<p>I'm looking for a college that is more focused on academics than partying, not one where there is absolutely no social scene but just one where it is less present. I'd also prefer school that are ranked pretty high (not necessarily Harvard or Yale but something in the top 75-100).</p>
<p>Schools in the US News top 100 with the lowest levels of drinking and partying would probably include Wheaton College (a “Christian School”), BYU (Mormon), and the military service academies. Top 100 schools with a reputation for being academically intense include Swarthmore, the University of Chicago, Caltech, and Reed (which also has had a reputation for fairly heavy drug use).</p>
<p>One approach would be to request a substance-free dorm in a school with little or no Greek life. Many liberal arts colleges (LACs) have little or no Greek life.</p>
<p>Rice might be a good choice! They have no Greek system, which (like the other person said above) might help slow down the partying.</p>
<p>College of William and Mary- excellent academics, public college in VA, focus is on school.</p>
<p>NYU doesn’t have much of a party scene - as the dorms at NYU are very controlled and monitored for that. Greek life almost doesn’t exist, I think only 1% of the student body is a part of Greek life, if that. </p>
<p>Social scene is, obviously, quite good and if you want to go out and have a good time, there are always people doing that too.</p>
<p>reply #6
NYC is ranked party school on many websites. Are you from NYU? Are those ranking incorrect?</p>
<p>How about Georgetown’s party scene?</p>
<p>Are you a young woman? Bryn Mawr (my alma mater), Smith or Wellesley. Haverford if you want a coed school.</p>
<p>On my guy’s hall (co-ed) he says there’s only one girl who appears to be into serious partying. He’s not and he feels very comfortable there so far (been there a little over a week). He’s just a freshman now, so I’ll be able to answer this better next year, but… He’s at the University of Rochester. I believe their overall ranking is in the 30s with USNews. FWIW, he also loves his Profs at this point. I hope he feels the same after the semester!</p>
<p>Substance-free housing in theory is a great idea. More often then not you end up with a big group of students who have been required to dorm there by their parents, thinking they will not party, or even make it a stipulation of going away to school when there has been previous abuse. This rarely detracts kids once they are in school. If substance free housing doesn’t fill up voluntarily, remaining space is often put into the general freshman lottery, sending students who never intended on being there in the first place. Lehigh, for example, does this.</p>
<p>If you are visiting a school and are interested in their substance-free housing make sure to talk directly with residents, not housing, admissions, or an official school rep. Try to talk to a few people and get their opinion on what it’s like and if it makes a difference. Some schools obviously do this better then others.</p>
<p>To second a few nominations above, William and Mary, Haverford, and Swarthmore.</p>
<p>Also, you might look at some fundamentalist Christian colleges, if you are so inclined.</p>
<p>I have never seen NYU ranked as a party school on any website. And, since you can’t have parties in dorms, and drinking is very controlled, there are no parties in dorms. People to out to bars or clubs if they want to party. But NYU definitely isn’t a party school.</p>
<p>I think even at “party” schools the party-goers are often **not **the majority of the students, it just seems that way because people talk about them and their activities. At any college you can and will find people that think like you and you can ignore any activities you don’t care for. At large state schools in particular, try to get into the honors program especially if it offers special housing.
Don’t make yourself crazy trying to find schools that meet all of your criteria as well as the non-party atmosphere. Just be true to your own values and find people with similar values and interests to hang out with.</p>
<p>My S was not a partier – he went to Fordham (a Jesuit college so no frats) and spent his freshman and sophomore years in wellness housing and it was perfect for him.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t accept blueiguana’s post at face value. Perhaps at some schools, sub-free is where worried parents park their sub-abusing kids, but at most LACs that we visited, it was the housing of choice for students who didn’t want partying to be a big part of their freshman experience. At Grinnell, where S lived in sub-free for four years (personal preference, not religious), the popularity of sub-free has grown over the 4 years he was there and has been extended to other dorms which now have sub-free floors, etc…</p>
<p>My primary concern about sub-free housing is that the moderating influence that these students used to provide in the other dorms is now gone…Other kid who lived in non-sub free has had to ‘baby-sit’ kids who overdid it and needed help because she was one of the few not drinking.</p>
<p>Cutie…</p>
<p>We need to know your test scores and GPA to make appropritate recommendations.</p>
<p>Also: </p>
<p>What state are you in?</p>
<p>How much will your parents pay each year?</p>
<p>What is your major?</p>
<p>UChicago and Georgetown while academically intense certainly have party scenes, I was at 4 the other day at Georgetown and there were plenty of parties at UChicago when I was over there; you don’t have to take part though if you don’t want to, honestly, at top colleges, there is almost always going to be some form of partying</p>
<p>It’s pretty good, although there is no frats.</p>
<p>I’ve never understood this type of question and it frankly strikes me as slightly immature. Academics should be your primary concern. If you attend a top 100 school there will be plenty of academic rigor - partying is a secondary concern. At no school are there roving bands of party police shanghaiing studious undergrads and forcing them to attend keggers. The world is full of people with different tolerances for partying etc. It’s time to group up and learn to navigate your way through life on your own; YOU get to decide how much you party not someone else.</p>
<p>W&M is not an Animal House type party school…but is is a great deal of fun. You just have to be a good time mgr.</p>