<p>This is a big topic of discussion among my friends and their college-age kids. It can be very difficult for students to find fellow non-drinkers on college campuses today. When I compare notes with adults who attended college in the '70’s, we all remember that there was alcohol and pot use back then, but it was not a pervasive part of the social life or campus culture and was easily avoided. We were not into drinking and never had problems finding like-minded students, yet today our various alma maters are known as having large drinking scenes, so I think there has been a shift in the last several decades.</p>
<p>The problem is that there are very few schools where a majority prefer to not center their social life around alcohol or drugs. My kids attend a large state school and on a positive note, there is no peer pressure to drink. But on the other hand, those large drinking parties are very boring if you are sober. </p>
<p>Brandeis and University of Chicago are the only schools I know with a large population of kids who have a social life that doesn’t revolve around alcohol. I don’t agree with that list posted on the first page. Anecdotally, I know of a student who transferred out of Harvey Mudd because of all the drinking and two others who developed big drinking habits there. I have also heard about lots of pot smoking at Tufts and Wesleyan which I don’t see as very different from alcohol.</p>