Colleges with Frats that don’t drink

[Anonymous]

My kid has a medical condition where drinking can complicate things so avoids it. Has become involved with a coed music service fraternity. I know the school also has a business service fraternity. I would have your son look at schools with those types of options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:there was so much more drinking in our day than now. he will not be the only one not drinking

this is true. and so many more kids who do weed and not drink, which in my day there was nobody who did that. there are "partiers" at all parties who aren't drinking. nobody cares. be true to yourself. find a frat that welcomes you. any frat where this is a problem is not the peers you need (like some DCUMers).

[Anonymous]

I’m it’s largely a generational thing. The kids now will mostly smoke weed and have a few ipas or something, rather than crushing natty ices like we did. I worked with a kid that was in a frat at wash state (one of the biggest party schools in the west coast) and didn’t drink, and spoke fondly of his time there.

[Anonymous]

Yeah I knew lots of kids who “couldn’t drink” who joined frats and partied with the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

Some frats will let you "dry rush"—a friend of mine did so at Penn.

[Anonymous]

There are business fraternities, I don't know how they are about drinking but it's a possibility. My DS is in a fraternity that is a normal social fraternity but they have had members that did not drink and it was not a problem. That said, they probably are smoking weed.

[Anonymous]

I don't really buy that "not drinking" is really as widely accepted as people say, or that kids whose parents believe they won't drink at college won't actually drink...

THAT SAID, if your kid isn't into doing the things that fraternities usually do, or can't do the things they usually do, it's all fine, because it's not what your kid really wants. And part of going to college is learning that there's a lot more to life and that the things you thought you understood, you don't really understand.

I think the ideal situation is that he gets to college and he discovers that the scene the thought he'd be into is not for him, but instead he makes incredibly close friends and tightly bonds with kids who do student government, theater, newspaper, ultimate frisbee, debate, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't really buy that "not drinking" is really as widely accepted as people say, or that kids whose parents believe they won't drink at college won't actually drink...

THAT SAID, if your kid isn't into doing the things that fraternities usually do, or can't do the things they usually do, it's all fine, because it's not what your kid really wants. And part of going to college is learning that there's a lot more to life and that the things you thought you understood, you don't really understand.

I think the ideal situation is that he gets to college and he discovers that the scene the thought he'd be into is not for him, but instead he makes incredibly close friends and tightly bonds with kids who do student government, theater, newspaper, ultimate frisbee, debate, etc.

My daughter has lupus and can’t drink, ever. She’s a junior in college and she guesses 20% of the kids didn’t drink. It’s Stanford to be fair and not a super party school. But she has no reason to lie. She’s not hiding anything from me. She had more kids in her high school crew who drank.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The business fraternities and clubs may be a good fit.

There is still drinking there, it’s just not as central as regular frats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't really buy that "not drinking" is really as widely accepted as people say, or that kids whose parents believe they won't drink at college won't actually drink...

THAT SAID, if your kid isn't into doing the things that fraternities usually do, or can't do the things they usually do, it's all fine, because it's not what your kid really wants. And part of going to college is learning that there's a lot more to life and that the things you thought you understood, you don't really understand.

I think the ideal situation is that he gets to college and he discovers that the scene the thought he'd be into is not for him, but instead he makes incredibly close friends and tightly bonds with kids who do student government, theater, newspaper, ultimate frisbee, debate, etc.

My daughter has lupus and can’t drink, ever. She’s a junior in college and she guesses 20% of the kids didn’t drink. It’s Stanford to be fair and not a super party school. But she has no reason to lie. She’s not hiding anything from me. She had more kids in her high school crew who drank.

Lots of kids don't drink. But not lots of kids in the party scene.

OP's DS will hopefully find all the interesting things to do besides frats.

[Anonymous]

I think you have a narrow view of frats

[Anonymous]

I think you need to let your son figure this out. It's part of growing up. He will find a school where he can become involved however he sees fit for himself. You need to exit stage left. GL

[Anonymous]

Case Western

[Anonymous]

I knew a diabetic who couldn’t drink and joined a frat. And then he drank a lot and messed up his health and had to drop out and take time off. He eventually finished college after transferring to a school near home and living off campus at home. The temptation was too great.

[Anonymous]

I am surprised at the responses. I only have experience with my son who is currently rushing at a big SEC school. There are a couple of non drinking fraternities to rush (and plenty of drinking ones of course).