<p>It's quite possible I'm taking this school comparison thing a bit too far. But anyway, one of the things I'm looking at are the Clery Act statistics -- mandatory crime statistics published by each college. I thought that maybe these stats could give me an idea of the "temperament" of each school.</p>
<p>I was surprised and amazed to learn that the "straight as an arrow" college we're considering has about the same drug/alcohol violations and arrests per capita as our state flagship with the mega party rep. This number represented about 7% of the overall student population of each school.</p>
<p>Another school we are looking at has arrest/violations equaling 13% and yet another has only about 4%. </p>
<p>Do you think one can draw any realistic conclusions from these figures? I think a school police force that is either more lenient or strict might sway these stats greatly.</p>
<p>My sister looked up crime statistics when our of our nieces was applying to schools. She sent me the website, and I did a review of the schools that my D was looking at.</p>
<p>I do look at those statistics, but only for violent crimes. My personal feeling is that the drug/alcohol offenses can be skewed by either of the following scenarios…</p>
<p>A) a college is imposing a ‘crackdown’ on partying (lots of drug/alcohol violations listed)
B) a college looks the other way (few drug/alcohol violations)</p>
<p>Thus, a school with lots of drinking can have few (or even no) alcohol violations, while a much stricter campus can appear like they have more of a problem, due to many violations.</p>
<p>Also, it can make a difference if the school’s own security handles these infractions (can be easier to dismiss/hide) versus a school (perhaps in a city) where the police are involved.</p>
<p>Basically, I wouldn’t put too much stock in the alcohol violation statistics. The drug violations are somewhat more worrying. But, the violent crime statistics are more telling (and less likely to be fudged, IMHO.)</p>
<p>I agree with this. It is the same with crime statistics reported by cities. I know this topic was discussed on CC before, and if I remember correctly, someone pointed out that some colleges have a much larger non-student presence, because they are located in a city or get a lot of tourists, and crime statistics for those people will also be included.</p>
<p>I’m not as concerned with the crime stats as with the number of alcohol-related hospitalizations. Although I really expect both my Ds to be relatively moderate, I worry about any school where that number is high and/or climbing. And no, I don’t know of a source for that information; I’ve just heard anecdotal reports from friends with college-age kids.</p>
<p>Of course, that info is not available. But, you can find out what awareness/education is presented by a particular school. Awareness of the dangers of binge-drinking is of particular concern, and this is sometimes included as a part of the freshman orientation. It is certainly an important topic. And, I cannot ever rememer hearing anyone ask about that during any campus visits…</p>
<p>Edited to add: I recently PM’d with a fellow CCer whose friend’s son was involved in such a tragedy. This family has made a film about their son and his alcohol-related death. Apparently, it is shown at some schools.</p>
<p>Having known Jeanne Clery, and also knowing the work her family did to make sure those statistics are available to us, I have most definitely looked at them for each of the schools my child applied to. I look at all of it, acknowledge that the data is not perfect and probably is affected by rates of reporting and how strict the local police are, and then focus on the violent crime stats.</p>
<p>familyof3boys, most of the schools that I know of either through personal experience or friends have mandatory alcohol awareness programs for incoming freshman. but several of those same schools have what seems to me to be a high number of alcohol-related hospitalizations. I know this is of deep concern to college administrations across the country, but I don’t think anyone has figured out a model that makes a significant difference in the rate of binge drinking.</p>
<p>I’m not sure how much faith I’d put in the statistics. Some colleges are more zealous than others in enforcement. I do think that the hospitalization rate for alcohol ODs is probably the most important statistic.</p>
<p>My daughter goes to a big flagship with a partying reputation. At orientation, it was explained that if you’re not creating a problem or a danger to yourself or others, the police will not be busting you for using alcohol.</p>
<p>I think that except for some very fringy religious schools, all colleges are going to have plenty of of access to alcohol and weed. I think the important questions are these: If a student chooses not to party with alcohol/weed etc, will he or she be able to find friends who are of the same mind set? Is most of the social life based on alcohol? Will the college’s alcohol culture negatively impact his/her experience on campus? ie are the dorms reasonably quiet and puke free, most of the time?</p>
<p>My daughter has chosen to be substance free, and, fortunately, she immediately found a group of others who are like minded, in spite of being at a big party school She chose to live in a dorm that has a less partying, more studious reputation. He choice of dorm was influenced by comments on CC. </p>
<p>In the experience of my children’s friends and children of friends–I think the most difficult places to fit in with out engaging in the all out alcohol culture are the LACs located in more isolated places. (Sure, this is a rather small sample, but, this is the internet–so why not put it out there?)</p>
<p>To the OP–search College Confidential for other related threads. Include particular colleges in the search where applicable.</p>
<p>Why does it seem like it’s an all-or-none proposition these days? Is it really so black-and-white that students are either binge drinkers or completely abstain from alcohol? I would hope that the majority of the time, most students will not drink to excess. Of course, it can (and does) happen, obviously, but what happened to just having a couple of drinks? What compels these kids to get completely smashed…to the point of needing to go to the ER? I NEVER remember this happening when I went to college.</p>
<p>On a college visit last weekend, we heard from a professor who has a daughter about to start high school. he asked the dean of students what one thing he should start pounding into his daughter’s head now so that she would be successful in college. the dean’s response: “DON’T DO SHOTS.”</p>
<p>that’s become my mantra with my high school senior D ;)</p>