Unless somebody shared some verifiable statistics with you, you need to take that kind of thing with a grain of salt, @scamp101.
As others have shared, there’s a wide range of sororities at Bama. What are your DD’s other interests? Is Greek life the main draw of UA?
I think a lot of the students who don’t return to Bama are under financial pressure. It’s not inexpensive if you are a full-pay OOS student. At $40,000 a year (BEFORE sorority costs), it’s certainly a lot cheaper than a lot of pricey privates if you don’t qualify for serious FA, but it’s still going to cost more than even the most expensive in-state options anywhere.
My feeling is that sorority life at Bama (if it’s something of interest to you) should be the icing on the cake. The cake should be the academic programs and other things that matter to the student.
Greek life (especially for women) is huge at Bama, but certainly plenty of happy women never join one or leave because they don’t have the time or finances to continue on.
I see from another thread your DD is interested in a fashion-related major. Not sure if you’ve read through the stuff on the Apparel and Textiles website, but perhaps comparing the program to Virginia Tech’s (is that the only other school she’s considering?) will give you more insight: http://www.ctd.ches.ua.edu/apparel-and-textiles-program.html
And while I can see where Greek life would be appealing to someone interested in a career in fashion and/or business, there are other ways to get involved, like Fashion, INC.:
http://www.ctd.ches.ua.edu/apparel-design-faq.html
Here are links to some press releases about the Fashion program: http://uanews.ua.edu/tag/fashion/
This makes no sense unless, as @LucieTheLakie suggested, these are full pay students who were forced to transfer out for financial reasons. Think about it, after all . . . if a student is miserable, wouldn’t they transfer out immediately, between freshman and sophomore years? Why would they wait another full year before transferring?
As a parent who’s “been there, done that” (with a student who was unhappy at college and wanted to transfer), I’m not buying it.
scamp101: There are a few other sororities, other than the ones that participate in the big “rush” right before school starts. Those are certainly less expensive to be a part of. There is at least one Christian sorority and I know they don’t participate in the formal rush process with the National Panhellic Conference sororities. And of course there are many other great, non-Greek ways to become involved and make friends!
Yeah for students wants alternate Greek organization. There are a few that don’t participate in formal rush.
Alpha Delta Chi : is a Christian sorority. Last I saw they have about 70 members. Great group of girls that I think is an alternative for those who want a sisterhood that’s faith based.
Sigma Delta Tau : traditionally Jewish sorority. They are open to girls of any faith. They have a house on campus. I believe they’re smaller than 50 members.
Alpha Omega Epsilon: engineering sorority. It’s currently a colony not an official chapter. But they seem to have a lot of fun also.
Theta Tau: engineering co-ed fraternity. They have a house on campus and are very active. I have many friends in theta tau. They provide both professional and social events.
There are more specific groups also like music sorority and fraternity, honor societies. But these are the most common ones I know that don’t participate in formal rush. I know people in all of them and everyone seems to love them.