<p>I got in early action, but I'm concerned about Greek life on campus. I don't think I want to be involved in Greek life but I'm not sure yet. when is freshman rush?</p>
<p>also, if I choose to not be involved will it restrict my social life? and are parties invite only?</p>
<p>Greek life only encompasses 20% of the students at Michigan, so obviously the majority of students choose not to join a fraternity or sorority. Having said that, my freshman son and his friends felt that it was challenging to have a good social life without being in a fraternity, so he just pledged one during Winter rush. Rush can be somewhat daunting at a school the size of Michigan, with hundreds of students vying for a few spots. For girls, having recommendation letter sent to sororities should get you a closer look during rush. Fraternities don’t seem to do the recommendation thing.</p>
<p>Fall rush is the bigger of the two seasons and it begins shortly after school starts, which is tough for incoming freshman who don’t even know the reputations of the fraternities/sororities. Winter rush begins right after Christmas break, but not all fraternities and sororities participate in Winter rush. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Oh, about the parties…initially the parties are open but as the process goes on they become invitation only. Rush is a two week process from start to finish. </p>
<p>My son wanted to be in a fraternity because his Dad was in one and my husband is lifelong friends with some of his fraternity brothers, who were in our wedding, etc, etc. I was in a sorority, but my best friend from college is my roommmate who was a GDI (not in a sorority). You will probably make lifelong friends whether you are in Greek life or not…you should check it out when you get to Michigan and then decide.</p>
<p>Only 15% of male students belong to fraternities. There are plenty of social opportunities beyond greek life. This said, I agree with Sportsmom. I would recommend researching the various fraternities on campus and rushing one of them. Even if you are not chosen, if you choose not to join, you will make friends in the process.</p>
<p>As someone who wants to pursue Greek life, how would I research the different fraternities? And I don’t mean just the public face, but how they are in the house as well. I’m looking for a house where I can work hard, have a great time, and really form a strong brotherhood at michigan.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-michigan-ann-arbor/1295149-fraternity-sorority-rush-rankings.html?[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-michigan-ann-arbor/1295149-fraternity-sorority-rush-rankings.html?</a></p>
<p>This is pretty good. And all fraternities have winter rush but almost all sororities don’t. But personally I’d recommend rushing fall for the full experience.</p>
<p>If you find your concerns are justified… there are many other groups and clubs to provide a social life outside of classwork. Intramural sports, community service clubs (even fraternities), academic boards, student oriented churches, etc.</p>
<p>thank you! I don’t really have a huge interest in Greek, but will I not be able to get into parties if I don’t rush? also, how difficult is the rush process? is it time consuming? oh and by the way I’m a girl</p>
<p>Rush is a time consuming process, as is pledging and being in a sorority. During the two weeks of rush, there are multiple parties with lots of girls competing for a small number of spots. As a girl, you would want to get recommendations from relatives/alumni/parents friends submitted to the sororities before rush starts in the Fall. Guys don’t need/do this with fraternities.</p>
<p>If you’re not that interested in Greek Life, you might be better off joining clubs and activities that you are interested in. A sorority is big commitment. Most people join because they want a large social circle, with lots of activities, parties, mixing with fraternities. If you aren’t in a sorority, you can find other social opportunities but you can’t attend sorority events as a non-member. You can attend open fraternity parties that are not paired with a sorority.</p>
<p>You should just check it out when you get to Michigan next Fall. You can attend the first couple of days of open parties and you don’t have to go beyond that, if you decide it’s not for you.</p>
<p>So for welcome week I would just show up to frat parties to get my face seen before rush? I’m a guy.</p>
<p>All depends on what you define a “good” social life as</p>
<p>Bleu33, you might want to read the discussion about the various fraternities on another thread in the Michigan forum. There are several pages in that discussion, but general consensus about the fraternities and their identities on campus. Beware that during welcome week, some of the lesser known fraternities throw some huge parties to attract new freshman - those may or may not be ones you want to join. Read through the information on this forum and then try to identify a few fraternities you are interested in. Focus on 4-5 initially and spend time there, meet as many brothers as possible, especially the rush chair and president, and see what happens. After the first week of rush, the parties become invitation only, so at that point you will know which fraternities have an interest in you. There are 36 fraternities at Michigan, so there’s no way you can visit them all. Have a gameplan going into - that will help.</p>