I’m trying to get a true sense of the Franklin and Marshall social scene. Is it “fratty” and “preppy” or not? My son is very interested in F&M and should be a strong match academically (very high GPA, ACT and SAT2s) and athletically, but he can’t drink alcohol, and is very non-materialistic. Will that make him an outcast?
I am currently at Franklin and Marshall. From experience, you don’t need alcohol to have fun here. Specifically, we have alcohol-free floors in our dormitories. Personally, I would not recommend those floors as from my perspective they get a little weird. As long as he puts himself out there he should meet a great variety of people and should have a nice time. Regarding the whole preppy scene, I’d say it depends on who you associate with. Personally, I wear sweats to class and haven’t had any problems whatsoever. There is plenty of economic diversity on campus as well. Regarding parties, they are frat and sport oriented. If he plans on joining either he shouldn’t have any problems if he wishes to party. Otherwise, I know plenty of people on campus who don’t party and still have fun. All dorm floors at F&M are incredibly close.
Thank you for your response. It was very helpful. If he gets in, (He applied ED), the coach his sport has already indicated he would be on the team, so maybe that will help on the social scene even if he does not drink. There have got to be other athletes who are at least dry when their sport is in season. He fell in love with the school and the coach, so I’m hoping he gets in.