<p>What is Greek Life like for transfers? How difficult is it to get into sororities? Do students (girls) particularly struggle with social life if they are not Greek?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I can’t answer the first part, but I can say that having a high quality social life at Tulane definitely does not depend on being Greek. Greek life at Tulane is strong but not dominant.</p>
<p>We met with the director of Greek life at the March Top Scholars weekend and she shared that Greek participation is at a new high-I believe she said 40% of undergrads-possibly attributable to the new sorority. </p>
<p>But, as @fallenchemist noted, it apparently doesn’t dominate, maybe due to the absence of chapter houses.</p>
<p>The director also said that just about everyone gets a bid, however, not necessarily to his or her first choice. </p>
<p>@cheermom20878 - Right,they have added a sorority, maybe even two in the last 5 years. But one just started this year as you say. I do wonder if that 40% was overall or just sororities. Because I think the frat number is down, possibly due to a house or two being closed in that same time frame. I kind of thought the frat participation was around 25% or so. I don’t follow it that closely so I could easily be wrong, </p>
<p>On our visit we were told about 30%. </p>
<p>That sounds traditionally correct. I figured it dropped a little because one was closed, I think. In any case, it doesn’t change the current situation at Tulane.</p>
<p>CTransfer - what year are you going to be and are you in a sorority where you currently are? Typically, the older you are, the harder it is to get into as they prefer to get mostly freshmen who will be around for a while. My D is a current freshman and went through rush this year. At the end she was left with 2 houses that she just didn’t feel were right for her so she dropped out. With rush being second semester, she already had made friends, some who joined sororities and some who didn’t. They all still hang out together and it doesn’t seem to matter one bit if one’s in a sorority or not. </p>
<p>She did end up rushing a business fraternity even though she isn’t studying business. I was surprised at how selective it was taking only 33 out of 112 rushees, if I remember correctly. It has been a great experience for her and she doesn’t seem interested in trying sorority rush again next year at this point.</p>
<p>@cyclonehome - That is so interesting, about the business frat! I never would have thought of that as an alternative to the usual Greek life, but it makes sense. Congrats to her for finding such an interesting path that sounds like it is fitting her very well.</p>
<p>Also, thanks for the anecdotal confirmation of my broken record assertion that Tulane is not at all dominated by Greek life. I know at some schools Greeks and non-Greeks don’t mix as much, but that just isn’t at all how Tulane is. I think the lack of live-in houses does make a big difference, as @cheermom20878 says.</p>
<p>Good to know! @cyclonehome I am not Greek at my current school (I was in a similar situation that your daughter was in) I’ll be a sophomore next year–however, I heard they might do informal rush in the fall. I have no idea what the validity of that statement is though!</p>
<p>@CTransfer2017 - I think you are right that non-freshmen can rush in the fall. I also don’t know the details, but I am sure you can find out quickly once you arrive this fall.</p>
<p>@CTransfer - I believe the fall rush is only a few sororities that aren’t at chapter total. I’m not sure which ones that might be at Tulane, but I would guess it would limit your choices to only a couple including the new one that started this past fall. I don’t know everything about Tulane rush, but at the 2 colleges I am familiar with, it would be an informal rush with no commitments and if you don’t like them, you could still rush in January. You should ask to be sure though. Recs can help too if you know any sorority alumni.</p>
<p>@FC - I found the business frat path for her very funny myself. She went to some rush events because a friend was and really liked the people. It’s a very social group and besides doing business related activities, they also do service projects, and many social activities including a formal. She also likes the fact that it includes boys and girls. We are wondering how long it’s going to take before she becomes a business major now. hehe</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the info everyone-we shall see!</p>
<p>@cyclonehome - what is her current thinking on a major? Well, almost no matter what it is, a double major with business is never a bad idea.</p>
<p>@fallenchemist I have to ask-do you work for Tulane? (or do you just know everything?!)</p>
<p>@fc - She is still planning on math but I think she has dropped the idea of Spanish/Portuguese and just getting a Spanish minor since she is so close to it. She still wants to learn Portuguese though so she is still taking it, but really only cares about learning the language, not everything else involved in the major. I keep reminding her of the 4+1 masters in statistics because I think it might be a good option for her.</p>
<p>@cyclonehome - That sounds like a good plan. Learning Portuguese is great, with that plus Spanish she will have Latin America conquered. Is she thinking about doing a semester in Brazil? Obviously a great way to really get her Portuguese mastered and Tulane has strong programs there. Not to mention Brazil continues to be a potential leader in world commerce. A business degree and math degree, especially stats, could be an excellent combination. Add Spanish/Portuguese fluency to that and who knows.</p>
<p>I agree with you that those 4+1 programs are really attractive. With the discounted tuition, it is hard to beat. Might even represent a chance to take a last business course or two if she needed it to finish a BS in business.</p>
<p>@CTransfer2017 - No, I don’t work for Tulane. I am an alum and, until this last December, a Tulane parent of an active student. So for those reasons plus just a good old fashioned obsession, I follow Tulane very closely. It started out when, after Katrina, I saw so much misinformation on here that I felt compelled to set the record straight. But after a while, I guess at the root of it, I really liked helping people navigate these issues and helping my alma mater at the same time. And I seem to have a knack for it, as they say. Or so I have been told a number of times.</p>
<p>Best of luck with your transfer to Tulane! I am sure it will work out great. People make new friends all the time after freshman year, I am confident you won’t have any trouble establishing your own social circle(s).</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice! I still have a few more schools to choose from, but I’m leaning towards Tulane!</p>
<p>@CTransfer2017 - Ah, OK. For some reason I thought you had decided. When do transfers have to let the school know by? Is it the same date for all schools?</p>
<p>I need to decide on June 1st. Tulane is my strongest option (I would love to go) But I also have Rollins College (very generous scholarship) TCU, American and waiting on GW. I’ll be going to all of them during the mont\h of May!</p>