Hey everyone, I’m choosing between schools right now. Marist is definitely in the top two for me, but there’s only one thing holding me back. I always hear about Marist being strictly a bar school, where kids need a fake ID in order to have a good time, which I’m not really a big fan of. Does anyone know if there are there places kids can drink/party without having to pass yourself off as 21?
My daughter is a junior at Marist. There are definitely no parties on campus, but they do “pre-game” in the dorm rooms - doors closed. As for the local bars, most allow you in at 18 and you have to pay a cover for this and then someone just buys you drinks. Fake ids are used to avoid the cover charge and they don’t need to be very good - you can borrow a friends, etc. They are only strict on “busy” nights - alumni weekend - Halloween etc. Other than that they let you in - they want the money. Freshman year my daughter went to a lot of house parties. The athletic teams have houses where they hold parties. Frat parties too. I definitely classify Marist as a party school. They have cabs lined up on the weekends at Marist to transport you to the club for like $3 per person. Best of luck. What is the other school you’re deciding between ?
I’m a current Freshman at Marist and you asked a really great question; so I’ll just say a few things about my experience here.
First, if you don’t want to be involved in partying, you don’t have to be. We have tons of things to do on the weekend so if you don’t want to go out, there is always something to do on campus. For me personally, I only go out once in a while and I’m never bored or feel like I’m missing out by staying on campus. A lot of my friends do the same thing where sometimes they stay in, and sometimes they go out. The friends you make will probably have very similar philosophies to you on going out or staying in, so I wouldn’t worry if you don’t want to go out because you won’t feel pressured to do so. Honestly, some of my favorite nights on campus have been when I stayed in. For example last weekend my friends and I stayed in, played basketball, and then just hung out and ordered food. I’ve never laughed so hard in my life and those are the nights where you kind of realize how awesome college is. Being able to hang out with a ton of people until four in the morning on a Thursday or Friday night isn’t something that typically happens in high school. So like I said, you can have a lot of fun by just staying on campus because so many kids opt to do so.
That being said, this is college so kids do go out and party. You will talk to some kids who go out four nights a week and others who just go out on a Friday night. As for Marist being a “bar school” I think that this is a generalization to some extent. There are a few bars that underclassman do go to, so some kids do have fake IDs but you don’t need one to party. Some of the bars have 18+ nights so you can go out to a bar with your friends, but don’t need a fake ID because won’t be drinking. But, there are also off campus parties that occur on the weekends which wouldn’t require a fake ID, so by no means do you need one. Like I said before, this is college so at any college that you look at, alcohol will be accessible.
Different schools are going to have different opportunities for nightlife and some schools do get stereotypes (frat school, bar school, jock school, etc.) but this is all very subjective. Most statements like this are merely generalizations about a school’s nightlife and don’t address all the opportunities that are available to you. I guess what I’m trying to say is that whatever you feel comfortable doing with your time on the weekends, you will be able to do here at Marist.
Hope this helped!
Marist offers plenty of activities for students under 21 to enjoy. Many students take advantage of trips to New York City, Yankee games, and many broadway shows for affordable prices. Also, many students join different clubs on campus that offer opportunities to participate in events on the weekends. There are many opportunities to get involved on campus!
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