<p>I realize that students work hard at RHIT.</p>
<p>I also realize that there is drinking at practically every college.</p>
<p>How would you describe the partying/drinking at RHIT?</p>
<p>Even though I am not a student (I am actually a prospective student), I can give you some insight into this from my campus visit. I can tell you that there is drinking, but much less than you would see at most schools. Actually, the person who I stayed with sort of filled me in on all of it too (He is not one of the ones who goes drinking). Basically what he said is that if you are someone who is big into partying and drinking, you will find some of that at Rose, but not nearly as much as you would find at a school like UIUC. He said that the kids who take part in that kind of thing are usually the ones who don’t do as well and some of them will even get to a point where they will have to leave the school. So he said that if you are not one who would participate in that sort of thing, then you have a lot of people there who are just like you and you won’t be judged at all for saying you didn’t want to. I know someone at my school who basically dismissed RHIT as one of his picks (he’s going to Purdue) solely because it didn’t have much of a “party” scene. So really, Rose has probably a better environment to learn and stay focused in because of the fact that there are not many big parties. It basically comes down to how the student makes it. If they want a lot of parties, they’ll be able to find some either on campus or at a nearby campus. If they don’t want to have to get caught up in the pressure to go partying or drinking, Rose is a great school.</p>
<p>As a student here for 3.67 years so far I can tell you that your assertion that those who take part in drinking are the ones who usually don’t do well is not true. I was on freshmen floors for 2 years. For most of the guys that I know that did not make it at Rose, it was not because they drank and partied. It was because they failed to properly manage their time and weren’t willing to work hard. I know plenty of folks who have managed to balance their work and fun time and do just fine. I do know some who have done a few too many 12 oz. curls and their GPA has suffered, but that is not an automatic association.</p>
<p>Salve is right in that yes there are plenty of people who drink and plenty who don’t drink, so no one will feel uncomfortable. Yeah, if you’re looking for a “party” school RH is definitely not for you. But it is definitely not a dry campus. Folks here work very hard throughout the week, but Friday and Saturday night no one does homework. The majority spend that time hanging out with others in the dorms, in fraternity houses, etc…many of them drink, and many of them also just hang out and play video games, watch movies, TV shows, and get up to other shenanigans such as campus wide capture the flag or sledding on the front lawn (in the winter), etc…</p>
<p>nic767, I didn’t mean to say that if you drink then automatically you won’t do well. There was one person who I met who definitely went out partying and drinking a lot but still maintained a good GPA. I definitely would agree with time management issues though, high school provides for that also (although not as much as college would).</p>
<p>Chair races seem like a popular thing in some of the dorms too… and random javelin matches in the hallways… I sure love that school…</p>
<p>Rolling Office Chair Jousting is a great sport. Mildly dangerous when conducted in a narrow hallway with cinder blocks on either side, but fun nonetheless.</p>
<p>Plenty of folks come to Rose having had it relatively easy in high school; they were always the smart kids, the ones for whom the difficult concepts in math and science classes came easy. Plenty of them adapt just fine to the increased work load and not always understanding everything the professor is teaching the first time around. Some however are stuck in that mode they’ve been in all their life, because they have not been seriously challenged thus far. They don’t adapt and are unwilling to actually put the effort in. Those are the ones who do not flourish at RH.</p>
<p>Don’t let me make it sound all doom and gloom however. Rose does an excellent job supporting its students and this is reflected in an extremely high overall retention rate (I believe it’s >80%, very high for engineering/math/science) and a high freshman-sophomore retention rate (Again, I’m not 100% sure, but I’ve heard >95%)</p>
<p>The more I hear about Rose-hulman the more I think it would be a great fit for my son. I have to get him out for a visit!</p>
<p>The drinking situation at Rose has me worried. If the students are drinking every Friday and Saturday night, how can they keep up with their academics. </p>
<p>If Rose loses approximatel 10 percent of their freshman class, I would love to know the cause of this attrition.</p>
<p>Hi seniorfresh,</p>
<p>I’ve attended Rose for 4 years. Yes, drinking goes on here, but its the same as every other college in the nation. Every student does not drink every Friday and Saturday night. There are definitely other things people do on the weekend, like watch movies and hang out with their friends but not drink.</p>
<p>Freshman drop out because they aren’t used to the workload. The majority of people here weren’t challenged in high school. So when they get here, they don’t know how to study or manage their time and get homework done. When my class came in, the drop rate was 6%. Other reasons are economic issues. Its a stat that fluctuates every year and depends on the individual people and whether or not they can transition and prioritize between having fun and school</p>
<p>Change of major is the majority reason cited for not returning after the freshman year.</p>
<p>Now, I should probably wait for you to be more specific about what you mean by “drinking situation at Rose”, but I will still be happy to offer some clarification. As Nick said below, only some drink at all and only some of them would be drinking on consecutive Friday and Saturday nights. Those known to be under 21 who are seen drinking would immediately be stopped and the beverage emptied down the drain.</p>
<p>Please remember that close to 80% of Rose-Hulman students live on campus. With about half of our junior and senior students living on campus, you will have students who are over 21. It is for this reason, we cannot call ourselves a dry campus: there are students over the legal age. That said, we do not say “No, no, no, no, no, no!” until they are 21 and then we wash our hands of it. We are part of the conversation from the freshman year on. Resident Assistants are specifically trained on warning signs for those over 21. Students are reminded often that they cannot lose balance. Fraternities who host parties have off-duty Terre Haute police officers at every party for the entire duration of activities. Our stewardship to provide the environment and tools for success is still in place; however, we will never be able to make our students’ decisions for them. A very few make decisions that result in what you stated: the academics are very much affected and the student isn’t able to remain at Rose-Hulman.</p>
<p>All of that said, the key statistic is the fact that we graduate over 80% of our students. Nationally, that number is only 46% for the majors we offer. For those students who choose to follow the education and guidance we offer, they do very well and are able to enjoy the full college expierence they are looking for.</p>
<p>Please let me know if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>Just to add one more voice: I don’t drink and have never felt pressure to here at Rose. On my freshman floor there were people that drank and people that didn’t - nobody cared who did what. We had people who partied Friday and Saturday nights, and we also had people who just went out with friends or stayed in and worked on homework or hobbies.</p>