<p>OP, I’m going to let you in on a little secret, this is the reality of today’s elite colleges. You will find people who drink a ton just to “live the life” of the stereotypical college student, especially at the elite colleges. </p>
<p>That sports theory is ridiculous, Columbia people party a ton, they just goto the clubs and bars in the city, so you don’t see it as much on campus. Dartmouth is notorious for their hard parties, Cornell also has a large percentage of heavy drinkers. Schools like Northwestern (which is in the Big Ten, but not very good in sports) also have a large number of hard-partiers.
You’ll find that college kids drink and engage in stuff they might regret later on, in all schools. Sometimes more in the elite schools. </p>
<p>There’s a ton of overachievers, perfectionists in the top schools. They want to be the best at everything, and that includes being the baddest partiers around. </p>
<p>Generally tho, the higher the engineering population, the less partying.</p>