<p>Hi, I was wondering if you need to join a sorority to have fun and make friends at UA. And also how many students and freshman join sorirties?</p>
<p>Hi hadley908, my D did not rush and she has made TONS of new friends. She joined several clubs, taken some small honors classes where it is easy to get to know everyone, and took part in outdoor action just before the August move in. I highly recommend OA if you don’t rush - D immediately met 40 other students from all over the country, and she said it was great to see familiar faces around campus on the 1st day!</p>
<p>Thanks for that info, timeflew! Those are great suggestions. My D doesn’t plan on rushing either, so this is great to hear.</p>
<p>Neither of my kids rushed and they have plenty of friends.</p>
<p>Since Bama is a big school, there are still many kids who are not “Greek”.</p>
<p>I also recommend Outdoor Action or Alabama Action for those who don’t rush. A great way to meet people!</p>
<p>My D also didn’t rush but she had considered it. She chose to do Alabama Action before freshman move in and that week coincided with sorority recruitment. Omama’s D did do both in 2009, but according to my D, the one girl who tried to do both this year dropped out of rush mid week because it was “too much.”</p>
<p>The last numbers I saw had sorority membership at about 29%.</p>
<p>My son has no desire to be in a fraternity and has made lots of great friends, beginning with Outdoor Action only a few short days after he set foot on campus .</p>
<p>Frankly I am concerned about the high percentage of students in sororities and fraternities, I saw somewhere on the UA site that 30% of girls participate, that seems pretty high. I wonder what the rate is for honors kids?</p>
<p>Some students choose to put off rushing until the second or third year. My son, for example, never thought about joining a frat in his first year. He made tons of friends through various organizations on campus, as well as through Alabama Action.</p>
<p>My daughter is an out of state student and did rush. She has made friends through her sorority, during recruitment, and in her classes. Her freshman seminar cohort have become good friends.
Greek life is not for everyone, but is a good way to meet girls who will become life-long friends. I still have reunions with my sisters and I graduated in 1981.
Today my daughter is going to the Conaleezza Rice book signing and is wearing her letters. She and Dr. Rice are sorority sisters!!!
I strongly suggest rushing as a freshman, the freshman quota was 84 this year, and the upperclass quota was 8 per house.
UA is building 4 new sorority houses to be complete by 2012. I hear they will be fabulous. And Delta Gamma is colonizing next fall. The Greek system is well supported by the University.
Good luck Hadley, my daughter loves UA, and I bet you will too. PM me if you have questions about soroity life at UA and i’ll put you in touch with my daughter.</p>
<p>*I saw somewhere on the UA site that 30% of girls participate, that seems pretty high. I wonder what the rate is for honors kids? </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>I don’t think that is too high…that means 70% don’t participate. That’s a lot of girls who are involved in other things. </p>
<p>While some honors girls are in sororities, I would imagine that the % is lower than the general population. I doubt there is a statistic posted anywhere that gives a specific %.</p>
<p>I don’t think it is necessary, but there’s no telling how you will like it until you get some exposure. DS went through the process and tried to convince himself that it would lead to something important that he would value in the long-run, but in the end realized it wasn’t for him. He is not concerned in the slightest that his non-frat status will affect his ability to have fun and make friends. in fact IMHO, since I watched hubby also go through it, the pledge process is pretty isolating.</p>
<p>In short - there are a kabillion clubs and organizations at UA, a kabillion places to meet new friends!</p>
<p>I’m not sure what the percent of honors students are involved in GLO’s but in my D’s house there are many. Her pledge class has quite a few, and even a University Fellow! There are girls in Freshman Forum and First Year Council, and quite a few in the upperclass honor organizations. They have 3 girls in the XXXI honor society alone.</p>
<p>That’s the great thing about UA. There is something for everyone.</p>
<p>Word of the day - “kabillion” - Thanks AL34.</p>
<p>That sounds like a lot!</p>
<p>My D also rushed. Actually, the vibrant Greek life was one of the reasons she chose Alabama. She and catfan’s D are in the same pledge class :)</p>
<p>I have never seen a percentage of Greek Honors students, but most GLO’s hold academics in high regard. It is not unusual for Greek students who don’t qualify for Honors as incoming freshman to become eligible during their UA career. The overall GPA for Greeks is higher than the overall campus-wide GPA.</p>
<p>My D is a University Fellow. Of the current freshman Fellows, 1/3 of the girls are Greek (all in different houses). I believe, at least 40% of the current freshman boys are Greek.</p>
<p>Greek life can be very rewarding, but it is definitely not for everybody. There are tons of ways to make friends at UA. The important thing is that students find a group with which they identify. For many, Greek life is a logical first step.</p>