I think the party scene is important to people. Take my kids.
Child #1-An introvert, but social. Likes people, likes to be around people but needs time alone also. Prefers social situations that are smaller in nature. Prefers to have close friends. Did not want a school where every social contact came at a giant party like our state universities (Florida). He did drink in college and he did attend parties but he was at Case Western where the party scene was just smaller than the huge universities. Pledged a dry fraternity (which doesn’t mean they don’t drink). Most parties were within walking distance of campus. For the few things they did that were downtown they used Uber/Lyft to get around.
Child #2-An extrovert, totally social and LOVES to be with people. However he hates large, impersonal situations that he considers forced. Hates them. Like his older brother he prefers social situations that are more intimate. He currently attends a dry school (Belmont U) but lived off campus last year. Likes to drink/party but only with close friends. Since most of his friends are off campus parties are somewhat limited in size. He attends parties but again, it isn’t FSU/FL with the huge social scene. Uber/Lyft are pretty cheap in Nashville so cost of getting to/from parties without having to drive is not an issue.
Child #3-Much like child #1 is a very social introvert. Likes people but prefers to forge relationships with people, not just to have them around as background noise. He will be attending Haverford College in the fall where I think there is an active party scene, but since the school is so small parties are also small. Did not want the huge State U party scene. He will probably drink in college but right now drinking is not a big part of his life. He will have a beer at home with us but he doesn’t do a lot of drinking. As far as I know most Haverford parties are on campus so drinking/driving will not be an issue. He does have an Uber account.
All 3 kids avoided HS parties. Both of the older ones do attend parties in college. They do drink but alcohol is not the central focus of their social life. It was important to all of them that they attend schools where they could engage in some social situations that did not involve alcohol. None of them wanted a big party school.
As far as I can tell there are plenty of kids who attend party U but still manage to graduate with a degree. I think it is a perfectly reasonable thing to consider when choosing a school