<p>While it is true that there is drinking on virtually all college campuses, there are significant differences in the amount of heavy drinking and the pervasiveness of drinking in the social scene.</p>
<p>Two empirical measures that you could look at would be the surveyed "binge drinking rates". This is information that all colleges monitor through the Harvard School of Public Health and other student surveys. As a prospective student, you could get this information from the deans office if you really want it.</p>
<p>Another would be to look at the number of students hospitalized with alcohol poisoning in a typical year.</p>
<p>You can get a feel by searching recent years of student newspaper articles with keywords like "alcohol poisoning", "alcohol arrests", etc. If the school perceives a serious problem, you will usually find references to special committees, trustees meetings, and so forth addressing the issue.</p>
<p>Nationally, if you want a lower presence of alcohol on campus, look for:</p>
<p>suburban/urban instead of rural
outside of the northeast
a smaller role for varsity athletics
a smaller presence of fraternities
more ethnic diversity rather than more white students
more low income students rather than wealthier
all women versus co-ed</p>
<p>It is true that Williams has been wrestling with a particularly overheated drinking culture in recent years -- measured binge drinking rates, alcohol poisonings, and level of concern by the administration and trustees. </p>
<p>Of the east coast LACs similar to Williams, those with lower rates of binge drinking and a less omnipresent heavy drinking scene, look at Wellesley, Smith, Bryn Mawr, Vasser, Barnard, Swarthmore, Haverford, Oberlin, etc. I certainly don't mean to suggest that these schools are alcohol-free, but their surveyed binge drinking rates are as much as half that of Williams (30% versus 50+%).</p>