When you think of university or college, it’s likely the first thing you might think of is drunken nights out. Whether you like it or not, higher education is often filled with lots of drinking and lots of partying.

Glasgow is no exception to this, with data sourced from Understanding Glasgow revealing that in 2016-19, 21% of Glaswegian adults drank more than the 14 recommended units of alcohol per week.

But for a nation of big drinkers, is the nightlife for students scene somewhat lacking?

A recent study from Edumentors analysed UK universities to find out which one had the craziest party scene. Surprisingly, Glasgow didn’t even make the top ten with a score of 56.9, massively falling behind Edinburgh which placed third with an impressive score of 88.8.

So where is Glasgow falling short?

One factor may be the price. Luci Peggy Smith, 19, explained that the eye-watering prices are part of why she goes out less.

“It’s just so expensive. Even the shots are so pricey,” she said.

And she’s not wrong. A 2024 article from Glasgow Live revealed that Glasgow had suffered the fifth biggest increase of prices in the UK with a night out in 2024 costing an average of £186 compared to an average of £132 in 2022.

For students like Jessica Elliott, 20, the bouncers seem to play a part taking the fun out of night outs.

“The bouncers put me off. I feel like 90% of them think they’re more powerful than they actually are and they can become aggressive quickly. It can sometimes feel like they’re just trying to ruin your night out for the sake of it,” she stated.

Jessica isn’t alone with these thoughts. On the reddit forum r/Glasgow, one user spoke about something they allegedly witnessed from the bouncers at Polo, one of Glasgow’s gay bars.

“I’ve seen them kick a young girl out of the club by herself. She had realised shortly after that her friends had gone home, the bouncers wouldn’t let her go back in to try and to try and find her bag and phone. They didn’t go in to help her find her stuff either,” the post read.

And with so many generic clubs, it can leave a lot of students from margined or alternative groups feeling othered.

Luci also mentioned this when discussing night life for students.

“There are too many ‘regular clubs.’ There’s not a lot of queer spaces. People should have somewhere to go where they feel safe,” she said.

Ryan Mullen, 19, agrees.

“For a white man like myself there’s plenty of options. But I know it’s not like that for everyone. It has to change,” he said.

For other students, like Davina Howatson, 24, it’s more of a case of clubs not feeling exclusive to slightly older students.

“I don’t really go out anymore because I feel too old but I do kind of enjoy Buff Club. Firewater is also pretty good but I feel like a lot of the time it’s just full of 17-year-olds. I feel like the nightlife is good for students who are fresh out of school but not for mature students,” she said.

A lot of clubs in Glasgow have also shut down. A 2024 article from insider.co.uk revealed that in the last four years that venues in Glasgow had fallen from 125 to 83 which is a pretty big loss for nightlife.

Another user on the r/Glasgow reddit forum didn’t hold back in their predictions for nightlife in Glasgow.

“Glasgow nightlife in general is running the same way as everywhere else in the UK and it’s going to the ground.”

Is Glasgow student nightlife in decline?