@mild_insomniac its your life, not your parents. Both schools will give you a great education and both schools will likely give you a strong push into your chosen future path after graduation. Midd is more rural and outdoorsy, Wes is more hipp and artsy. Wes has better science, Midd better languages. There are many comparisons you can make, but by and large they are very similar. The students are slightly weirder at Wes and probably more diverse with a pull more toward NYC vs. Midd’s pull to Boston. As others have said drug use is a personal choice. If you choose to get high at Midd you can, if you choose to get pills at Midd you can too. Is it easier at Wes to get drugs? maybe, maybe not… depends on your friend group. But ultimately, nobody is going to force you to experiment with drugs if you dont want to so realistically the first objection your parents have is not particularly relevant. There is drug use all over higher education, but there is even more alcohol consumption and the latter is more responsible for deaths and tragedy by a long shot than drug use. Its like airplanes, statistically they are the safest way to travel, but when a tragedy strikes we all hear about it, meanwhile the countless deaths everyday in driving accidents go mostly unreported… ditto for college drug use.