<p>I have read so much on college confidential about the possibility of too much drinking among the students at Vanderbilt. Not sure how the student body would manage too much partying and still remain a top school. How much drinking and partying is going on? That is my only concern about Vanderbilt. In all other regards it sounds like a great place to go to school.</p>
<p>I think most school has drinking parties. My son went to top school, there were lots of drinkings. He chooses not go to,it’s OK then.</p>
<p>I’m not in a place to speak about the amount of partying, but I can tell you that, from a parent’s viewpoint, I think Vanderbilt does a good job of promoting responsible behavior surrounding drinking. Both of my kids often spoke of the ability to buy cab cash on their Vandy card (although I think this may work differently now) and how they were encouraged to have a designated driver or take cabs when partaking. I also believe this issue is addressed in the Vanderbilt Visions program for freshmen and through educational chapter meetings for Greek organizations. That said, many college students drink regardless of where they attend and some don’t partake at all. I’m not condoning a drinking culture, but just being realistic.</p>
<p>I mean there are people who get drunk every day and others that never drink at all. There’s nobody forcing drinks down peoples throats and it depends on the type of people you hang out with whether peer pressure will be an issue. At the end of the day its each individual students decision if they want to overindulge in alcohol or not.</p>
<p>My D did not drink at Vandy until the end of her junior year. She studied abroad in fall of junior year & drank in the pubs. When she returned, she drank, but she did not spend her nights getting wasted. She did not hang with a group that went to parties to get drunk. She did avoid fraternity parties - they just didn’t hold any interest for her. I think that your child will be who he or she is at most any school. Sure, there is a lot of drinking at Vandy … but there was a lot of drinking at my small engineering school alma mater.</p>
<p>There’s plenty of drinking at Vanderbilt–but I don’t think there’s any more drinking there than other schools. My Vandy D has friends at other private schools, small schools, big state schools, and others. There’s heavy drinking by some of the students at all these schools. But, it’s up to each student to decide how he or she wants to handle it. Some drink lots, some drink none. A student doesn’t have to drink to fit in at Vandy, even if he or she chooses to participate in frat parties and such.</p>
<p>Alcohol is a concern at most universities. Most students do not drink or drink responsibly. The risk is the frequent and binge drinkers. 11% of these students go on to develope alcohol dependency syndrome and a boatload of misery down the road.<br>
All universities must do more to educate students about alcohol and provide services to help students in need. The students know which of their peers are at risk. They know which students cross the line frequently. Students need to be educated on how to get their peers help early because they know who is at risk years or decades before it becomes a problem.</p>
<p>Just like any college campus, kids like to get intoxicated fairly often. Plenty of kids don’t, however. Nashville has a lot going on during the weekend, and the school also organizes its own alternative events. I usually get an email every weekend or every other weekend, with student government sponsored non-alcoholic events. These are usually things like movie showings, or organized trips to athletic events. (Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators, Memphis Grizzlies).</p>
<p>It doesn’t make a lot of sense to say that drinking at Vandy is similar to most other schools, because it isn’t. Most students at Vanderbilt drink regularly (1-2 times per week), and although some will only drink casually, there are plenty of students who drink to the point of blacking out. There aren’t very many students who avoid drinking altogether, and the vast majority of those that do are either engineers or abstain for religious reasons. Drinking is a major part of the social fabric of Vanderbilt, to a greater extent than it is at other schools (CP ranks Vandy #19 out of 1228 for Most Social Drinkers).</p>
<p>That being said, it is generally easy to find a group of friends that share your attitude towards drinking, whether that involves going out every night or not going out at all. If you do not drink at all, you will still have friends, and probably have friends that drink, but you may find it difficult to connect with some other students. Ultimately Vanderbilt is an extraordinarily social school, and your success here will depend on being outgoing, whether you are drunk or not.</p>
<p>Despite what VandyRealist states, there is a prevalent drinking culture at virtually all colleges with more similarities (as to percentages) than differences (except BYU and a few others). Many colleges and universities try to offer activities for those who choose not to drink and safeguards to those who choose to drink. Vanderbilt is among those and there is always many activities that do not include alcohol (including dry fraternity parties). Yes, drinking is an issue at colleges and universities and Vanderbilt is no exception. As an admissions officer (not from Vanderbilt, but another top university) told me, all the accepted students have the ability to succeed and the major cause for students failing are alcohol/drugs or a romantic relationships. Look at the graduation rates and you can get an idea on how these issues have affected the student body (like all top schools Vanderbilt’s rate is very high).</p>
<p>Looking at graduation rates is not a particularly good way to determine how much drinking goes on at a school. A good portion of the students at Vanderbilt could be classified as high-functioning alcoholics. From my personal experience, drinking is significantly more prevalent here than it is at most other schools, including our peer institutions (with the exception of UVa and a few others). Also, I think it is misleading to suggest that Vanderbilt does a good job providing alternatives to drinking (like what?). Although there are a few safeguards in place (such as Vandy Vans, because drunk freshmen were getting lost on the way back to Commons), and the university has been cracking down on Greek life, drinking remains the activity of choice for most students on the weekends.</p>
<p>Especially during freshman year, there are many activities offered that do not involve drinking. In my D’s house in the Commons, the faculty-in-residence opened her apartment every Friday night for movies, board games, food, sports on television, and all kinds of events. There was a large group of students who went there every week and stayed until well past midnight. Freshman students also receive regular notifications of campus movies, concerts, shows, and other events–there is definitely something offered every weekend. By participating in these kinds of things with other students from the dorms, students who don’t want to drink and go to parties can find a like-minded peer group to hang out with. I’ve never heard of any Vandy student complaining that he did not have friends and had nothing to do because he did not drink or go to fraternity parties.</p>
<p>And I really take issue with the notion that Vandy students drink more than students at other schools. Drinking and college have gone hand-in-hand since the beginning of time. Most students are away from home for the first time and are ready to experiment with “adult” things, like alcohol. Unless your student attends a school with a “dry” campus, or an expecially religious school, he will encounter lots of beer and other alcohol. He doesn’t have to partake, but it will be there.</p>
<p>D reports most of the students at the frat party arrive late after studying all night, walk around for 2 hours with the same warm beer in their hand hanging out with friends, then go home. Relax.</p>
<p>Opie, that sounds like a description of what someone who didn’t want to go out in the first place does, not what most students do. Most students pregame first and show up drunk. I don’t know anyone who’s ever gone directly from studying to a frat party.</p>
<p>Lenny, you seem determined to believe that drinking at Vandy is no different from other colleges. I will agree that drinking is universal to the college experience, but it’s certainly not a uniform one. At my sister’s school (which is often cited as one of Vanderbilt’s peer institutions) most students do not drink, and when they do she describes it as a small group of friends drinking in an apartment on a Friday night (at Vandy that would be considered a pregame). CP ranks Vandy 1212th out of 1231 schools in the “Best Schools for Non-Drinkers” category. Obviously the Vanderbilt experience is not the same for everyone, but chances are, it involves a lot of drinking.</p>
<p>People drink at Vanderbilt, but a non-drinker can find their niche. I don’t think there is really peer pressure to drink and since everyone is sort of grade conscious I think people are understanding if you have a big exam/paper and need to stay in.</p>
<p>VandyRealist - most of your other posts on College Confidential that I have read are spot on, but here you are off target. While I guess you have plenty of experience with the drinking culture at Vanderbilt I believe your understanding of this culture at other colleges and universities is misinformed. Drinking is a problem at colleges and universities and I stand by my previous post. All the rankings that I know of in the categories you reference are by self reporting which is the least reliable form a information gathering.</p>
<p>I am a Vanderbilt student, and I find VandyRealist’s description of the drinking scene accurate. My party experience has been centered around campus parties. There are different degrees of drinking, and students often switch between them, or do them at the same time. </p>
<p>Casual drinkers drink beer at the local restaurants and bars. Most often on weekdays or before a party on the weekends.</p>
<p>House party people drink an average to above-average amount. On average, one-third of them get drunk before the end of the night, and the other two-thirds of them go anywhere from sober to almost drunk.</p>
<p>Half of fraternity party people show up half-drunk or drunk, and three-quarters of them will end the night drunk passed out on the floor. The idea is someone has to arrive there intoxicated before enjoying anything.</p>
<p>In conclusion, a majority of the students here drink alcohol. The school newspaper reported about 60% of upperclassmen drink, but I think the number is closer to 75%. Drinking is prevalent on campus in various levels. Most organizations on campus from ye olde fraternite to Christian fellowships engage in alcoholic beverages. I suspect the Asian, abstinent, and low-tolerance population here also makes up for a large percentage of the non-drinking population.</p>
<p>Compared to other top-tier colleges, Vanderbilt has more drinkers on average. Students who apply here have to know they are getting into a social scene where drinking is a core aspect. Vanderbilt is ranked 1212 out of 1231 in Best Schools for Non-Drinkers at College Prowl. Despite being a self-reported statistic, the overwhelming consensus here is the vast majority of students here drink.</p>
<p>When compared with peer institutions, then yes, Vanderbilt probably does revolve more around drinking.</p>
<p>However, to say that Vanderbilt is outside the college “norm” when it comes to drinking is BS. Have you ever been to a large SEC school?</p>
<p>Having visited schools like Ole Miss and Florida, I can say that the level of drinking is nothing like it is over there. Vanderbilt students are more responsible, and more conscious of avoiding in trouble/bad situations. Plus new rules imposed on fraternities and Greek Life is helping prevent serious issues (fraternities cannot distribute alcohol, and get in a ton of trouble if someone gets drunk at their house). There’s a lot of drinking here but it’s certainly not outside the norm.</p>
<p>I would consider large SEC schools like Florida and Ole Miss to also be somewhat outside the college norm, and they are obviously not peer institutions. But yes, Vandy students do have some limits when it comes to drinking, and generally don’t engage in criminal behavior while drunk, unlike certain other schools (here’s looking at you, bUTt-chuggers).</p>