<p>My niece hated having to pay for things she didn't break or damage in her dorm, but that's just the way it is....many students that do a lot of damage don't even live in the dorms they party in.
I was proud of my son because (although some might disagree) I thought being sub-free and living it was harder for a guy. He wasn't alone, but definitely in the minority. What he told me once was if you don't want to drink or sleep around aimlessly, some guys wont talk to you even if you share other interests; sports, major, hobby. It's hard to keep your convictions but if he did something he didn't want to do for someone else, he would start losing pieces of himself. I'm glad he sees that now and not later, but I also realize he might change his mind about that too.</p>
<p>As I said earlier, subfree at D's college has been great, sans drugs/alcohol/smoke and no sign of students who didn't want to be there (semi-private rooms too!). But I'm wondering, for these other kids attending less-ideal colleges, whether living off campus with like-minded friends wouldn't be a better plan? Create their own subfree, over which they have control?</p>
<p>Was the availability of substance free housing a consideration in your kid's choice of where to apply/enroll?</p>
<p>The GFG- would you mind naming the school?</p>
<p>For us, it wasn't a deal breaker, but he also didn't apply anywhere that had a heavy frat presence which would exacerbate the drinking atmosphere.(although some non-frat colleges also have similar drinking cultures) One of our state schools didn't have any sub-free or quiet dorms or floors and he said, "no thanks" as his safety because the gist he got from the RA was that drinking was heavy and there wasn't a desire by many students for one.</p>
<p>D's "safety" was the local UC, which claims to provide honors housing although it's a hollow claim -- it's certainly not a subfree neighborhood (#4 party school in a national poll). Before the acceptances came in, she told me she'd live at home and go to the junior college before she'd choose the UC. (Luckily, her college (which has a well-deserved druggie rep in addition to top academics) provides genuine subfree, which actually expanded to a second dorm for this fall.)</p>
<p>We viewed the sub-free option as a check in the plus column when comparing college options, and we certainly saw it as a mitigating factor to counteract our distaste for the heavy drinking scene. It was not a deal-breaking consideration, though. The school has many things to offer which outweighed the social negatives in S's mind. He is generally happy there and is satisfied with other distinctives the college has to offer.</p>
<p>Arctic16: Your quote "A wise man once said The best way to bond with people is to drink with them, and if they don't drink, you don't want to know them."</p>
<p>I doubt that the man who said this was wise.</p>