<p>I see a lot of threads and I hear a lot of schools being called "party schools." Now, I personally would view going to a "party school" a positive thing, but some people seem to think the term is a negative thing, or from some threads they seem to want to avoid them like the plague. So tell me, CC - do you see the term "party school" as an insult? Would you go to a "party school" if it had the programs you wanted or would be cheap for you to attend? I know there are "party schools" that aren't great academically, but there are also "party schools" that are really good academic schools, so let's not debate that. What do you all think - is "party school" a negative or positive label, all else the same?</p>
<p>Naaa, it’s like a compliment. Definitely a plus.</p>
<p>Most oft-cited “party schools” are large, academically sound state flagships. It doesn’t really mean much academically, just that the social atmosphere is party-oriented. Probably sports and frats, too, but not necessarily.</p>
<p>I guess it depends if you like to party.</p>
<p>There might be some “party schools” that are also good academically, but usually I think of the label as a negative thing. I wouldn’t want to attend one. If you’re into partying a lot, I suppose you’d enjoy it…but what I have to wonder is this: If the social scene is so party-oriented and you’re spending so much time with that, how much time can you possibly be putting into academics? And if you don’t have to put a lot of time in (because the parties take up your time), how great really is it academically? I view it as a negative thing, and wouldn’t want to attend a school that is really known for it’s parties, even if it had the programs I was interested in and/or was cheap. Yeah, my school has frats and sororities and everything and parties do go on, but it’s not party-oriented or a party school. For super big social people, they probably would enjoy a party school, so that’s probably part of why I view it as negative because I’m not a big party person or a huge social life person in general.</p>
<p>I’ve been to three schools, a hippie/liberal private school, a reasonably well-ranked state school with a good academic reputation, and a lower ranked state school with a reputation for partying. </p>
<p>The truth? Virtually all colleges are “party schools.” College students like to party, in general. But that doesn’t mean that because you go to one you have to party to fit in. I don’t party and I have an amazing group of friends who I have so much fun with. Given my experiences now, I wouldn’t take it the school’s party reputation into much consideration.</p>
<p>I personally think it’s a positive. Party schools are usually, like someone else said, big state flagships. So if partying is your thing, there are parties galore, but if it’s not your scene, there are still a ton of other people and crowds you can fall into. I don’t party much, but I’d much rather go to a school where I can if I want to than a school there’s a shortage of parties if I’m ever in the mood. Most people though take the label “party school” as a negative. This is probably because none of the prestigious, big name schools have ever been labeled as such. I don’t think it has much to do with academic quality, though beyond the type of school you’re talking about. For example, if you take a two state flagships, one that’s labeled a party school and another that isn’t, the academics aren’t going to differ drastically. The same obviously can’t be said if you were to compare a state flagship with a small, private LAC. It’s all to do with what schools get the party school label.</p>
<p>I’d say DolourousEdd and LivingOxymoron took the words out of my mouth.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say it’s good or bad. You’ll find people who want to party almost anywhere.</p>
<p>Work hard play hard.</p>
<p>Who cares? Not going to college/paying tuition to party.</p>
<p>Generally I’d think a party school is worse ofc academically too</p>
<p>One reason I chose UC Davis over UCSB is because of UCSB’s “party school” reputation. It’s not the only reason nor the most significant, but it definitely helped sway me. I would hate having to find a place far from campus simply to avoid listening to partying every weekend. But I agree that any college is a “party school” to some extent or another, so if one is actually stereotyped as such, I’d assume it’s pretty extreme.</p>
<p>I personally think going to a party school is awesome! You get a vibrant social scene and generally it means your school has some pretty awesome sports teams (most drinking activities at my school are somehow tied to sports). There are a couple disadvantages to having your school perceived as a party school…but they are few and far between. I get annoyed sometimes when people equate my school to being “inferior academically” because we are known for our parties. But in all honesty, Michigan State University has transitioned from being more of a party school to being a school with a lot of smart kids who still like to party (especially in the last 20 years). At my school, the average incoming HS gpa is 3.6…not really for academic slouches. I’m not saying that there aren’t the crazy partiers that disregard their academics here, but many of those do end up dropping out. There are surprisingly a lot of intelligent kids at my school and the “work hard, party hard” attitude is very prevalent. AND I have found that a lot of times, the kids with the highest GPAs (who also work 20+ hours a week) have the best time management skills (which translates to - they are able to find time to party even more than the average student). That’s how I would describe my friends at least.</p>
<p>Personally, I think I would hate party schools, but I probably would not care much. I would never go to a party any way. I would choose a non-party school over a party school though.</p>
<p>Bad. </p>
<p>I hate when those corn dog party goers get the hot girls.</p>
<p>As long as you don’t stay up getting hammered the night before you have a bunch of morning classes or term papers, it shouldn’t affect you academically. Most parties are on the weekend anyway. Constantly getting wasted isn’t smart, but neither is living in seclusion and not socializing. Sure, you can socialize without parties, but plenty of people want to party, and partying in the off-time doesn’t mean much about the academics.</p>
<p>Isn’t Cornell a “party school”? Kids keep drinking too much and dying, actually, but that reflects on their poor decisions, not the academics of the school.</p>
<p>The reputation of the school is irrelevant- if you want to party then you party. If you want to study then you study.</p>
<p>I go to a party school and I love it. I would consider it a good thing, but everyone’s different.</p>
<p>*Isn’t Cornell a “party school”? Kids keep drinking too much and dying, actually, but that reflects on their poor decisions, not the academics of the school. *</p>
<p>I think you’re too misinformed about that. Cornell is by no means a “party school”, but fair amount of people (or at least decent number) have a hard partying mentality, which makes drinking quite a bit common. Combine that with the Greek Life presence and you have quite a few unfortunate incidents. The recent deaths this past year and the one before only involved one person consuming too much alcohol (really against his own will since it involved hazing). From personal experience, though, I’ve witnessed one too many people get alcohol poisoning; and the prominent drinking culture is one that Cornell will have to find some way to manage.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of it is due to the pressures of school. Aren’t there a bunch of suicides every year at Cornell? Wouldn’t be surprised if some people turn to alcohol as a way to get away from the stress.</p>
<p>*I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of it is due to the pressures of school. Aren’t there a bunch of suicides every year at Cornell? Wouldn’t be surprised if some people turn to alcohol as a way to get away from the stress. *</p>
<p>No, no. Suicides are not as common as media agencies want people to think they are. In fact, there weren’t even any suicide-related deaths this past school year if I’m not mistaken. Also, people definitely use alcohol for stress relief. The academics can be pretty rough for a lot of people.</p>
<p>Edit: Post 1000 after 4 years. Go figure.</p>