What is the percentage of greek life at UA? Coming from the NE region sororities were never on my D’s radar and she has no desire to join one. Will this limit her social life at UA?
A lot of freshman girls rush, no doubt. Over 50% (maybe 55%) of them last fall. However, OVERALL, the school is around 30% social Greek. There are SO many great organizations on campus… PLENTY of other very worthwhile things to do / to get involved in. She might just want to see how it goes… I do know of a few girls who did not rush initially but joined sophomore year. My son is there and is not in a social fraternity (far, far fewer of the guys join…maybe something like 20-25% of freshmen guys). The Greek presence is large / noticeable on campus – and it might SEEM at times that all the girls are in a sorority, but that is definitely not the case. Best wishes to your daughter! P.S. Many girls who are not in sororities have friends who are … so they often participate in Greek activities as a guest. Very, very common!
My daughter is a senior from the midwest. She did not go through recruitment (had no desire to be in a sorority). She has friends and is perfectly happy with her social life. She has never expressed any regrets about not being involved in Greek life. She did join a professional fraternity that has social functions, but that is very different from the sororities. She had friends freshman year who went through recruitment, but she never participated in any Greek activities as a guest. I’ve heard the sorority number is about 40% of girls on campus. FWIW, I know girls who are in sororities, girls who were in sororities and chose to leave the sorority, girls who didn’t rush freshman year but joined a sorority sophomore year, and plenty of girls who were never in a sorority at all. All seem happy with where they are.
One suggestion I’d make - if your daughter is not going to rush, have her consider one of the programs that takes place prior to school starting. If she’s in the Honors College, the Actions take place the same week as sorority recruitment. If she’s not, there’s Camp 1831. Those programs give freshmen a chance to acclimate to campus and meet lots of people before school starts. My daughter did Outdoor Action and thought it was a great experience. Many (most?) of her friends freshman year were kids she met at Outdoor Action or through kids she knew from Outdoor Action.
Absolutely, it will NOT limit her in any way in her social life. There’s a lot of noise about Greek life because it’s a big organize thing at the beginning of the year. But it becomes less and less of a thing as college careers progress. I agree with “Beth’s Mom” - if she can, doing one of the pre-school programs will give her instant friends and make her feel more a part of the campus. If she decides to do a sorority, she could wait until sophomore year…a few sororities even pledge a few new members second semester.
I went to UT-Austin, a huge Greek school, and it was never a problem. More than half of my dorm were girls in sororities, and I still managed to make plenty of friends. We amused ourselves by watching the antics of the Greek girls. 
Thank you everyone!
My freshman daughter is Greek. She has had a great time with her sorority. However, when you analyze the time she spends with friends, she hangs out with Greeks and non Greeks in about equal proportion. Her roommates are not Greek, they attended every football game lunch/tailgate with her at her sorority house this year–and many fraternity parties. I would highly recommend the “before school” programs in Honors or Camp 1831 to get a jump start on meeting people.
I’m a sophomore at UA and I chose to not participate in formal rush. I did ultimately join the Christian sorority but ended up dropping. My advice is if even a sliver of her wants to rush, do it. You aren’t forced to accept a bid at the end of the week but that way you can see if it was for you. I always question my decision to not rush. But all my friends aren’t Greek. They never wanted to rush. I feel as though I have a great group of friends without the need for a sorority. If your daughter has any specific questions or wants to talk to someone not involved in Greek like, feel free to PM me.
It is MUCH easier to make friends if you join a sorority. Most non-greeks I know had a harder time finding their social niche (still happens, just harder and takes longer) while most greeks I know had that automatic group of friends. It’s really up to the individual, but if she is a little more reserved and worried about not knowing anyone, encourage her to rush as she will instantly meet not only friends but sisters.