Heavy Drinking At NW?

DrMom · 04-17-2005, 08:35 PM

My daughter and I just visited Rice this past weekend and her hosts told her there is a great deal of drinking. This is a problem because if you want to study and the others in the Residential Colleges want to party, you really can not move to another college until after a year.

She is trying to decide between Rice and NW. Can anyone tell us if there is significant drinking at NW? If you find yourself in a bad Residential College, is it easy to transfer to another?

ilabcurious1423 · 04-17-2005, 09:10 PM

I believe that there are non-substance dorms or something.

DrMom · 04-17-2005, 09:16 PM

ilabcurious1423-- Are you presently going to NW or have friends there?

glamourbaby19 · 04-17-2005, 09:40 PM

Hi DrMom. I am a student at NU now living in a residential college. Students do drink does happen at Northwestern, like any other school, but not every student drinks and by no means do those who choose to do it every weekend. There are basically three "groups" of people: those who drink quite a lot, quite frequently; those who drink a few times a month, and those who never or VERY rarely do. You can choose what "group" you want to fall in to and you will probably have friends in all of the groups. I honestly don't think the students at NU drink any more than students at most other schools of its size and caliber.

There is a substance-free living space, called the Healthy Living Unit. It's a hall in the Foster-Walker complex where students who do not want to be exposed to drugs/alcohol choose to live.

KrazyKow · 04-17-2005, 09:50 PM

At Rice I believe you never can switch residential colleges, actually. I believe Rice does a good job with roommate matching, though, so the likelihood someone who says they don't drink at all gets matched with a real partier is quite slim.

readytoleavehs · 04-17-2005, 10:39 PM

I'm glad that you asked this question DrMom, because I was thinking the same thing. I just spent the weekend at Claremont-McKenna and the drinking there is...well to say the least extremely heavy. It seems like you can't have a good time without drinking. I'm hoping that not all schools are like this, especially NW since its my #1 choice

dfleish · 04-17-2005, 11:10 PM

I've heard North campus is more notorious for that than South campus, if that helps. Don't mean to generalize though.

swtvtgyrl · 04-18-2005, 01:21 AM

every single college student says that "drinking is heavy" ... i went to notre dame and they said the same thing... and i didnt think it was that bad.. it's up to you to decide whether u wanna partake in the drinking or not.. and im sure it's not like tuesday morning before your chemistry class drinking... it's prolly more like a weekend partying.

deuxenfants · 04-18-2005, 11:01 AM

My son also visited Rice and has some concerns re: the drinking. He is wondering whether, at a small school like Rice, there will be enough kids to make friends with who don't want to drink but still like to go out and have fun. He doesn't want to sit in his room and study all the time but he is not into the party scene. Can anyone comment on what percentage of the students at NU are into the party scene? What is a typical Thurs, Friday, Saturday night like at NU for kids who live in the dorms? He is visiting NU next week and will stay over but I notice NU schedules their Preview days on Mondays and Tuesdays (quieter nights) whereas Rice scheduled Owl Weekend on Thursday and Friday which gives the kids more exposure to parties, drinking, etc.

deuxenfants · 04-26-2005, 01:28 AM

bump bump bump

pleonastic2911 · 04-26-2005, 04:53 PM

like glamourbaby19, I'm also a student at NU, and I agree that you can do what you want with the drinking scene. I personally do not drink. As for the dorms you live in, (including the Residential Colleges), you can always switch out in the middle of the year if it is absolutely abysmal. Its not encouraged, but it is possible.

nustudent86 · 04-27-2005, 08:12 PM

Dorms known for partying: Elder, Bobb, Allison

In general, you'll find drinking everywhere. It's not a big deal at NU..I don't drink and I feel completely comfortable. If your child ever feels uncomfortable b/c of a drinking situation, he/she can usually switch dorms.

go48 · 04-27-2005, 10:08 PM

for allison, is it more fun/ relaxing type drinking or binge/ pising all over type drinking? would hope its more the first...

TheCity · 04-28-2005, 01:39 AM

oh for crying out loud, when you get to college, you are going to want to drink. Stop showing how nerdy you are. People who drink at NU are not like People who binge drank at your high school: people who drink at NU are just as smart as you are, they just happen to also be concerned with having a good time.
And if you are so afraid of being around people who will think little of you for not drinking, than you probably just need to work on your OWN social skills to get along with people of different lifestyles.

Your parents, despite what they may be telling you, expect you to get rip-roaringly drunk in college, numerous times... do not worry about what they will think of you.

gadad · 05-02-2005, 02:37 PM

Traditional-aged students head off to college at the same time that their instincts for pairing with significant others peak. This is also the same time that they're leaving behind their familiar social structures and becoming autonomous decision-makers. For many (most?) 18-year-olds - especially for males - social and romantic confidence are still works in progress. Trying to break the ice with potential partners is awkward and threatening, and alcohol is a magic elixir that makes the butterflies go away (even though it usually makes one realize their own worst nightmare of self-embarassment). As a result, the answer to the question about significant drinking levels at NU is "yes" - just as it is at any university with a more or less traditional-aged student body.