Are all universities full of drug-taking party animals?

[Fibbke]

A friends dd is half Danish and after looking around a few unis in this country has decided to go to university in Copenhagen. She was horrified by the "drugs and the squalor" at the unis she looked at and knew people at. My own dd is very put off going to uni for the same reason.

Do they have a point?

No, she's just looked round the wrong places and the people she knows are going through a rebellious phase.
There are various tribes at every uni. I was friends with nice kids, worst I ever did was have a few too many vodkas and a spliff literally twice in 3 years

My impression from the students I know is that alcohol is the drug of choice - vast quantities of it. It is seen as a badge of honour to drink yourself senseless snd miss the following day's lectures

It is seen as a badge of honour to drink yourself senseless snd miss the following day's lectures hmm

This is exactly what dd doesn't want. I think we have a ridiculous problem with drugs and alcohol in this country.

Well I cannot speak for all universities and all students but from the two in our house the answer is absolutely not. Ugh. No.

Like everything in life you find your tribe and there are also body purist football fanatics and people who like climbing mountains in their spare time as well as all the other sorts you find in the world. Having just visited uni and stayed in halls with my son it was the least squalid place I've been pretty much in my whole life!

I have, or have had, 3 children at university. None are big drinkers and none have taken drugs. In fact, one of them takes great pride in never having missed a single lecture in 3 years, which seems to be going a bit far the other way in my opinion, but at least it shows you that not everyone is wasting their time away in drunkenness. The squalor, on the other hand.....well, you may have a point there!

There will always be a certain element, as I believe there is in every secondary school.

University is about learning to be an adult, pushing your boundaries, experimenting. It changed me from a shy, anxious, studious teenager into a sociable, capable, successful adult. About 10% of that was the subject I studied, the rest was the socialisation I got: mixing with the kind of people I'd never met before, hearing and considering different opinions, getting drunk, taking drugs, getting into scrapes and learning the impact of my decisions.

University is not just learning a subject. In fact it's 90% learning how to be a functioning adult. Sad how someone would reject that experience.

Tribes? Ugh

No more than they are full of budding academics who never leave the library.

But it does seem be an issue, I visited a friend at the weekend who lives in a university town where a student had just died from some kind of overdose or bad drug while partying.

And as for the 'squalor'.. I lived in shit holes all the way through uni. But that was because my parents were unemployed, I had to work for a year between uni and Alevels to afford even going to uni and I had to work part time all the way through my degree. It's part of the fucking deal unless your parents are loaded ...

Gosh no.
Of course people drink, they are young adults who have ‘freedom’ for the first time. However there is also lots of studying, and sports, and societies...

Oh and I’ve never taken a drug in my life and didn’t drink much at uni. No one ever laughed at me!

And as in all life you'll find people whose only contribution is to try and make you feel a bit small and stupid. Are you ok there Gakaxy?

There are lots of drugs in every university yes.

Absolutely not. I have a dd just finished her fourth year and the students I have come across are nothing like that

Oh and in four years she has never missed a lecture through a hang over. Actually she's tee total.

Tbh, I think it depends on what subject ypu are doing. If you are just at uni for the sake of it and doing 'a micky mouse degree' as she calls it, there is more likely
The chance of people like you think. If doing maths, English etc, there is less likely.

They just need to find the right people to hang around with - joining clubs/societies help.

For me uni time outside lectures was all about dance and sport societies so I spent all of my time with those instead of drinking.

Lots of people over drink at uni but lots and lots don't - just the ones that do get publicised more.

"If you are just at uni for the sake of it and doing 'a micky mouse degree' as she calls it, there is more likely"

What sort of degrees would these be? And why on earth would anyone consider going to university 'just for the sake of it' when the fees and maintenance loan now comes to over £52,000 (lowest income households).

Bollox.

For various reasons I've been involved with five UK universities. There's a degree (no pun intended) of drunkenness, especially Freshers Week, and at various other events throughout the year, but I don't recognise that description of them at all.

We're lucky to have, overall, some bloody good universities, with international students coming to take advantage of the education they offer.

If you are just at uni for the sake of it and doing 'a micky mouse degree' as she calls it

Your DD is extremely patronising. I don't know what uni she's at but if she's at Oxford or Durham she'll know that the places are heaving with drugs. You don't need to take them but plenty do and there aren't many mickey mouse degrees at either place. Mickey mouse indeed. What an attitude, esp for a young person.

Drugs aren't a new problem. Nothing's changed for decades in my experience except to some extent the type of drug taken.

It seems like an exaggeration. My two tell me that there are some universities (which neither of them have attended) that have a particular reputation for ex public school drug taking and excessive partying but that’s anecdotal and obviously not everyone or even the majority are involved.

Mine don't even smoke although they do drink if going out on a night out with friends. I have twins at Bristol.
I was a teetol virgin when I graduated with law prizes and having done all kinds of things from touring abroad with the university choir and much else.

However without doubt a lot of young people want those 3 years of having a bit more freedom than at home - like the Amish 's rumpspringa.

There are drugs and alcohol at all universities. There are of course many students who don’t do either. There are slum conditions for students but they can be avoided. However some students don’t care about where they live and want to save money for drugs and drinking.

The majority go to lectures, do worthwhile degrees that they are interested in (whether Micky Mouse approves or not) and are decent people. No degrees are immune from idiot students. No universities either.

I bet there are drugs in Copenhagen! Certainly in the much vaunted Netherlands. If a student can afford to study here from abroad, many afford very nice accommodation and keep away from the slum landlords.

I think some universities definitely have a reputation for hard partying, others less so, but, as in any institution or organisation, they will all have a wide mix of different personality types and interests, whatever their reputations.

My friend's ds is at Newcastle, which I think is considered a party uni, but he's pretty quiet and studious and enjoys life there. He likes the location, not because of the bars, clubs, drugs, etc, but because it's near the coast and easy to get into the countryside & he's joined some outdoorsy societies and met people who share his interests.

I'm not sure how you would tell from a uni open day that there was a big drugs culture there? But I agree that a large number of people in the UK (not just students) have a worrying relationship with alcohol. I'm a non-drinker, mainly due to MH issues which make me panic about feeling out of control, but I understand why people drink to unwind and relax. But binge drinking seems insane to me & I do worry about the pressure on young people to drink excessively. My impression from friends in other countries (France, Holland, Belgium, Australia & others) is that binge drinking is a much bigger issue in the UK than elsewhere - but maybe that's a huge generalisation.

Regarding squalor, does she mean the run-down state of the buildings and campuses? I've been to lots of uni campuses in the last couple of years, some for work, some for open days with dd. There's a big variation - some have lots of new buildings, lovely open spaces, bright and clean accommodation, good facilities, others are a bit run-down. Tbh I don't think that's a major issue for student experience. I'd be looking at the course, department and the general feel of the campus and city rather than how modern and well-maintained the buildings are.