<p>I don’t think it matters greatly which Greek org you’re in (assuming it’s mainstream, i.e. not Phi Tau), as long as you’re in one – social life becomes a lot easier. My affiliated friends in general agree. I don’t think many affiliated students realize how much their Dartmouth network expands just because they’re in a house – they’re automatically connected to everyone in the house, and their second-degree connections increase probably exponentially.</p>
<p>Yep, you didn’t go to a formal because you’re in a house, but I bet you didn’t meet most of the people who invited you there in the classroom, in your dorm, or at an open party in the basement of a house. Of course everyone knows someone unaffiliated who hangs out a lot and is as plugged in to the Dartmouth social scene as anyone else – but these people are a distinct minority and stand out precisely because it’s so uncommon for someone to hang out so much and not belong to a house of some sort.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to make Dartmouth sound very exclusive or the Greek system sound insular. It’s extremely open in many ways, ways which get discussed repeatedly *ad infinitum<a href=“lots%20of%20open%20parties,%20people%20open%20to%20anyone%20walking%20in,%20etc.”>/i</a>. But Greek organizations by their very nature have to be exclusive in some ways, and I think that gets glossed over often – as is their role in Dartmouth social life. If the frats and sororities ceased to exist, a lot of us (affiliated or not) would have no idea what to do or how to structure our social lives.</p>
<p>Anyway, another thing for non-Dartmouth people reading to understand is that every point of view on this issue probably lies some ways away from the truth, because how you experience social life somewhere is often a very individuated thing. slipper1234’s experience is atypical because most Dartmouth students have never gone to seven formals in a term; I imagine a plurality if not a majority never even go to seven sorority formals total. Likewise, in many ways I’m an outlier (I don’t belong to a house, for one). How you experience Dartmouth will vary widely, so take whatever we say with a grain of salt; I can almost definitely assure you that how you experience it and what you will think will not line up precisely with what either of us has to say.</p>
<p>Well … johnleemk … i’m pretty sure most sorority members go to at least 7 sorority formals. So a very large portion of the Dartmouth community will go to at least 7 sorority formals (think about it …)</p>
<p>That being said … I am/was unaffiliated, and I’ve been to >7 sorority formals (I’m a guy). I think quite a few guys have been to >7 - there are “those guys” who just always get asked. And there are long-term bfs, girls who take their (female) friends, etc. The population that has been to >7 might be a bit larger than you think.</p>
<p>That being said … it’s not that hard to be “plugged into” the dartmouth social scene, as you call it, w/o being affiliated. It’s called “talking to other people”. That’s what makes you “plugged in”. You don’t even have to actually go out all that much, if at all.</p>
<p>Also … .3.8 is not getting you to magna cum laude. Sorry. The cutoffs are online, 3.8 last year would have put you at summa cum laude; cutoff for summa was >= 3.76, I believe.</p>
<p>agree w most of your thoughts on recruiting, however.</p>
<p>also, DartmouthForever … I’ll let this slide since you’ve only been here for a few weeks … but … yeah. no. just … no.</p>
<p>Oh yes I don’t mean you’re an outlier if you go to >7 sorority formals – but you’re not exactly an outlier if you don’t go, either. Obviously the median is still much higher than going to 0, since most of campus is affiliated.</p>
<p>
Yup, I have affiliated friends, so I know kind of what happens beyond reading The D. What I mean is your network as an unaffiliated is going to be smaller. No way around that unless you actively work on it to a much greater degree than an affiliated student will have to.</p>
<p>I’m not complaining, BTW – being unaffiliated and how I’ve handled my life is a choice I’ve made. I wouldn’t say I made all my choices with full knowledge of the implications at the time, but I’m happy with my life. I just think the unaffiliated experience (which again is probably neither as plain as it might sound from me nor as happy-go-lucky as it may sound from someone like DartmouthForever) gets glossed over because most of campus is Greek.</p>
<p>
The cut-offs move around from year to year, which is why I wasn’t specific.</p>
<p>I met most of my friends in Collis, food court, other frat basements, random activities, and generally just around campus. I spent very little time in my house at all, in fact many of my best friends were not in a house. Also there is an off-campus scene that is outside of the frat scene. I think one of the most amazing things about Dartmouth is that you don’t actually need to be in a house to hang out. Very schools are so open this way. Sure its an easy way to make friends, and I do agree that some people do stick to their houses and aren’t too social outside of them. But for the most part its a pretty open campus.</p>
<p>brainfart! you’re right, of course. my bad … </p>
<p>I also argue that you don’t have to “work harder” to make connections. But I don’t think either of us are going to change the others viewpoint on this one.</p>
<p>I think in general you’re giving the greek system too much credit.</p>