<p>How much does the social life expand beyond drinking/partying? If you never had any alcohol at UVa, how much would your social life be hindered? Give examples of the stuff you do or your friends do.</p>
<p>At almost every school, you’ll have to make some decisions about how the party scene fits in with your lifestyle. Happily, UVa has enough going on that there are lots of things to do that don’t include drinking.</p>
<p>If you want to see examples, check out the Hoos Sober listserve:
[Hoos</a> Sober Listserv | Gordie Center, U.Va.](<a href=“http://gordiecenter.studenthealth.virginia.edu/peer-education/adapt/hoos-sober]Hoos”>http://gordiecenter.studenthealth.virginia.edu/peer-education/adapt/hoos-sober)</p>
<p>There are tons of events, both on Grounds and off, that don’t make it to the Hoos Sober list. :)</p>
<p>I am completely sober, I had a great social life that had nothing to do with parties. I can’t think of any of my friends who were sober, but they always respected my decision. I am still on that mailing list lol. I was in a bunch of clubs, we did all sorts of silly college things - IHOP 1/2 price Thursdays, late night grocery shopping, staying up and watching movies and making food, ordering in or going out, etc. Brown College had a lot of no-alcohol (obviously if they are dorm sponsored they can’t have alcohol) events and I enjoyed those as well.</p>
<p>Like Hazelorb I am a completely sober Hoo as well but I must say in all honesty we are a rare breed. Sobriety at any school is difficult but it is especially difficult at UVA. Although only 33% of UVA are recorded as “involved with Greek life”, the number is higher actuality when you consider how many people attend frat parties on the weekends and such / participate in their “philanthropic” events. Furthermore many of the clubs and students at UVA consider a “good time” throwing a party, getting completely plastered/abusing drugs and losing all morals. A good weekend at UVA for many people is getting plastered beyond all belief. It’s quite embarrassing considering the prestige associated with UVA. The ABC flp in my mind signifies how pathetic UVA’s drinking problem is. People dumpster diving for alcohol? </p>
<p>Bottom-line, UVA is NOT a good place to come if you do not plan on being a moderate to heavy party-goer. Yes you can survive on the periphery of the social scene by not drinking but you will never get that “quintessential” UVA experience that current students and alum rave about. Don’t let anyone try to convince you otherwise.</p>
<p>^ All the above is verified by me, a graduating 4th year. Terrible social life the past 4 years from the perspective of a non-minority, non-religious, studious male. I have had a great academic experience however and career opportunities are looking real solid due to that. UVA is a stepping stone, use it as such and expect nothing more.</p>
<p>110percentwahoo, what would you have liked to make your social life more positive? I found that mine was not lacking at all, so I’m surprised by your experience and opinion…</p>
<p>The opinion of 110percent really concerns me as my S contemplates attending UVA and his other acceptances. 110percent, what did you do for fun and were you able to find some likeminded friends? Academics are important, but so is the social aspect of college…</p>
<p>110percentwahoo, all of your comments from last night make me think you’re having a tough time right now. I hope you’re feeling better this morning.</p>
<p>There are so many definitions of “fun” at UVa and in Charlottesville. While some find fun on Rugby Road, I see students all over town finding fun things to do elsewhere. Charlottesville is a town full of chefs, musicians, artists, and so many great activities.</p>
<p>Sorry to hear about 110’s experience. The question, though, is would his experience have been different at a school other than UVA?</p>
<p>100% sober college students are rare birds on any college campus by definition. Surveys say that 80+% of all college students are drinkers and 40% report binge drinking incidents. Unless you are going to attend Liberty University, this is something that the kid has to manage and navigate. Read “The Five Year Party” or “Leisure College” to get a sense of the pervasiveness of this.</p>
<p>Kids at UVA like to have fun and party (often with alcohol). But I’ve seen as bad and much worse at many other schools, regardless of whether that particular school does/does not have a rep as a party school. Good thing is that UVA kids, despite how they do/don’t party, graduate in four years at extremely high rates. That’s ultimately what college is all about.</p>
<p>I don’t think UVa is centered around partying. Yes, there was drinking and yes there were frat parties and yes there was binge drinking. But it’s a public state school and most colleges these days have some sort of alcohol aspect to it.</p>
<p>While I saw some people take it too far, for the most part, drinking wasn’t the center of attention and it was far more casual/social than it was about getting “plastered”. There are plenty of other activities going on to partake in as well and even some party-attendees chose not to drink (get a cup of coke).</p>
<p>Here’s information on 984 student organizations at UVa. (I believe this website is fairly new, and some of the links are not detailed.)</p>
<p>[University</a> of Virginia - Organizations](<a href=“http://atuva.student.virginia.edu/organizations]University”>- @UVA)</p>
<p>Yes, my son is in a fraternity that has been known to try a beer or two, but he also spends much of his free time in an acapello singing group (one of many at UVa) and playing for the UVa Rugby Club (which plays many other colleges within a 200 mile radius).</p>
<p>I’m a current second year, and also totally sober. There are a bunch of things to do on the weekends that don’t involve drinking. My friends (who also don’t drink) and I go shopping on the Downtown mall, or at Fashion Square. We are big supporters of the drama department so we see a ton of musicals. Lots of bands come to Charlottesville to play, so we’ve gone to a couple concerts this year as well. With different clubs, I’ve gone apple picking and visited Monticello. I’m on an intercollegiate sports team, which offers a lot of opportunities to travel and runs events almost every night before our away games. I have gone to parties sober before, which is fun every once and a while. I don’t feel like I’m missing out at all!</p>
<p>I just find it so strange that a Dean of Admissions comes on a site like this to put down a kid who gives his opinion. You may not like what he/she has said but that doesn’t mean “he/she is having a tough time and not feeling well”. Strange that a Dean has to do this. As a college official shouldn’t you stick to factual responses and not question peoples actual experiences. Its the posters opinion and experience. Just really strange - you see nothing like this on most college CC sites - thank god. I think putting things on an admissions blog - which is great by the way - should be adequate.</p>
<p>Bigdoglover…I really think you need to re-read Dean J’s response. I saw no condescension or ill-will in her reply but rather concern which aligns with her empathetic, caring demeanor. This simply reinforces why she actually does spend time on CC and has for years when other school’s admissions reps don’t…she genuinely cares. A few others have since followed her lead and come on to CC; I wonder about their motives though. It seems they might be doing it purely for the PR benefit. Dean J was the first and has been on CC before many even knew what CC was. </p>
<p>As for the drinking culture, I must respectfully disagree with 110percentwahoo. Our D is a third year, in a sorority, in a year-round sport, and is highly focused on academics. She rarely drinks. (She would rather eat her calories and if she’s going to indulge in splurges, would rather consume sweets or something that actually taste good, LOL!). She goes out to parties where alcohol is served, but she and her best friend, who also doesn’t drink, have never felt ostracized for not partaking. No none really pays much attention. This is part of life. I also don’t drink but socialize often with those who do…it’s no big deal.</p>
<p>I agree, JC. I didn’t see anything wrong with Dean J’s comments.</p>
<p>By the way, Dean J works in admissions but is not THE head of admissions. Many people appreciate the fact that a staff-person from UVa regularly comes onto this site to answer questions, which is not common on this website.</p>
<p>Binge drinking is certainly bad, but a little bit of drinking is helpful to assist some young people to be a little more extroverted.</p>
<p>My last post was written out of concern. I thought I detected a change in 100percent’s tone that night when he posted in a few threads. I don’t use the PM feature or know these students’ identities and I wanted to reach out. That’s all. It has helped a few in the past and I’m thankful I was here in those cases.</p>
<p>I don’t think I put 100percent down for his opinion. There are definitely students here who think all the fun stuff happens on Rugby Road.</p>
<p>I agree with you Dean J. 100percent is a frequent poster and did seem down…or something. I for one was glad you reached out and thought it reflected the great place that UVA is…</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your responses. They’ve been very helpful. </p>
<p>One thing I should clarify about myself is that I’m not 100% sober. I’m not opposed to drinking if it’s not binge drinking, but I don’t do it much because it’s not what my friends and I like to do. I would much rather get outside, play music, or learn a new sport than go to a big party, even if I’m not pressured to drink heavily at the party. The purpose of my original post was to get a feel for the strength of the drinking culture at UVa. Obviously, it’s a big school, and there will be plenty of kids who share my interests, but how hard will it be to find them? Will they be on my dorm hall?</p>
<p>You can find them through clubs - there are lots of outdoors and sports type clubs, intramurals, etc.</p>
<p>Camperman: there’s a difference between binge drinking, party drinking, and social drinking. Binge drinking is getting drunk to get plastered and health concerns. Party drinking is drinking occasionally (and occasionally heavy, everyone makes oopsies) because it’s a social thing and part of the party. Social drinking is a group of people, small or large, that are having drinks to enjoy the actual drink while enjoying others’ company.</p>
<p>Drinking is a part of every school these days. It’s just up to you to decide about drinking responsibly and how to drink if you don’t want to be 100% sober. You don’t have to go overboard just because you chose to drink. Instead, do other interesting activities that you chose and if you do end up drinking, make sure you do it responsibly, in a healthy manner, and is somewhere in that social scheme. While I may get speared for this, drinking can enhance a social scene if you don’t mind the occasional idiot drunk; conversing over beers on a nice afternoon after a long week of classes brought some of the best discussions and times I had, but we were never plastered or drinking just to get hammered.</p>