Get Going Workshops

by Joanne Levy-Prewitt

Focus On Academics, Not Partying, When Choosing A College

It's a challenge helping college-bound high school seniors determine what they want to experience in college. Only a fraction of students know what they want to study, and those lucky few usually focus on majors, programs or specific professors. Others have an idea about clubs, sports, activities or community service organizations in which they would like to participate, and evaluate colleges on that basis.

However, it is not at all uncommon for other college-bound students to have something entirely different at the top of their list of priorities: fun!

Some students see every social situation as an invitation to congregate and make new friends, and college offers endless opportunities for them. Student-run clubs and organizations, even academic clubs, provide social outlets. Dorms and residential houses arrange social events, sporting competitions and excursions to local sites. Fraternities and sororities, while based on the concepts of philanthropy and leadership, have social networking and fun as a large component.

I don't begrudge the concept of fun. I don't know whether this is a response to the pressures of getting in to college, but I have noticed an increase in students who tell me that, when choosing a college, "fun" is at the top of the list. Many have no idea what they will study, and they shrug when I attempt to narrow the field by asking them whether they are more interested in studying Shakespeare than Copernicus. Some have even mentioned the desire to attend a "party school."

Maybe I should blame the movie "Animal House." In case you missed it, the setting was college, but the plot was pure hijinks: fraternity house toga parties, beer, pranks. I'm aware that fun and drinking do not always go hand in hand, but it seems to me that at college social events, alcohol is typically present.

Before you call me a spoilsport, consider this: According to the College Alcohol Study, an ongoing project conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, nearly one-third of college students who participated in a survey on alcohol abuse and dependence reported "behaviors and symptoms that meet the diagnostic standard for alcohol abuse or dependence."

Other studies indicate that 44 percent of students on college campuses binge drink (defined as five or more drinks per episode for males; four or more drinks per episode for females). In other studies, binge drinking is linked to risky sexual behavior, tobacco use and use of illegal drugs, as well as a higher incidence of aggressive behaviors including rape.

Call me boring, but it seems that fun, when mixed with alcohol, can quickly descend into something frightening. I would like to think that students who prioritize fun have something different in mind than just binge drinking; yet for many, drinking facilitates fun. Maybe the reason that super-social kids emphasize fun over academics is that they haven't yet discovered what to study -- or anything else to focus on -- and in time will find academic, social or community service pursuits that are as exciting as a great party. With guidance, socially adept students might major in subjects that will allow them to use their strong social skills in professions such as sales, marketing, public relations, communications, law, psychology or counseling.

Students who emphasize social activities instead of academics, clubs or student-run organizations should be wary when applying to or attending colleges with a party reputation. Instead, students should give their academic future as much energy as they give their social future, and hopefully, one day, the two will intersect.

FOR FURTHER READING:
     -- http://www.studentsreview.com/
     -- http://www.collegeprowler.com/

COPYRIGHT 2007 JOANNE LEVY-PREWITT