<p>Does anyone have tips on what to look for to help determine whether the school and students are very serious about academics?</p>
<p>Likewise, how to tell whether a main focus of the campus is consumption of large amounts of beer? (Besides the top party school lists).</p>
<p>I don’t know any sure fire way. I used to think schools with frats and big time football teams were more likely to be party central, but not sure anymore.</p>
<p>In San Diego, don’t confuse UCSD with SDSU. Both are reasonable schools, but if you’re looking for a big time party don’t head for La Jolla. Ge East young man.</p>
<p>Visit the school, sit in on classes, and talk to the students.</p>
<p>If you are looking for students who are serious about academics, then I would look for schools where the average academic statistics for the students are high. High GPA, high class rank, high SAT/ACT scores. Generally, those students will be more interested in their studies. Having said that, almost all colleges have some party scene and almost all colleges have some programs where serious academically inclined students can prosper, even at so-called “party schools”. My system is merely a shortcut.</p>
<p>I would not rely too heavily on Princeton Review or similar lists. Once you have an idea about what schools you are looking at, I would look for postings about those schools here on CC. This is not foolproof, but I think you can get a fair sense about a school by reading the posts about it (especially if you read enough posts).</p>
<p>One more generalization. Most of the so-called party schools tend to be large state universities. Most academic schools tend to be private colleges. Lastly, most LACs tend to be “work hard, party hard” schools. I wouldn’t get too hung up on the party school designation, if what you are trying to find are good academic schools. Many schools are both.</p>
<p>Having 3 children in college and 3 nieces in college right now, (range from Berkeley, Yale, SDSU, and UCLA) just about every college is a party school if your child is into that! There are a few schools that are smaller and seriously academic but don’t let that fool you. If there is a big Greek population especially, you can pretty much guarantee a party scene.</p>
<p>Hat: I couldn’t disagree with you more…to assess a party school based on stats of the incoming class would surely be unwise…</p>
<p>You are basically saying that “B” student schools are all party schools? Don’t think so…</p>
<p>any1can: totally on the mark…</p>
<p>You might check the local police blotter for recent arrests. Every school will have some underage drinking, though, so don’t pass judgement until you have compared a few.</p>
<p>Walk around the school early Sunday morning and sniff.</p>
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<p>What about freshman retention rate? One might guess that a low retention rate correlates with more partying. Anyone know about this?</p>
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<p>That is no joke. I was in the campus recycling program at a school with a pretty lively party scene, or possibly just drinking scene, and we would collect cans and bottles on Sundays. The smell of stale beer really did fill the air. It was sickening, actually.</p>
<p>MS,</p>
<p>Not quite true. A lot of academic powerhouse schools with excellent retention ratings also have powerful party scenes. Work hard/play hard</p>
<p>I personally would have a bigger problem with freshman retention rate in relation to academics than necessarily a “party school” rap…</p>
<p>As northeastmom has pointed out, UNC Asheville has a horrid freshman retention rate; doesn’t exactly hit the radar for “party school” reputation though…</p>
<p>Let’s keep trying to assess party schools: lol…guarantee we can’t really agree…</p>
<p>More realistically:</p>
<p>I think the following are markers that are often associated with higher binge drinking rates. (Which, face it, is what we are worried about, along with the kind of drug use that is the equivalent of binge drinking. No one is worried about their kids attending all-night contradancing raves.)</p>
<p>– Rural, isolated campuses
– Residential campuses (most students live on campus)
– Relatively white, relatively affluent student body
– Most students full-time
– Strong fraternity/sorority presence</p>
<p>I don’t think SAT scores have anything to do with it. I believe the highest binge drinking rates are at tony rural LACs like Middlebury, where the student bodies are very strong statistically. (Although I suspect Williams’ binge-drinking rate may be a tad lower than the rates at some similar colleges that are slightly less selective.) Also note that while the overall binge-drinking rate at Middlebury may be higher than that at Ohio State (I don’t know if that’s true, but let’s assume so), that doesn’t mean that if you took a slice of Ohio State students who were demographically similar to the Middlebury students, their binge drinking rate would be any lower.</p>
<p>And just as it’s true that you can find a party scene anywhere, it’s also true that you can find a non-party scene anywhere, too. When I was in college, for a while a friend and I were both dating women at Williams. I would spend my time there with my girlfriend and her friends drinking nonstop. My friend’s girlfriend didn’t drink at all, and they just did other things with other people. Both women loved Williams. And I have a nondrinking virtual niece at Amherst now, who has never had trouble finding friends and stuff to do that did not involve drinking, although she is in a very small minority there.</p>
<p>I also disagree with Hat on this one. I think the parents around here could put a pretty good list together of selective schools that are less known for drinking. I can think of four right off the bat within 2 hours of each other: Hope, Kalamazoo, Chicago, Wheaton and that is just totally off the cuff in under a second of thinking. There are parties, but it isn’t the predominant culture at any of these schools. OP, I think that there is much anecdotal information about the drinking culture just on this site. Schools where there might be a party on Friday or Saturday, rarely both and never during the week. That said many, many large powerhouse schools known for a big drinking culture are large enough for students to find like minded friends which is more difficult at a small school that has a reputation for partiers, but again birds of a feather flock together and generally the kids find friends at some point in their freshman year. My son goes to a school that has had a reputation for decades regarding parties, but the myth is far bigger than the reality according to my kids. But any1can is correct and just about every school has some party scene for those that seek it and parties do tend to be more the social scene at a school with large Greek house cultures.</p>
<p>JHS - I would really worry about my kid if he told me he went to an all night contradancing rave.</p>
<p>Naive parent alert here: What is a “contradancing” rave? I know what a rave is and I obviously know what all night means…</p>
<p>Contradancing is like square-dancing, only geekier: basically doing Renaissance-era peasant dances. It has been popular with college students for a long time, but usually with some subculture of pretty geeky students. I am not aware that people usually accompany contradancing by excessive drinking or drug use; indeed, doing so would probably make it difficult to participate, dangerous even. </p>
<p>“Raves” was ironic.</p>
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better yet - walk around the school early Friday morning and sniff.</p>
<p>Seriously, a party can be found at any college. For those who are not into the party scene - look for schools that have theme housing like a “wellness” dorm. While not a guarantee this can take the pressure off.
Also when you visit find the school newspaper. Many publish “police reports” - while some are quite humorous they can give you an indication of dorm life.</p>
<p>While it’s true that there are drinkers and nondrinkers at (virtually) every school, there are some kids who could go either way at college, depending on the dominant culture. So I think it’s a good question for parents to ask, especially if your kid is the type who goes along with the crowd.</p>
<p>Anyone who thinks binge drinking in college is primarily tied to fraternity/sorority presence is fooling themselves. There’s just as much of it in the ivies as there is at large state universities, with or without fraternities and sororities on campus. Just my opinion (and I know I’m in a minority on this board) based on experiences of family and friends. Binge drinking is just as common among sports teams such as rugby and swim teams, just as it’s common with non-greeks drinking in off campus apartments. Just because a kid is not greek or an athlete or smart and academically motivated doesn’t mean they aren’t binge drinking…</p>
<p>I agree wholeheartedly with those who say that you will find drinkers on any higher education campus, just as you will find academically motivated kids on any campus and the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Some of the partying may be more visible on some campuses, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not happening on other campuses. Even at the beloved elite Tier 1 schools.</p>