<p>Hey guys I'm just getting into my senior year and need to start applying really soon. I live in small-town midwestern america where excessive drinking is highly prevalent but I personally find it a bit repulsive. I know I can't get away from alcohol entirely but I wanted to know what schools have less drinking and which ones have A LOT (so i can try to avoid them). It's not that I want to go somewhere completely void of a social scene, I just want to go where there are students like me who want to have fun but just without all of the alcohol????? Any and all comments or ideas are greatly appreciated. :)</p>
<p>I don’t know about which schools have none, but Big 10 and SEC schools are known to be the biggest party schools… throw ASU in there too. Usually public state schools have a bad reputation</p>
<p>BYU = No drinking, along with other restrictions on campus (dress code, no caffeine, etc)</p>
<p>I take it you do not want a school like Brigham Young, which would be the ultimate high for a truly abstemious person. I read somewhere that alcohol consumption correlates highly with (1) a southern location (2) a rural location (3) a low number of Asian students. So you could look for a northern urban school that attracts many Asians. Berkeley? Or go anywhere you like as long as it has substance-free dorms.</p>
<p>I agree with tk that schools in the South or that are very rural tend to have a lot of drinking. Also, though it’s perhaps a bit obvious, schools where the social scene is heavily dominated by frats are probably not your best bet.</p>
<p>That being said, there are certainly schools of all sizes and in all parts of the country where the students are less likely to binge. What size school are you interested in, what part of the country, what type of surrounding environment (rural, suburban, urban), what possible majors?</p>
<p>I don’t trust the “southern location” part one bit. Wisconsin-Madison and Penn State are thought by many to be the two most hardcore party schools in the country, and there’s several others up north as well. I think the southern location would lead to more frats/sorors, though. But those can be avoided.</p>
<p>I would say the service academies, but that is if your definition of fun is running, waking up at 6, having limited liberty on weekends, etc…</p>
<p>But they are a great place to come from and are free*.</p>
<p>
Not to mention that some of the infamously strict schools (e.g. BJU and Pensacola) are located in the South.</p>
<p>I’m by no means a heavy drinker, but this type of thread still bemuses me a bit. Avoid the obvious rural suspects, and you’ll be fine. Most colleges do not exclusively consist of (binge) drinkers, and it’s very possible to find your niche at most schools.</p>
<p>I would come up with a tentative list of schools based on other criteria (location, size, cost, etc.) and then evaluate drinking at those colleges.</p>
<p>While it is not the be all and end all (as IMO, most rankings and lists make little sense) you could google 2009 top stone cold sober schools - from the Princeton review and use it as a start</p>
<p>Top 20 Stone-Cold Sober Schools</p>
<ol>
<li>Brigham Young University</li>
<li>Wheaton College</li>
<li>United States Coast Guard Academy</li>
<li>College of the Ozarks</li>
<li>Wesleyan College</li>
<li>United States Air Force Academy</li>
<li>United States Naval Academy</li>
<li>Wellesley College</li>
<li>Thomas Aquinas College
<ol>
<li>Calvin College</li>
<li>Grove City College</li>
<li>United States Military Academy</li>
<li>Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering</li>
<li>City University of New York</li>
<li>Marywood University</li>
<li>Mills College</li>
<li>Berea College</li>
<li>California State University - Stanislaus</li>
<li>Agnes Scott College</li>
<li>Simmons College</li>
</ol></li>
</ol>
<p>My daughter actually feels the same way you do - she is specifically looking for colleges where not a lot of drinking goes on and we plan to visit a couple on that list above. I am not saying the list is completely accurate but it is a place to start</p>
<p>Wesleyan and Wellesley are on there?</p>
<p>Wesleyan kids mostly smoke weed right?</p>
<p>Still, it’s strange they’re on that list</p>
<p>Haha well that definitely fooled me</p>
<p>
It’s not at all strange, considering that Wesleyan College is a women’s college in Georgia. :p</p>
<p>What… just… happened…</p>
<p>I hear Pepperdine is rather sober.</p>
<p>Years ago we lived 2 blocks from Wheaton College(IL); in spite of its strict substance (and dancing) restrictions I can assure you that students drank and partied off-campus most every weekend. I assume that they were a small subset of the overall population at Wheaton, but it reinforced to me that every school has some amount of a party culture. </p>
<p>My suggestions would be to stay away from the big state publics, avoid any school on a “Best Party” List and then look into living in a substance free dorm. By using “substance free” as your college screen you will severely limit your choices and ultimately find that adherence to the policy isn’t as complete as you might have hoped. I think you’re better off finding your substance free niche at a school than hoping to find a school where the situation doesn’t exist.</p>
<p>I agree, drinking is ubiquitous on any college campus save schools like Liberty, BYU, Military Academies, etc. But these are more alternative schools, so if you are looking for a more traditional school it will be present. Personally partying and drinking are not really my thing, and I did substance-free housing as a freshman. I also got involved with a lot of activities and have a bunch of friends who are not into the fraternity/partying scene. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Lots and lots of drinking at the Ivy schools.</p>
<p>This is a tough one!!
I don’t know if you will be able to avoid it anywhere you go, so prepare yourself now for that. Personally, I would encourage you to search some of the strict christan colleges. Other than that, I believe your activities would mostly depend on the friends you decide to have.</p>
<p>Berkeley does have plenty of students who drink and use drugs, despite the large Asian population. :)</p>
<p>UC Irvine and UCSD are more sober, but there are still some drugs around.</p>