<p>I don’t think most people will think of him as a weirdo just because he doesn’t party but there will always be some that may cause him peer pressure and the atmosphere can sometimes influence you to want to at least try some of that stuff which could be bad if you don’t have self control. I had a similar problem my first year too but with strong willpower and determination I got through without doing anything inappropriate, good grades and even made a couple friends.</p>
<p>If he stays in a good dorm with other engineers he should be fine. Most engineers aren’t the party types anyways. Although there are always exceptions.</p>
<p>This was at Maryland college park btw which has a good engineering reputation but also people like to party unfortunately.
I say don’t worry about the partying as much because as long as its not too widespread like in schools such as west virginia and penn state then he should be fine.
Instead make sure the engineering program is good and you never know if you truly like the college unless you visit the place and town before you go there or it could be completely different then expected!</p>
<p>Maybe you missed te second half of my post. I certainly wasn’t viewed as a social pariah for not partying my brains out at UIUC.</p>
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Did you visit PSU/WVU?</p>
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<p>…and UIUC and UW-madison, top engineering pgms which are also in the same uber party list as PSU/WVU. UIUC is the default place to go since we’d enjoy in state tuition. </p>
<p>UIUC happens to be in the top 10 and UWMadison and Penn St top 20 ENG schools. I did not see west Va in the list (copied below). I am trying to fold into this thread an aspect of going to SOME of the top ENG schools - contending with a party culture.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/769210-complete-usnews-2010-undergrad-engineering-rankings-phd-granting-schools.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/engineering-majors/769210-complete-usnews-2010-undergrad-engineering-rankings-phd-granting-schools.html</a></p>
<p>@ noimagination</p>
<p>I admit I haven’t visited WVU yet.</p>
<p>I know someone that goes there and she tells me that it has a big party culture. So it is probably true. Ive visited penn because that was one of the schools I was accepted at for Petro engineering. But ultimately I decided to go to Alaska instead. Penn state has a great engineering department but it also has a party culture but that’s not the reason why I decided not to go there or a&m. Regardless of party culture I’m glad people do not party in Fairbanks! Then again it would be kinda hard to have fun like that at -50 below lol</p>
<p>I’m going hiking in West Virginia appalachians next week with a couple friends so I will make sure I visit the campus if I can and maybe do a tour. It might be interesting!</p>
<p>Technically, -50 below would mean 50 above… double negative… just saying.</p>
<p>I am willing to bet that Alaska has a bigger party atmosphere then you give it credit for. I am sure that a beer jacket would go a long way in that kind of bitter cold.</p>
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I’m sure you will find your niche, but there is a lot of alcohol consumed in Fairbanks. Trust me on that.</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Yes, I kind of figured. Especially since they have a couple pubs on the campus itself, lol.
I talked to some students along with the faculty and from what I understand they do not have much of a party culture.</p>
<p>Although every college has at least some degree of partying including UAF.</p>
<p>Just curious. Are you from Alaska?</p>
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<p>You, sir, are a living contradiction. Make up your mind already.</p>
<p>Apparently at UAF alcohol does not equate to partying.</p>
<p>Alcohol does not equate to partying anywhere. Partying doesn’t always require alcohol and alcohol does not always require a party.</p>
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I think this is generally true, but it certainly doesn’t preclude high alcohol consumption.
Yes, for now.</p>
<p>This thread is a few months old, but I came across it so I’ll chime in. Every school with 10s of thousands of students has partiers and non-partiers. WVU is no different – my son (freshman engineering student at WVU) and his friends party a little, not too much, and never on weekdays. He and his friends live in the engineering dorm, and some weekends are spent watching movies or just chilling in the dorm. Sometimes they go downtown to the 18 and up clubs, or to a house party after a football game, but its not every weekend. Weekends before test weeks are pretty much spent studying. Stick with the engineering kids and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>What top 10 engineering school is in the top 10 party schools on Playboy and Princeton Review? UT-Austin. But , as an engineering student, I have never partied/drank. Why you might ask? Because 100% of my time is spent studying, doing hw, reading, or writing lab reports.</p>
<p>oh dear, iambored10. that’s depressing.</p>
<p>That is depressing… and not necessarily typical. I did engineering at a top 10 school for undergrad and had a lot more free time than that.</p>
<p>My son is having the same experience as iambored10 at UT-Austin. He’s a freshman and doesn’t have enough hours in the day to get his studying done. He’s always been a top student, too.</p>
<p>I would wager that if he improves his time management he will find that engineering is a lot more manageable. That epiphany changed my undergrad life. Haha.</p>
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<p>I’m not sure why engineering students shout about their massive amount of studying like it’s a badge of honor. When students have to study constantly to keep up, it’s either a lack of time management/study skills or the student is academically unqualified for that school. Either way, it’s not a positive thing.</p>