<p>neprnt, the school only provides alcohol at certain events which have nothing to do with Greek societies, and you need to provide ID to partake. There are some schools not particularly known for their drinking which do fund beer for student events, though (my girlfriend attends one of the Claremont colleges, where Greek life doesn’t exist, but the schools often fund open parties with alcohol – and they don’t card, much to my surprise).</p>
<p>I honestly wouldn’t worry about a free flow of beer – and yes, there is a free flow, since although parties are only really happening 2 to 3 nights a week, there’s a way for any student to get alcohol for free virtually any night they’d like (there’s almost always some Greek house that’s open). Despite that, students who don’t like drinking aren’t going to drink just because it’s available. And even students who like drinking care enough about their studies to only seriously drink when they don’t have something to worry about for the next day.</p>
<p>Personally, I think your son’s assessment hits on the nub of the issue – whether Greek life is for him. This is actually something that’s harder to figure out than you might think. It took me till the end of junior year to get any conclusive idea, and even then, if I could do it all over again, I’d probably rush as a sophomore. Greek life at Dartmouth is in many ways very different from and yet very similar to Greek life elsewhere. It’s a lot more open here, and it really creates a sense of community – it’s a good way to meet a lot of people. Yet I personally can’t stand most college parties, so that makes it difficult for me to enjoy most of the stereotypical Greek activities.</p>
<p>Greek life is a lot bigger than drinking – Dartmouth students aren’t alcoholics. A lot of people rush and pledge who otherwise don’t fit the Greek stereotype at all, and there are options for people to complete the pledge process without ever touching a drop of alcohol. The Greek system here is relatively inclusive, so as DartmouthForever said, I think 80 to 95% of people will be quite happy being in a house of some sort.</p>
<p>I realise I’m not necessarily helping you or your son directly in figuring out whether Dartmouth is for him. But I don’t think drinking is the key issue. As long as he’s comfortable being around people who drink, it’s mostly a non-issue. The question is more about culture and community on campus – how does Dartmouth compare to his other options? What kind of culture/community fits him best? (It’s all about fit – I don’t think one can say something like this is objectively better at one school than elsewhere. Personally I think Dartmouth’s culture and community are great for a lot of people, but even though I drink, it hasn’t been that great for me.)</p>
<p>As for the parent who thinks Dartmouth can’t drink that much more than other schools, I’m pretty sure we drink more than a school like Swarthmore or UChicago. Most colleges fall somewhere in between the two extremes. And obviously Dartmouth still can’t compare with a state school. I think boiling it down to the fact that “Most college-aged people drink, so drinking will be big at any college” winds up obscuring the differences in degree to which drinking/drinking-centred activities dominate campus culture.</p>
My advice is, as always, to bring flexible layers.</p>