My daughter is in junior year and we are just starting to look at colleges. Any suggestions on colleges that are NOT into super partying. I know partying exists at colleges but trying to steer away from the big known party schools and ones that have a huge Greek life. Looking in Northeast (PA, Delaware, CT, NY, Rhode Island & Delaware). She would dorm there. Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated.
I would be interested into the responses to this question too!
What can you afford out of pocket, what do the Net Price calculators suggest you’ll need to pay, what are her stats (scores and gpa), what are her interests?
Characteristics associated with lower drinking include women’s college, historically black college, no/less fraternity/sorority presence, commuter college, substance-free housing, and urban/suburban (instead of rural) location. However, each individual college may vary from others of similar characteristics, and specific groups of students or dorms may vary from the rest of the college.
But the questions in reply #2 are highly important in your college search.
Agree that more information is needed (academic stats, financial constraints, areas of academic interest etc.) before anyone can give meaningful suggestions. However I will second the idea of looking for colleges that have freshman wellness housing (assuming that is what your D wants). My S went to Fordham and lived in wellness housing (Queens Court) and it was very good fit for him.
Can you give us your price range, interests, and your daughter’s stats?
In addition to the advice provided, I would ask about student involvement in clubs and campus activities. Some schools have a very active and involved student body in clubs etc on campus… while others may not.
You may want to look at the ranking on Niche. They have a bunch of ranking, among them “Top Party Schools.” If you sort the list backwards you will get a list of schools where partying is terrible 
My daughter went to St. Lawrence University last fall. We had read that it was a party school but were convinced that all schools have an element of partying and that it was no worse than anywhere else. I posted a very similar question on their CC page. My daughter is not a partier at all. Fast forward to this semester and she is at home going to community college and applying to other schools for next year. The party situation was out of control and she could not see herself finding her place there and spending the next 4 years there. If you need more details you can PM me. Part of it may be due to the remote area, the school not providing alternate forms of entertainment and the wealth of many of the students contributing to the availability of many substances. Just guesses, but those seemed to be factors in her own personal decision to leave.
On the other hand, her best friend goes to the University of New Hampshire and is not a drinker as well. She has had no issues with not being a partier. The school provides more alternative activities than she could even attend. There is lots to do in the near area as well. Because the school is bigger there is more diversity in the types of people that attend.
So, we learned a lot of lessons this year about finding a social fit. Luckily she didn’t just try to stick it out. She is much happier right now and probably will attend UNH next year.
I would guess that wealthier kids have more $$ to spend on alcohol and parties so a high concentration of wealth on a small or large campus might mean more drinking and parties. The list in one of the early posts would be a good rule of thumb. Some smaller campuses do have stricter rules on campus. Some will say that drives kids off campus but it usually also means they have more things happening on campus. The really large unis have enough mass that it works for all kids. But really it comes down to the individual young person how they shape their college experience.
Several years ago, a friend of mine took his son to see U Del. They drove into town early on a Saturday morning and decided to explore the area before going to the accepted student event and tour. My friend said that there were so many drunk students staggering around that it was shocking. His son said something like, Dad, it’s not even a holiday weekend. This place is not for me. Let’s go home. This young man ended up at SUNY Albany, which for years had a party hearty reputation that it took on and has reduced, and was very happy. He doesn’t regret passing up U Del. I mention this story because I saw the school on your list.
I will also mention that most schools party. The question is how pervasive the environment is and whether the individual student is confident enough not to feel they have to take part in order to belong. Having other opportunities to socialize available is important. Both of the SUNY schools my kids attended had so many clubs and activities that they could never possibly do all of them, but there were things for each of them. My kids know there is drinking and some other stuff, but the SUNY environment is not so wealthy that there is the availability mentioned by @travelfamily.
I will als second an all woman’s campus as well My daughter is also looking at Mt. Holyoke College. She has one friend there that is a partier, however she said the majority of parties take place at nearby campuses such as UMASS. Another friend of hers doesn’t drink and she said there are many ladies left on campus to watch movies with, go out to eat, etc… on weekends.
Since you are interested in schools in the Northeast. My son goes to Alfred University in western NY. Most weekends he goes skiing or snowboarding, or during warmer weather, goes trout fishing and camping. It is a small school in a rural small town. AU is not a big party school, has no greek organizations, and no big bar scene (the town is tiny). The school brings in musical entertainment, comedians, movies and hosts other activities for students on the weekend. I agree with others who have already posted that the majority of colleges will have a party scene to some extent. It is up to the individual student to avoid getting wrapped up in it.
You can find nonpartiers at any college. Aim for colleges without fraternities to avoid places where partying is more central to the prevailing social norms on campus. Many of the top small liberal arts colleges do not have fraternities, and a lot of the Jesuit schools do not.
You also might look at Brandeis, which of all the top colleges we looked at (son is going elsewhere, but liked Brandeis too), had the best reputation for being “less” of a party school than other places. I hear there are still parties to be found for those who want them— just lots of other ways students have fun on campus and a delightfully nerdy vibe, although all types of students with all types of interests attend.
URochester seems more on the academic side.
Yes, there are partiers and nonpartiers everywhere. The nonpartiers tend to be quieter and not to be stumbling around blind drunk or peeing on a stoop, which makes them harder to notice if you are just driving by.
Second Rochester and Fordham, both. You don’t tend to hear a lot about blow-out parties at Carnegie-Mellon, either. Or tech schools RPI and WPI (but I may be wrong about them).
If you are looking at LACs, I think Haverford is especially not a party place. Swarthmore has some party scene, but it wouldn’t impress anyone at a Big 10 school. I think Amherst parties less than some of its peers. A little bit lower on the food chain, I have the impression Ursinus is less of a party school than its peer LACs, but that may be a function of my having only a few data points about Ursinus.
I think Mt. Holyoke is less of a party school than many others. Try to get your D to visit even if she is a little unsure about a women’s college. It is a lovely campus with serious academics — both my kids liked it very much when they visited. Both applied and were accepted, but for various reasons went elsewhere. But we all have a bit of a soft spot for it.
Generally speaking, traditional STEM schools are not party schools even though they may have a high percentage of their students in fraternities/sororities. This may have something to do with the demands of their majors. Many years ago, MIT lost a fraternity because of critically poor judgment during the hazing of pledges. This does not mean that MIT is a party school!
Check out this listing: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/uw-madison-top-party-school_us_57c09881e4b04193420f1b9c
I forgot to mention in my earlier post that my S felt that being in an urban school gave a lot of outlets to people who were not into the traditional college party scene.
@retiredfarmer I know some STEM schools with very hard partiers–largely due to the need to get relief from intense academic demands & pressure.