<p>Which NESCAC schools offer the best social life? I know most of the schools don't have Greek life, so are there good spaces to have parties and social get togethers. Which schools have the best policies towards partying? They all have great academics so which is the most fun, and the best balance between work hard and play hard? Are any more wild than others?</p>
<p>Kramer,</p>
<p>You might want to spend some time visiting these towns if an active party life is what you want. These are generally very small towns. Go to a map site and check out Williamstown, MA on a satellite view. Bar hopping would not take very long.</p>
<p>Don't take me wrong, they are wonderful schools in beautiful settings. And I am sure they find ways to have fun. But your post sounds like are expecting a university town.</p>
<p>Dude this is Williamstown.</p>
<p>It depends what kind of social life you're looking for. If that social life is frequent nights out on the town, than probably none of the NESCACs (and especially not Williams) would be right for you. If by "social life" you just mean kids getting together and having fun, well, there probably isn't a whole lot of a difference. The one school of the bunch I can really speak for--Williams--has a very strong scene of "people socializing without it getting in the way of their work," whatever you want to take that to mean. Honestly, IMO, this is one of the least important factors to use in choosing between colleges. There are more substantial differences between, say, Amherst and Middlebury, than the social scene. No matter where you'll end up, your social scene will be far more shaped with the people you become friends with than what you think you'll want to do in college at this stage in your life.</p>
<p>The social scene at Williams is basically whatever there is on campus. For a cool college town, I would recommend checking out Amherst. There's quite a bit to do there, and it's right near Northampton, which also has a lot going on. Williamstown is dead.
To abl: how is social scene an unimportant factor in choosing a school? If you're looking for a really active place where you can go out at night, you'd be pretty miserable in Williamstown.</p>
<p>Williams07--</p>
<p>As I said at the beginning of my post, any student absolutely committed to going out on the town frequently should probably not be looking at NESCACs or any but a few LACs--even at Amherst (yes, I do know a bunch of Lord Jeffs) there's not much of a campus culture of "hitting the town" (all in all, the impression I get is that the Amherst social life is more affected by the 5CC than by Northampton). </p>
<p>Regardless of that--maybe I'm wrong--my point is that the social life is that there are many students who imagine their college social life as one bar after another...and then make friends with a group of people far more content to go to on-campus parties or just hang out in front of a movie. Sure, there are exceptions--I know you weren't thrilled with the social life at Williams--but most high schoolers do not have a great grasp on the sort of social life they'll actually end up having in college. For those who don't automatically rule out Williams for its lack of bar variety (as you perhaps should have), I am saying that to look much more deeply into Williams' social life would be to be overlooking; the difference between the social life of Williams, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Wesleyan, Carleton...or just about any top LAC will be almost entirely affected by your friends and not the "standard" college social culture (which very few students actually participate in, anywhere).</p>
<p>Do you know who I am or did you just read something from my post that I didn't actually say? You said you know I wasn't thrilled with the social life there. Yeah, that's true, but it's not actually what I said in my post. I said that Williamstown can't possibly offer the off-campus social options that a larger college town or a city could.</p>
<p>I know who you are.</p>
<p>Sorry that I wasn't more clear about that...and I think you've written about here before, anyways.</p>
<p>^You are just reporting everyone, aren't you...</p>
<p>What on earth does that last question (accusation?) mean/where did that come from?</p>
<p>^It's from another thread. The person I was accusing has been kicked off of CC, which is why you do not see the post anymore...</p>
<p>"Williamstown is dead" ...
interesting enough...</p>
<p>
[quote]
Which NESCAC schools offer the best social life? I know most of the schools don't have Greek life, so are there good spaces to have parties and social get togethers. Which schools have the best policies towards partying? They all have great academics so which is the most fun, and the best balance between work hard and play hard? Are any more wild than others?
[/quote]
It would help if you clarified what you are looking for. The "best" social scene for someone who abhors alcohol is quite different from the "best" social scene for someone who enjoys having a beer with friends, and neither is the same as the "best" social scene for someone who enjoys drinking until they black out every night of the week. What are you looking for?</p>