<p>Baylor- you must be kidding. Drugs and alcohol abound (big frat scene).</p>
<p>Swarthmore is very tolerant of non-drinkers or moderate drinkers. Son confirms this, in spite of his knowing one kid very well who is a heavy drinker.</p>
<p>GaTech is a HUGE drinking campus. As is Emory. Yet, at both kids can find their non-drinking peers.</p>
<p>Grove City College - great academics, great financial value, low to no drinking, very strong Christian foundation.</p>
<p>Pomona, Harvey Mudd and the other Claremont Colleges</p>
<p>My daughter grew up near a college campus that had a very large Frat community with a lot of drinking, both on, and off campus. She saw for herself the damage that drinking can and does do to the students, their neighbors, and in my case, my parked car. </p>
<p>My daughter wanted a school where this type of activity was minimized, she chose Swarthmore, and has not been disappointed. I have heard a lot of stories about her first year at Swarthmore, but only one story about “the drunken fool who…” and it was told as an example of how little drinking there really is at school. </p>
<p>Students at Swarthmore are the type of kids that really do enjoy learning and as such have better things to do with their time than “just getting drunk, just to get drunk.” She is very happy with Swarthmore and the lack of a drinking atmosphere is one of the things she likes best.</p>
<p>There are really two different questions that could be answered here.</p>
<p>The first is, where will a confirmed non-drinker (or infrequent, moderate drinker) find a congenial social environment and lots of support for his or her choice? I think the answer to that is lots and lots of places. The straightest-edge kid I know was happy as a clam this year in a substance-free dorm at Amherst (much to the surprise of just about everyone). And if Amherst can fit the bill . . . well, there are lots and lots of schools with less pervasive alcohol cultures than that.</p>
<p>The second question is a lot tougher: Where will a kid who is at risk for excess drinking find an environment that will help rein him back? (Or her, I guess, but mostly I think it's him.) Other than the religious colleges already mentioned (including Earlham), it's not a long list. Places like Chicago and Swarthmore count, because, while it is possible to drink heavily, most people don't, and the ones who do tend not to go as far as they might elsewhere. (Believe me, I know.) Also, maybe, places like Columbia and NYU, or UCLA: lots to do other than drinking, drinking is really expensive, and the bars and liquor stores have plenty of business without secretly catering to underage students.</p>
<p>There's a third question, too, but it's not worth asking: Where are the places that will stop a dedicated heavy drinker? Nowhere.</p>
<p>Furman. That's just one of the things that sold D on the school.</p>
<p>Of course there is some drinking there ... there is some drinking on almost every college campus! The real question is: How integral is drinking to the school's social life? Some of the colleges listed here are places nondrinkers might feel comfortable. Of course, students can generally find a group with similar interests at most schools. D figured she would be fine no matter where she went, but she really liked the idea of a campus where being a person who didn't get wasted most nights of the week would put her in the majority, rather than the minority!</p>
<p>there are also schools where the level of drinking might be lower than the average, but other drugs (i.e. marijuana) are more commonplace. just something to keep in mind.</p>
<p>D is at Willamette and had only one dedicated hard drinker on her floor. Sure others did drink but not to the excess I have seen reported on other CC forums (where some students seem to take great pride in this). She has a good friend at Hampshire where the vice of choice is not alcohol but the alternatives seem quite frightening too.</p>
<p>The best way is to look at the overall data. The average four-year school has about 40% of its students bingeing at least once in the past two weeks; roughly 15% drinking heavily (bingeing at least three times in the past two weeks or drinking at least two drinks nearly daily); 40% are moderate drinkers; 20% don't drink at all. Putting aside the abstainers, the campus culture is strongly impacted by whether the spread of the drinkers is 30% bingers/50% moderate drinkers vs. 50% bingers/30% moderate. Really huge and virtually always noticeable differences between the two.</p>
<p>The factors associated with heavier drinking schools include (not in ranked order): non-urban; residential (and few commuters); not church-related; coed; wealthier student bodies; heavier fraternity and sorority presence; big on spectator sports; and white. (not in that data, because it is about 18-22 year olds, is that larger numbers of older students mitigates against heavy drinking.) While there are exceptions, take those factors and apply them to any school, and it is rare that you will be steered wrong. </p>
<p>Strong academics are not associated either way, except as a by-product of wealth. (Which is not to say there couldn't be outlyers where students are so studious they don't drink much - the point is, they would be outlyers. But if strong academics are associated with wealth, then it would follow that there is an associaton between strong academics and heavier drinking.) There are other, signficant factors, such as a college administration's commitment to lowering campus drinking, and I have seen data for two demographically and geographically similar schools have very different results stemming from these differerences.</p>
<p>On the whole, there is more drinking in the northeast and upper midwest; less in the southeast; and more marijuana use in the northwest (though some data suggest that the difference in this last is not signficant).</p>
<p>agree about oberlin. which isn't to say there aren't kids who drink, but only that there is no pressure for anyone to do anything he or she doesn't want to do. overall, i think schools that aren't dominated by either a big greek or athletic scene would be more comfortable for kids who don't want to get plastered every weekkend.</p>
<p>Just try to be a Republican at Oberlin</p>
<p>I haven't seen any links between being a Republican and binge drinking; maybe next time, Wechsler should put it on the survey. I think it is likely bad for overall health; though I doubt being a Democrat is much better.</p>
<p>Just try to be a Republican at Oberlin</p>
<p>It would drive you to drink</p>
<p>Very helpful posts as I think about colleges for my youngest who I think could be vulnerable to the prevailing campus culture at a given college or university. I personally hope he can find a college among some that were suggested which will allow him to find other outlets and social events that either do not serve alcohol or if they do, will not make him feel uncomfortable or ostracized.</p>
<p>Mini and JHS, I wonder whether you have any information on colleges that may have programs aimed at educating students about the dangers of binge drinking and alcoholism. Are there any model programs out there? It seems that providing support and information, rather than proscribing, may be the best way to address this epidemic. 40% binge and 15% heavy drinking at an "average" college or university are amazing rates. Drinking excessively for recreation or stress relief can be a prelude to addiction. I wonder whether colleges realize that the habits acquired by their students may lay the foundation for Alcoholics Alumni?</p>
<p>pmyen--there is scant if any evidence that college drinking is followed by excessive drinking and related problems later in life. Most students accept it as phase of their life that quickly winds down with the first real job.</p>
<p>Couple of notes: first, many are already addicted. Alcohol dependence peaks between ages 20-22. (I am using the definition of dependence as given in the DSM-IV of the American Psychological Association). However, note that dependence is not directly linked to binge drinking per se, but to heavy drinking. There is a HUGE body of evidence linking "heavy" drinking (i.e. multiple binge drinking in a two-week period, or nearly daily drinking) with alcohol-related problems later in life. I've posted the links on multiple occasions.</p>
<p>Secondly, general information programs at the college level on the dangers of binge drinking and alcoholism directed at the total school population ("primary prevention") has not been shown to be effective. No great surprise there - many college students like to think of themselves as invulnerable, and colleges don't like to admit publicly that they have a problem (liability among other concerns). There are better results with targeted alcohol interventions (there have even been fraternities that have sponsored them - secondary prevention), or with individuals who have already gotten themselves into trouble (tertiary prevention, and treatment).</p>
<p>The most promising approaches have been those that are capable of altering the way that students view their own alcohol use, thus altering the decisions that they make regarding such use. In places where binge drinking isn't already overwhelming, social norms marketing campaigns, such as those used at Hobart & William Smith, Western Washington University, Northern Illinois University, have proven effective, and have maintained their effectiveness over time. There are other approaches, such as simply showing students what a "standard" drink size is that have also been shown to be effective.</p>
<p>If you haven't already done so, it is worthwhile familiarizing yourself with the work of Aaron White at Duke:</p>
<p>There have also been some online programs (AlcoholEdu) that, surprising to me, seem to have shown effectiveness when repeated regularly. What is intriguing to me is how unsophisticated the material offered is. The students are obviously much less knowledgeable about these things than we are quick to give them credit and, provided they aren't placed in an environment which tears at the veneer of their sophistication, the approach seems to work rather well.</p>
<p>My son spent one night at Pomona and his host took him to "drinking games". He said it was really boring to watch, so he went to a concert. I got the impression that Claremont -McKenna has A LOT of partying.</p>
<p>Remember, alcohol may not be the only concern. At many colleges, alcohol use has been supplemented and sometimes largely replaced by drug use.</p>
<p>Data, please? (I haven't seen it - anywhere - but that doesn't mean it isn't happening.) It is true that binge drinking is slightly lower than it was seven years ago, but that seems entirely a function of 1) more non-white students; and 2) more older students.</p>