<p>How dominant is Greek life on campus? I don't mean stats (%s are inconclusive), but personal experiences from students who currently attend or have attended Stanford. And how comparable is the Greek life to that of other "elite" schools with a strong Greek presence (i.e., Duke and Dartmouth)? Although both Duke and Dartmouth claim that Greek life is not dominant at all, I know from my own experience, as well as those of my friends, that there is a considerable difference in the overall quality of the social scene between the Greek and non-Greek.</p>
<p>Also, how is the social scene like for independents? Again, both Duke and Dartmouth claim that their independents have as much fun, but the number of mixers, private events, etc. are severely limited for independents at these schools.</p>
<p>WhiteWishes, Greek life is nowhere near as pervasive or important at Stanford as it is as places like Duke or Dartmouth. It’s more like peaceful co-existence here between Greek and non-Greek life. It is definitely here for those who want it, but easily ignored by those who don’t.I know lots of people who participate in frats and sororities and enjoy it a lot, and many more who have no interest whatsoever in Greek life. Early in every quarter, the Greek houses on the Row host huge parties that lots of people go to (especially freshmen), but after that there are more non-Greek things going on on campus at any given time than Greek things, by a large margin.</p>
<p>zenkoan’s exactly right. I would like to add that we also only have Spring Rush for frosh, meaning as a freshman you can’t join a fraternity or sorority until spring quarter. It definitely makes a great community on campus between greeks and non-greeks because your freshman year you make a lot of friends outside of your future frat/sorority. I didn’t rush, but I know at least 10-15 guys in each of the major frats. I know SigChi’s whole pledge class this year because I partied with nearly all of them last year in my freshman dorm. In the end it works out really well; if you want to go greek, it’s an awesome community on campus, but if you don’t you won’t be excluded socially by any means.</p>