<p>My S was accepted at NU. He is social (having friends is really important to him) and he says he wants to go to a school with "school spirit", but he is not a drinker.</p>
<p>Some of what I read about NU mentions that it is "social". Does that mean a lot of drinking? Do you think he will have a good social life without drinking?</p>
<p>We are probably going to visit on a Wildcat Day, but I don't know if will give us the full picture :-) Thank you!!!!</p>
<p>Some people use “social” as a euphemism for drinking at NU. But you can certainly have a lively social life at NU without indulging in alcohol.</p>
<p>My son is a sophomore and he and his friends rarely go anywhere that includes drinking, although I suppose they could find things if they were inclined. They have plenty of fun going to football and basketball games, movie nights at the student center, theater productions, a cappella performances, orchestra performances, dinners out, hanging out in one of the lounges on their floor watching movies together, etc. I don’t think your S would have any difficulty in developing a full social life without drinking.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies, arbiter213 and psychmomma.</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear drinking is not necessary for socializing. So I guess it is easy to make friends through your major or dorm or clubs?</p>
<p>psychmomma, that is great to hear your son has a full social life. All those things you mentioned are things my son would love.</p>
<p>My son’s a freshman at NU, and he made many friends during the pre-orientation camp he had attended so if you are worried about making friends, try to attend one of them later. He also played some intramural sports (rugby and basketball) every quarter so he made friends doing that. His dorm is a residential college in which the students seem to be closer and do more activities together. I am not sure exactly what though…</p>
<p>He’s not a drinker or a party goer but he keeps himself busy doing many other activities around the campus…</p>
<p>I’m very social and went to a lot of the parties. However, I didn’t like drinking because of the calories…only occasionally did I indulge. I didn’t feel pressured at all to drink when I didn’t. This will not be a problem at all.</p>
<p>Our D doesn’t drink - though I know she’s been to some parties where others did as was true in high school - and she’s had NO problem making great friends and staying busy. If you ONLY consider attending theatre and a cappella performances, it seems one could be busy every night at NU.</p>
<p>My thought is that 97% of NU students would not be completing degrees in 4 years at such a demanding school if they were drinking much.</p>
<p>I’ll tell you my story as a freshman this year which might help…</p>
<p>First off, I don’t drink.</p>
<p>What I have found is that making friends is a lot of luck. I personally have a lot of friends in my dorm. However, I never really found a close group of friends to hang out with on say friday or saturday nights. After the first quarter, there is a lot less forced socialization and it gets a lot harder to make new friends. Because I still hadn’t found a close group of friends at Northwestern, I forced myself to join a frat. Clubs and activities do help build friendships, but I feel fraternities/sororities are the best way to develop close relationships. </p>
<p>If you find a close group of friends who have no interest in drinking (there are plenty of people who don’t drink), then it is extremely easy to avoid drinking. In my situation, however, I was exposed to a lot of drinking at frat parties. I personally think it is very disgusting how obsessed with drinking frats are. In my frat, only three people including me do not drink. Still, I made a lot of new friends and now I have people I can call up and do things with at any time. Also, it is a lot easier to socialize with the opposite sex.</p>
<p>On the other hand, there are plenty of people in my dorm who do not drink and found their right group of friends within the dorm. Also, you can always find people to talk to if you hang out in the dorm lounges.</p>
<p>Overall, I would not make this a factor when choosing your college, because it is the same everywhere. And I would not call Northwestern any more social than any other college.</p>
<p>My main recommendation to a student at Northwestern is to force yourself into a close group of friends early. You have to do awkward things like ask people if you can join them in activities they are doing even if you don’t know them. By the time second quarter rolls along, a lot of cliques have formed within dorms and it is a lot harder to find a close group of friends.</p>
<p>Thanks so much everyone for generously sharing your stories. It is very helpful.</p>
<p>I hope that S would be lucky enough to find a good group of friends that didn’t drink. He would be in the drama department, so I hope that would help in making friends? Or hopefully he would find friends in his dorm.</p>
<p>It makes sense that not EVERYONE would be out partying since it is a demanding and selective school. If anyone else has stories or advice, I’m listening (and will pass on to my son!) thanks again!</p>
<p>CONGRATULATIONS to your S on getting into the NU theatre program! Based on what I’ve seen, he should have NO problem meeting people and keeping busy. </p>
<p>Even if he isn’t cast in shows initially, he can volunteer in many other capacities and will meet LOTS of like-minded people while working on shows. D and most kids she knows have been steadily involved in productions since starting school last fall, plus you can always grab people to attend the many performances constantly happening around campus. Theatre freshmen frequently travel to Chicago to see shows that are assigned in class, and I know D made some great friends while doing that.</p>
<p>Your S is in for a great experience… someone here described NU as “a roller-coaster of awesome”! ;-D</p>
<p>Twins advice is good.</p>