Ugh…I am sitting here thanking my lucky stars that my D (completely her choice) is choosing a substance free dorm.
@mathyone, I’ve heard for years now that the program my D is in keeps them working until the very last minute. First semester, I was thinking “huh, doesn’t seem so bad, I bet they’re going easy on them for college app. season.” Bam, as soon as second semester started, the work started piling up. Not only do they need to take finals, they have to submit a senior portfolio highlighting their best work and activities for all four years including teacher recommendations. The admins were not lying!!! ~X(
Having let my daughter attend beach week (without incident as far as I’m aware) I’m a bit puzzled by all the parents on this thread who wouldn’t allow it. Are you all requiring your kids to live at home for college? Or are you expecting them to magically mature incredibly much over the 10 weeks between the end of high school and the beginning of college so that they couldn’t possibly get into trouble with sex or alcohol or drugs as freshmen but they would as graduating seniors? Seems to me either you trust them by now or you don’t.
I felt much more comfortable letting her go with her friends from our community than I would if she wanted to get involved in the Greek scene at college.
It’s not a thing here in Texas. But we have other traditions that seem strange to others, such as spending $200-300 on enormous, ridiculously gaudy mum corsages for homecoming dates (some so large and heavy that the wearer can barely stand erect). So no judgements from this quarter! 
https://www.google.com/search?q=homecoming+mum&biw=1600&bih=796&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Zb5FVfDbKcqbgwTB04GoCQ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ
@mathyone Of course they are going to be exposed to partying at college. But unlike beach week, college presumably has the responsibility of classes and the structure of dorms. And hopefully when they are at college they won’t be surrounded by a group of people whose only intent is to party.
I’m a Philly girl, and yes, Senior Week is a very longstanding tradition in this area. I have fond memories of my own senior week 35 years ago - small co-ed group of friends staying unchaperoned in my friend’s beach house, with the blessing of all of our parents. There was some moderate drinking, no sex (all just good friends) and lots of sun, sand and camaraderie. It was probably the last time we were all together before drifting off to summer jobs, family vacations and then college, and we had a (safe) blast.
I totally agree with Mathyone on this - My D, who will be doing senior week next month, will encounter far more debauchery in the freshman dorms and at frat parties her first semester then she will by hanging out with her pretty conservative girlfriends in a dry beach town. They are looking forward to going to the beach and having fun on the boardwalk. Will I worry? Of course I will, but I’ll be worried about all those same things when we drop her off at school just 8 weeks later, and I have to trust that we have raised her to have a good head on her shoulders, to “just say no” to risky behavior, to look out for her friends, to respect someone else’s home, and to learn to live harmoniously with other girls in tight quarters. One of my bigger worries (had this for S1 too, who had a good senior week experience) is that they will get blistering sunburns without me there nagging about sunscreen!!
Senior week is huge in Philly area suburbs. I cannot understand it. I have heard so many horror stories from kids that everyone claimed were “good kids.” One kid fell and cut his head open at the condo and there was no one sober enough to drive to the ER. Several kids came home early because of the disgusting state of the condo by mid week.
DS, thank goodness, decided not to even push to go, once he calculated how much $$ it could cost. Many of his friends went on family vacations (as we did) that week.
The boardwalk stores are all full of tacky T shirts that say “XYZ High School Drinking Team” and much worse things on them. I don’t know how the rental situations work, I imagine a parent has to sign off on liability. Everyone claims their kids are going to be fine and they won’t make any dumb decisions and every year my kids see on social media the hangovers, and other shenanigans they all post.
The night after prom most schools here have an all night lock in event that is usually more popular than the prom itself.
I grew up in the CT suburbs of NYC. It was unknown back then. I now live in Maine. It is not a thing here, either.
I did beach week. It was tradition to go straight home after graduation, grab your stuff and hit the road. Our town was only an hour and a half from the beach.
S1 went. Can’t remember if S2 went or not.