<p>I'm looking seriously at Vassar, and was reading about it in the Princeton Review. Overall it was a positive review but I noticed under the social life category there was the statement that "students have no social life if you don't drink or take drugs recreationally". It was also spotlighted as a school where "hard liquor is popular" and "almost everyone smokes". Personally, I'm very laid-back about other people's personal decisions like that, and am not making any claims about whether/how I will drink, etc. once in college ; however I'd like to be able to make my own decision about my level of involvement. I don't want to feel pressured at all and certainly don't feel comfortable with an enviroment where people who choose not to drink are excluded from campus life. Should I be concerned?</p>
<p>Whoa. I'd think twice before attending with that type of an atmosphere.</p>
<p>if that were the type of atmosphere. not everyone smokes or drinks. obviously people do it, but that's true of any school (except maybe BYU or something). I don't smoke anything, and I never plan on it, and I don't see myself losing friends over that decision. I came to Vassar with a pretty open mind about drinking, and I was a little scared because I was on a sports team, but there was no intense amount of pressure. If you can have fun with people who are partying, even if you're not, then you will be fine.
But by no means is every student into drugs and alcohol. Just in my group of friends, I can think of two people who don't smoke/drink at all and one person who drank maybe once all year.
My friends and I don't go out every weekend. I think it's all about finding the right group of people. If you want to party on a Tuesday night, there's a group of people who will party with you. But it seems that the majority of the campus is concerned with school first.
When I visited NYU, I thought their obsession with alcohol a little disturbing. One girl had a paper due at noon the next day, but was out till 4 partying. I even went to bed before her, and I just had a train to catch the next day.</p>
<p>My brother and his wife both worked at Vassar, and they seem to view it as pretty bad. Now, on one hand, I would not put too much stock into this, because they worked for res life, and thus saw a lot of the worst that happened. On the other hand, they have both worked at other places (as well as attended colleges, obviously), and seem to think Vassar is worse than the others they've experienced. </p>
<p>However, I doubt it there would be significant pressure to do anything--despite what they said, I was still very interested in Vassar and had it on my list. I think visiting, if possible, and trying to determine the vibe for yourself would be beneficial.</p>
<p>Well, I'm going to Vassar and hope to have fun that doesn't involve alcohol, smoking, or drugs while there, so that's one student who doesn't drink, I guess :D</p>
<p>But in all seriousness, from the current students that I've talked to, you certainly don't have to partake in any of the aforementioned to have fun. Nor are you excluded or pressured into anything if you don't opt to drink (or smoke or do drugs). So yeah, I'd say you don't have much of a cause for concern if the students that I've heard this from are telling the truth.</p>
<p>Vassar has no more drinking or drugs than any other college of its calibre. Don't be swayed by what you read in books like Princeton Review. They interview a small slice of a group of people. All of the kids I know who go to Vassar are way too smart and involved to stay up all night partying. Does it happen to some kids, sometimes? Of course. Tell me where that is not true?</p>
<p>i may be immature in saying this, but who the hell cares?</p>
<p>do what you want, and leave others alone. i'm sick of the "holier-than-thou" attitudes that some people have about it (not anyone here, that is).</p>
<p>goes for all of life, doesn't it? the temptation is there, it's up to the person alone to decide what he/she does or does not want to do. if he/she can't deal with it in college, how about in real life?</p>
<p>"Vassar has no more drinking or drugs than any other college of its calibre. Don't be swayed by what you read in books like Princeton Review"</p>
<p>How do kids that go to only one college know this? Vassar has a reputation for drinking more than some other LACs like Swarthmore. Not that it compares to a state school or anything crazy like you'll find in huge publics. And you know what - you might find yourself bored one night when all your friends go out to party - this is true of any college, and even true at high school. And very few kids I've met have ever been concerned about making other people drink; it's a low pressure situation. That said, I'm not sure why kids go to parties to drink coke. I suppose to observe all the other people doing interesting things, hooking up, etc. </p>
<p>And I agree with the above post.</p>
<p>there's a lot of drinking and drugs there. have you seen the preview for the movie across the universe? you know, that movie that every single private school kid in LA or new york is going to see? well yeah. thats what vassar reminds me of. dont ask why. same with wesleyan.</p>
<p>Well, I can't speak personally... but my brother attends Vassar and, from what I've heard, what princeton review says is pretty much spot on. He's described it as a very hard-partying kind of place. But at the same time it's possible to have a social life without drinking as heavily because I know my brother isn't all that into that stuff. It just might take you a little more time to find your niche if you are going to steer cleer of heavy partying.</p>
<p>This probably sounds very ludicrous, but I've heard from a few people plus the harvard lampoon that Vassar is known for how much sex the students have. Granted, at every college (again, except BYU) hooking up must be a rampant past time, but is it true that Vassar kids are more, well, sexually active than the normal college student?
This would NOT be a downside for me; I was just curious if colleges differed significantly in how much the students were going at it.</p>
<p>Listen, I go to Vassar and none of my friends have been around alcohol so far. That's not to say it doesn't happen - Vassar is definitely a school that likes to have fun, and drugs are available. But you have to realize that things like this will happen at virtually EVERY school you go to (probably even Swarthmore) If you want to stay away from drugs and alcohol, it is very easy to do so - just stay away from the late night parties. I haven't felt any pressure so far. I've made the decision not to drink, and everyone respects it. Plus, the campus is gorgeous and the students are intelligent and thoughtful without being ultra-competitive and stressed about work all the time (aka Swarthmore/UChicago/MIT students).
As for the sex- it goes on everywhere. Vassar does have a forthright attitude about it though. They realize that it's going to happen, so they think it's best if they give you information about how to deal with it safely and healthily. I haven't felt any peer pressure in that area either, though.</p>
<p>An update on the drinking question... I've been at Vassar for just over a week now, and would say that although there's definitely plenty of drinking, there's also plenty to do that doesn't involve alcohol. In my hall alone, 50% of the freshman don't drink (I don't know the sophomores and juniors well enough yet to include them). And, according to the results of the Alcoholedu program the entire freshman class took, 51% of the class drank, on average, less than once every two weeks in the second semester of their senior year of high school. Granted, there's probably a percentage of kids that started drinking upon arriving at Vassar, but there's also plenty that don't drink.</p>
<p>As for the sex question, well, I agree with farseer0514. The campus is very open about sexuality (I just attended an event called Gays of Our Lives last night during which a group of panelists were asked sex-related question by the crowd in an effort to determine their sexuality), but I don't think more goes on at Vassar than at any college. Maybe my answer will change by Christmas break after people have some time to "get to know one another" more fully, but as of my first week, I'd say there's no more sex at Vassar than at any other comprable Liberal Arts institution.</p>
<p>It depends who your friends are . . if you like to drink and party, there will be people to do that with, if you like to party and not drink etc., there will be people to do that with, if you like to watch movies about Jane Austen and eat icing with a spoon, there will be people to do that with. Anyone who has been to Vassar, particularly in the first two years, will tell you that there are so many comedy/improv, drama, accapella, film, dance events that your friends are involved in that there is a TON to do without the booze (which is not to say, that if you happen to enjoy your accapella with tequila, you can't do that too:-)</p>