<p>I would like to get this information if possible. Thanks.</p>
<p>They have a nice web page with all of the frats and sororities listed. I was way into the Greek scene when I went to school but MY HUSBAND (who I met there) IS A GREEK hater! I’d like my son to keep his options open but it’s hard with all the negative comments from DH. I was surprised that I didn’t see a lot of what I’d call “big National fraternities” (See SAE’s and Figis) Was there a rash of house closures at sometime in the past? I noticed the top 3 frats at my Alma Mater (along with their houses) are gone now?
Here’s the page
[Colorado</a> University, Boulder Colorado | CU Greek Advocate](<a href=“http://www.cugreekadvocate.com/]Colorado”>http://www.cugreekadvocate.com/)
The sororities on the other hand (including what look like some pretty impressive houses) do seem to have a lot of the top nationals?
ColoradoMOM-can you mention at least, when they rush? The boys. It seems to me there’s a movement to have rush second semester as opposed to first (or BEFORE) school starts!</p>
<p>Sorry for the delay in responding; gathering my thoughts! :)</p>
<p>I deleted the information I had previously sent folks, but here’s our experience with fraternities at CU-Boulder. Our son will be a senior at CU this fall and joined a fraternity the fall of his freshman year. </p>
<p>Actually, there are 18 national fraternities at CU-Boulder, including SAE and Fiji. All in all, they have 6 of the world’s top 10 men’s social fraternities by membership numbers. If there are more/less, my son would know - he’s an officer on Colorado’s Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC), which is the governing body over all of the CU fraternities, see [Interfraternity</a> Council - University of Colorado at Boulder](<a href=“http://www.coloradoifc.org%5DInterfraternity”>http://www.coloradoifc.org). Which particular national fraternities are at CU does change over a period of time, just like they do at other college campuses. Some are “in vogue” and very popular at one point, then they sometimes fade out due to a variety of things - poor leadership, repeated low pledge class numbers so they can’t sustain the house, hazing incidents; or some other infraction that causes the national organization to revoke their chapter. </p>
<p>CU fraternities aren’t officially affiliated with the University, but the sororities are. The affiliation is not a legal one, however.</p>
<p>There are 9 national sororities and 2 local ones. You can read about them at: [Sororities</a> | Greek Life | University of Colorado at Boulder](<a href=“http://www.colorado.edu/greeks/sororities/chapters.html]Sororities”>http://www.colorado.edu/greeks/sororities/chapters.html)</p>
<p>For our son and many others, joining a fraternity is an excellent way to meet people, both men and women. The social events in the house and away, living in the house (most do sophomore year and some beyond), joint events with sororities, sports competitions, etc. give you lots of opportunities. You’ll get to know your brothers extremely well. Some you’ll love and they’ll become your lifelong friends; others . . . well, not so much. The same holds true in sororities, dorm life, folks you meet through activities, classes, work, and in life as a whole.</p>
<p>As a general rule, fraternity men’s GPAs are higher than the all-campus men’s GPA, but I don’t have any figures to substantiate that at the moment. The graduation rate for Greek members is generally higher than for non-Greeks as well.</p>
<p>Yes, drinking does occur at CU fraternity parties, like nearly every fraternity in the country, but the houses are very responsible most of the time and try to watch out for excessive consumption and employ additional safeguards. The sorority houses are “dry”. There are abuses, but you will find those in the dorms and apartments as well. And, most importantly, it’s not the whole reason fraternities exist - to party. That’s a very common misconception by many Greek haters and those unfamiliar with the Greek system.</p>
<p>Rush occurs in both the Fall (September) and Spring (late January/early February) for both sororities. Most who pledge are freshmen, but sophomores do as well occasionally. I don’t think there’s any movement to do away with the Fall rush at CU, as that’s when both fraternities and sororities get the majority of that year’s pledge class. I think that the University would LIKE to eliminate Fall rush, but I don’t think the Greeks want that to happen.</p>
<p>Dues usually run $500-$1000 per semester, depending on the fraternity. My son’s is closer to the $500 mark. Sororities are at least $2000 per semester, I believe.</p>
<p>My son’s involvement with IFC has given him valuable leadership and social skills and responsibility, and he regularly meets/has lunch with CU’s Administration/Leadership. Additionally, he has a window into how other CU fraternities other than his own operate. He has a realistic view of what he likes about his own fraternity as compared to others, and has a “wish list” of what characteristics another fraternity may have that he wishes his own did. So he’s not looking at any of this through rose-colored glasses. Even with all that he knows, he’s still glad he joined a fraternity during his time at CU.</p>
<p>So, while Greek life isn’t for everyone, it has been a very positive experience for our son and as parents, we are impressed by the personal qualities he has improved/acquired. Our daughter, who is two years older than our son and also attended CU, was not interested in the sorority scene (nothing negative regarding sororities meant by that) and she made lots of good friends in other ways, primarily by friendships with kids in the President’s Leadership Class (PLC). So it’s possible to have a great experience at CU-Boulder, no matter which road you travel.</p>
<p>Excellent summary, ColoradoMomof2. Thank you.</p>
<p>My son (senior in high school next year) heard somewhere that it is quite expensive to join a fraternity at CU because they are not affiliated with the school and therefore there are many extra fees. Is that true? Is there tension between the administration and fraternities that makes it difficult to be in the Greek system? The other major perception of CU at least here in California is that drugs run rampant, which I’m sure is vastly exaggerated. Any perspective you can add as a parent of two at CU?</p>
<p>My son just completed his freshman year at CU and he is from California. He pledged and eventually joined a coed engineering fraternity. It does not have a house, but he has made some good friends among the fraternity members and participated in various activities with them during the year. Drug use is around at CU but I would certainly not say it is rampant. Just like any other campus, it is your choice whether you choose to participate in that culture or not. Plenty of students do not and plenty of students who do not still have a wonderful time at CU. I actually think CU likes to promote that drug culture reputation but is it true for everyone? Absolutely not.</p>
<p>Tulare, the rumors regarding excessive fraternity fees has not been our experience in our son’s fraternity. I think you have a few extra costs as a freshman because once you join, there’s usually a bit of a desire as a new pledge to buy shirts, sweats, etc., with the fraternity’s Greek letters or name on them (that fades out as time passes ;)). Additionally, I don’t know about other fraternities, but our son’s had some sort of retreat in the fall after pledging where the pledge class and some of the fraternity officers went up in the mountains for the weekend, so there were some lodging/food costs associated with that. </p>
<p>The only other cost I can think of is that if you son lives in the house (many fraternities require it sophomore year at least; the sororities usually require two years live-in), the cook doesn’t work on the weekends, so you generally have to buy food or a CU meal plan so your son can eat on campus on the weekend. The house does have cereal, milk, toast, snack bars, etc, so you CAN do a basic breakfast there. I bought a meal plan for one semester for our son and it was credited to his Buff One account (you ID card that has all that kind of basic “stuff” on it, including your athletic tickets to events). I think it was around $550 for 80 meals on campus, so that somes out to just under $7 per meal, which is what it would cost for fast food (the cost is likely more now, but I don’t know what it is).</p>
<p>There is no tension between college administration and the fraternities that I’m aware of; in fact the two entitties (Admin. and the IFC) seem to be working very hard to keep relations smooth and communication open. Additionally, there is a Greek Advocate who serves as a Liasion between the fraternities and the University, the City of Boulder (city government, police, fire, zoning, etc.), the Boulder business community, and the media. It’s a full time “adult” job, and Marc Stine holds that position, and he works hand in hand with IFC in this endeavor. See [Colorado</a> University, Boulder Colorado | CU Greek Advocate](<a href=“http://www.cugreekadvocate.com/]Colorado”>http://www.cugreekadvocate.com/). My son works with Marc on a near daily basis, and as I said before, he also meets with CU’s Administration regularly.</p>
<p>The “drugs run rampant” stuff is stereotype, lore, reputation, whatever you want to call it. Rousse54 summed it up very well. CU is NOT “Rocky Mountain High”, although if you look at any of the happenings on 4-20 each year (it’s highly publicized nationally; gets only minor mention on the Front Range here), you may wonder. Yes, drugs exist at CU, just like nearly every other school in the country. They existed 30 years ago in the Stone Ages at the small Christian-based liberal arts college I attended. 
But at CU you don’t have to imbibe; my kids didn’t (still don’t) and they have done very well academically and socially. Kids here are bascially pretty friendly and “chill”; they accept others for who they are and there’s no pressure to do something you’re not comfortable doing. </p>
<p>CU can be whatever you make of it - a party school, a springboard to lots of outdoor activities, a place to develop your leadership skills, a place to make lasting friendships, a great place to get an education, etc. I prefer to think that it most likely is a little of each. :)</p>
<p>ColoradoMomof2: VERY WELL STATED…YOU HAVE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB OF SUMMING UP CU STUDENT LIFE…</p>