<p>We're off to visit some schools for my S. He prefers a school with no frats, but many of the schools which fit his criteria do have them. Though social, he is not a drinker, and in fact, due to a medical condition, is not going to be able to drink alcohol. To students and parents alike, does a school with a high percentage of frats/sororities change the atmosphere very much on campus? Some schools we are looking at have between 30% and 40% of their men and women "go Greek." They always say "but that means 60% don't!" but still that number seems like a lot to me. My husband and I have no experience with this aspect of college. Any thoughts/insights would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I think frat-phobia is largely blown out of proportion. Not all fraternities (or sororities) fit the drunken party stereotype that many seem to imagine. There were sororities and fraternities on my college campus where there was very little partying. Greeks hung out with non-Greeks and no one really cared whether someone joined or not. You can only be friends with so many people and as long as there are clubs or other associations as a way to meet kids with similar interests, then I wouldn't factor the Greek scene in very much. I suppose freshman year could be a challenge if everyone on your hall joined but you, but there may even be a fraternity on campus that appeals to your S. I went to college completely against going Greek but ended up joining a sorority after meeting a group of girls that I really enjoyed. We were a very eclectic group and many of us are still friends after over 30 years.</p>
<p>I would suggest looking the greek culture on each campus in addition to the percentage of participants. Do the greeks run most of the social events? This might be true on campuses with less than 20% participation.
Are the parties open? When do kids rush? ( I prefer those schools that delay rush).
Have the greeks been in trouble with the adminstration? Have any frats been expelled? Any hazing incidents?
As cartera said, the greek scene really differs by school so it's not helpful to make blanket statements. They do tend get a bad rap.
My son joined one on his big State U campus...said he NEVER would before he started college. Opinions change. The boys seems nice and we've enjoyed attending parent functions and meeting the other families. He had a need to make a big place smaller and his brothers help there. But he has friends outside of the frat and doesn't limit himself to frat activities. He is active in sports clubs and studied abroad recently.
So , keep an open mind. But it pays to ask LOTS of questions and to know what scene you're getting into. If you're son can't drink due to medical reasons, he's probably not a good candidate for a typical frat. Drinking DOES seem to be a big part of the scene for most frats...although some kids drink a lot and some just a little. Our experience anyway...
BTW, some schools will say 50% of kids are in fraternities, but they include all years (including freshman who aren't always eligible). So the percentage may be much higher if you only look at those who are eligible.<br>
Good luck!</p>
<p>I agree that the key seems to be the degree to which the social scene on campus revolves around Greeks, as opposed to how many people are actually in fraternities and sororities. Also, it's really only one element of the broader question of what the social scene is, and in particular, how much of it revolves around alcohol.</p>
<p>there are dry frats out there...and your son can also join a frat and tell the brothers that he cant drink due to a medical condition and not go into details. they wont pressure him to drink if they know that</p>
<p>I graduated from UCLA--big Greek system--back in 1983. I found back then that there were many, many opportunities for social events outside the fraternities and sororities. It was a non-issue for me. I can only assume that, based on the school's location and the many events held on or around campus, this situation hasn't changed much there.</p>
<p>At S1 school, the fraternities and sororities do not have houses, but do socialize and host service events. I'm sure there is drinking (but isn't there at colleges even w/o greeks?), but there also seems to be plenty of other reasons to join. My son is "mr. social/joins everything", so there was really never any doubt.</p>
<p>One benefit already is that he is a part of a larger community...he has met brothers from all over, getting in touch with chapters in our home state cross-country from his own school. And when we visited UMich this past weekend, over the holiday, was able to get in touch with the local chapter in Ann Arbor to arrange for a tour for his younger brother.</p>
<p>The Greek scene differs not only by school, but by house.</p>
<p>40% of the men and 20% of the women are Greek at my alma mater. There were plenty of non-Greek opportunities for social life, and the school in fact has considerably below average rates of binge drinking and the like.</p>
<p>
[quote]
There were sororities and fraternities on my college campus where there was very little partying. Greeks hung out with non-Greeks and no one really cared whether someone joined or not. You can only be friends with so many people and as long as there are clubs or other associations as a way to meet kids with similar interests, then I wouldn't factor the Greek scene in very much.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This sums it up well.</p>
<p>Find a predominately "commuter college" type school. Even if your S stays on campus, Greek scene will probably be limited, even invisible.</p>
<p>Nothing really to add to this but to corroborate what the other posters have said before. I came to campus convinced I'd have no part to play in the greek scene, but I'm now one of the most active brothers of my chapter. Stereotypes are useless.</p>
<p>With D's college search, my feelig has been, the fewer frats/sorors on campus and the fewer students participating in the Greek system, the better. My primary concern is no drinking, but just the in-group/ out-group culture. Also, based on photos from many school web sites, frats/sorors seem to be the least diverse organizations on campus.</p>
<p>At my D's school frats & sororities are big, big part of college life. Originally she thought that she would not take part, but then she decided otherwise. However, she did not have a single drinking or other negative experience. She is not a drinker, because she does not like it, no special condition. She never felt that she was forced anyhow participate in sorority. However, after she got into one, she never was forced to be part of a "drinking" and party going crowd. She is very active in her sorority and is holding elected position. It is up to a person what he makes out of any experience.</p>
<p>comments from foolishpleasure reflect common stereotypes. My son's fraternity has a relatively diverse group of students.<br>
One thing to keep in mind though. MANY people believe the common stereotypes of greek organizations...so it will be something members deal with for the rest of their lives. My s is just starting to learn about this...in fact...he had a professor last semester who openly admitting disliking "frat boys". Lots of pluses...but there are certainly some challenges as well.</p>
<p>I think some people confuse "Animal House" with reality.</p>
<p>My D was totally against joining a sorority. Her grandmother persuaded her to participate in recruitment as she knew D missed her close friends from high school. The sorority D joined had several members who were majoring in physics and were on their way to grad school, one who was an ROTC member, another who was from South America, another from India, etc. Her sorority is the most diverse in terms of states, country, ethnic background, etc.</p>
<p>I agree with you. 4 yrs ago we went on a college tour where 30-40% were in frats or sororities. They said the same thing - there is lots to do if you aren't in one. However, we noticed that ALL the tour guides were members. And there were 12 of them! On the tour, it was all about frats and that life. D went to a school without any and is very happy.</p>
<p>The reality is extremely well-documented. Members of fraternities and sororities have higher rates of binge drinking, heavy drinking, daily drinking, marijuana use, hard drug use, sexual assault (and sexual assaulters and sexual assault vicitims), rapes (and rapists and rape victims), alcohol-blackouts, and hospitalizations from accidents/injuries.</p>
<p>But of course none of our kids belong to THOSE fraternities and sororities, but only to those set up by Mother Theresa.</p>
<p>To answer the original poster's question.</p>
<p>Somewhere in the neighborhood of 30% (give or take) is where frat/sorority membership starts to dominate a campus social scene.</p>
<p>You do have to scratch a bit beneath the surface. There are schools with fraternities (MIT and Swarthmore are two examples) where the social scene is hardly out of animal house. Conversely, there are schools that play a moving shell game, calling their fraternities "eating clubs" or "finials clubs" and then pretending not to have fraternities. There are other schools where everyone just pretends the actual fraternities don't exist (Amherst is an example).</p>
<p>Finally, I think you have to look at the drinking culture and greek life on a campus as separate (albeit related) questions. There are schools with no fraternities that are heavy drinking schools and some with fraternities that are not.</p>
<p>I love how the tour guides always present from a greek perspective. "Oh, yes...a GDI can always find something to do...." It's never, "Oh yes, rest assured that here at Podunk U., we always make sure to keep the drunk frat boys from disrupting our dorms and lives".</p>
<p>"Having such a negative attitude to f/s life is comparable to me to saying all sexually active young people should be forced to be sterilized or take birth control pills. It assumes the child has no free will or self control. It assumes my child is a rapist or has been raped."</p>
<p>Data are just what they are. Interpret them as you will (you will anyway, but it won't make the data go away.)</p>
<p>mini - it depends a great deal on the campus. Even within one state, the fraternity parties at William and Mary (where I went) paled in comparison to the fraternity parties at UVA. Carloads of kids from W&M traveled to UVA to attend those parties. W&M had fraternities but no one I knew considered it a party school. I think the OP is capable of ruling out certain environments but shouldn't rule out every campus where fraternities are active.</p>