University of Georgia Top Questions

Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?

Ha

Partyers? Frat boys and sorority girls? Very accurate. There's lots of drinking downtown at bars, and there's a big Greek society in Athens, but it's not limited to just those types of people.

Jordan

To an extent. UGA is a big party school, and a lot of students take their social calendars much more seriously than their academic goals.

Staci

Saying we don't party would be a huge lie. Almost everyone parties, but the majority of us also know when to be serious. We work hard so that we can party hard. Of course there are going to be students who get caught up in the party scene & don't put any effort into school, but they don't stick around for too long. In terms of the "clone" thing, this generates from the fact that a large majority of the girls here look similar- expect to see a lot of skinny, tall, tan blondes. But that in no way makes all the girls the same kind of person. We all have our different interests, backgrounds, and experiences.

Tara

We work hard AND have fun!

Hannah

Absolutely.... we've got the perfect balance.

Stephanie

for the most part; i am not a big drinker but still have a pretty good time downtown

mary ellen

There are plenty here, but if you look in the right places there are plenty of dececnt people.

Alex

yes, the diversity is minimal yes, frat boys/sorority girls everywhere you turn

Sam

A lot of UGA is Greek and a lot of people party, but I have friends that do neither of these and love UGA as much as I do.

Morgan

This definitely isn't true. UGA has so many other things to offer.

Evan

Somewhat. But everyone can find their niche

Anil

Not at all. Sure the population is mostly white and it is in the south, but Athens is quite a liberal town considering its surroundings. And as for Partying, there's no place like Athens to party. Downtown or a friend's apartment, Athens has the best weekends/night life a student can hope for.

Andy

Weekends are rough- a ton of people get drunk downtown or at parties. But, I found classes to be challenging and spent a lot of time studying. You can pass without studying, but you can't keep HOPE without hitting the books.

Alex

Yes and no. Yes, there are a lot of parties and the people who go out every night, but there are also a variety of other people who do not drink. Many people are actually religious and join BCM or Wesley. Usually, you can find a group of people who are just like you.

Katherine

No. There are plenty of out-of-staters. A majority of the school is from Georgia, but you find people all the time who aren't.

Lucy

What stereotypes ever are? They definatly have both groups, but they are simply easy to recognize.

Amanda

No. Although a substantial amount of the student population is Greek-affiliated, the majority of the campus is still not part of a Greek organization. Also, Georgia's business school, Terry College, is ranked as having the 5th best business program for all colleges in the nation. It is also has outstanding programs for nearly any other major and career for post-undergrad and post-grad.

Sara

I guess I already answered that one above!

Carson

No! I think that the contrast of the University to the surrounding Athens area helps promote this stereotype.

Emily

I can see how some people mihgt get that assumption from one visist or on experience at uga. However, in my three years I have met so many different people with such different personalities. I do not think tht the stereotypes are true and I think people tend to believe the stereotypes because they may only see people that represent the stereotype. I think people need to remember one visit or one experience with a person will not represent every other person at the university.

Sara

Yes and No. The downtown scene is a huge moneymaker for ACC (Athens-Clarke County) as is football season, but it is an erroneous conclusion that all UGA students are concerned with partying their college years away. I know many students who make the "work hard-play hard" his/her personal motto.

Cat

Yep sure are!

Karen

Football is a huge part of UGA every fall. The construction projects around school are scheduled around football season to make the campus more attractive and to prevent delays construction might cause. With the football comes tailgaters that bring lots of beer with them, and leave all the bottle caps and empty bottles on the ground to prove it. Some students seem to party a lot, but we also have a large number of students who study hard.

Addi

-No, Athens has a great downtown area, with a lot of restaurants, stores, and bars, but most students are serious about their classes. The SLC always has students in there studying. Of course, after studying hard, some students chose to reward themselves

Bernie

Yes and no. While many fit into this intensely Greek stereotype, there is also a counter current of all natural, organic, liberal, hippy-ness in Athens and UGA.

Meggan

Yep...but not always.

Melanie

I was worried about this too when I learned that over 60 people from my graduating class was going to Georgia, but when I got here, I realized that it is not true at all. You don't have to see anyone that you went to high school with unless you want to. I know some people who don't talk to any high school people anymore, and I also know people who hang out with a lot of high school people. But whichever category you fall into, you meet a ton of new people simply because the school is so big.

Sheryl

To a degree, but I think people should be judged on an individual basis, and not by what organization they are involved in or where they were raised.

Ian

For the most part, no.

Davis

smart yes drunks no

Robin

More or less

Lindsay

for the most part

Maggie

yes, definitely for a lot of people. However, there are a lot of other people--students and professors,etc. that are very open-minded, intelligent, love music and really embrace the friendly atmosphere of Athens!

Tori

Sometimes. We do party a lot. Athens is not considered one of the best ( and I've heard from more than one person that Athens is the best college town in the country)college towns for nothing. Downtown is by far a major attraction. But there is more than drinking as is shown by the awesome music scene (hello R.E.M. anyone?)and the great culture to be found. Class attendance can be subjective when you take into account major and year. As a frshman I did not go to class but that was because they were mass lecture where attendance was not necessarily required for good grades. Now however, class attendance is def. needed. It really varies like any other school. The professors here really care about their students and want them to succeed in life. I've had coffee with professors and hung out with them outside of class. There are some bad apples but if you make the effort, they will reciprocate!

Wendy

I think while a good majority of students DO enjoy drinking and hooking up, it is part of the college atmosphere. Athens is one of the best college towns in the country with the largest number of bars per square mile. So yes, a lot of people are very into their alcohol -- but it is NOT the only thing students do. People CHOOSE to "hook up" -- it's not something that everybody does. While yes, most people are from the South, you have to be pretty freaking smart to get into UGA nowadays... in my 3 years here, I have yet to meet an unintelligent redneck. Greek life is big, but it is by no means the only way of interacting with other students. Finally, yes sports is huge here. But so is the rigorous academia.

Hunter

This stereotype is, for the most part, very true. Most of the girls are "sororisluts" that claim they are christian yet party with the best of them and make terrible decisions. With my lacrosse team and my clubs, I've found that there are great people, it all just depends on where you look!

Jonathan

To an extent, but I think that as time goes on and the school improves, the smarter students are starting to change the form of the University from a safe haven for "good ol' boy" ignorance and partying to an academic hotbed with interested and interesting students.

Bobby

Yes, these stereotypes are pretty accurate..people work and party pretty hard.

Erin

Not at all accurate. There are students from all over the country and world for that matter. There are people interested in pretty much everything imaginable. Even if you think you wouldn't fit in, you can find your niche on this campus. Students involved in the Greek community have higher GPAs than the average student. Scholarship is highly emphasized within the UGA Greek community.

Candler

For the most part no. Most students are hard-working and well-rounded.

Mary

Only about the partying and not the academics

Elizabeth

In reality, the school is obsessed with its football - over 92,000 people flock to Athens every Saturday in the fall. The students are generally big into the downtown bar scene since there is not a lot of other things to do in town at night. The Greek stereotype as partiers is fairly true, but their involvement in campus activities and charities is often ignored. Although there are some extremely southern, rural students, by no means is that a stereotype of the entire school.