<p>Is the WELL a good way to avoid the alcohol/drug scene for someone who doesn't want to get into it?
Please no trolls. Thanks.</p>
<p>It seems as though you are very concerned about the drinking and partying lifestyle in college and are seaching for an environment that shields you from that. It is always a choice to participate in parties or not and that decision comes from internal not external influences. I would say that surrounding yourself with like minded people who strive for a certain type of lifestyle, as in WELL, is helpful but no guarantee. The only guarantee you have is the one that comes from within.</p>
<p>Do you have a pre-existing problem with alcohol or do you just not want to get into it? I don’t expect you to answer, but if its a pre-existing problem I suggest checking into support groups like AA. That would have a much bigger impact for an addict than being housed in the WELL. </p>
<p>My take on the WELL has always been that a decent percentage are people who’s parents made them join it, usually for good reason. So I wouldn’t suggest it.</p>
<p>At the end of the day you really will have the option not to drink if you don’t want to. There generally aren’t parties in the dorms and you shouldn’t be spending that much time in the dorms anyway. Try to find someone likeminded and live with them (although be aware that the biggest personality change a person will ever make is between when their parents drive away and Thanksgiving) and you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I knew several people in college that never drank and were still social. It’s a big college and no matter your interests (or disinterests) you’ll be able to find likeminded people.</p>
<p>“you really will have the option not to drink if you don’t want to”</p>
<p>True. Where you live in the dorms is not going to be the determining factor to whether you get into drinking and partying. If you choose not to drink you can be social and have a great time at VT. There are numerous clubs that you can join: sports, faith-based, outdoorsy, anything. </p>
<p>From what we have heard from our kid, there is some good-natured ribbing that goes along with choosing not to drink, but a great deal of acceptance for it, too. People don’t pressure you to join in. They respect your choice.</p>
<p>The great thing about Tech being a larger school is that if you don’t drink, there is a chance for you to find more like minded-people as well as more outlets for you to pursue socially. Like chuy said, unless there is an underlying problem, you’ll be fine living wherever, really.<br>
Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>My daughter is a freshman at VT living in Pritchard and even though she isn’t pressured into drinking or partying it’s EVERYWHERE on her hall so much that sleeping on the weekends is impossible. Last night at 2:30 am the male RA from the floor below was standing outside her door yelling and threatening to call the cops on a group of drunken guys that had come up to “visit” the girls. The pounding on the doors, the loud music and yelling all night long. Make no mistake the partying starts on “Thirsty Thursday” and my daughter’s RA told all the girls on the hall to hide their booze in their closets because the school isn’t allowed to look there. Disgusting how the underage drinking is tolerated. It’s totally disruptive if someone really wants to actually study or even sleep. Not to mention the constant fire alarms/drills, like three in one night. I sent an email to the school. Do you think they even answered me? Sorry for the venting, but in short, it’s everywhere you just don’t have to participate.</p>
<p>It seems freshman year and freshman halls are the worst unfortunately. And some halls/dorms have more issues and are worse than others for noise, but there is no way of telling where you will end up. Ous s said it got better each year and if you are lucky enough to get a good lottery pick and are able to/want to stay on campus soph yr and up, she most likely won’t have to deal as much with it. His major complaint was the the asinine fire alarms. He is a real laid back kid, but that first year I think he would have leveled whomever pulled them had he gotten the chance. I have never heard him sound more ticked off. After pulling numerous all nighters over in studio, you don’t mess with his sleep. </p>
<p>If your d is so upset about it, she needs to make a call to housing and/or go to her RA.<br>
I hope things get better for her.</p>
<p>I think the tolerance of alcohol depends on the RA. My son was in Lee last year and it was not tolerated at all. Many people found themselves with strikes against them for drinking in the dorms. He was very surprised at what went on in other dorms-so there is some inconsistency. My son and his roommate decided early on that it would not happen in their room and anyone visiting had to comply.
To Catiesmom-not sure if it is just Pritchard or what, but my son said that Pritchard always had rescue there on any given night, and based on some freshman moms I know this year it seems to be the same over there. So I would not hesitate to call or have your daughter speak up about it.
KandK’s -I have to laugh about the fire alarms, I remember my son complaining about that-especially when it was in the middle of February!</p>
<p>LynnVB,</p>
<p>I agree with your assessment. My son also was in Lee Hall last year as part of the Galileo Learning Community. We were in his dorm on several weekends and it was pretty quiet - a few people playing music that you could hear because the door to their room was open. Credit goes to the RAs, who maintained a high profile, and also being surrounded, for the most part, by serious students.</p>
<p>When I attended VT in the mid-70s, Pritchard was the worst dorm on the campus. During last Fall’s Family Day Parent as Partners presentation (October 15, 2011), the Dean of Students mentioned that there had been so many behavior problems in Pritchard that all the freshmen students living in that residence hall had been required to attend a conduct briefing.</p>