No matter where you go to college, there is some type of bar scene, and whether you’re a freshman or senior, you’ve most likely ended up at one after the party ends. Here are the five type of bars you’ll experience, regardless of where you go to school:
1. The Makeshift “Club”
Although it is simply a bar with elevated surfaces to dance on, the owners insist on calling it a night club. You most likely only end up here after you black out and because it is your best option to make questionable drunken decisions at. You’re pretty sure you saw a high schooler there last week and that maybe only 10 people there are actually 21. It was the place to go when you were a freshman, but you’ll question your decisions of your past when you walk in as a nostalgic senior. It is the Four Loko of bars, which speaks volumes, and it's fun until you realize the person hitting on you is 18. Everything is coated in a thick layer of Red Bull vodka, and there are at least two couples making out in the corner at any given time. You wake up in the morning smelling like cheap drinks and regret, but you know that you had a night to remember (bonus points if you actually can).
2. The One That You Actually Have To Be 21 To Go To
Ah, the one bar that underagers can only dream of getting into. During your younger years this bar was a pure mystery, as you could only guess what waited beyond its doors. It made you count the days until 21 so you could finally “run into” that hot upperclassman who frequents that particular bar. You remember the air of disappointment when your older friends would announce that they’d be going there after the pregame, when you knew that you had no chance of getting in. When you turn 21 it’ll be the first place you go, but you’ll be sorely disappointed. You’ll find out that sitting at a table and drinking a craft beer is not what you have been looking forward to all these years, and you'll somehow end up at the makeshift “club” chugging vodka crans.
3. The “Go-To” Bar
This is your safe place, and the one that you always assume you’ll end up at. A typical night there is running into everyone you know and not doing anything “too” crazy. You’ll spend the night standing around the bar with half the student body, waiting for a drink before your buzz goes away. You know exactly who will be there and exactly what to expect out of it. The downside is you’ll run into every ex and that girl that gives you dirty looks for no reason. Regardless, this is the bar you’ll remember when you think of your college days.
4. The Bar That’s Only Fun On Weekdays
You’re not sure what happens to this bar on weekends, but it magically becomes nonexistent. Maybe it’s because of the proximity to the other bars or frat houses; maybe it’s that they just have killer weekday drink specials. Regardless, you’re pretty sure this bar exists in a realm where Wednesday night is a part of the weekend. You’ll spend your nights there playing darts or pool, because dancing on stages and tables belong to Fridays and Saturdays. You love this bar because it gives you a chance to drink when you can’t wait for the weekend. BOGO nights and $5 pitchers are your best friends, and the inexpensiveness of it all makes you not regret the hang over you have while sitting through class the next day. This bar makes you feel like a weekday warrior and gives you a chance to let loose midweek.
5. The Townie Bar
That one bar that you don’t go to because you’re under the age of 50, and you might run into a professor. This bar is strictly inhabited by the people that actually live in the town that are trying to avoid people like you, aka drunk college students. This bar is for the residents who have real-life problems to drink about and who are least likely to throw up in the corner whilst blacked out. You’ve most likely stumbled in here drunk with your friends out of curiosity and quickly regretted your decision. On the positive side, this bar is the one you’ll most likely try to work at, though, because you know you won’t get a drunkenly written phone number or a pizza coupon as a tip.
No matter where the night takes you, these bars are the places you will (or won’t) remember when you think of all the great weekends you had in college. So party on and visit every bar, because you only have four years to do it.
