@Snowman66
Quiet: It really depends what time and day your tour was. Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays are when most students have their classes, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, students tend to sleep in and hunker down in one of the libraries (so nice, you would understand why we don’t leave them often). On the weekends, it’s seldom that you will spot a student that willingly wants to be awake before 11 A.M. (we’re college students after all).
Activities: I can say in all honesty, I have never been bored at all while on campus, as there is SO MUCH to do. To give you the best explanation I can, I will tell you some of my favorite events I’ve been to recently.
Last week, the Spanish Department held a viewing of “Coco” in Spanish and provided authentic empanadas and Mexican hot chocolate. This week is International Education Week which starts off with an annual “Culture Show”, a public event that students participate in to show their classmates, professors, (President Bolton), and community members a glimpse of what represents them (the crowd favorites were the African Student Association and “Vina Gang”, a dance group of some of the Vietnamese students on campus). During the weekend I made (and ate) mochi through “Let’s Taco 'Bout It”, a student-led food-lovers group, and then proceeded to watch the Women’s Soccer team win a championship (GO SCOTS!). Last night I attended the Election Viewing Party in the student center (Lowry) and tonight I will attend a hypnotist that the school has brought to our campus (free of charge) and next week I have a professional development session regarding my presence on social media and another on how (as a woman) I can learn to negotiate for a higher wage (with free lunch included!).
All of these on top of hanging out with friends, grabbing a coffee with my professor (which I just got out of! We talked about the Midterms), and (of course) tackling all of my readings and papers.
Student activity groups make sure to post events almost everywhere so students can’t miss them. Some of the favorite “fun” groups among campus are “Let’s Taco 'Bout It”, Ultimate Frisbee (EVERYONE has a good time and it’s a very welcoming group), Don’t Throw Shoes, a student-improv group that holds public shows for students and “Wooster Volunteer Network (WVN)” which many students part-take in throughout their time here.
There are also concerts and events organized by the school where performers and brought to the school for students (for free!). There are also more “professional” groups to benefit students’ futures such as, (very, very popular; you will see hundreds of stickers on everyone’s laptops) “createHER”, a school-sponsored group that inspires women to lead through one personal and one professional event every month (great way for women to meet and support other women on campus and off of campus) as well as Moot Court (we’re pretty good at it, too), and many, MANY other groups.
I highly encourage that your daughter and/or yourself look at the list of student organizations through this link: https://www.wooster.edu/students/organizations/a-z/. If your daughter wants a club that isn’t at Wooster, the school will happily help her start one!
Dances/Parties: From what I know, formals typically only occur for those who are a part of/are very close to someone in Greek Life. As I stated before, Greek Life at Wooster is nothing as I perceived it as before coming to college. VERY chill and more of just friends you study with and/or people you sit next to class that throw a good party. That being said, there are still flaws, as there are in almost every institution with (specifically) fraternities, though the school has made sure to take action of any allegations made, including banning a fraternity as a whole because of an incident.
In the terms of “parties”, they happen, but they are not crazy. Frats tend to throw them with another sorority which creates a safer atmosphere for female party-goers and alcohol/drugs are minimal. They are not at all parties that occur in state schools, but just low-key parties for people to dance and unwind after a week of class. The biggest (best) party night on campus was “The 21st Night of September” (Earth, Wind and Fire reference), if that helps you get a better sense of what kind of student body is at Wooster
Coffee (!!!): As @ChaosParent23 stated, Common Grounds is a great alternative for people who want something to do whenever or if you simply want a sweet treat and a cup of joe. Every week there is a different snack (cookie, pastry, etc.) and every day of the week is a different theme. For example, today is “Wii Wednesday” where students can play games on a Wii device together, and yesterday is “De-Stress Tuesday”, a time to relax with other students. It’s a very nice (and sometimes forgotten) alternative for students that get bored easily.
Downtown are a lot of adorable coffee spots as well as a Starbucks and Panera “uptown”. I tend to stay on campus because I love the feeling of being on campus so I tend to grab a cup of coffee at the new science building or Old Main, in the basement of the iconic Kauke Hall.