Here's the tea, it really does depend.
It’s May and you just committed to college, now you think to yourself, do I need to buy a fake ID? This might not be you, but some people choose their school based on their party life. For most people, it’s their first time being away from home without their parents looking over their shoulder every 2 minutes. No parents means no lectures, no lectures means free to do whatever the hell you want.
Now, no judgement for real, if you’re super against buying a fake ID, that’s fine. I mean, it is illegal. But you can either be informed or misinformed, and at the end of the day there is a reason fake ID’s are even a thing. Because people BUY them.
But in college when it comes to social life, the first thing a lot of people do is get a fake, but do you actually need one to have said social life?
Honestly, from the responses I received, it depends and here’s why:
I asked some of my friends who go to different schools and the majority of them said yes or it depends. Here are their replies:
Friend 1 (Michigan): “You need to be able to go out to a bar or something to get drunk and most people already have it (a fake). So if you don’t have one, you’re left out. You can’t go to the liquor store to buy anything nor get any nicotine products, so you have to rely on others which doesn’t always work out”
Friend 2 (Connecticut): “If you’re a guy, yes. Guys always look younger while girls can look older or younger. As a guy, I just started having facial hair and I’m 21 so as a man, I’m going to look younger. Every bar wants a good guy to girl ratio so they might let girls in underage but definitely not guys. ”
Friend 3 (Pennsylvania): “I do not think I need a fake ID for college because my school isn’t a heavy bar school. Even though there are bars, they scan and are notorious for telling which are fakes”
Friend 4 (New York): “Yes, you need a fake because you can’t do anything fun without a fake. It's a bar school”
Friend 5 (New Jersey): “I think yes and no. For me, since my campus was small and there weren’t many bars, besides one, it wasn't necessary. Nights out consisted of going to a frat where they provided the alcohol and you didn’t need an id to get in. On Tuesdays for bar nights, if you went early when it was a restaurant, they wouldn't go back and card you. As for people that went to bigger campuses that had bars nearby, maybe it would be necessary, if that's what you need to enjoy the nightlife.”
Friend 6 (New Jersey): “Personally I didn’t get one because I was going to turn 21 pretty soon. My school is smaller, but i think you should get one if you’re mad young and go to a big ass school”
Friend 7 (Connecticut): “I think it depends on the person and whether or not the school is more of a frat house party like a larger school like Alabama. I feel like it wouldn’t matter as much because the party scene is good off campus. Somewhere like my school where everyone was going to bars, it was definitely helpful to have one.”
So five yes’, 1 no, and 3 it depends.
When it comes to the answer, “it depends,” the first thing to consider is if you go to a bar school or a party school. A bar school pretty much means that most of the partying aspect of school occurs at bars. There aren’t parties, maybe because it’s a small school or they’re not big into frats, so where are you going to party? A bar. A party school is the opposite. People are throwing down every night, multiple places to go to, and you never have to worry about getting in, which leads to the next point.
When do you have to worry about getting into a party? If you are a guy, plain and simple.
Smaller schools obviously have a smaller amount of people meaning not that many parties. If there are parties, they’re usually frat parties and frats DO NOT want other dudes coming to their parties, so they only let the girls in. If this is the case at your school, you’re probably not getting into a lot of parties.
Fakes aren’t just for drinking, there are a lot of reasons why someone might want to get a fake in college, but it really just depends. Hearing my friends’ responses where you go to school matters, but you can survive without one. Stay safe and remember: fakes are illegal!