<p>Okay, another question since I couldn't find much direct information from UW's site and there was not an obvious thread I have seen around here.</p>
<p>If you have been a part of a fraternity/sorority in the past/present could you please help me out with the following concerning UW's system.</p>
<p>Do freshman rush right out of the gate or wait for fall of sophomore year?
How prominent is it on campus?
Does one stay in the house their whole tenure?
Are the houses grouped up or all over the place?</p>
<p>Thats all I can think of for now. Please feel free to add whatever else you feel pertains to this subject. Thanks you very much.</p>
<p>1) Both -- most as freshmen
2) 9-12% of campus population depending on year
3) Depends. Most guys will have room in their house, so they live soph/junior year and get out for Senior living with brothers outside of house
4) Mostly all on langdon. A few near camp randall on breeze terrace. </p>
<p>Good luck with rushing and definitely make sure to try out a few different houses before committing to any one!</p>
<p>Ok thanks MN. I was a bit confused on how you worded your response. I understand you said you can rush as a freshman, but then do you just stay in the residence halls your first year then move into the house? Thanks again.</p>
<p>On a similar note, how are the sororities? I know each has its own personality but how much hazing goes on? Would anyone recommend rushing?
Also a friend at another large school dropped out of her sorority because they never studied. Are the girls in the sororities still fairly interested in doing well in school?</p>
<p>Check out the gpa's posted on their websites in as much as that indicates an intellectual climate. There are acadamic greek organizations (usually coed) if that's what you are looking for. </p>
<p>Hazing is officially against the rules. Unofficially who knows. I couldn't believe the crap my girlfriends went through.</p>
<p>All greek organizations require academic excellence. All sororities require at least a 3.0. So yes, they do study, and it is in fact a requirement of being a part of the organization. I've known MANY girls who study hard all day 9a-7p just so they can go out most nights of the week.</p>
<p>Completely depends on the house how much "social" time is had -- and even then, within the house there are always pockets of girls who have very different habits. If you're the least bit curious you should consider rushing. Worst thing that happens is you decide it's not for you--if you never do rush you may be left wondering.</p>
<p>You should check it out and keep it in perspective; the Greek Org's need members to survive as much as you want to join. Members tend to be boosters.</p>
<p>Okay thanks for responses so far, so the concensus (sp?) is that if I decided to rush as a Badger, I should do it as a freshman and not send in the housing contract? I'm guessing there is some risk there because if for some reason I didn't join a fraternity I would be out of luck for housing. Hmm, I will have to think on this I guess haha. If I am off on my thoughts here please correct me. Thanks!</p>
<p>Cryto, while I don't know many people who have rushed, most (if not all) are living in the dorms/apartments their freshman year because, well, they needed somewhere to live before you rush and get in, and housing contracts are do well before that.</p>
<p>I mean, even if you don't do the dorms, you need somewhere to live before, which probably means you're living in an apartment, and then if you can go to the house, you need to get someone else to finish your lease for you. Might as well dorm it or apartment it up for the first year; doesn't hurt at all.</p>
<p>You may also want to consider the campus before being set on Greeks- they are only a very minor part of campus life, important to their members but easily ignored by the majority. Check out the thread from the UW CC site from this fall for a discussion.</p>
<p>Definitely get a place to live, then consider rushing as a freshman if you are interested. No need to live in the house. Note that 90% of students are NOT in the Greek system.</p>
<p>You never can make a post without subjecting people to your "subtle" opinions.</p>
<p>It's rather infuriating. Give advice, fine. Provide the accurate information you are so thorough with (you do, generally, provide great information). But seriously, stop injecting your college experience into everyone elses. I'm not sure you understand the impression any input has on first-year students. All you would have had to say was what I said, an answer to his question (8-12% any given year) without your emphasis on those that choose not to be a part of the Greek system.</p>
<p>I'd adopt a "I'm no longer going to respond to wis75's posts rule" for myself, but I actually fear for the students that you share you highly subjective opinions with and the gravity with which they may receive your "information."</p>
<p>MNBadger may have overreacted a little but I can see his point. He's much closer to the current Greek situation at UW than Wis75 is. The OP didn't ask whether she should join a sorority but instead sought objective information on how to go about it. There was really no reason for Wis75 to discourage her. </p>
<p>No disrespect to Wis75, but 1975 was over 34 years ago. The Greek system is likely an entirely different animal now than it was then. We were surprised and privately questioned (but did not openly discourage) the decision of our oldest daughter (who did not go to UW) to join a sorority when she was in college. It was definitely not something that either of her parents would have done. But she made great and very nice friends there, joined the Peace Corps after graduation, etc., and is a very open, caring, and accepting member of society. Old stereotypes die hard.</p>
<p>Good points. My concern is frequently Greek members/alumni tend to be promoters. </p>
<p>Yes, I too have young, close family members who chose to join Greek houses at other schools and they are fabulous people. I do worry there are things they don't share based on my - more recent than Wis75 - experiences and those of my peers.</p>
<p>I hear what you're saying. But, looking at this thread alone, what I see is MNBadger offering helpful but not arm-twisting advice -- "good luck with rushing" and "look around before committing" -- while Wis75 is responding disparagingly and discouragingly that the system is "important to their members but easily ignored by the majority." </p>
<p>And, as for your suggestion that there's stuff going on that Greek proponents aren't telling you, I can only respond that there's a lot going on with college kids besides the Greek system that our generation isn't being told about. No different than when we were in college. </p>
<p>Joining a fraternity or sorority isn't joining the military. If you find that it's not for you, you drop out. I'm a firm believer that once your kids are out the door and in college a parent's job is to listen, offer advice only when asked, trust them to make the right decisions, allow them to make their own mistakes -- and never judge them by reference to how things were when you were their age.</p>