<p>To darvit: In response to your more recent posts: The "academically esteemed" school I mentioned in my previous post is a small, private non-Ivy with Ivy-caliber academics. The eyebrow-raising information (regarding in-class drinking, alcohol-related hazing, and numerous reports of on-campus partiers requiring emergency medical treatment) my daughter acquired about that school from credible outside sources led her to drop the school from consideration. She dropped other academically esteemed schools--both Ivy and non-Ivy--for similar reasons.</p>
<p>I don't think it's hypocritical of you to attend parties of your choice and to enjoy them, as long as you attend school in a state where you are of legal drinking age. Like you, I have no moral objection to partying. However, I have a personal objection to underage (illegal) drinking. I strongly object to "party schools" which establish campus policies prohibiting underage drinking on campus, but then look the other way as large groups of underage students drink openly and frequently on campus. Such schools condone an environment where illegal activity continues unchecked, and where students feel pressured to break the law in order to have a social life. </p>
<p>To 1down, 1 to go: Student615's advice regarding school search and selection is excellent.</p>
<p>I won't suggest specific schools, but I generally recommend public and private urban schools, especially urban schools with a high enrollment of commuter students, graduate/professional students, and "continuing" (returning adult) students. These students have a socially grounding influence on the college campus environment because they are older, tend to be emotionally mature and self-disciplined, and are connected to the "real world" through their jobs and/or their families. I also recommend the so-called "less-selective" urban schools, because many of these schools offer excellent academics, and are filled with self-motivated first-generation college students who are too serious about getting an education to waste their time partying. Urban resident students party much less than their non-urban counterparts, because city life offers them more interesting leisure time activities. Both urban and non-urban schools with strictly enforced "dry campus" policies are, of course, the least likely schools to have alcohol-related issues. </p>
<p>School websites and guidebooks do not provide a complete picture of campus life. Many schools promote themselves as "cool," but also as squeaky-clean. I've yet to see a school website or guidebook which states (or even implies) that the school "has lots of drinking or parties." This is the kind of information you have to acquire from outside sources. Official guidebooks can be revealing, however. Of the guidebooks my daughter has received, I've noticed that some overemphasize campus social life and extracurriculars, but barely mention academics, implying, "This is a party school; attend at your own risk." When you encounter a guidebook of that sort, dig up additional information about the school before applying.</p>
<p>Some schools flaunt their party-hearty reputation, but other schools keep it their dirty little secret. As I wrote to darvit, four years is a long time for moderate partiers and non-partiers to avoid a party-hearty campus social scene, so do your research before applying to schools, and definitely before making your final choice.</p>