Dive bars and college bars can usually be lumped into the same category. The college bar is often meant for getting hammered out of your mind in a laid-back atmosphere while putting on a terrible dance display with other people who want to do the same.
Dive bars usually bring about the same crowd but may also have an older age group. The atmosphere is unrelenting when you combine a college bar with a dive bar. Tacky decor, college-aged drinkers, cheap drinks, and live music in a cramped space.
This may not sound ideal, but place yourself on any campus in the U.S., and you are bound to fall in love with this scene. No dress codes, and dollar pitchers pack the walls with eager partiers, and why not? Here are the four college dive bars in the U.S.
Zog’s Pool, Chapel Hill, N.C.
This dive bar gets packed on a nightly basis, and rightfully so. If you are in Tar Heel country at the University Of North Carolina, bring your god to Zog’s.
Those furry animals are let in here to watch you shoot pool, throw darts, and play trivia over the infamous sticky floor. The letters over the bar read, “F–k Yeah.”, which sums up the idea of this glorious watering hole.
8 Ball Saloon, Ann Arbor, Mich.
You know all about the 8 Ball Saloon if you are a Michigan Wolverine. The $1 PBR three days a week is enough to pack the house and consider it a dive bar.
If this wasn’t enough, the basement beneath the restaurant, with plenty of stories held within its walls, is called The Pig. That unique name, the jukebox, darts, and pool tables make this the spot in Ann Arbor for a laid-back night of pounding brews.
Coupe Deville’s, Charlottesville, Va.
The University of Virginia is a notorious party school, and the bar scene matches that. At Coupe’s, the food is surprisingly good for a dive bar, and with the cozy atmosphere, you can make quite a night out of this place.
The first-year students are known occupants and can usually be seen knocking a few backs and screaming “Wagon Wheel” at the top of their lungs with zero shame, as every college student should be.
Zeno’s Pub, State College, Pa.
The live music at this Penn State venue gets the crowd moving and usually doesn’t stop until closing time.
That, paired with the 80 beers that challenge you to finish them to earn your picture on the wall, makes it a must-visit. The graffiti on the bathroom walls and the dimly lit basement make for an exciting night of getting sloshed and wondering who you are dancing with.
