<p>I'm a junior in high school right now, and I've begun visiting colleges. I've come to the realization that if I don't live away, my choices are really narrow. The main reason why I do not wish to live away is because of the college stereotypes in movies. I know that they are simply movies, but there is usually at least some truth in stereotypes. I'm not a partier or a drinker, and I never will be. If I do choose to live away, will I be ostracized? Please don't criticize me for my personality; drinking and getting trashed just doesn't appeal to me. I would like to socialize and meet new people, minus the partying. Does this happen?</p>
<p>^ Go to college away from home, it will be a great experience and there will be plenty of other people who don’t drink or party.</p>
<p>You definitely don’t have to drink or party to make friends in college. I didn’t have a drink until I turned 21 earlier this year and I’ve made plenty of friends just through classes, clubs, and hobbies.</p>
<p>I would definitely recommend the experience of living away from home, though.</p>
<p>Movies are often inaccurate.</p>
<p>There may be some truth, but the great amount of amplification makes a world of difference.</p>
<p>There’s a huge difference between drinking a can of beer with friends (what actually happens, usually) and rolling kegs outside windows (what happens in movies).</p>
<p>There’s a huge difference in making fun of people you don’t like in private (what actually happens) and bullying them in public (what happens in movies).</p>
<p>It’s a great experience.</p>
<p>You don’t have to “go away” to get the college experience. The location of the college doesn’t make the experience. You do. </p>
<p>So I say go to whatever school that makes you happy and see yourself fitting in well, whether that be a school in your home state our out of state.</p>
<p>Every college has a party scene as well as a population of people who don’t party. You just have to find like-minded people. This may be harder at some schools than others, but you definitely can do it. Pick a school you like for academics/location/etc, and then do research on the dorms to find which ones have less partying, and live in one of those. (Don’t do substance-free though. You will find a lot of really judgemental people there. Go for a dorm that is not substance-free but not known for partying, people will be more open-minded in general.)</p>
<p>Many colleges have substance free dorms where people like you live and get to know each other. You won’t be ostracized for not doing it, in fact, some people will actually respect you more (these people seem to be few and far between, but they still exist). </p>
<p>Like roxsox said though, substance free dorms tend to be filled with judgemental people. If you consider yourself like that, you would probably enjoy yourself.</p>
<p>Can someone explain to me what the OP means? I don’t understand what “live away” means, why he’s referencing movies, and what the portrayal of college in movies have to do with living away (from what?)</p>
<p>I am away at college and I don’t “drink or party”. I’m sure you will find plenty of people who also don’t. Don’t choose a college based on this attribute. If you want to still be at home that’s perfectly fine, and if you want to go off to college and not party or drink then that’s perfectly fine too. Either way, you choose how you want to live, not the college.</p>
<p>@rymd: OP means original poster…aka the person that started this thread .</p>
<p>^^^He knows what “OP” means. He meant what does the OP mean in the sense of what is he trying to communicate to us.</p>
<p>rymd did write “the” OP so don’t know how that got screwed up unless being a smartarse.</p>
<p>After reading some of the replies, I get it now. He’s asking if he’ll get ostracised for living at a college dorm and not partying at the same time. Yeah… he definitely watched too many movies. This impression is so far-fetched, I recommend that you discard it immediately. Feel free to live away from home for college. You can consider substance-free dorms, but that’s an extreme too. There will always be a large population at a college that doesn’t party or even drink. And even then, you can still be friends with people who party and drink. I’m pretty sure most friendships aren’t forged at parties…
Whatever the case, I think you’ll have better chances of making friends if you live in the dorms first year though.</p>
<p>If you want the “college experience” that involves drinking and partying, you can have that. If not, then that’s totally attainable, as well. I go to one of the biggest party schools in the country. I have friends that party and friends that like to stay in on weeknights and just chill. It’s nice for me, because I like to have a balance of partying/taking it easy, and I always have someone to hang out with who feels similar to me. </p>
<p>Just be yourself and you’ll find friends who share similar interests/values as you do. Going away for school is truly the best decision I’ve ever made. You can get a great college experience anywhere, but if you have the opportunity to go far away, I’d seize it in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>You will not be ostracized for not drinking. For the most part, college students are very accepting and respectful of people who choose not to partake in these activities. I know people who will not have even a sip of alcohol and they have great social lives and are very happy.</p>