<p>I know this has been adressed many times and I am aware of the thread below me that discusses the issue, but how is a student at Yale supposed to avoid the drinking culture, particularly in dorms? I know there is some sort of roomate pairing system at Harvard where they place you in a room with someone with similar interests but is there such a thing at Yale? I'm committed to applying SCEA for the class of 2018 but my parents are rather strict about these matters. I honestly don't care about people drinking right next to me but need some sort of policy
that would at least solace my parents enough to leave me alone. This could destroy my chances of even having a chance to apply to this dream school. Can anyone clarify this issue, especially those who attend the school or know substantial information of Yale's inner workings?</p>
<p>[Housing</a> and Advising Form | Yale College](<a href=“http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/housing-and-advising-form]Housing”>http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/housing-and-advising-form)</p>
<p>Just like at Harvard, accepted students at Yale fill out a roommate survey which tries to match students with similar interests, asking questions about alcohol consumption, getting up early, going to bed late, how clean or messy you keep your room etc. Often times though, students fill out these surveys with their parents looking over their shoulder, so the answers a university obtains is not always accurate. </p>
<p>FWIW: Harvard’s Freshman Dean’s Office has a great sense of humour when placing students together for roommates. For example, there is always a group of freshman placed in the “apostle” group – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Or, the “Beatles” group – John, Paul, George and a kid who likes drumming. Be careful what you ask for, as you may get it. As a joke, my daughter filled out her freshman roommate survey and basically said “I’m looking for a roommate who wears a size 4 dress, a 7 shoe, who has an extensive wardrobe and is willing to share.” She was given exactly that – but it was not a great match.</p>
<p>BTW: Underage drinking is not just a Yale issue. You can find it at Harvard and Princeton and Stanford and MIT – it’s an issue at just about every college in the United States. But, there are also non-drinkers at all those schools: [Harvard’s</a> Alcohol Amnesty Policy - The Daily Beast](<a href=“Harvard's Alcohol Amnesty Policy”>Harvard's Alcohol Amnesty Policy)</p>
<p>hey - current yale student here… decided to visit CC randomly, first time posting in who knows how long lol. basically, yale’s alcohol policy as it stands is that we focus on safety, not punishment. this means that it’s hard to get in trouble for underage drinking (relatively, compared to other schools), unless you’re clearly violating some rule (e.g. the open container law, that is, drinking in plain sight outside). for me, and for almost everyone i know, this is a positive policy, because no matter where you go, there will be college students drinking, and most of them underage. the difference is that at yale, if you’re in trouble (i.e. you drank way too much and need medical attention), students are more willing to report it because there are largely no repercussions, and the institution trusts that we have learned our lesson after the first, or in some instances, the second time.</p>
<p>in terms of housing, you can specify that you don’t like alcohol, but i highly, highly doubt you’ll end up in a suite in which no one drinks. i’d say that upon entering, probably 60% of the class will be willing to drink, and by the end of that year, it’s 90%. you will probably feel SOME sort of pressure to drink – but definitely not much, and at yale, it’s probably one of the places you’ll feel the most comfortable NOT drinking. just be aware that at yale, like most other schools, people do like to let loose and have fun. the difference is that people have fun more openly and are smarter about it, and there is very little judgment on what you do choose or don’t choose to do. good luck!</p>