The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Best Parties in College
Looking for how to find parties in college? Check out this post for your ultimate guide to finding the absolute best parties in college that you’ll never forget!
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You want to know one of the best things about college?
There is literally a party for any and everyone!
Enter the infamous college party scene! If you’ve seen any movies like Van Wilder, Old School, or even Pitch Perfect, then you have an idea of just how epic these parties can be.
And here’s the thing…some of them really are just like they’re shown in the movies!
Get party ready with some of my going-out favorites:
- I use this speaker to get hype while I’m getting dressed (with the pregame playlist of course)
- I love this phone wallet to carry my ID, cards, and some cash so I don’t need to bring a purse. Plus it doesn’t stand out so my phone case still looks cute.
- This portable charger saved me when my phone died unexpectedly one night.
- This is my go-to gum for fresh breath all night! (Don’t get caught slipping!)
Parties are a HUGE part of college life especially if your campus is known to be a “party school.” You can seriously find parties all over the place.
If you live in a college town, all you have to do is walk down the street of a group of student houses and I’m sure you’ll find a party to stumble into.
(Okay, kind of joking, but this really happened to me my freshman year)
Students host different types of parties like house parties and frat parties, and some students even throw parties on campus like in their dorm rooms.
If you’re on this post, you probably have been struggling to find parties on your college campus.
Honestly, getting into the party scene can be challenging and super overwhelming if this is your first year or you just don’t have a lot of friends to be in the know of what’s going on.
Well don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
I’ve both seen and hosted my fair share of parties in my college experience, so today I’m sharing with you the top 5 tips on how to find parties in college.
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How to Find College Parties
1. Make Friends
Okay so I’m sure you know this, but this is one of the best tips to help you find college parties!
All of the other tips I’m sharing with you include some aspect of making friends, so this needs to be at the top of your mind.
By far the easiest way to find parties in college is to make friends and expand your social network! This was how I found out about the majority of the parties I went to in college.
Word of mouth is KING for social events, especially parties.
Most college parties aren’t advertised at all. If you went to parties in high school, think about how you found out about them.
Someone probably told you or a friend invited you right? It works the same way in college.
For my visual people, take a look at this picture to see how this plays out:
The bottom line is, it’s in your best interest to start making new college friends. This is how you will find out about the majority of the parties that are happening.
I know this can be painful if you’re not social, but it’s all about finding your people! Once you have your core set of friends established, you’d be surprised how large your social network actually is.
The larger your social network, the more parties you’ll know about.
Here’s some quick tips to make friends in college:
- Attend your dorm’s events
- Join a club or study group
- Follow other students on social media and slide in their DM
- Talk to people at places you usually go (like the gym, library, in class, etc.)
2. Use Social Media
If you really want to find parties in college, you need to be using social media!
Aside from word of mouth, most people are promoting their parties on socials.
The best sites you should be on are Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok! With the right hashtags, you can easily find out where the parties are at.
Start by following people you go to school with. If you don’t know anyone yet, you can look up hashtags like #yourschool/yourgraduationyear.
For example, if you’re a freshman going to USC, you’d search for #USC2028. This should bring up a ton of other incoming freshmen so you can start building your network.
Continue following people if you see that they go to your school!
(Gem’s Tip: make sure you put your school somewhere in your bio so that people actually follow you back!)
From there, follow school club and organization pages that you’re interested in OR that typically throw parties.
Coming in, you might not know the answer to that second question yet, so I suggest following a bunch of club pages. (You can always unfollow later)
For the party scene, definitely follow sorority and fraternity pages, cultural based clubs, and more social clubs
(One of the most fun parties I ever went to was thrown by and I quote “the cheese club”).
Once you’ve built up your page’s following, the next part is simple! Just pay attention to what people post.
I found that usually people post about parties on their stories or they’ll hit you up via DM with the details.
Also if you see on someone’s story or they tweet that they’re at a party, don’t be afraid to message them and ask about it!
Related: 25 Best College Party Songs You Need On Your Playlist (+ Spotify Playlist)
3. Join Greek Life or a Student Club
Joining greek life is perfect because you make new friends and you can get access to exclusive parties! You don’t even have to go in search of parties anymore, because you’re automatically in the know (if you join a club that typically throws parties).
There will be plenty of parties in greek life, trust me.
And if you’re up for everything else that comes with being in a sorority or fraternity (like rushing, philanthropy, paying dues, etc.) then definitely go forward with joining an organization.
If you just want to join to get access to parties, don’t do it! Being a part of Greek Life is so much more than partying, and you’ll get overwhelmed FAST.
If you’re worried about finding parties in college, just know, you don’t have to be in greek life to have an epic social life (but go for it if you really want to join!)
Regular student clubs also throw tons of parties during the school year. These can be anything from a college house party to massive balls that they actually rented out a space to host.
For big events, clubs tend to promote on their socials so that’s why it’s so important to be following their pages.
What’s amazing about clubs is that there’s literally something for everyone! Clubs are based on people sharing a common interest.
Not into greek life, but still want to party? Great, here’s 10 other student groups that throw parties that have nothing to do with fraternities or sororities!
To make life easier for you, if you want to easily find parties in college, make joining a few clubs a priority when you first get to school.
4. Check Campus Events
Did you know that some clubs have parties on campus?
Depending on your school, some clubs do have parties on campus that are actually hosted in official buildings, unlike house parties.
Finding these types of parties is usually the easiest because they’re advertised on campus.
(Gem’s Tip: since these are on campus they are usually alcohol-free)
To find these, check in your campus center building or student activities. Club event promotion will usually be on TV screens, a promo board, or event on table tents in the food areas.
Sometimes these parties also act as fundraising efforts for clubs, so there may be a small charge to attend like $5-$10, and an increase in price if you buy a ticket too close to the event.
[mailerlite_form form_id=1]5. Use Apps
There are apps specifically designed to help students find parties in college. These might not give you the best parties, but you’ll definitely find some events that are going on.
Here’s a list of apps you can check out:
- Eventbrite
- HighKey
- Yik Yak
When using apps, please vet the party to see if it’s safe to attend!
Depending on where you’re school is located (like the middle of nowhere vs. in the city), there may be some sketchy options.
It might not even be a college student party.
Personally, I would not use an app to find a college party due to the safety risk, and showing up to a random party can be seriously weird, especially if you don’t know anyone there. The most important thing to remember is to always have a friend group with you and practice safe party habits.
College Party Tips You Should Know About
College parties are a great way to meet lots of people, make friends, and have fun! But as a freshman, it can be intimidating.
To help you get the most out of your college party experience, here are 7 college party tips you should know about.
- The term “going out” usually means partying. Example – Are you going out tonight?
- Thirsty Thursday is a real thing (If you’re 21 or over, bars usually have special deals)
- Most campuses have a day of the week that is a huge party day outside of the weekend. Find out what day that is!!
- For example, if a lot of students don’t have class on Wednesday, they’ll go out on Tuesday.
- If you go to a school with even a semi-good football team, tailgates are another kind of party you can go to.
- Day parties are super common! These are great if you don’t want to go out at night and would rather stay in. Or you can make it a full day of going out!
- Parties happen all weekend- Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
- You may have to pay to get in.
- This is usually for guys at a lot of frat parties. Ladies are often times free. So if you’re going to a frat party, pay attention to who you’re going with. That may have an effect on how much you pay.
How to Find Parties in College as a Freshman
If I was a freshman (or incoming freshman) again looking for parties this is what I would do:
- Join your class Facebook group (I know FB is outdated, but it’s a great way to make friends before you get to school)
- Follow other incoming freshmen on Instagram and Twitter
- Follow campus clubs on Instagram and Twitter
- Build connections during Orientation (where you also get free stuff) and with people in your dorm
- Join clubs
- Ask people about their going out plans in class, at the gym, in line at Starbucks, wherever other students are!
- Make a plan to go out with a group from your dorm (they might have found a party and you can tag along!)
Using this strategy, you should make some friends and easily find out about some parties going on!
Frequently Asked Questions
There are several apps available that can help you find parties, including Eventbrite, Facebook Events, Yik Yak, and HighKey. It’s important to note that the app’s usage varies by region and college. It would be best to talk to other students about if there is a specific app for your campus and what students typically use to find parties on your campus.
The best way to join a college party is to start making friends and connections. Try attending events and meetings with student organizations, joining classes or clubs, or simply introducing yourself and striking up conversations. This is also a great way to find friends to party with in college. Once you have some friends and acquaintances in the college community, they can help connect you with other students who are hosting parties. Additionally, many colleges will have social media pages dedicated to connecting students to activities like parties; keep an eye out for those resources if you’re interested in finding out about parties happening on campus.
College parties usually happen in student-centered areas on campus and off campus. Common college parties are thrown in fraternity houses (aka frat houses), individual student houses, private venue spaces, on-campus event spaces, or in nightclubs. This will depend on the type of party and the person hosting the event.
Final Thoughts
Finding parties in college can be a challenge! Keep these tips in your back pocket, you’ll be a party animal in no time!
Did these tips help you go to your first college party? Let me know in the comments!
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