<p>There has been quite a few threads recently that continue to mention UGA as a party school. I just wanted to bring to everyone's attention what the ranking is based on:</p>
<p>From USA Today article:</p>
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The ranking is based on e-mail surveys of 122,000 students at more than 370 colleges across the country. It combines responses on alcohol and drug use on campus, hours spent studying outside class and the popularity of fraternities and sororities.
The surveys are filled out voluntarily by students, and on average about 325 students from each campus respond.
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<p>Please consider 325 students out of 30,000 students is only about 1% of all students. Yes partying does occur, as with most college campuses, but I don't think you should take the responses of 1% of the students to conclude that partying runs rampant at UGA.</p>
<p>My D and I have visted the campus several times even during the UGA/GT football game. I did not witness anything that made me feel that partying was a main part of the campus life.</p>
<p>People are going to make a big deal out of the whole #1 party school thing, but whether you’re in that scene or not is COMPLETELY up to you and who you decide to hang out with. Don’t feel like partying? There are a TON of other people who think the same thing and honestly, they’re not that hard to find. I’m even in a sorority, and the girls I hang out with aren’t into partying much. It’s not like everyone’s walking around drunk. Partying at UGA is usually confined to Thursday-Saturday nights and only to Greek houses and downtown. Other then that, the party scene doesn’t really exist anywhere else.</p>
<p>If you want to party, there are ways to do it. If you don’t want to party, then you don’t have to. No one’s going to make you party (unless you hang out with people who pressure you into it…if that’s not what you want, it’s time to find new friends).</p>
<p>That said, it’s not like you’re either partying all the time or not partying at all. I wouldn’t consider myself a party person, but I have been out downtown and to some parties a couple times. Even then, you don’t have to drink. I chose not to drink when I was underage. It’s all up to you.</p>
<p>Some organizations are known for combining both stimulating intellectual activities and superb partying. I highly recommend Demosthenian for that reason- it may be the most welcoming organization on campus for an incredible variety of people from hipsters to Zionists to old fashioned Southern conservatives to crazy socialists and everything in between. They’re apparently gotten very good at throwing dance parties since I graduated, yet their debate chops are still enough to win the most recent inter-society debate with our friends across the way (i.e. the Brickheap, i.e. PK). </p>
<p>I started out as a complete anti-party-everything person, but by my second year I came to enjoy it. You definitely don’t have to drink at most parties and it’s one of the best ways to meet lots of new people very quickly. I’d recommend at least trying it with a group of good friends and an extroverted mindset.</p>