<p>As an equally staunch atheist and teetotaler, I can empathize with your dilemma–I’ve thought about this problem round and over, and there’s no perfect solution. Swarthmore, UChicago, Macalester, Oberlin, and Reed have relatively less drinking… drugs are more prevalent than average at Oberlin and Reed, though (mostly marijuana). As mentioned earlier, Earlham could be a fit (I’m nearly as atheist as you get, and I love the Quaker philosophy).</p>
<p>To generalize, the schools that best fit your alcohol criteria are women’s colleges, tech schools, military academies, and religious schools (that actually care about the affiliation–i.e. not Duke).</p>
<p>Is your D a deconvert or lifelong atheist? It will make a difference in her comfort level at religious schools. I know of deconverts and/or lifelong agnostics who are comfortable at Jesuit or moderate Protestant schools (e.g. Georgetown or St. Olaf, respectively). However, an outspoken atheist will inevitably draw attention–much like a conservative deciding to attend Oberlin. It happens, but you have to be prepared for and OK with some conflict.</p>
<p>Wrt to fantasy–wow, she’s sounding like my twin–I have a separate, important piece of advice. If your D has any aspirations of taking fiction workshops in college, she absolutely MUST email professors at every school to find out whether genre fiction is accepted. A surprising number of English departments still look down upon fantasy/SF/horror, including many of the “prestigious” creative writing/English programs. PM me for specifics if it is a concern.</p>
Rice doesn’t have “sub-free” housing because they have residential colleges, to which residents are randomly assigned. The upside? Older students- soph, juniors, seniors in the colleges, along with adult Resident Associates and College Masters provide mentoring and (usually) examples of how to drink responsibility for the freshmen. Lack of sub-free housing does not necessarily equal vomit in the halls and bathrooms. Rice is definitely wet; I remember my DD mentioning the time her college master had wine and cheese with the (legal) drinkers in her residential college. How very civilized! A pity to close the door on a university due to lack of sub-free housing!</p>
<p>I think that, for certain students, can be an EXCELLENT reason to close the door on a university. There are so many wonderful universities out there that one can virtually find several that can meet all your needs well.</p>
<p>^ Agreed, though I have my own biases. One reason (among others) I am considering Amherst but not Williams is because Williams “doesn’t believe” in sub-free housing (or theme housing of any sort). I’m okay with being segregated if it means I have a significantly lower probability of encountering vomit in the bathroom.</p>
<p>My kid lived in the sub-free freshman dorm at Amherst. (No, it was not full of “rehabbers”.) He loved it and made many, many close friends who will probably be his closest friends all through college. He’s a pretty staunch non-drinker, and also non-religious. He’s also an athlete and the alcohol-soaked culture of his team was something he had to learn to live with, although he was relieved to have his dorm to return to – slipping away early from team booze parties.</p>
<p>My impression is that there is a LOT of drinking there, binging and otherwise, but there is also a percentage of students that don’t drink or rarely drink. The sub-free dorm was, in my son’s experience, a great place to connect with them.</p>
<p>(Keilexandra, the lack of a sub-free dorm was one of the reasons my son chose Amherst over Williams, too. He loves it there, in spite of all the drinking. Like all colleges, of course there’s so much more to it than student drinking.)</p>
<p>Op mentioned a daughter very interested in theater, creative life, social, good mid 90s scores, doesn’t want to be isolated in a place with no guys, might consider Barnard. There have always been a fair number of religiously observant women for whom alcohol isn’t of interest. Yet there is no shortage of stuff to do that does not involve drinking, in NYC.</p>
<p>Barnard is an interesting suggestion. Do they give merit scholarships? OP was hoping for some merit $$ for her D, who would certainly qualify for it at many schools. Goucher would be one and probably Earlham (of those we’ve mentioned). Goucher has, I believe, a lot of students who are serious about dance but want to have a broader education. It’s the only college I know of that requires time abroad and gives vouchers to help pay for it. I really admire that. Last I checked, they had a drama course that started in MD and finished in London.</p>
<p>Bethievt, Barnard had answered that question on their site:
Are there merit scholarships at Barnard not based on need? </p>
<p>A. Barnard does not offer any merit scholarships. </p>
<p>My daughters are hoping to find a nice group of non-drinkers to be friends with or even 1 or 2 when they go to college. In high school, they chose to be alone rather than attend certain parties/events and found friends that were like them. College though, will break that group up and you can only hope to find others. I think,especially in smaller colleges, having “true” alternatives, clubs, etc. helps a lot. We found when looking with my son, a lot of clubs were name only and not well attended. Sometimes it fluctuates by year, since grads come and go, but if the flavor of the school is not a party school, usually there are students that will continue attendance. Also having trips, movies, speakers,etc. for entertainment help a lot. In some heavy frat schools, that seemed to be the only entertainment, so they were crossed out quickly.</p>
<p>Saw this and had to balk at how wrong it was: “She should take a look at the women’s colleges. Drinks and drugs tend to be related to a party atmosphere which is a bit harder to come by when only one sex is immediately at hand.”</p>
<p>Also saw that “Bryn Mawr” was on a list of “nondrinking” schools.</p>
<p>Having visited Bryn Mawr on a weekend #1 They can party just like the state U folks and #2 there was way, way more “open” drinking - people staggering in the halls, literally. Carrying open containers of liqour around. I was shocked.</p>
<p>So, I doubt any list or parent could tell you this info you seek.</p>
<p>It’s college. Unfortunately, because our society coops up HS kids and then sets 'em free suddenly, there’s going to be a lot of that drug and alcohol stuff going around, since those are te typical “rebellious” things. I think this is true for ANY college you go to. Maybe you will find some hope looking for colleges where nondrinkers are tolerated more or that offer more activities than drinking (such as a college by a major city or a college known for having quirky/nerdy people attend). But in terms of looking for a place where a nondrinker is in the majority, I just don’t see that happening.</p>
<p>My son goes to a Big 10 school that has a reputation for being a party school, but he lives in the Honor’s Community and hasn’t had to deal with any of that. The honor’s dorm floors are supposed to have mandatory quiet hours every evening, and while they don’t actually do that, I think it scares away the kids who are coming to get wasted. </p>
<p>I don’t think you need a place where there’s a majority, but it’s good if she can live with and meet other non-drinkers so she can have a social life. It was important to my ds to not have to deal with that. His grandfather is dying of alcoholism, and we have a lot of alcoholism in our family. He doesn’t look at a drunk person the same way other students do. Some of his dorm mates had siblings or friends that went through hell in high school due to substance abuse, and that turned them off the idea that college is a time to let loose and party, because they saw how badly that can turn out for people. My ds saw enough misery caused by alcohol, so he can’t laugh it off as humorous when he sees somebody who’s staggering drunk, or somebody who’s throwing up. </p>
<p>I’m happy he’s been able to have a great network of friends and really had a great time without stepping over the puddles of vomit in the hallways–like his friends in other dorms. </p>
<p>Feel free to PM me if you want more information. It is possible to have an active social life that isn’t fueled by peeing your pants in public. :)</p>
<p>umpc I think you are perhaps more right than wrong. Fortunately the kids shake out and the freshman who aren’t mature enough to handle the independence drop out or flunk out or transfer somewhere else. By the second year the kids buckle down and it only gets better.</p>
<p>I didn’t make that list - I was just reposting and linking to survey results on another web site. In fact, several are religious schools other than BYU:</p>
<p>Wheaton College (IL)
Calvin College
Grove City College
Wesleyan College
College of the Ozarks
Saint Olaf College</p>
<p>If she is willing to consider the Midwest, check St. Olaf’s music programs in particular; St Olaf might be a fun fit for her, and I think she’d get some nice merit aid.</p>
<p>A visit would show her it is not religious in the way that Wheaton (IL) and Grove City are. (Not at all)</p>
<p>Note that while St. Olaf’s is not signed-contract religious like Wheaton or Grove City, it is still distinctly Lutheran in character (both in student body and in philosophy).</p>
<p>St. Olaf would be a wonderful fit. Great music program, it is a dry campus and has no greek scene. It is a Lutheran school and I believe about half the students are Lutheran, however they also have population of Muslims and Catholics. They do have a religious requirement of 2 courses as part of their required curriculum but my understanding was that there were a number of course options to meet that requirement. The students were very friendly and the campus had a very welcoming environment. We were there a few months ago for the day and my D was very impressed and is considering attending, even though it is a long distance from our house. Good luck with the search</p>