Ohio University-Main Campus Top Questions

the partying stereotype is outdated - or rather, i think other colleges have caught up. you can party and be an alcoholic at any school. as for the "average" thing, we have some amazing and talented student here. we have the only degree-granting tutorial-based honors college in the country. the amount of students that receive nationally competitive awards (Rhodes, Fulbrights, just to name a couple) is outstanding. and our journalism school is nationally recognized for its excellence.

To a certain extent I would say OU has earned its reputation as a party school, because it does go on a lot, all throughout the week, even, but I wouldn't really say OU is different from any other university that way; if you go to almost any school, you'll find people partying. But in all honesty, we aren't all like that at all. A lot of people do, but then there are some of us who don't. There are a lot of things to do here other than drink. Yeah we have the big Halloween party, but trust me, it isn't all it's cracked up to be, and it isn't all OU students out there doing the crazy stuff - people come from all over for the party. Just realize that there are partiers, and they seem to get all the attention, but that by far isn't everyone. As for the haunted part, I've heard a lot of stories, and I've been in the Ridges, and I can't really say one way or the other whether it's haunted (assuming you believe in that sort of thing), but I will say that some of it can really freak you out.

nope. I don't drink, or party at all, and neither do most of my friends. In fact, we tend to study quite a bit.

No, I do not drink at all

Not entirely. There are some people who do drink practically every weekend, whether legally or not. There are an equal number of people, however, who find other things to do with their time, at least until they turn 21.

Regarding Ohio: No. Ohio has some of the largest cities in the country. Cincinnati has sports, arts, restaurants and museums that could rival those of Boston and San Francisco. Columbus is similar. Regarding OU: To a degree. You can usually determine how serious people are about school based on their major. If they are here for Political Science, journalism, business, communications, dance, music, or the Honors college, then they usually take their schooling very seriously. Not everyone drinks their life away. Plenty of people do, but frankly, no more than at any other school.

We're not all farmers.

I think the stereotypes are mostly true.

no

For the most part, I think they are. I hear and see drunks every night, regardless where I am. I'm a transfer from OSU in Columbus, and it wasn't this bad, even there- I don't drink, so maybe I'm biased.

They vary from person to person, just like every other college student

No

There are a lot of parties and people who drink, but there is also a good percentage of those who do not partake in drinking

There are people who party hard on every campus nationwide, and considering the high volume of bars near campus OU doesn't have as many problems with drinking as it used to. Additionally OU offers a students from many socio-economic backgrounds, not all students are wealthy, Ohio Univeristy is home to many appalachian scholars and almost everyone is on financial aid of some form.

In some cases, yes

For the most part, yes. Only because the students enjoy the "party school" image. When I first started school here, OU used to be a slightly selective school and now I feel like they just let anyone in. Manly because a lot of people choose to come here because of the "party school" image and I feel like it's just dragging our academics down. I feel like my education from this school is shit.

No. Drinking and partying can be found on every campus across the nation. I think OHIO is pegged as the party school because of Halloween and the nationally ranked magazines. Not only do we have smart students, we have some of the brightest, with over a dozen students winning nationally and internationally competitive awards.

I would say these are accurate to an extent. For instance, I come across a lot of people whose only goal seems to be to get wasted every single weekend and do nothing else. But for everyone one of those students there are a handful of others who are involved in a myriad of different activities - political activists, actors/actresses, music fiends, writers, etc. There are a lot of talented people hidden beneath the stereotype that this is just a "party school."

Make no mistake, while Athens may be small, it is packed with fun and entertainment - even if you don't drink. Athens has a great, and largely untapped, music scene just waiting to really take off. The University also continuously tries to bring big events to campus. In terms of partying, OU really doesn't party any more than any other school. Especially in the last few years, as the administration has come out with a new alcohol policy that is really strict. They're coming out with a new pot policy too.

The partying down in Athens is something to experience. The concentration of bars in the Uptown area is pretty overwelming, but most of these places are just restaurants who happen to have alcohol permits. Also, the academics at Ohio University are extremely underrated. We have been ranked nationally within the top 10 for our Ceramics and Journalism programs, and so many of the other programs are notable. We're really a "sleeper school": we've got talent and potential, people just aren't familiar enough with us to know.