I visited Denison last year and I really liked it. I was accepted and it’s one of my top choice schools but I was doing some more research and I found out that it has a reputation as a very preppy party school. I don’t mind if there are parties, but I am not much a partier and I don’t want to drink a lot in college. I’m worried that I won’t be able to find somewhere to live that isn’t too loud or that I will struggle socially if I don’t go to parties. I’m visiting next month, but it’s pretty late in the month and I’m worried that if I don’t like it I won’t have time to visit any other schools before I have to make a decision. Will I do okay at Denison without partying too much or drinking?
Only a parent of a prospective Denison student here, so no direct experience. But from what my kid has seen on campus, there is plenty of non-party life going on campus, its just that, like at many schools, the party vibe gets more attention. What he, and we, liked about Denison was the different communities of kids on campus, there is a blend of types of students, all enjoying the amazing campus. Students are not monolithically the same. So, while no expert on campus life, it does seem that there is plenty for students not interested in weekends spent only with red solo cups.
@beanmaru My D is a sophomore at Denison. She doesn’t drink. At all. She is doing great both academically and socially.
My D was admitted to Denison with substantial merit aid and will probably be attending in the fall. She is a non-party person, pretty academic and likes it fairly quiet to focus. She was worried about the reputation as well and she is anti-greek so was concerned about much of social like being oriented around greek life. She did attend an overnight back in October and her host happened to be a non-Greek, fairly conservative, non-party goer so she could see that other types did exist and was told that the party scene was easy to avoid if one so wished. Not sure if the overall campus atmosphere is still dominated by this, but do think there are enough others there that the student won’t feel isolated.
sschickens: do you know which freshman dorm may be quieter/less noisy for a student that prefers this? Thanks.
Beta house used to be the honors dorm and was quiet. I’m not sure if that’s still the case.
Mom of first year student at Denison. I think the preppy/party reputation is outdated, they have worked extremely hard to attract top students with great merit scholarships and create a diverse community with a large variety of social activities available. My daughter does not drink or party - she selected a quiet dorm (Curtis West) which she loves and has found her people there. We are so glad she chose Denison, it has fulfilled every wish we had for her.
Outdated by about 5-10 years. While there are plenty of parties as there are at most top LACs, there is a top-notch faculty, amazing students, and a gorgeous campus. And plenty of opportunities for a non-drinker to feel at home there. The tragic, alcohol-related death of a student two years ago affected the close-knit campus greatly, and significantly raised awareness about drinking on campus.
Yep, I second that the party/preppy reputation is outdated. Of course there are plenty of parties and lots of drinking, but there are also plenty of people who don’t drink at all and tons of other social activities. I’d definitely look into living in one of the quiet or sub free dorms, though. Shorney and Smith can be a bit crazy. Plus the quiet/sub free places are typically smaller and have a close knit community feel. There’s also the option to live in a few of the old fraternity houses on North Quad. I did this one year and loved it. You only live with about 30 other students and typically become close friends. It can feel a bit isolated as a freshman though, as pretty much all of the other freshman live on West Quad. Curtis East is a larger quiet dorm that is near all of the other freshmen but is nice and quiet.
To the current parents/students – any thoughts on how to maximize chances of getting assigned to Curtis? My kid really does not want Shorney or Smith, but is not sure he wants to be on North quad in the sub free or quiet freshman dorms (assuming that is where they put them again next year).
Looking at the housing form, you can rank preferences for sub and quiet housing, but not for specific dorms. If he answers the questions (truthfully) about wanting a quiet room, and about not drinking/smoking etc., would he be likely to get Curtis? My guess is, if he thought he might get assigned to Shorney or Smith, he wold chose the sub free or quiet freshman housing just to make sure he gets a more manageable housing situation.
For the students who have lived in the freshman sub free or quiet housing, could you address the issue of connecting with the rest of campus? Do kids stay in the dorm to study or make it back to the library at night? Head to dining hall together? My kid would be an athlete, so he convenience of the athletic facilities so close is great, of course, but also means he would likely have a different schedule than kids who don’t have afternoon practice/games/travel.
Thank you!
@ssb2mom I don’t know which ‘quiet’ options are available to freshmen. I agree with cats1290 - my D was in Shorney freshman year and it did quite often get ‘crazy’. But having said that, my non-partying daughter found her niche, got very good grades, and continues to thrive as a sophomore. Ditto what calimomof3 said as well - we are so very pleased with every aspect of Denison.
I’m a current freshman and live in Curtis West, a subfree and quiet dorm. I’ve spent substantial time in other freshman dorms and from my experience Curtis is the quietest. That being said, the subfree part isn’t really enforced, but I haven’t found that to be a problem. It’s definitely better to opt for quiet over subfree.
Regarding parties, there are a lot on campus especially on Friday’s and Saturday’s, but the small population of Denison amplifies these parties. I definitely felt pressure to go to parties especially in the first semester, but once I got to know people on my floor the pressure dropped significantly.