Going to Uni With No Interest in Drinking

I have a place to study at the University of Liverpool, but I am so nervous and haven’t made up my mind about going yet.

I’m British but I’ve lived abroad in different countries for 9 years and have never had a chance to experience what it’s like to be a teenager in the UK. I have just about zero interest in clubbing and drinking as it’s not something I’ve been raised with due to living abroad where it’s not drilled into you from a young age.

Do you think this will make it harder to make friends? Social media tends to be dominated by the drinking culture at universities and sometimes it’s hard to imagine that people won’t judge me or that I’ll be able to meet people similar to me.

Thanks!

Reply 1

cyberhex

Third year (London) student here!! While it’s true that a lot of events are drink focused, I’ve found it pretty good and most people don’t mind! I don’t really drink and neither do most of my friends, and there certainly seems to be less of a problem with it in my experience. Most societies run events that don’t involve drinking or even if they are running bar events, no one takes any issue if you drink juice or something instead of alcohol. There will be some people that are much more into the clubbing scene, but I’ve found that no one particularly judges and it’s definitely possible to find other people who don’t drink! :smile:

Reply 2

Anonymous #2

idk, a lot of people meet in the pubs or the bars, ngl. In our group there were people who were pretty much tea total though and would go to the pub and clubs and go alcohol free and just drink cokes or mocktails all night though. I don't think anybody was that bothered really. It depends what you are like. If you are girl nobody will care. If you're a guy people won't keep their mouths shut as much as there's more pressure to drink alcohol among lads but you can just get a pint of shandy if you want, which is you ask the barman for a shandy with three quarters lemonade and a bit of beer at the top and the people you're with won't even notice as it looks like a pint.

Reply 3

De Montfort University

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

I have a place to study at the University of Liverpool, but I am so nervous and haven’t made up my mind about going yet.
I’m British but I’ve lived abroad in different countries for 9 years and have never had a chance to experience what it’s like to be a teenager in the UK. I have just about zero interest in clubbing and drinking as it’s not something I’ve been raised with due to living abroad where it’s not drilled into you from a young age.
Do you think this will make it harder to make friends? Social media tends to be dominated by the drinking culture at universities and sometimes it’s hard to imagine that people won’t judge me or that I’ll be able to meet people similar to me.
Thanks!

Hey there,

I am myself is a non-drinker and I would say that I might actually have even better experience than people who regularly go out. I was able to find a lot of people who are like me, and we do find a lot of interesting ways to spend our time studying, taking parts in different events, going on trips, and being part of multiple student societies and sport clubs. We choose to use our time for more active things and enjoy our time at university :smile:

Best advice - meet people, do not be afraid of talking to them. Try to interact with everyone and you will for sure find someone you will enjoy spending time with !

Take care,
Ilya

Reply 4

Anonymous #3

Hey, I am not a massive drinker so am stressed about that too but I was looking on the student union website and saw that they actually have a sober society, so there are definitely people who don’t drink! They’re also doing non-alcoholic accom this year, maybe you may want to apply for that? Even if you don’t, the fact that they’re doing a non-alcoholic accom means that there are definitely people who don’t drink. You’ll find your friends, and if people judge you then that is a them problem!!

Reply 5

Liverpool Hope University

Official Rep

Hi there!

I really wouldn't worry. I was Exactly the same, I don't drink and was really worried about making friends etc too. Long story short I really did not need to worry. No one was that bothered by it. I had the occasional questions where people would ask why etc but after just saying it never interested me they accepted it and moved on. It was never a big deal and certainly not as 'important' for university life that society would make you think. There are many many opportunities to make friends at university so you will definitely find people who feel the same as you do. And like other comments suggest there's no reason you cant go out and have fun with mates as there are plenty of non alcoholic drinks available, plus friends shouldn't care what they're other friends are drinking or make you feel pressured into drinking or going to a club if its going to make you feel uncomfortable.

Despite not drinking or clubbing, I had a great time at university- so its definitely possible!

I hope this helps!
Daisy- Graduate Advocate 🙂

Reply 6

YSJstudents

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

I have a place to study at the University of Liverpool, but I am so nervous and haven’t made up my mind about going yet.
I’m British but I’ve lived abroad in different countries for 9 years and have never had a chance to experience what it’s like to be a teenager in the UK. I have just about zero interest in clubbing and drinking as it’s not something I’ve been raised with due to living abroad where it’s not drilled into you from a young age.
Do you think this will make it harder to make friends? Social media tends to be dominated by the drinking culture at universities and sometimes it’s hard to imagine that people won’t judge me or that I’ll be able to meet people similar to me.
Thanks!

Hi there!

I am going into my third year of university now - if it's any reassurance, I met all of my friends through work, through my course, and through mutual friends, rather than nights out😊. I also don't have much interest in clubbing and drinking, and that's okay! During welcome week we had lots of sober options, such as terrarium workshops, coffee mornings, and society tasters, and I'm sure your university will too. We had some events in our SU bar, such as live music and pub quizzes - and it was fairly common to go to these and not drink anything alcoholic - there were mocktails, alcohol-free ciders, soft drinks, etc. My friends and I prefer to go and have brunch for example, we go for walks, we go to cafes for study sessions, so it's not essential at all for making friends. We do exist - and you'll find your people!

Best of luck!
-Kiera (Student Ambassador)

Reply 7

UCLan Student

Official Rep

Original post by Anonymous

I have a place to study at the University of Liverpool, but I am so nervous and haven’t made up my mind about going yet.
I’m British but I’ve lived abroad in different countries for 9 years and have never had a chance to experience what it’s like to be a teenager in the UK. I have just about zero interest in clubbing and drinking as it’s not something I’ve been raised with due to living abroad where it’s not drilled into you from a young age.
Do you think this will make it harder to make friends? Social media tends to be dominated by the drinking culture at universities and sometimes it’s hard to imagine that people won’t judge me or that I’ll be able to meet people similar to me.
Thanks!

Hi Anom,

I completely understand your concern, this time last year I was about to start university and had the same worry as I rarely drink. When I came to university, I surprisingly found many events that didn't include drinking. Some of these were meet ups at belong (a gaming place), go karting, bowling and more! I have really enjoyed myself and I've never felt like I needed to drink when I didn't want to.

I have also attended a variety of events which do include drinking, such as a pub crawl. However, I personally will just drink juice or a fizzy drink and no one has ever had an issue with it. Not drinking is completely your choice and don't do it just to fit in. I've actually found people are quite respectful of my request to not be given any alcohol.

You will 100% still make friends even if you don't drink. 🙂

I hope this helps, please feel free to ask me any questions,
-Sophia (Business and Management)

Reply 8

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

Hi!
I completely understand your concerns. But first hand I can promise you that you will make friends and build close bonds while at university. Although most students like to go out drinking or clubbing, there are some who don't. I didn't drink at all during my first year at university, and I made friends by talking to my flatmates, having movie nights and going to different clubs and societies (I was in the Quiz, Debate and Musical Theatre societies), so maybe think about your interests and go to one or two societies and you'll soon meet people with similar interests.
Even the people on your course have similar interests as they are studying the same thing as you, so maybe suggest after a lecture to go and grab some food and get to know each other, because you are going to be studying with these people for at least three years.
I hope this helps. Please don't be too worried about making friends, because I promise drinking and nights out aren't what university is all about.
From Josh
(Official LJMU Rep)