<p>Seriously considering UD. However, we would like to hear some info about activities that do not include alcohol. Everyone we talk to absolutely loves UD and the family/community feel but then admit to the huge drinking atmosphere. Hearing that from parents/students alike. Partying happens at every college. That's a given, but being it's somewhat of a bubble and everyone stays on campus, for a non-drinker are there enough activities that go on at UD without alcohol and can a non-drinker fit into this family?</p>
<p>I have a number of Dayton grads who work for me and they are more social drinkers. You should not have a problem. There are all kinds of sporting events and outreach activities that can fill your time.</p>
<p>Thanks, Erin’s Dad, for your response. Very helpful. My D loves UD but is worried about feeling isolated because of her choices and not having enough alcohol-free activities. Thanks again!</p>
<p>UD does have a pretty big drinking night life. I’m a freshman this year. I would say about 95% of the students stay on campus during the weekend. The ghetto is a lot of fun for the first couple of months. In september and october, that is all kids pretty much do on the weekends and there are parties pretty much every weekend there. When it starts to get colder, right before Thanksgiving, the ghetto dies down. There are other options. I know that UD offers special housing for students who do not drink. They can meet other kids who also do not drink. Also, I have friends who choose not to drink on the weekends but still come out to the ghetto to hangout. There are also campus-run events going on too during the weekends. CAB is an organization that runs activities at a pretty low cost. For example, during Halloween, they took a trip to King’s Island. There are also retreats and breakouts students can go on during the weekend.</p>
<p>Yeah, the people at UD drink. I drink. Most students drink. It’s college. It’s fun. If drinking isn’t your thing, they offer plenty of other things you can do. On friday/saturday nights, they show movies and live performances in the KU theater. You can meet plenty of other non-drinkers through joining campus ministry (probably your best bet) or a service club. UD offers plenty of activities, but many undergrads unfortunately don’t take full advantage of them.</p>
<p>Hi all, I am a freshman this year at UD. I was a fairly heavy drinker in high school, but still cared about my grades and being very involved in extracurriculars. The biggest draw for me about Dayton was the “work hard, play hard” atmosphere. While I love many things about Dayton including the friendly atmosphere, small class sizes, attentive professors, and beautiful facilities, make sure you know what you’re getting into before you come here. While it is college, and there are bound to be parties and drinking everywhere, I think it is more prevalent here than at many other schools. While the ghetto is a great feature and it’s awesome that the upperclassmen are so inviting to the freshmen, it can be dangerous that some freshmen who aren’t experienced drinkers are exposed to some really hardcore drinking and partying. Also, while the actual campus and ghetto is very safe and filled with students, many edges of the campus don’t have great neighborhoods, and sometimes shady people wander through the student neighborhood, or worse, young drunk students wander off. As a whole, Dayton has a lot of great things to offer, but make no mistake that there are not a lot of great alternatives for fun weekend activities that don’t include alcohol, especially as a freshman without a car (or if they are, they aren’t advertised very well). I have been to the McGinnis Center for student affairs multiple times and staff has admitted willingly that there are not many activities available for non-drinking students. The University of Dayton is a great place to be for many reasons, but if I could go back, I would definitely consider the drinking atmosphere a lot more, especially if I was someone who a) wasn’t interested in drinking or being around heavy drinking, or b) was a (potential) problem drinker.</p>
<p>My daughter was also accepted to dayton, with honors, in the pre-physical therapy program. She is a good student, and a very social girl, but not a partier or a drinker by any stetch of the imagination. Honesty, hearing about the party atmosphere at Dayton was a shock and a disappointment to us (it wasn’t too apparent when we visited in the summer lol). We are from the Chicago area, and the handful of students from our community who have decided on Dayton are precisely the kinds of students that have gotten in trouble for alcohol/drug issues at our high school. It’s a shame, because the school has so many positive points that are overshadowed by the emphasis on partying, or so it seems. My daughter is still undecided about where to go…but the party reputation is definitely a turn off. </p>
<p>From your experiences, are we reading too much into the reputation of the school as a party school? Large Greek Universities can be party schools too, but it seems like the difference is that, with so many students and activities, students tend to find their niches. Dayton almost seems too uni-dimensional in the party atmosphere…</p>
<p>There is a great deal more to do than drink on campus. You are basing your view on two posters. Dayton has a very proud service component to its student body.</p>
<p>I am not basing by point of view on two posters. If you’ve done much research on the school, you might find the perception of UD being a hard-core party school is real (I said PERCEPTION is real; that is why I’m asking.)</p>
<p>It is so real that this Masters candidate did a research study on the problem, and how Dayton might want to overcome this problem.</p>
<p>There are others too. Between my two children who have looked at colleges, we have looked at close to 20 colleges. There is drinking at ALL colleges, but Dayton seems to have more of a “culture of drinking,” according to anything I can find on the internet.</p>
<p>I’ll ask some recent grads in my office about their views. That’s certainly a thought provoking thesis (though short on real data). I could not tell from your earlier post that you had other info on which to base your impressions.</p>
<p>Many years ago I attended UD. I loved it. I was well prepared for professional school and was admitted to my first choice. That said the only social life I remember revolved around beer. There may have been on campus activities but they were followed by keg or grain alcohol (harry buffalo?)parties I realize there is alcohol on every campus but past threads make me think Dayton is beyond the usual to the point that I am not promoting the school to my children. This thread may be of interest.</p>
<p>Any failing freshman turn it around 2nd semester?</p>
<p>Sorry I don’t know how to turn it into a link so you will have to search it.</p>
<p>I sure drinking is very much the same at all universities with an exception to a few such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale. </p>
<p>Ohio State, Ohio University, Miami University, University of Cincinnati all have “drinking events” or parties. Ohio U is know to be a drinking school because they have one huge drinking event each year (Halloween). UD has a big St Pat’s Day drinking event. Ohio State has an event every Home football game. For all three the other weeks of the year are just your typical college weekends and drinking occurs on these weekends.</p>
<p>Hi stenostar, I’m so glad you’re interested in UD! I am going on five years now (Engineering major) and I have loved every minute of being here. I didn’t drink freshman or sophomore year and I think you would be surprised to find how many students DON’T drink. At first it may feel like everyone is drinking but that is not true. It’s always fun to go to whatever sporting event is going on. ArtStreet shows free movies in a theater on campus every Friday night. The improv group also holds performances on weekends. There are often activities going on to support various clubs. UD has a lot of service opportunities that you can get involved in as well. Habitat for Humanity would go to a site on Saturdays. Club 6 will probably be particularly interesting, it’s the substance-free club. They hold parties and other gatherings throughout the year. Also, going out to the ghetto parties is fun even if you don’t drink. No one will pressure you to drink, they just want you to have fun!</p>