College of Charleston Top Questions

Social life at the College of Charleston is very active. Many students are involved in Greek life, but many are not and both fraternize there is not a huge divide among Greeks and non-greeks. There are many bars in Charleston so many upper classmen can be found in the bars, some probably even seven nights a week, but most heavy going out nights are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Although clubs on campus do try to sponsor events, many of them are not as well attended as we would hope since the city does provide a wide array of nightlife. However, Greek life is usually successful at creating well attended events.

I'm not heavily involved in student activities, but there are alot of things to do outside of school. I'm not involved in a sorority, and know plenty of people who are not. At some schools, greek life is the only way to have a social life, but that's not the case here. While a lot of people rush, the rest of us still know how to have a good time. There are a lot of bars downtown, and if you're going to drink, everywhere is within a walking distance, so you don't need to worry about having a designated driver. There are some people who like to party almost every night, but most people only go out on weekends. If the party scene is not for you, the students activites board puts on a lot of events like movie nights, game nights, occasional concerts, etc. The main tradition at C of C is graduation. All the girls where white dresses and carry roses, while the guys where white dinner jackets. It's always on Mother's Day and outside on the cistern.

I think our sports teams are great and all of our greek life. As a part of greek life I feel like we get along as a whole far better than any other school I know. I also meet a lot of great people in my classes and its really nice getting to know them and having someone to study with. Its makes the late night a lot easier. Some people party every night of the week. I'm not sure how but I realize we obviously aren't taking the same classes. And really if anyone can figure out something to do on a Saturday night that is fun besides drink I would love to know. Because otherwise thats about all there is. Everything closes early. You go over someones house and the cops come by ten. Everyone goes to the bar and if your not 21 you go home early. Really early. Not cool.

For the most part I found that in my dorm last year ( Liberty Dorm) people were not too friendly around me and noone left their doors open. It was different in every dorm and every floor though, it just depends on your neighabors. Athletic events are not that popular. The dating scene is rough for girls and awesome for guys. Its 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} female and 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} male, so guys have a lot to pick from, and there are a lot of beautiful girls and no so many attractive boys. I meet my closest friends through other friends and by being assigned to live together. You can party as little or as much as you want. The bar scene is kinda big and the house partys are painfully small. I suggest joining the greek life.

There is A LOT to do in Charleston. There is almost always something to do besides going to class. This gets a lot of kids in trouble, but once you learn how to balance play time with school time there's lots to do to keep you entertained. After freshman year a lot of people choose to live off campus, but there are still dorms for upperclassmen who choose to stay on campus. There's a lot of good restaurants walking distance from all the dorms. Bars are also in walking distance, a long with Marion Square, which is a fun place to hang out with friends, play Frisbee, football, soccer, whatever on a nice day. The party scene can get kind of repetitive if you choose to stay in your comfort zone and not branch out. There's a bunch of different kinds of clubs, bars, and house parties. Also there's the Music Farm which is a pretty popular venue for all kinds of music. This is also walking distance from the dorms. Frats and Sororities aren't that big of deal here, you can easily meet people in your dorms, classes, parties, bars, anywhere. Almost everything happens off campus. The Folly beach is about a 15min drive away, and you'll probably meet someone who has a house out there. Fun stuff, I'm a huge fan!

The greek life isnt humongous here, but its a big part of the social life. Thats good though, because if you're into the greek life (I'm personally not) there is always something fun to do, but if you dont want to constantly be around frat and sorority people, there is plenty of other stuff going on, always. Everyone is freinds, greek or not so its pretty balanced.

Cougar Activities Board, sororities, and fraternities do a lot on campus. You can always find something to do, even if you stay on campus for the weekend because of King Street. If you just want to kill time, there are eateries and the Stern Center has a pool, gym, movie rooms for reserve, and a cute little game room. Some students, however, choose to stay in their rooms. Many students don't lock their doors and it's really easy to get into Warren place. In the other dorms, people have to sign their guests in and out. I actually met my closest friends on campus because we all were a little non-traditional. We actually weren't Christians, but even we were so different from each other. We wanted to create group to help with the diversity problem, but not enough students were interested so it never went anywhere. As long as you find people to hang out with, talk to people in your classes, and make connections early on, you'll always have someone to hang out with and something to do. If not, there's always weekend trips to Columbia and in even rarer cases Charlotte and Atlanta.

I can definitely say that the Theatre department is one crazy bunch. You will never be bored at one of their parties! The department becomes a really tight knit group though. Everyone knows each other and it's great! The school holds some cool activities and then some really lame ones. I like going to see an occasional movie at the Physicians Auditorium for free! Their usually the good movies that they show before they come out on DVD. My opinion on going out and partying is that if you don't experience it, your college experience will be completely different. I think you'll miss out on a lot of fun. Even if you choose not to drink, just dressing up and making an appearance is really cool! You'll meet some really nice people and make a ton of new friends. Some of my best friends I've made were from going out and partying. Just be friendly with new people.. especially in the beginning of the year. Everyone is going to be new so everyone wants to meet new people.

habitat for humanity is pretty popular, i'm involved with the Psychology club which is active and interesting, the dating scene is not easy I'm not even sure what the scene is, I met my closest friends by living with them and through jobs, if I'm awake late at night i might be playing Guitar Hero, happy hour is pretty popular

Being a member of sorority or fraternity is not necessary to have fun at CofC, but it does help if you want to become involved in different things on campus. They're definitely one of the most popular organizations on campus. Not all dorms have the communal bathroom design (I think only Buist/Rivers does) so I think it's weirder to leave your doors open all the time, but it's worth it! Even though most of the dorms are suite style and you basically have built-in friends, it's nice to just meet random people to pop their heads in your door as they walk down the hall. This is great in upperclassmen dorms, because a lot of them are transfers and it's a great way to meet people and form good friendships with them (Kelly House dorm has a courtyard and it's perfect for making friends!). If you're the kind of person who goes home every weekend, just go to school at home. By leaving campus every Friday after class, you miss out on so much fun! It is my experience that most people here drink and go out every weekend to do that. But even if you don't drink, just staying in town and hanging out with new roommates or old friends is a lot of fun and helps you branch out and meet new people. Most people go to house parties or bars/clubs in downtown Charleston, pretty much nobody leaves the downtown area for weekend activities (except to go to the beach!)