Wow you are asking for a lot of work to be done researching for you. Keep in mind, most people here are HS students with no experience of these colleges. Also, if they go to a college they can only answer for their own experience at that one. Did you pick up a Fiske Guide which does a pretty good job with an overview and tries to address the culture, the housing and such. Wikipedia lists traditions, quirky or not. And don’t think there really is a typical student and all student bodies are just the same type with no major variations. And of course there are parties, all colleges have parties.