<p>Just curious if you parents have students that have avoided applying to certain LACs because of the supposed rampant drug or alcohol use.</p>
<p>Uh… like where?</p>
<p>And it’s worse at LAC’s vs big U’s why exactly???</p>
<p>No. DD1 who is a tea-totaller applied to Reed. 'Nuff said.</p>
<p>The main reason my kids didn’t want to go the state Us is the huge amount of partying. Both chose smaller universities. Both drink some but also engage in social events without drinking. </p>
<p>My son is also looking at Reed and he’s a straight arrow, too. But he was a little put off by the pot smoke in the res hall he encountered during his visit to Bennington. Sure, there people who get high or drunk on every campus, but If drugs/alcohol are the main source of entertainment, that is a problem. There has to be balance.</p>
<p>I think at big Us, it might be easier to find a group of friends that don’t drink/party if that’s what a student was looking for, but no, I certainly wasn’t saying large universities don’t have a lot of this going on.</p>
<p>Again, looking at what students say on Niche, it seems the LACs like Wash & Lee, Hamilton, CMC, and some others get a “D” grade and students seem to indicate that most everyone participates. Further, there seems to be a theme that says if you don’t participate, you’d feel very left out. These LACs look pretty great otherwise and might be of interest to my son.</p>
<p>As my son continues to get emails/mailings from colleges and he’s still looking, we talk about what that might be like, particularly because of certain health issues. I kind of like medium sized schools, and even schools that have wellness or disabled housing-not that this in anyway guarantees there’s not going to be partying, but the wellness dorm that I visited with my oldest at Penn seemed to have some great kids who really did enjoy doing other things besides drinking.</p>
<p>My daughter attended Reed. She lived in the sub free dorm for three years, mainly because it had a rep for being quieter and cleaner.
I did not notice as much drinking and drugging at Reed, as I do at the suburban high schools.
YMMV.
But the students embrace their rep. They think it makes them edgy. Eventually they gain more self confidence and don’t have to hide behind tales of Olde Reed.</p>
<p>Thank you, emeraldkity4. This kind of input is very helpful. </p>
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<p>It may be worse at specific small schools where the drinking / party culture dominates the social scene, particularly if the school is relatively isolated with not much else interesting to do. For example, there are some small schools where most students join fraternities and sororities (e.g. Dartmouth, Depauw, Bucknell, Washington and Lee).</p>
<p>That’s what I was trying to get a feel for, ucb. The schools I mentioned (Wash&Lee, Hamilton, CMC) as well as Trinity (Conn) and Dartmouth are all interesting schools for certain interesting majors, special programs, and unique ECs, but yes, the drinking culture makes me wonder if an intellectual, creative, slightly nerdy non-partier would find his/her place.</p>
<p>Emeraldkity mentioned the wellness dorm being a good fit. I know at least a couple of these schools have either a wellness dorm or special housing for disabled students. I think if a student can have a safe haven at a school known for its drinking culture, that would work out fine. </p>
<p>I know my oldest son is heavily involved in dorm government and that his dorm is known to be a more fun, tame dorm (but certainly there are plenty of partiers in a large dorm; however, there are plenty of kids who love to have fun doing other stuff, too). So even though 50% of the guys at MIT join frats, my son has found a wonderful place to call home without being in a frat or heavy partying.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/niaaacollegematerials/panel01/highrisk_05.aspx”>College Drinking, Changing the Culture; describes school characteristics associated with higher drinking and binge drinking. Schools which hit many of those characteristics may need further investigation on this subject.</p>
<p>On <a href=“http://www.collegedata.com”>http://www.collegedata.com</a> , you can look up colleges’ profiles. For many of them, under the Campus Life tab, there are entries for the percentage of students in fraternities and sororities. A high percentage may mean that the social scene may be limited for those not in them, so further investigation is warranted for that school. Note, however, that some schools do not provide this information.</p>
<p>Thank you, ucb. I have not seen these before-will look at them.</p>
<p>When doing your research keep in mind that small schools with a high percentage of Greeks are often very inclusive and the Greek system is nothing like that at the big state Us. Look at factors like whether parties are open to all students and whether the Greeks mostly live in dorms vs separate housing. The social life may, nonetheless, revolve around Greek parties, but a non-Greek wouldn’t feel left out. Even if a campus has a significant drinking or drug culture, it doesn’t necessarily mean your child will feel pressure to conform. Agree with above post that he should look into wellness/substance free housing options as well. </p>
<p>I wonder why, with your son2 having health issues, if it would be prudent to look at colleges that are in driving distance.</p>
<p>@ucbalumnus thanks for the links. I think. That college drinking website is terrifying,</p>
<p>My kid is turned off by reports/videos of excessive partying, although the ones she’s seen have been at large public unis.</p>
<p>bookworm, we’re looking at both types of schools, ones that are driving distance and some that are a flight away. He may take a gap year and does not want to rule any school out on the basis of location and distance. He manages his diabetes well, better than many teens, according to his endo. Bur there are inherent risks with any chronic illness.</p>
<p>When the college my youngest wanted was one that was well-known for drugs/alcohol, it did give us brief pause, but he liked what other things the school offered more, so is happily a freshman there now - AND has found others who are like him, so is enjoying himself as he likes without needing to partake.</p>
<p>For oldest and middle who each had a plethora of options, it was somewhat of a factor, but not an eliminator. Both were (one graduated) or are happy with their schools too - none of mine felt the need to change their ways to fit in with the party or high crowds. All will tell you it’s available for those who choose it. It comes down to what one chooses and whether or not they can find like minds.</p>
<p>It does give my son pause. He is less afraid of the Big Public U, where there are so many people he knows he can find nonpartiers, even though the school has a lot of partying. He is afraid of ending up in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do but drink. </p>