Most top SLAC are alcohol and sport heavy.

My kid is at UChicago and doesn't drink. Last fall as a first year, she and a group of new friends, all who had never drank before, decided to try drinking at a party as an experiment.

So they did that, and are now done with that.

OP, I think probably a larger school where a kid can find like-minded friends will be the ticket for your taste.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some SLACs might work, and a fair number of state schools have sober houses/wellness housing where your kid is more likely to find sober friends.

This is definitely true. I wouldn't assume that a religious school would be a better fit. Kids will find ways to party in most places ... your kid will just have to find their people!

Unless it is a dry campus, like Pepperdine, where you have to go out of your way to party. Not that it is impossible to find a party, but far more kids are not partying.

I went college on a "Dry campus" in the 80s at a Big10 Univ (smallest one). Hint it wasn't really dry. Normal frat parties 3-4 days per week, the DORMS hosted mid-week Munchies that included wine coolers and beer (most living the dorms were NOT 21). I got stuck living in THE party dorm on campus freshman year (even worse the first floor, so on weekends the bathrooms and floor were beyond disgusting as it was the first floor and doors got propped open), in the center of the fraternity quad. Trust me when I say it was definately not a dry campus

Is this what your kid wants or what you want? It seems controlling for a parent to send their kid to a non drinking college if it's the parent's choice.

I went to a large state university that has a big drinking culture. Tons of people didn't drink.

I went to CU Boulder which I think had somewhat of a rep for drinking/parties but I had a really easy time friends who also didn’t drink. It’s a big school so, while there are lots of people who party, there are also plenty of students who like to go hiking on weekends, hang out at the reservoir, chill and grab food on pearl st etc etc. There is enough to do that you don’t have to drink to have a great time. I also found people to be accepting and supportive of my not drinking

Anonymous wrote:OP

If alcoholism is the issue Boulder is the best bet. Not only for the in-house help but also the average age in that area is 25-35 and because lots of kids that go to Boulder are health conscious ie hiking, skiing, snowboarding etc So plenty of kids do not drink.

However, in the reality of course there are plenty that do. No campus has no drinking.

No campus is going to have this answer none and if anyone tells you there are dry campuses they are lying and stupid.

Now if your DC just wants friends that do not drink and it has nothing to do with recovery then any large state college will do. I know tons of kids that did not drink in college. You would be surprised. They have to find their group. It's harder at a smaller college just because of the numbers.

One of mine was on a floor where half of it was "no drinking dorm" at Virginia Tech what a total joke. Those kids drank like fish. They had alcohol poisoning. A few girls got pregnant first shot freshman year. Bible thumpers who signed a pledge LOL. Mine just had the unfortunate experience to be on the other half of the floor. The throwing up from those girls was a gross mess. UGH.

+1

I went to a Big Ten school that is a very big party school. I was never into drinking or partying. I met people that were similar to me and liked to do other things, I was even in a sorority and found friends in there that were similar to me. It also probably helped that it was a big school so there were all different types of people and a lot of different activities to do.

OP

If alcoholism is the issue Boulder is the best bet. Not only for the in-house help but also the average age in that area is 25-35 and because lots of kids that go to Boulder are health conscious ie hiking, skiing, snowboarding etc So plenty of kids do not drink.

However, in the reality of course there are plenty that do. No campus has no drinking.

No campus is going to have this answer none and if anyone tells you there are dry campuses they are lying and stupid.

Now if your DC just wants friends that do not drink and it has nothing to do with recovery then any large state college will do. I know tons of kids that did not drink in college. You would be surprised. They have to find their group. It's harder at a smaller college just because of the numbers.

One of mine was on a floor where half of it was "no drinking dorm" at Virginia Tech what a total joke. Those kids drank like fish. They had alcohol poisoning. A few girls got pregnant first shot freshman year. Bible thumpers who signed a pledge LOL. Mine just had the unfortunate experience to be on the other half of the floor. The throwing up from those girls was a gross mess. UGH.

Anonymous wrote:Are you against all religious schools or just Mormon ones? Some Baptist schools (like Wheaton in IL) require students to agree not to drink alcohol.

Someone upthread mentioned "sober houses" but my understanding is that those are usually students who are recovering from addiction.

Wheaton is nondenominational evangelical, not Baptist. Academically sound unlike some evangelical schools that limit content. But, very Christian, so not a great choice if non drinking isn't also paired with Christianity.

Anonymous wrote:The larger the campus, more chances to find a varity of peope. You'll just have to turn a blind eye to some bahaving very badly. Oh well.

Agreed -- I went to a medium-big nerdy school and there was plenty of partying and people who drank quite a lot but no one ever really questioned anyone who didn't. I'm not a big drinker because I'm (a) cheap and (b) don't really like the taste of ethanol and I had a wide array of drinking and non-drinking friends (most common reasons for the non-drinkers was religion or it interfering with their medication but at least one was a choice after he decided he didn't much like what alcohol did to his personality). Basically, avoiding homogeneous social environments can be really helpful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some SLACs might work, and a fair number of state schools have sober houses/wellness housing where your kid is more likely to find sober friends.

This is definitely true. I wouldn't assume that a religious school would be a better fit. Kids will find ways to party in most places ... your kid will just have to find their people!

Unless it is a dry campus, like Pepperdine, where you have to go out of your way to party. Not that it is impossible to find a party, but far more kids are not partying.

It’s unclear if they are in recovery or just doesn’t like to party.

Anonymous wrote:If your kid is in recovery, UC-Boulder has an amazing program, I know it doesn't seem right but Colorado has a great sober community. as does Rutgers and St. Joe's in Philly.

University of Denver has recovery housing too.

The larger the campus, more chances to find a varity of peope. You'll just have to turn a blind eye to some bahaving very badly. Oh well.

I went through college without drinking and it was fine even at a school with heavy drinking. It's good to learn to function in the real world.

I found friends (my people) who liked doing things other than drinking, from hiking to games to attending campus events. They all drank too, it just wasn't how they spent the majority of their spare time.

I also found that I could go to parties and socialize where there was drinking as long as I was willing to leave before it got sloppy. No one ever cared what was in my cup. (Very few people even noticed that I didn't drink because I was always social.) I got good at reading the room and would depart before people were drunk and it stopped being fun for a sober person.

The choice not to drink actually had a positive impact on my social life. I'd hop from parties that were turning sloppy to other gatherings, ultimately extending my social circle. It wasn't odd for me to make an appearance at 3-4 parties in a single night. I also wouldn't be hung over so the next morning I'd get up early and go do something with other friends. I had tons of friends and ended up being elected student body president as a result.

I don't think there's any non-religious college or university where you can escape drinking. You just have to find a way to fit yourself as a non-drinker into campus life.