<p>Ask me anything. I'm a expert in fraternity and sorority analysis but can answer other things as well.</p>
<p>Congratulations!!! You are the 10,000th post on the Lehigh college forum!!!</p>
<p>I know basically nothing about greek life. Do a lot of people (girls in particular) not get into any sorority?</p>
<p>Is it hard to get into a sorority?
And also are there a lot of people from california who go to lehigh? I feel like if I go its going to be a huuge culture shock haha</p>
<p>These threads are always very helpful so thank you for starting one! As far as a question goes, do you think fraternities, in general, reduce academic performance? I care more about getting into med school than I care about getting into an undergraduate school, so it’s very important for me to continue to have ridiculously high grades all through college. That being said, I also don’t want to be antisocial and I know Lehigh is known for fraternities. I really have never entertained the idea of joining a frat, but I’m still curious.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Mike, I know you’re looking for FratAnalyst’s personal opinion. So I’m not trying to steal his thunder, especially since I’m not Greek.</p>
<p>All Greek organizations are reviewed each year and ranked as gold, silver, bronze, poor, and unacceptable depending on a wide variety of factors like academic responsibility, community/campus involvement, safety, etc. Take a look at this link. For each Greek organization, there is also an average GPA that might interest you:</p>
<p>[Accreditation</a> Reports 2010 through 2011 | Fraternity and Sorority Affairs](<a href=“http://www.lehigh.edu/ofsa/acc1112.shtml]Accreditation”>http://www.lehigh.edu/ofsa/acc1112.shtml)</p>
<p>Best,</p>
<ul>
<li>Mike</li>
</ul>
<p>Oh no… I know someone in Chi Psi! He’s the one who told me about Lehigh, actually. </p>
<p>And while I was asking for FratAnalyst’s opinion, any information is welcome! That’s a very cool and informative list. But it worries me that no frat had over a 3.2 average GPA, though, as that’s suicide for a pre-med.</p>
<p>That’s why I posted that link. And frankly, in my personal opinion, I don’t like the social Greek system because of these lackluster academic standards.</p>
<p>But in all fairness, I’m sure there are some Greeks with GPA’s over a 3.2. There are some social Greek organizations that place a high regard on academic excellence, but there a quite a few that couldn’t care less.</p>
<p>Definitely, but I have to assume that being in a frat with a low GPA most likely correlates with you having a low(er) GPA. Are the academic honors societies on that list?</p>
<p>No, those are all social Greeks. Some of the honors societies have standard GPAs as high as 3.0 or 3.5 just to get in. I think it’s a better alternative.</p>
<p>Oh okay I see, thanks. I’ll try to find a list of those, too. I’d much prefer an honors society but I know they’re not a guarantee. Why am I worrying about med school acceptance right now?</p>
<p>Lehihg2017, You are correct to think about your future when deciding what activities to be involed in. Honestly, if you were my chikld and you had aspirations to be a Physician I would not recommend that you join a social fraternity - simply because of the track record for lower GPA’s - you can’t afford that! That does not mean you don’t attend parties and have fun as well, but joining a fraternity means obligations to attend social events that will most likely impact your ability to meet your academic goals. There are lots of organizations with a social AND academic requirements that would be probalby more suited to someone with your goals. Also, honor societies that you are invited into are also great for a resume.</p>
<p>Once you hear if you’ve been accepted you should explore more.</p>
<p>Here is a link showing % on Dean’s List last year. <a href=“http://www.lehigh.edu/ofsa/PDFs/greekdeansS2012.pdf[/url]”>http://www.lehigh.edu/ofsa/PDFs/greekdeansS2012.pdf</a></p>
<p>What a great link to share. Thanks for posting this, mumof2boyz. I have to say I’m not surprised that so many social Greek organization have so few students doing well academically. This is a major flaw with the social Greek system that nobody seems to talk about anymore.</p>
<p>And just to add to what she said, it’s totally normal to be thinking about med school, or any post-undergrad plans for that matter. One of the reasons why I tried so hard to get a co-op was to better prepare myself for graduate school and eventually industry. There’s nothing wrong with wanted to be prepared and have a plan. I can tell you even my sister is also thinking about what med school she’ll go to - and she hasn’t even heard back from anybody for undergrad yet!</p>
<p>Best,</p>
<ul>
<li>Mike</li>
</ul>
<p>That is a great link, thanks! The sororities seem to outperform the fraternities in pretty shocking numbers 
And yeah, I have my top 5 med schools picked out already! I know this will change, but still! So yeah, I’m not joining a social frat, definitely not, but I was curious about the GPA correlation.</p>
<p>Thanks Mike and mumof2boyz!</p>
<p>I think when students are considering joining a social fraternity or sorority they need to be informed of ALL of the consequences of this decision. Lifetime friends - yes, great social life - yes, lower GPA - yes … and then make an informed decision about whether or not that experience is what they are looking for. College is fun! But its also about developing as an individual and building your future. It is the right choice for some, it really is, but for someone building his or her future around a career that requires a top GPA, I personally feel it would be a move in the wrong direction - at Lehigh. </p>
<p>In some universities the Greek community is tops in all catagories, including leadership, community service and GPA, but Lehigh stats tell a different story. </p>
<p>For those interested in joining a social Greek community, I would recommend joining one with the highest GPA and involvement in community service. </p>
<p>JMO, each person must make their own decision.</p>
<p>I know you seem to have been persuaded by those two, Lehigh2017, but I thought I’d chime in as I don’t believe you are getting the full information you deserve. The average GPA of students in Greek life at Lehigh is actually slightly higher than overall student population’s average GPA. I am a member of a social fraternity at Lehigh and have made Dean’s List every semester I’ve been here. While there are many social events that you attend as a member of a fraternity, there is still plenty of time to get work done. While you might think right now that you are just going to spend four years here doing work, that is just not the reality no matter what you plan on studying. Fraternities have great networking opportunities and provide great distractions from school work. They can really help you find your niche at Lehigh and I think you shouldn’t be quick to write them off. If you have any other questions, feel free to message me.</p>
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<p>Do you have anything to back this claim up with? I’ve never been able to find data on overall average GPAs for the entire student body. In previous posts on this thread, we’ve been able to find multiple sources of data with average GPAs for social fraternities.</p>
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<p>I agree, joining social fraternities are great ways to make lifelong friends. Personally, I feel there are better “distractions” then drinking and partying (and it is obvious that this is the main “appeal” of social Greek life).</p>
<p>Lehigh2017 is planning on going pre-med, which requires a very high GPA (like around a 3.5 or higher), and there are almost no social fraternities that have average GPAs that match this standard. I doubt there are many students with serious medical ambitions with the time or desire to join social Greek organizations at Lehigh.</p>
<p>Hi Everyone, My posts on the subject of social fraternities are not meant to scare anyone away, I do however feel that it is very important for students who are focused on attaining the highest possible GPA for their abilities to understand that it might not be the best decision for them. Lehigh2017 seemed to be in that catagory.</p>
<p>As I have said time and time again, social greek life IS the right decsion for many, but IMO not for all and before joining I feel that the statistics should be shared so that students can make their own decisions.</p>
<p>For my son, planning on going into stem cell reasearch, he HAS to have the highest GPA possible, so it wasn’t for him and he has plenty of fun and an active social life!</p>
<p>Pledge if you dare</p>
<p>Here are the actual GPA statistics for Greek life at Lehigh:</p>
<p>Average Greek GPA - 3.13</p>
<p>Average All Undergraduate GPA - 3.12</p>
<p>However, All Men GPA is slightly higher than All Fraternity GPA (which implies that the All Sorority GPA is higher than All Women):</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.lehigh.edu/ofsa/PDFs/Grade%20Report%20Spring%202012.pdf[/url]”>http://www.lehigh.edu/ofsa/PDFs/Grade%20Report%20Spring%202012.pdf</a></p>