My daughter does not drink and she does not do drugs. Period. This was a concern of hers as well when she was looking at colleges. When she did the admitted students weekend, she asked specifically to be matched up with a host that did not party because she wanted to get a sense of what Beloit would be like from someone with a perspective like hers, and admissions gladly (and easily) complied. The girls she met assured her that it wouldn't be a problem, and introduced her to enough people who also didn't party that she felt comfortable.
She opted to live in Bushnell, Beloit's substance free dorm. It was a good choice for many reasons - she has found a very tight knit community of friends there, none of whom drink/do drugs, she has a single room, the dorm is one of the quieter ones but definitely not boring judging by some of the antics I hear about. She's also found many friends in other dorms on campus who are also not partiers.
However, I'd be lying if I said she hasn't commented on other students drinking, and to, a lesser extent, taking other intoxicating substances, especially freshmen, and especially in SOME dorms (Stay away from Peet). She says that the partying is mainly on the weekends for most and that it is not exactly a wild animal party scene, except in a few rare instances. In that regard, I would say Beloit is no better or worse than any other college.
But, my daughter, at least, hasn't found it to be a major issue, besides sometimes being annoyed at the stupidity of some people. She hasn't experienced any peer pressure (she says a simple "no thanks" suffices), finds plenty of non-alcohol activities to keep her busy, and feels that there's enough of a non-drinking student population to balance things out. Of course, she's a pretty tolerant person, and doesn't really care what others do, as long as they respect her right to not do it.
However, one thing that has disappointed her is that there are *some* people who live in the substance free dorm who do go out and party on the weekends -- they just don't do it in the dorm. But, as I said, for the most part she's pretty happy.
So, again, I'd say Beloit is fairly normal for colleges these days, but there's definitely enough room to be comfortable and happy there if you're not a partier. If your daughter would like to email mine, let me know.
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