltech. No time to sleep, much less party. :)</p>

8

<p>My guy at U Rochester has a nice niche of non-partying friends. I doubt the school is devoid of parties (actually, I know it isn’t), but on his floor he tells me only one student is into it and many, like him, prefer other forms of entertainment (board games, movies, going places and doing things, improv, musical and acting “stuff,” etc). He feels like he found the perfect fit.</p>

9

<p>Here’s another post encouraging you to give Hamilton more time. As the semester goes on, the workload increases, and you and everyone else will have to put more time into studying. And if you pursue the ECs that interest you, you’ll find friends who share those interests. Some will be partiers, but you’ll still feel a sense of community with them. Hamilton is an excellent school - would you say that you applied and chose to attend because you wanted to be there? If so, give that decision a real chance to work out. Wishing you luck!</p>

10

<p>I am also a Hamilton freshman this year. i agree that people party. But it is not all anyone does here at all. I think you might be in a group of people that lacks interests in other things. For example. You can’t say athletes just partying. They can only really go out twice a week (that’s about 35% of students right there). Also I have experienced plenty of conversations about “intellectual things” as I and many other people are in the library and science center all the time. </p>

<p>Do you not have a lot of work? Do you just sit around all day doing nothing? Hamilton and other elite LACs are for kids who go out and get it. who go out as motivated kids and do what they want. </p>

<p>I understand your concern, but frankly I think you are being weak minded and expecting the college to come to you, when it’s all about taking it to the college, and it will gladly respond with much more than you would ever have expected.</p>

11

<p>Some of the most intellectual, hardworking and studious young people I know went to Amherst… but they partied too. And then school revved into high gear and so did they. Bet something pretty much like that will happen at Hamilton.</p>

12

<p>I visited College of Wooster and had a one on one with a few students during the tour, and one student told me that drinking isn’t pushed on you at Wooster, and that it is a very collaborative school</p>

13

<p>@farzaad123</p>

<p>I’m a sophomore at Hamilton, and I am applying to transfer for the spring.
I had the same attitude as you freshman year, with not wanting everyone to be so obsessed with partying. </p>

<p>It’s definitely frustrating, but the fact is that that is what freshmen in college do! I think you’ll find that anywhere you go. But trust me, it gets better with age–by sophomore year, a lot more people have mellowed out about drinking/going out and are much more down to do other activities, like go hiking in the Adirondacks, or hang out and watch a movie. I could also tell you about some clubs/organizations on campus, if you want to check them out. There is more of a chance you will find like-minded people in certain areas of campus, but I know when I was a first-year I had trouble finding those people too.</p>

14

<p>University of Miami. Sober as they come.</p>

15

<p>If you are female, trying women’s colleges. Mount Holyoke, for example.</p>

16

<p>My school is definitely one of those schools! It’s in sunny Southern California, but we have other ways of having fun. The full info on my school’s social scene is here on my article I previously wrote on it if you’re really interested:
[Not</a> Your Average Party | Alive Campus](<a href=“HugeDomains.com”>HugeDomains.com)
Hope you enjoy! :)</p>

17

<p>I agree with those who suggested giving Hamilton some time. Find those activities that interest you that don’t involve partying (drinking). Lots of Freshman over-indulge - and it seems to be fashionable to really over do it. But Hamilton attracts bright students. There are bound to be others like you there.</p>

<p>However, I do think students at some schools party and drink more than others. Schools that attract students with passions for something - are schools at which lots of students will spend their energies engaged in clubs or activities revolving around their interests. My kids attend LACs at which there are so many clubs and non-partying activities, that they can’t do all the things they’d like to do. These schools aren’t religious or conservative, they just appeal to good students who have lots of interests and talents. My kid’s schools also don’t have Greek systems or big spectator sports cultures. Of course there are parties at both schools, (and some students over-indulge), but the parties don’t dominate either of my kid’s campus experiences. My son actually transferred to his current school in part because he got fed up with drunken students at his first school - one student had literally passed out in the showers, where his friends had left him. Drinking at some schools is out of hand.</p>

18

<p>Davidson and William & Mary would be good options to investigate. Be true to yourself. Good luck.</p>

19

<p>I do hope you’ll give Hamilton a real chance. My son is a senior and at times has complained about the excessive drinking and partying, though less over the last year and a half or so. He enjoys partying but is simply not a big drinker. </p>

<p>At Hamilton he’s found a core group of friends, all wonderful people who I know will remain in one another’s lives after graduation. (The fact that three of them were his roommates freshman year is a good demonstration of how well Hamilton’s very careful roommate matching works.) Some of them party a lot and some don’t. Some drink a lot and some don’t. One thing they ALL do, though, is work HARD. </p>

<p>As someone who teaches at a state school, it seems to me that Hamilton students easily spend 2-4 times as many hours doing course related work as the students I teach. Hamilton’s small size, small classes and the fact that 84% of the faculty are full-time is an incalculable advantage. One of academe’s BIG problems nationwide right now is that regular, full-time faculty are in the minority, only about 30% of the total. Yes, 30%. Here’s a link to an NYT article about this issue: <a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03strategy-t.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03strategy-t.html&lt;/a&gt; </p>

<p>If you think this doesn’t matter, you’re wrong. Many part-timers teach at multiple schools or have other jobs in addition to teaching and thus have less time to devote to YOUR class. Between us, my husband and I have 70 years experience in post-secondary education and both say with confidence that Hamilton offers a superb education. (By the way, to find this information about any school you are considering, look for its Common Data Set; you’ll find the faculty information near the end.) </p>

<p>So–I hope you’ll give Hamilton a chance. There are a lot of great suggestions on this thread about how to find what you need there to make your experience not just good, but superb. </p>

<p>One other thing I’d heard and am now seeing proof of is the value of Hamilton’s alumni network. That and the Career Center are incredibly helpful in helping with the job hunt; my son is getting far more assistance in this area than anyone he knows at other schools. </p>

<p>(By the way, I agree that Hamilton is not easy to get to. We are not from the east coast, and transportation has been a challenge, partly because of the airport situation. The shuttle Hamilton runs, though is great and is absolutely dependable. It has been worth it.)</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

20

<p>I’ll second the suggestion of women’s colleges. There are plenty of students at Smith, for example, who don’t party. And they’re not just sitting around thinking deep thoughts; they have plenty of fun activities, they just don’t involve drinking etc.</p>