Two of my daughters are very social, both in sororities, most of their friends are too - just not the same ones. Greek life is a part of their college experience, but just a part. One daughter does not have a boyfriend so frequently brings her friends as dates to sorority mixers, and she goes to theirs. They like that they get to meet so many others through their friends in different ones.
2 Likes
BC = Boston College?
2 Likes
UVM has very little greek life, especially for a public university.
5 Likes
Even though 25% doesn’t sound high, at that level it could be a dominant “vibe”. UGA is 27% and it sure feels like a dominant part of the campus culture.
1 Like
My daughter was also openly uninterested the greek system when looking at colleges. She choose Rice - no greek system but a strong residential college system which she feels is like a greek system without any sense of elitism. You are randomly assigned to a college so while all the students say their college is “the best” - they all know they are basically the same with different traditions, etc. It was perfect for her because it helped her meet people without having to deal with rush.
4 Likes
yes, sorry. I shouldn’t have used an acronym as I, too, get confused reading a lot of posts that use acronyms.
Ok, I’ll check it out. Thank you
1 Like
Rice is likely too far from home for her but I’ll discuss with her. Thank you
I get it! My daughter actually took Rice off her list because of the distance from home but changed her mind about a week before apps were due. But even if Rice isn’t a good fit for her, other schools with residential college systems might be interesting for her.
1 Like
Lehigh does have a Greek scene; approximately 43% of students are affiliated.
Bates has never had Greek life; it goes against the inclusivity that has been a tenet of the institution since it’s inception 1855!
2 Likes
I don’t really care. I have no dog in this hunt but the latest stats I saw put Lehigh at 31.1% It had been in the 20’s. Directly from their website. The number of fraternities and sororities has dropped at least as of 2021.
My D22’s friend is at Lehigh and says the Greek life has a strong presence. She is planning to rush this semester.
My D is at UCLA and the Greek influence is there but not overwhelming. She is not in a sorority and prefers not to be, but she has friends who are happy in theirs. She goes to frat parties sometimes. She says it’s more common for guys to join since the girls can go to parties whether they are Greek or not. This is how it was when I was at SDSU 30 years ago, too.
My kids have attended 6 colleges, girls can go to parties, guys really need to be in frats or athletics.
This is the thing with Lehigh’s numbers…the percentages likely don’t include freshmen pledges because this report is from Dec 2021, and freshman hadn’t rushed at that point. So the percentage of Greek should be calculated using a denominator of only sophs-seniors (to understand real/true impact on campus life), which would make it substantially higher than the 31% shown in the report.
I agree with the posters who say that Greek Life is a dominant presence on campus (and actually off-campus, as many of the parties are off-campus and run by frats). As Lehigh has sought to rein in Greek Life, much of the campus social life has moved off campus, which has resulted in making things less safe (especially for women) as there are no rules/no oversight for off campus parties and such.
7 Likes
It could, if a quarter of the population are in a Greek org, and another quarter of the population attend their parties. Now you’ve got half the students involved in Greek social life, at least by activity.
3 Likes
Yes, good points above. At W&L all parties must be open to everyone on campus, so that culture of girls being admitted everywhere and boys excluded doesn’t exist.
Also, the school has chosen to embrace Greek Life. What that means is there is strong school oversight, with things like an adult (house mother, I believe, most frequently) required to live in each house. Although it certainly bucks the trend to kick fraternities off campus, I think it makes things safer. The fact that fraternities are off campus doesn’t mean they don’t exist, or don’t have parties. They do, but with no oversight.
3 Likes
Thank you!
Sad. I had heard this about Villanova. That freshman year is particularly hard for boys.
1 Like
Good to know, thank you!
1 Like
You are welcome, but also I totally respect your daughter’s position re greek life! My replies are for the other readers of this thread, as they may not realize how greek life can differ – I certainly didn’t know before my sons joined their fraternities! I think it makes sense for your daughter to nix schools with fraternities/sororities.
7 Likes