<p>It's not just Hampshire, all of the hippie-ish schools have a similar image. But D is interested in applying to Hamp, so I'm interested in the Hamp.</p>
<p>Am I correct in assuming that Hamp students indulge more than students on the neighboring campuses? And, to the extent that the stoner image is deserved, how difficult is it to socialize w/o smoking/drinking? And does the difficulty increase or decrease depending on gender (or any other particualr trait)?</p>
<p>I'm not judging, just trying to separate fact from fiction - - and hoping to give D accurate info that she can use when visiting Hamp to determine whether it would be a good social "fit." </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>(oops - - couldn't edit/correct that spelling error in the thread title.)</p>
<p>My son is a freshman at Hampshire and he's very happy with his choice. I've asked him about the drinking and drug scene and he felt there was less substance use than at other schools he's visited. He doesn't drink or do drugs at all and he said there's a large substance free group and that there's very little peer pressure.</p>
<p>He's made a lot of great friends and is very engaged in the campus community.</p>
<p>What other schoolols did your S visit where there was more drug/alcohol use than at Hampshire? Also, could S's opinion be based on living at Hampshire as opposed to just having visited the other schools?</p>
<p>I'm not doubting S's opinion, just trying to get some context.</p>
<p>I think it's a reality that drinking and drug use occurs on all college campuses. His feeling about Hampshire is there aren't the large parties that big schools like UMass have and most of the students at Hampshire are passionate about what they do (film, writing, drama, music, the environment,...) and are there because they want to be. His comments about other schools were based on his discussions with friends so other than UMass Amherst, I'm not sure which schools he was referring to.</p>
<p>Interesting. UMass does sponsor large parties, but it is a HUGE school, so the absolute number of students drinking at UMass is greater than at a small school like Hamp, but I'm not so sure that a larger percentage of students drink/smoke than at Hamp or another LAC. </p>
<p>I think one can gauge conduct more accurately on a small campus with an enrollment of 1500 than a campus of 20,000 - - that's why I asked which "other" schools to which your S was referring.</p>
<p>(Also, I think that most college students are there b/c they want to be and many students at large public unis are also passionate about what they do.)</p>
<p>I am a second year student at Hampshire. I thought there was more substance abuse last year (I think it was probably first year angst/trying to be cool) in the dorms. This year I live in a mod and it is pretty moderate to low. In general, I think that there is about the same amount of weed smoking at Hampshire as there is at other schools, but perhaps it stands out more because there is less drinking. I base this on visiting friends at both large and small schools.</p>
<p>I actually do think that students at Hampshire are somewhat more passionate about their work than at many other schools. This manifests in them talking about it all the time outside of the classroom, at parties, etc. Yes, most college students are there because they want to be, but Hampshire students have to work really hard to find and formulate what they want to do, they are not just handed the required classes for their chosen major, thus they seem to be more invested in, and passionate about, it.</p>
<p>I guess my main point wasn't to make a true comparison with other schools but to say that my son, who doesn't drink or smoke, is very happy with his decision to go to hampshire and doesn't feel pressured to do things he doesn't want to. </p>
<p>As a parent - and someone who went to college during the peak years for drug use - that's all I could hope for.</p>
<p>"I actually do think that students at Hampshire are somewhat more passionate about their work than at MANY other schools. " (emphasis added)</p>
<p>^^ It's wonderful that you are proud of your schoolmates' passion, but your positive statement about Hampshire need not negatively reference other schools (especially w/o any real factual basis).</p>
<p>I also didn't mean to be negative about other schools, but let's face it, people choose their schools for various reasons. Some people want a big school in a city, some people want a big greek/party scene (look at so many of the threads on this website!) some people pick a school because it is good for a specific sport, or has a strong theater program. It seems to me that people choose Hampshire, and many of the other "alternative" schools, because they are really very engaged in their education, or more accurately, in their particular field. This shows, as I said, through all the discussion that takes place outside of the classroom, and in how, even on a saturday night, Hampshire students can be found in the labs, the studios, etc.</p>
<p>Obviously, I can only speak from my own experience. I base these impressions on talking to friends on other campuses and on visiting several friends at their schools. I am really not trying to diss anyone else's school, but I think it is well known, certainly among college professors around the country, and graduate school admissions, that Hampshire students are very engaged students.</p>
<p>dw123, is your son's academic interest one that is less popular with a partying crowd? Has his social crowd always been less into partying? Or is your sense that his experience is fairly representative of the campus in general? </p>
<p>I am certain that on any campus, the more reserved students find each other and can happily socialize w/o drugs/alcohol. But my D likes the party crowd and I worry not that she would be PRESSURED to smoke/drink, but that she could easily fall into line with what she believed to be the norm for her friends - - which, according to every review book, would involve more drugs/alcohol than on straighter campuses.</p>
<hr>
<p>Hampcurious,</p>
<p>"Alternative" is primarily a style and not a level of engagement; D1, at a mainstream top 20 LAC is at least as passionate about her studies as is quirky, hippie-ish D2. I agree, however, that "alternative" shools will look past weaknesses in some areas to embrace the student who displays passion or achievement one or several areas - - as opposed to requiring that the student's skill set be evenly developed and that s/he excelling across the board. </p>
<p>As for your impressions comparing other schools, I'm not sure you have enough of a factual foundation to comment on the passion/engagement at schools in general (most parents/students don't know enough to make a general statement, that's why I limited my question to neighboring schools). And what you describe about out-of-class activities can be said of every LAC - - in fact, it's the stock and trade of the LAC, it tends to be what distinguishes LACs from unis and why students select LACs instead of unis.</p>
<p>Finally, I can't help but notice that the parent (dw123) apologizes stating, "I'm sorry, I meant no offense." The student, OTOH, says, "I'm sorry, but here's why I said what I said and why I think I'm right." :-)</p>
<p>Drugs abound everywhere (meaning alcohol also, its a drug). My D transferred to H this year after a year at a large primo university. She said the drug scene is no different. Another family member also went there - his comment was that you can do whatever you want but he also found that to be true with his friends at other colleges, too. It is simply what you choose to do or not. I went to a state college where drugs were handy at every party.........choosing to use or not is what makes the difference. I will say she is working much harder at Hampshire than at her previous school where she left with excellent grades.</p>
<p>Drugs/alcohol are certainly available on pretty much every campus, but there can be significant differences in degrees - - and peer "pressure." A friend's D transferred from UVM - a fairly notorious party school, to Smith - a LAC where drugs/alcohol are available, but not as much a part of socializing and not to the regular binge consumption at UVM. Although this is just one student's experience, I do think that each school's drug/alcohol reputation is pretty spot-on, though I have no doubt that there are students at UVM who don't party to excess and those at Smith who do.</p>
<p>I don't know how H compares w/ UVM, but I do see that the OP asked about H compared to its four neighbor schools. And since drinking/alcohol is generally less of an issue at women's colleges, I assume there's less drug/alcohol consumption at Smith and MHC, and drugs/alcohol are less a part of the social scene at the women's colleges than at the three coed schools (but I could be wrong).</p>
<p>I guess my point is, "drugs abound everywhere," is a bit of an overstatement, but more importantly, it ignores the individual campus norms, which can be quite different and which can significantly impact individual experiences.</p>
<p>maybe everyone should look at the moral quality of their D/S or self instead of looking at whether or not a school is notorious for drug consumption. </p>
<p>the united states is notorious for invading nations for unjust causes, does that mean (since i live in the united states) my friends and I are gonna invade canada? no.. theres too much snow.. get your facts straight.</p>
<p>Smoking/drinking to excess while in college is hardly abandoning one's moral center. </p>
<p>Also, that "good" kids behave worse in a group than alone and that one is more likely to engate in conduct if "everyone else is doing it" are also facts.</p>
<p>"good" kids are good regardless of what group of people surround them. it comes down to the choice of the individual. if the "good" kid gives in to a "bad" drug taking/unsafe sexual experience he/she wasn't as "good" as once perceived (if thats your definition of "good"). </p>
<p>being good while untested isnt what makes one morally sound but being constantly tested and remaining "strong" . enough of this philosophical hoggin bosh i'm gonna go buy another bottle of wine. </p>
<p>hamp is ranked #8 for "reefer madness" on princeton review. .. im wondering how they get their information and whether or not (if they take surveys) their research is anywhere near accurate. i also dont think people that use drugs an a regular basis would put that down on a survey-maybe those who only do it once in a while. </p>
<p>if its based on the amount of students caught for drug use then I dont know what to think about their so called accuracy. certain schools will obviously have tighter security and at a small college where everyone knows each other it would be harder to get away with drug use.</p>
<p>PLUS if you ask someone are there "alot" of drugs at hamp their view is sort of tainted by the fact that they probably havent been to many schools which would grant them the experience to have a large pool of info to draw from. its all hearsay </p>
<p>hamp is also number 2 hippy school, number 10 long lines and red tape, #9 dodgeball targets (har har)</p>
<p>^^ That's a bit harsh - - even good kids (and adults) occasionally make mistakes; that's part of how we mature and become more responsible adults. And I think that if there is a constant scent of reefer, cone can report that the students are objective smoking "alot," regardless of what's going on at other schools (not that there's a constant scent of reefer at Hamp).</p>
<p>Anyway, based on the number of folks who viewed this thread, the OP wasn't the only one for whom this was a concern.</p>
<p>I don't know if Hampshire's reputation is deserved, compared to other schools, but my son is a 3rd-yr student and reports that alcohol and pot are readily available and readily used. Still, I find most students to be very tolerant of each others' behavior, so those who choose to be 'sub-free' are respected. I have not heard the same for other SLACs.</p>
<p>^^ Good to know. Students at SLACs may be tolerant of their classmates who occasionally drink/smoke to excess, but it is unusual for students at a schools w/ a lot of alcohol/pot use to be tolerant of those who are sub-free or sub-uninterested.</p>
<p>Hampshire's two main dorms house the overwhelming majority of first-year students, and are divided into halls that are classified by: substance-free, very quiet/semi quiet, intense studying, gamers, international students, students of color, etc. So you can surround yourself with like-minded residents if you wish. You can certainly place yourself in a hall where the odds of drug use are going to be low. What usually seems to happen is that long-term friendships develop in each hall, and those friends band together to reside in an on-campus apartment suite ('mod') for their remaining years. This sounds good, but my son tells me that in practice it breeds insularity and strong cliques. He has to work hard to go outside his 'circle' because it is just too easy to hang with this old-time buddies. And they are all decidedly NOT sub-free.</p>
<p>This is of concern to me too, because our daughter just got in (EA) and Hampshire may be her top choice. Unlike her brother though, she is not at all interested in the 'substance' scene and is has the same worries as the original posters on this thread. She is in conversation with her brother about it - we'll see.</p>