I read that Juniata ranks very high for hard liquor consumption nationally… is that your experience? If it is true, is it because there is little else to do on the weekend. My other question (based on some old posts): are there crime/drug problems in the town? Thanks…and don’t hesitate to throw in positive comments as well 
following
I would be interested in hearing the answers as well, as we just visited Juniata this week! I’d like to her the good, the bad, and the ugly!
As a parent of a Juniata student, I can tell you that yes, there are 18 year old students leaving home for the first time and probably having more freedom with alcohol than they did at home in high school. But not sure where the suggestions of “ranking high on liquor consumption” comes from. Parents of students at bigger schools with fraternities and sororities have reported things to me about their children’s schools and what goes on there that reinforce for me that my child picked a very special place to attend school. Read about Juniata in Colleges That Change Lives. I would say their description and reporting about the school are spot on.
@iangrodman can you give any insight on the town that Juniata is in? Is there much to do there, restaurants, stores, groceries, etc?
This is the Princeton Best Colleges ranking right? Which is based on self-reported data (i.e. a survey). So IMO this is more a case of Juniata students placing highly in the “Colleges Where Students Are Honest About The Alcohol Consumption At Their School When Taking Surveys” ranking.
Huntingdon is definitely small. Standing Stone coffee is one of my favorite coffee places anywhere. There are some decent restaurants downtown. Downtown is a pretty easy walk from campus.
There is Weis Supermarket just off campus which my daughter uses for most of her shopping
There is a Walmart in town but it isn’t walkable from
@jmnva06 you said there is a Walmart in town. Is there anything else there? Movie theater, stores, etc?
There is definitely a movie theater. There are a couple of grocery stores, done places by Walmart, a couple is small strip malls and some shops in the downtown area.
There is a nice B&B downtown (Gage Mansion) and a sprawling old mansion sort of place just outside of town (the Inn at Solvang), that are fun to stay in. Though Huntingdon also has a Comfort Inn. There are a couple of decent restaurants. Good ice cream place and pretty scenery nearby. My child stays very occupied with campus activities, which is what she was looking for in a college location (i.e., she did not want a nearby city to draw kids off campus on the weekends)