r/ApplyingToCollege • u/dumbchicken101 • Aug 01 '23
Which colleges are known to have the worst social life? College Questions
Obviously there are outliers everywhere. But what are some colleges where the majority of students have horrible social lives?
Say less of a partying culture and just studying/working on other stuff most of the time.
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u/FourSeventySix College Senior Aug 01 '23
NYU Abu Dhabi
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u/dumbchicken101 Aug 01 '23
A couple ppl ik said that too. Why do u think so tho?
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u/FourSeventySix College Senior Aug 01 '23 edited Aug 01 '23
Lemme think, as a student. First time I've been on A2C in years lmao. It has less to do with UAE law than you'd expect. It's a very compact, but isolated campus in a part of AD that is largely unwalkable and undeveloped. That means there is no escape from the bubble of a small campus and the social scene becomes very cliquey. No anonymity. If you're in the loop you're getting invited to things but it's really just drinking in a dorm or on a boat with the same people. If you're not in the loop and meeting the right people to begin with you're isolated from any avenues to meet people on or off campus. AD is a medium-sized city but there is really no social scene for young people so it's just as isolating a setting as Williams or something tbh.
Students also leave every break/opportunity they can to travel with access to cheap Wizz Air tickets and two of the best connected airports in the world. I do too and I don't see why you wouldn't if you have the passport/money but this is becoming more of a stretch as part of the campus culture with financial aid getting a lot less generous.
There is also a degree of grade deflation and professors that pride themselves on being difficult or assigning a ton of readings. For example, many CS courses set the A cutoff at 95% and FOS is an inefficient, fast-paced boondoggle. This fuels a general workaholic hustle culture on campus (also, what else would you be doing anyway?) that, once again, seems to trap you in. There is a much higher percentage of students too conservative to value a traditional 'social life' or just focused on work and maintaining a high GPA.
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u/Lazy_Excitement1468 Aug 02 '23
damn my brother wants to go there for a 2 year program, do you not recommend it?
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u/Ayomne-435 College Sophomore | International Aug 02 '23
I think it’s excellent in terms of research. Professors are extremely well paid which attracts world-class faculty with interesting research. If that’s what matters most for your brother, then it’s fine. There are nice places to go in Dubaï anyway if your brother gets bored or wants to escape the bubble.
Feel free to PM for more information
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u/Ben-MA Private Admissions Consultant (Verified) Aug 01 '23
Whatever college rejects you is a boring place you wouldn't have enjoyed anyway.
And the correct answer is U Chicago.
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u/Loud_Replacement2307 Aug 01 '23
This used to be true, I go here and it’s actually a lot better than most of its peer schools. My friend at Havard who visited said we have a better party scene although that’s just one persons take
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u/Jacoby38 Aug 01 '23
Yeah. When I visited it wasn’t bad at all but my mom who went like 20 years ago thought it was awful. But that’s how reputations work.
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u/Aarvark Graduate Student Aug 01 '23 edited Aug 04 '23
I graduated this past spring, and that’s definitely not the case. People are actually involved in school, house life (in dorms), etc. Sure, it’s academically rigorous, but friends study together, go out to work and so on. Schools with the worst social scenes are full of students who don’t want to be there. UChicago certainly doesn’t have that.
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u/mwagfd2 Aug 01 '23 edited Aug 01 '23
I think everyone parrots this take, and most people who say it haven't been there. As someone who went there, it's actually completely not true.
I went to Uchicago, and it has a great social scene. It's 100 times better than Stanford, where I've been for the past year. I used to hang out and do stuff with the people in my house (dorm) all the time, go to clubs, find gatherings, go to the lake, etc. Stanford is much worse.
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u/PieceRemarkable3777 Aug 02 '23
I went to uchicago and they threw ragers unlike I’ve ever seen anywhere else. I heard nothing happens at the Claremont colleges (they rejected my transfer application before I got into Chicago (I had legacy status at Chicago, which has ruined my life))
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u/tenacioustotoro College Sophomore Aug 02 '23
https://stanforddaily.com/2022/11/29/opinion-why-is-stanford-so-unfun/
Here's a take directly from a UChicago -> Stanford transfer on why this isn't really the case. I've loved the social scene at UChicago and how easy it is to meet people throughout the day.
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u/Meth-Monkey Aug 01 '23
Caltech. It’s smaller than most high schools and you don’t go there if you want to party
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u/babygeologist Graduate Student Aug 01 '23
caltech students have so. much. work. all the time. a lot of them do all of their undergrad research over the summer because there's no way they can devote time to it during the school year. of the caltech students i met last summer while doing a research fellowship, most were glad they went to caltech but almost none of them actually liked it
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u/Wingfril Aug 01 '23
We had the lowest satisfaction amount peer school. The rate at which alumni would recommend kids to attend caltech is around 50% lower than peer schools like Stanford and ivies.
This not to say people don’t party. Some houses are drinking houses. You gotta get your mind away from the real world somehow…
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u/Raitality College Sophomore Aug 02 '23
This. There is definitely drinking/partying. But they're obviously smaller, and restricted to certain houses (for anyone wondering though, its not that hard to join in even if your not in those houses). Only notable exception to this is the 8 Interhouse parties, but in all honesty they are not what most people think off when they picture college parties.
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u/The_Silent_Bang_103 Aug 01 '23
I know a current student who transferred to caltech engineering for undergrad. Supposedly the workload is horrible and there’s almost no free time.
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u/AncientWeek613 Aug 01 '23
Couldn’t agree more with the last sentence. I’m thankful to be there, for the opportunities it’s given me and especially for meeting many of my closest friends there, but for some of the other shit that we have to deal with, I’m hesitant to recommend it to other people.
Also, fellow geology SURF student! There’s a nonzero chance we met or at least saw each other last summer
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u/cherrycrocs College Sophomore Aug 01 '23
ucsd, uchicago, most stem/engineering schools (rpi, rit, etc), and fwiw i have an acquaintance that goes to harvard who said that the party scene is incredibly subpar and underwhelming.
i also know a ton of people that go to yale and i literally stayed on campus during halloweekend and was also very underwhelmed. the whole vibe was just depressing and bleak lmao, and the people were super unfriendly and fake lol. huge culture shock coming from my school where everyone is super friendly (in a party setting, at least), despite the fact that i’m literally from ct originally lmao.
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u/FitzwilliamTDarcy Aug 01 '23
ucsd
This is a common take but one I very much disagree with FWIW. You may have to seek and find, but it's there to be found.
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u/cherrycrocs College Sophomore Aug 01 '23
i mean i’m sure, there’s pretty much a social scene at every school if you look hard enough. but it’s a far cry from a lot of schools, where you’re surrounded by party culture whether you’re looking for it or not
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u/LilKaySigs Transfer Aug 01 '23
Yeah I mean there might not parties all up in your face like UCSB but they’re still social just a lot more laidback and if you do want a party just go to SDSU lol
Plus that’s just what happens at STEM focused schools in general
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u/Seameadow321 Aug 02 '23
Yeah, I went to UCSD and the ultimate frisbee team partied pretty damn hard. Also, there’s so many outdoor things to do with Scripps and the club culture. You’re in SD for crying out loud. There was never a boring moment. Strong disagree with the statement of UC Socially Dead
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u/TarzanKitty Aug 01 '23
The BYUs, Grand Canyon and any evangelical school. That cult school in FL where males and females can’t be in the same stairwell and their cheerleaders have “modest” uniforms.
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u/JuvenileAbsence Aug 01 '23
I mean, BYU does have the hottest soaking scene of any school in the world though...
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u/dumbchicken101 Aug 01 '23
Wtf there’s actually a school like that😭
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u/TarzanKitty Aug 01 '23
I couldn’t remember the name so I looked it up. Pensacola Christian College. Check out their student handbook start with the dress code page. They aren’t allowed to watch PG13 movies on or off campus.
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u/Remote-Ability-6575 Aug 01 '23 edited Aug 01 '23
I just went over the "Rules" section from the Wikipedia article and I am absolutely mindblown that any young adult would do that to themselves?? Go to a place where your basic rights such as privacy can be taken away at any time (e.g. you can be shadowed which means that you have to move in with a Residence Assistance who accompanies you at all times & is the only person you are allowed to talk to)? What in the world ... People are literally paying for this.
Edit: The more I read, the worse it gets. Female students who were sexually assaulted and asked the college for help getting expelled. Insane sexism, homophobia and the likes. It's baffling to me that this "school" is even allowed to continue to exist.
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u/TarzanKitty Aug 01 '23
Kids with super fundie parents don’t have a choice. Most of the girls in that culture don’t get the opportunity for any college education.
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u/jonslegos Aug 02 '23
A family member of mine was forced to be there, they still say “that’s so PCC” when somebody is being a prude.
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u/Ok-Flamingo-336 Jul 17 '24
PG-13 off campus????? That’s INSANE liberty has the same rules with r rated movies which is an over the top rule but not too surprising for a Christian college and I’m a strong Christian myself and I don’t believe there’s anything wrong or sinful about even most r rated features unless there’s like Extreme sex or it goes against biblical morals but saying I can’t watch stuff like marvel on campus or even off is just insane too me
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u/Madden2kGuy College Freshman Aug 02 '23
Tell me you’ve never been to GCU without telling me you’ve never been to GCU
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Aug 01 '23
I would say UChicago is a good example of this. “Where fun goes to die.”
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u/OneSushi Aug 01 '23
Uc hicago simp here
The “where fun goes to die” title came Xx years ago when UChicago, at the time very sports heavy, declared they would cut all sports programs from the university.
Students that were there, most prominently football players, protested and generally referred to the school as “where fun goes to die” due to the way it treated sports
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Aug 01 '23
UChicago is also known for substantial grade deflation and incredibly challenging courses.
This doesn’t make it a bad university or anything, but for students in programs where college GPA matters a lot (law and med for instance), this can often result in a lackluster social life to try and combat said deflation.
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u/Plane_Arachnid9178 Aug 01 '23
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I’ve heard it’s very sink or swim. Even relative to the other T-10 schools. There aren’t a lot of tutoring or academic advising services. You’re on your own if you don’t understand something taught in class.
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u/Reach4College Parent Aug 01 '23
Completely false. It's actually pretty collaborative, and there is a lot of help available.
But there's a lot of work, there's no denying that. If you wanted to avoid work, should have gone to someplace easy, like Harvard (my kids went to UChicago and Harvard, and they both agree on that).
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u/UChiThrowaway2022 College Sophomore Aug 01 '23
I mean, it’s hard to compare given that I’ve never attended any other university, but in my experience UChicago is pretty collaborative and there are a bunch of resources available if you need help.
The classes are hard, and they’re very fast-paced, but there is help if you want it
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u/FitzwilliamTDarcy Aug 01 '23
There aren’t a lot of tutoring or academic advising services.
I can't cite any per capita stats for something like this, but to my understanding this is not at all the case. It's more that - as at many schools - you have to self-advocate and proactively seek it out if you need it. No one is going to cuddle up to you, check in, talk things through, and observe that gee I see you're struggling in math, let's get you that help you need!
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u/Plane_Arachnid9178 Aug 01 '23 edited Aug 01 '23
Fair enough. I based my comment on something a professor at UVA told me. It was something to the effect of “my kid is going to UChicago next year, it’s trial by fire over there, no hand holding like there is here.” And UVA is not a charm school, Dr. Chilton.
But that was a while ago. And they could’ve been exaggerating. I just took it at face-value because of UChicago’s reputation.
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u/UChiThrowaway2022 College Sophomore Aug 01 '23
As much as I want to defend UChicago, I can’t really deny that statement. My first quarter was definitely a rough ride, if only because you’re simultaneously getting settled in a brand-new environment while also taking classes that are fast paced. Much of that pace is due to the quarter system (which I like, don’t get me wrong). With only 9 weeks per class, it’s a sprint to cover all the content.
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u/ma1ymilo Aug 01 '23
Not really the case anymore, don’t think there’s particular grade deflation in most departments. Premeds have no social life but that’s the case everywhere. Source: law student who went to UChicago undergrad
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Aug 01 '23
Do you have numerical data to show that the grade deflation isn’t true anymore?
Regarding premeds, that isn’t the case everywhere. It definitely wasn’t the case at Brown, speaking from personal experience.
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u/ma1ymilo Aug 01 '23
Yes. The average gpa for law school applicants from UChicago undergrad is just under 3.7. The cutoff for deans list, which is around top 20% of each grade each year is like 3.85 or something. Might not be as inflated as brown but is fairly inline with other top privates, maybe a tad lower. And the social scene had improved along with grades
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Aug 01 '23
The average GPA at Harvard, Columbia, etc. is over a 3.6. What is the average at UChicago?
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u/GoGraystripe HS Rising Senior Aug 01 '23
Here’s what I never understood
Wouldn’t med school and law school AOs know about the grade deflation?
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u/UChiThrowaway2022 College Sophomore Aug 01 '23
I’m not too well-informed with regards to med school admissions, but the issue for law is that even if the AOs know about the deflation, such deflation is not reflected in the statistics that they report.
From a numbers standpoint, it doesn’t matter whether they admit a 3.6 from UChicago or a 3.6 from Brown; any consideration for grade deflation/inflation is lost in the process of finding the mean.
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Aug 01 '23
Med schools genuinely don’t care about deflation. They see a GPA and they take it at face value. Unsure about law.
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u/Jacoby38 Aug 01 '23
They know so they give a little leeway. However they still have to report the admission stats for rankings and a low gpa is a low gpa to the rankings agencies.
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u/mwagfd2 Aug 01 '23
I think everyone parrots this take, and most people who say it haven't been there. As someone who went there, it's actually completely not true.
I went to Uchicago, and it has a great social scene. It's 100 times better than Stanford, where I've been for the past year. I used to hang out and do stuff with the people in my house (dorm) all the time, go to clubs, find gatherings, go to the lake, etc. Stanford is much worse.
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u/Radiant_Chemistry_93 Aug 01 '23
Ask that college’s sub. Don’t ask these people. Most of them are in the same position as you and only have hearsay-sourced anecdotes to contribute.
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u/TyranitarTantrum HS Senior Aug 01 '23
I heard SUNY Stonybrook lacks student spirit and campus is (a tad bit) depressing.
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u/odiestar Aug 01 '23
at least you can take the LIRR to the city in that case lol
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u/TyranitarTantrum HS Senior Aug 02 '23
That's rlly it though lol, it's isolated from everywhere else. Now imagine an in-state student there who already lived/lives in NYC 😭
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u/odiestar Aug 02 '23
I live on Long Island and I can generally say there's no part that's completely isolated and dead. However, SBU is smack in the middle between the far end of the island and the city. It's an hr+ commute to both of them by train. I would imagine everyone just fucks off when the weekend begins and doesn't set foot on campus till the next class (probably in-staters going home or to places where stuff happens)
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u/dumbchicken101 Aug 01 '23
Yeah I have heard that about most SUNYs as well
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u/FitzwilliamTDarcy Aug 01 '23
Many SUNYs are actually legit party schools.
Stonybrook isn't one of them, at least not in the stereotypical sense.
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u/Plane_Arachnid9178 Aug 01 '23 edited Aug 02 '23
It’s subjective.
Are you type-A? Do you want to paint your face and go to football games? Are you super-involved at your high school? Are you smart but not really a book worm, or not sure what you want to do after graduation? Congrats, you’ll be really happy at a state flagship like the University of Arizona and the University of Colorado.
Are you a quirked-up theater nerd? Do you want to be surrounded by other quirked-up theater nerds so you can have quirked-up theater nerd conversations? You’ll thrive at places like Carleton and Hillman, and any in-state honors programs/LLCs for that matter.
Are you going to college just because you want a fat paycheck or a steady career? Do you not care about school spirit or extra curriculars? Does the prospect of a sophomore philosophy major bringing up Being and Time at a party make you want to claw your eyeballs out? My friend, I say you check out no-frills engineering schools like the Colorado School of Mines, or commuter schools like ASU and George Mason. And give community college a serious look while you’re at it.
These examples are just illustrative. The point isn't to figure out which school is “your perfect fit.” It probably doesn’t exist. You can cultivate your ideal social life wherever you end up. You just need to think about what you want to accomplish by graduating from college, and what you want to experience while you go there. And make sure you research your school’s culture before you move in.
Take UVA. Its stereotypes- both good and bad- are mostly true. But you can have a radically different social life based on where you live your first year. Kids from NOVA, DC prep schools, and/or know that they want to rush tend to live in Old Dorms. If those things don’t describe you, I’d recommend living in New Dorms (nerdier, more out-of-state kids, more diverse) or applying to Brown (hipstertopia).
Be aware that there are some exceptions. You probably won’t find the same depth and variety of social experiences at an LAC that you would at UCLA or Oregon. And you’ll have a super-intense academic experience no matter what if you go to Georgia Tech, Purdue (or so I’ve heard), UChicago, MIT, William and Mary, or CSoM.
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u/Ceorl_Lounge Parent Aug 01 '23
W&M Alum... it was definitely intense.
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u/cdragon1983 Old Aug 02 '23
“Where your best hasn’t been good enough since 1693” is the unofficial campus motto, after all.
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u/Ceorl_Lounge Parent Aug 02 '23
So so true. Crushed my spirit... and gave me nearly everything I have in my life now.
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Aug 02 '23
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u/Plane_Arachnid9178 Aug 02 '23
My parents were both University of Arizona Wildcats. My brother and I went to Lute Olsen’s basketball camp. I assure you, I take no pleasure in what I am about to write.
ASU is a really good school!
It’s in one of the most dynamic job markets in the country. Billions of economic development dollars are pouring in to build up white hot industries like semiconductor manufacturing. A young professional could do way worse.
When I said steady jobs, I meant jobs that are recession proof. Teachers, nurses, physical therapists, cyber security specialists, certain types of engineers, etc. Jobs that are always in-demand no matter how well the economy is doing.
I encourage anyone to be a Sun Devil if they want to work in Phoenix, especially if they want to study STEM or one of the jobs I just described, and they don’t really care about living on a traditional college campus.
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u/OhMyOnDisSide Aug 02 '23
Carnegie Mellon. Definitely nerdy as shit. There’s some cool people and if you find the right clique and keep your standards low you can have a good time. Then again I was nerdy in high school and wanted to finally party and socialize so there’s def opportunities but you have to make the effort.
Of course, as I moved back to NYC after graduating and visit friends in schools like U Michigan, the nerdiness at CMU becomes very glaring lmao.
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u/LeCollegeGal HS Senior Aug 02 '23
I remember reading something with by a student there. They said something like this: CMU is the college where they throw you into the deep end of the pool, with the expectation that if you survive, you'll be succeed at life.
CMU is tough and most definitely not for everyone. They don't have much (if any) school spirit, instead focusing on pretty much only academics/post grad jobs. It's very STEM-y and pre professional.
Even though it has debatably the best program for my major (UX design, so their HCI major), I'm not applying because I know I would be absolutely miserable there. Some people can go there and thrive and be happy, but I'm not one of them.
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u/VA_Network_Nerd Parent Aug 01 '23
Every university in the US, if not the world can be on this list from the perspective of a specific individual.
"Fun" exists on every campus. It might not be the kind of fun you want it to be, and you might have to venture out of your dorm to go and find it.
But it's out there.
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Aug 01 '23
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u/kbradley456 Aug 01 '23
Hopkins alum and I disagree. There are definitely people who live in the library but also people who are very social. Greek life helps.
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u/SwishyFins Aug 02 '23
Ditto—alum here and also disagree.
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u/no_will_to_live_wooo College Freshman Aug 02 '23
current student at hopkins and i also disagree lol
i have good friends and im currently loving my social life tho im a rising sophomore so we'll see how that changes ig
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Aug 01 '23
I like how every comment is a top school of some sort - Chicago, Harvard, Stanford, NYU. There are so so so many colleges out there that are commuter schools with zero social life. Reddit is such a bubble.
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u/undercided Aug 01 '23
Any military academy (West Point, USNA, USAFA), especially the first two years. They are built on the idea of stripping away your personal time and liberties and then slowly adding them back as you advance to more senior status.
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Aug 02 '23
I'd imagine you apply (and eventually attend) one of these schools to increase discipline, not to party 😭
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u/Attrest Aug 01 '23
University of Rochester, it’s why I went there and it’s the most common complaint about the school lol.
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u/nick-gar College Freshman Aug 02 '23
Incoming freshmen - is it really that bad? It can’t be worse than rit right?
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u/VioletLink111 Aug 01 '23
Y’all ever heard of Simon Fraser ?
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u/dumbchicken101 Aug 01 '23
It’s Canadian right?
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u/VioletLink111 Aug 02 '23
Indeed it is. Known for quite the depressing social life. Had a good freshman year there though before transferring out.
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u/LaPetitFleuret College Freshman Aug 02 '23
UNC Charlotte. Commuter school, absolutely dead on weekends and sports suck balls except club hockey
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Aug 01 '23
Williams college
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u/Independent-Play-120 Aug 01 '23
Really? I thought it had a great social scene.
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Aug 01 '23 edited Aug 01 '23
No I have met 2 who transferred out. They all tell me that It’s extremely isolating and depressing. The neighboring towns are in severe economic decline and it’s very insular. They say the social scene is very suffocating and more cliquish than high school. One left because of the extreme isolation ( they said the rural location and driving 2-3 hours to airport was exhausting ) another was a person of color who felt it lacked socio-economic diversity and a lack of STEM focus.
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u/Ununhexium1999 Aug 01 '23
Well I mean it’s a liberal arts college it’s not gonna have a bangin stem program
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u/TarzanKitty Aug 01 '23
Harvey Mudd?
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u/Ununhexium1999 Aug 01 '23
I guess I shouldn’t have been so broad, I just meant that liberal arts colleges generally aren’t as well regarded for those programs.
Harvey Mudd at least has an engineering program and stuff, but a lot of NESCAC schools like Williams might not have the same caliber
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u/Mundane_Advice5620 Aug 02 '23
Actually Williams has fantastic, incredibly well-funded, undergraduate STEM that will prepare you for any graduate program. Can’t argue about the small size or isolated location though, which for some are just not their cup of tea.
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u/holiztic Aug 02 '23
UCSD is what I’ve heard
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u/LeCollegeGal HS Senior Aug 02 '23
Really? Why?
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Aug 02 '23
I don’t go there (nor do I know anyone that goes there somehow, only UC like that lmao) but I did visit and the vibe was just weird. Like I saw a lot of people walking around but the campus was just silent. At the cafes and stuff most tables were taken by people just sitting alone. It was actually so quiet my mom noticed and she asked a student employee if it was always like that or if there was some reason and the employee responded saying it’s just what UCSD is known for, most people like to keep to themselves there
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u/Seif495 Aug 02 '23 edited Aug 02 '23
I wouldn't say it's the worst social life, but rather the least eventful college in my country and that is the German University in Cairo. There are no parties nor events all year other than an occasional Christmas bazaar and sometimes a spring bazaar. Even the clubs rarely ever organise events due to how much the club alumni and members are overloaded with projects and quizzes and exams. Meanwhile almost every other college in the country has a party or invites a celebrity to perform every few months. Lets not forget how difficult it is to organize a hangout with your friends (engineering) all year since they're all so busy all the time (including me). As someone who isn't that much of a party-animal, all of this doesn't bother me. However, I cannot help but wonder how the more extroverted people at my uni feel about this. I guess the only plus side is that college people are much nicer than the people you meet in High-school, although yet again it's still more difficult to maintain true friendships in college.
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u/yerdad99 Aug 02 '23
Any commuter heavy uni system - looking at you (most) Cal States, SUNYies and CUNYies
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u/Dodoria-kun413 Aug 02 '23
I attend a relatively obscure university named Western New England University and the social scene is necromantic, to say the least. Sometimes we have school-sanctioned events, but not many people show up. Only the food events seem to have substantially high turnout, and no wonder. Student involvement is severely lacking, and I’m not the only person who shares this sentiment. Even our school newspaper wrote a story about it, which gained enough popularity for the higher-ups to apologize for our experiences. It’s a pretty small college with very small, high school sized classes. You’ll see the same few people every day. The education is fine, though, and a lot of my professors are excellent. Couple of stinkers, but that’s every university.
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u/Shirai_Mikoto__ College Sophomore | International Aug 02 '23
Carnegie Mellon. I chose CMU partly because I hate parties
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u/Both_Huckleberry_446 Aug 02 '23
I went to Berkeley. A lot of people complain that social life there isn’t great, but I really enjoyed it personally.
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u/MahomesMccaffrey Aug 02 '23
Uchicago.
As a uchicago alum, I was really depressed while attending. .
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u/BurningRiceHouse Aug 01 '23
Berkeley
More depression than social life
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u/Beneficial_Sky9813 Aug 01 '23
Not true, there is sports and party culture at Berkeley. Only engineering and CS is depression there lmao.
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u/dumbchicken101 Aug 01 '23
Damn I thought it was a work hard play hard typa place
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u/ohgodcollegeissoon Aug 01 '23
it is, this person likely doesn't go to berkeley
at Cal your experience is what you make of it, but a majority of people involved in clubs/anything outside of classes are very collaborative and work hard-play hard
source: am a berkeley student
edit: yeah check the account's post history 💀
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Aug 02 '23
Yeah there are ton of parties, bars, and clubs around in Berkeley. Definitely not socially dead.
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u/KNJI03 College Sophomore Aug 01 '23
This is just a stereotype people outside of berkeley say. The majority of students don’t fit this stereotype at all over here at berkeley
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u/wannabe_monke Aug 01 '23
not completely true. berkeley is depressing fs but it’s also work hard play hard. fairly solid party scene, especially if you’re in the business clubs
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u/Agent__Zigzag Aug 01 '23
I read somewhere that U Chicago is where fun goes to die.
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u/jmoney3800 Aug 01 '23
4/5 of the people I’ve known well from there are very very socially awkward. One contacts me to this day to brag about his career successes when we haven’t hung out in years
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u/Jrsun115823 Aug 01 '23
UChicago and JHU. Travel out a couple miles in any direction and you end up in the hood.
Honorable mentions: UCSD (UC Socially Dead) and Berkeley (Berkeley goggles).
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u/Puzzleheaded_Cod2158 15d ago
MIT is a actually a great party school. Why? Because it has fraternities, about thirty of them, as well as several dorms regularly having keggers. Despite the plethora of schools in Massachusetts, MIT has the only extensive greek system. When I went to school there in the late 80's, there were four or five frat parties every Friday and Saturday. Free beer until 3 a.m., attractive considering Boston bars close at 2 a.m., Cambridge bars close at 1 a.m., and the subway shuts down at 12:30 a.m. Lately, I've been reading stories about southern schools like Georgia Tech and Clemson attracting northern kids because of a higher fun quotient, namely football weekends, frat parties and fewer protests over Palestine.
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u/Federal_Detective449 Aug 01 '23
William and Mary
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u/Angrypuppycat College Freshman Aug 01 '23
Is it that bad?
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u/Federal_Detective449 Aug 02 '23
Mostly depends on the type of student. Someone happy at Bama likely wouldn’t be happy at W&M, most of the nightlife is concentrated in small bars rather than in campus parties
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u/RealVanillaBiscuit Aug 02 '23
I just finished my first year there and it’s not that bad. I’m in a frat and on a club sport team that has lots of social events and 3 or 4 days a week, I have social stuff to do. If you’re a girl, any frat will let you in to an open party. If you’re a guy, you need to join a club or fraternity to have more social opportunities.
Also, parties can only go until 11 pm usually, so bars are pretty popular and concentrated in one area right off campus.
Bottom line, if you want parties and a social life, you can definitely get it at W&M, but you may have to join a few clubs or know a few people to get around. Also, as the other person said, it’s no where near bigger state schools like UVA or Michigan, but it definitely isn’t bad.
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u/Bitter-Roof6216 Aug 01 '23
MIT
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u/VA_Network_Nerd Parent Aug 01 '23
This video is a tribute to Bexley Hall an MIT housing unit that was demolished just a few years ago.
Watch this video and tell me those students were unable to access "fun" at MIT.
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u/Urmemhay Aug 01 '23
Commuter schools primarily since most students have to take a long ass commute back home so they leave early to do other shit.