Can anyone help provide current information regarding the Greek system at Ohio University. My son and I recently attended an OHIO Up Close event and were very impressed by the university. My son envisions Greek life as part of his college experience, so I am seeking out more accurate information than some of the online searches might try to provide. Basically, I trust this audience. We drove by the houses and many of them looked very nice from the outside–clean, well-kept, conveniently located near campus.
That said, our specific questions are what type of activities the fraternities host for their members and what types of personalities are found at the fraternities at Ohio University. I don’t want to hear negative and inaccurate stereotypes, but sometimes houses are known for a traits that create a sense of community for that house. My son has been very active in his high school–school sports, ASB officer positions, club memberships and offices, class valedictorian; he also snow skies, camps, and just enjoys hanging out with his friends going to movies. He wants to be a part of the social network a frat offers and is wondering if he’ll find that at Ohio U. He has friends who are in a frat at our state school, and he likes the idea of ski trips, golf outings, intramural teams, etc. Basically, a ready-made group of friends with common interests is what he is excited about as he ventures out to meet lots of new people in his new home-away-from-home. Developing a resume through leadership opportunities and community service would be another plus. Yes, I know he can get this with friends in a dorm, but like I said, being in a frat is part of what he hopes his college experience will include. He may go through rush and change his mind, but this is a priority right now.
So…can anyone tell me what Ohio U’s fraternity system is like? The Greek system is not as big at Ohio U as it is at our state school, so he’s wanting more information about the quality of the experience he might expect to have. Thanks for any insight!
Our D was never interested in joining a sorority so I can’t help much from a personal point of view. Just in case you haven’t seen this, this is what is on their website.
I have 2 D’s at Ohio, and one is involved in Greek life. We are OOS, so it was important for D1 to find a group of students she could connect with and other girls that she could bond with like values. She found a sorority, and now closing up on her sophomore year, she is an elected officer. Her main purpose was to join for the philanthropy outreach, and that is what she is working with. Plus, the officer position is a good resume builder for management and organizing skills. She loves the girls, and although she doesn’t “like” all of them all the time, she is very glad she is participating in Greek life. Her friends she hangs out with are about 50/50: half Greek, half non.
D2 had no interest in Greek life, but she is a D1 athlete, so all of her time is devoted to that. And she considers her teammates her “sorority”, if you will.
Thank you for the link, Ivvcsf. I asked S3 if he had checked it out, and he said yes. I think he is after the first hand experience to help him make his decision. Is your daughter happy at OU? Does she have any dorm advice?
Bobcatparent, my son is interested for the same reasons. He will be a loooooong way from home, so the quick connections would be beneficial. However, like I said, he wants to join a frat even if he decides to stay in state. His older brothers had absolutely no interest in Greek life. We just want him to be happy and do well at a quality school. Ohio U seems like a good fit, so we are anxiously awaiting his decision. Thanks so much for sharing your daughter’s Greek experience.
Dorm selection can be interesting at OU. For freshmen they base your selection time on when you put in your deposit. The deposits are refundable if you had put them in early. There are 3 “Greens” as they call them. The East Green dorms were mostly built in the 50s but many are currently being updated. I think it has a rather colonial look. South Green is the largest. It has some older dorms built in the flood plane about the time the Hocking River was rerouted. (Area hasn’t flooded since and that was done in the early 1970s) it also has the newest dorms completed about a year ago. It’s closest to the Ping Rec Center. West Green is closest to the engineering school. There are different opinions concerning types of dorms. OU has suite style and traditional dorms. Traditional dorms are rumored to be more social. It is what my D chose and she did have friends on her hall.
One thing to consider is meal plans. OU quotes the price for the Flex14. They also have a Traditional 20 meal plan. It does not give you any dollars, nor can it be used in quite as many ways nor can you use it for other people but it is a bit over $1000 cheaper and the way I figured it I can give my child $450 and still save over $600. They can use that $450 anywhere including uptown.
I’ll give my opinion on greek life. I attended Miami University about 35 plus years ago (another Ohio public about the same age as OU and frankly they look very similar on paper but feel very different). Miami has a very Greek orientation. I felt much of the identity of the students on campus was predicated on whether or not you belonged to a fraternity or sorority and which one you belonged to. The pejorative term for non-greek students at Miami was GDI (the cleansed version is Gosh Darn Independent). OU is not like that. They certainly have fraternities and sororities but ones identity doesn’t really evolve around their participation. I do believe they would have all of the advantages of membership your son is looking for especially the ready made social group.
Finally, my D really likes OU. It fits her academic goals perfectly and she has found good friends and is VERY busy. We are instate and she has come home 3 times her freshmen year despite it only being a bit over 2 hours away. Good luck in your son’s decision.