<p>What's the Greek system like at Berkeley? And does anyone know the reputations of the sororities and fraternities? Do they have houses?</p>
<p>I know they have houses and that they recruit the first few weeks of every semester. Can't say much other than that, not being involved myself. calgreeks.com is their official website.</p>
<p>All I can say is that the Greek system here at Cal is amazing. Its really the heart of the social scene. Its nuts.</p>
<p>I wouldn't say it's the heart. There are plenty of social outlets available at Cal without being part of the Greek system, though going Greek definitely is one of them.</p>
<p>One of the earlier posts actually did what I think is a mostly accurate portrayal of all the frats at Cal. <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=150974&highlight=greek+system%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=150974&highlight=greek+system</a></p>
<p>If reputation matters to you, stick to these. Keep an open-mind though. The co-ops are becoming some of the best places to party nowadays too. I admit a lot of this is hearsay, as Im a GDI (god-danm independent). Still, frat row is a great place to party and ive spent ample time there. </p>
<ol>
<li> Sigma chi biggest house on campus in numbers I think. Has a pretty ugly physical house which makes it extremely ironic that its full of rich socal kids. Like to party hard and make idiots out of themselves. Guys range from waterpolo idiots to guitarplaying idiots. Most popular with sororities from what ive seen.</li>
<li> SAE very nice house, very jock-like. If you want to relive your high school glory days of football, live here. Very norcal and meathead, but still popular with sororities. If your SAT score is over 1300, dont mention it during Rush. Same goes for Beta.<br></li>
<li> Delta kappa epsilon very nice house, an ivy-league look. Best football game days. Guys are elitist, but politely so. Not as OC-ish as sigma chi, not as preppie as fiji, but smarter than the others. A good middle of the road choice, so to speak. </li>
<li> fiji amazing house, not that big but really nice. Tend to be extremely pretty boy preppie. Tend to be some what prissy. Throw very few parties because fear ruining house. Still, such a sweet house.</li>
<li> beta the rugby house. The most jock-like of any house. Youll know if you fit in. this is the house that can beat up any other house.<br></li>
<li> zete throw the largest party of the year, Zete Zoo. Drink a lot, haze a lot. Every member gets a single room too. Gone down a lot in numbers but still truckin.</li>
</ol>
<p>The previous poster mentioned Tier 1 nice guy houses in addition to these. I would like to believe it too, but its just not true. Unfortunate as it may be, the greek system here does have a pecking order. Not nearly as bad as at USC, etc, but still visible. </p>
<p>Sororities are much diff than frats in that their reps are not as solid due to how many diff 100+ girls they all have. Every house has hot girls and not-so-hot girls. The difference is only in the ratio. The last 2 years have also seen a huge change in the rankings, so to speak.</p>
<ol>
<li> kappa hot, rich, and fake. Known as kappa half-a gramma. And thats not just weed- Im serious. Still, hot girls.<br></li>
<li> a d pi attractive, nice girls. Down to party. Go here if youre looking for a girlfriend. </li>
<li> chi omega on a huge upswing. Cute girls. </li>
<li> sigma kappa on a huge upswing too. Cute girls.<br></li>
<li> delta gamma always has a solid group of cute, hot girls. More laid-back crowd though, dont party as much.</li>
<li> Pi Phi used to be top 2 in competition with kappa for many years, but has tanked real hard. Mostly because the girls are known for being mean.<br></li>
<li> Tri- delt known as the most promiscuous girls at cal. Best partiers by far though. This sorority is extra popular with the frats, go figure, but put at #7 for extremely promiscuous rep.</li>
</ol>
<p>Awesome list. Thanks</p>
<p>I know lots of Pi Phi's and don't know of any of them that are "mean."
Tri-Delts, yes, the ones I know are very, very promiscuous... that's putting it nicely!</p>
<p>Frats and sorostities are so fake.</p>
<p>that's such a generalized statement; the greeks on campus have a great deal; i'm not a greek, but they're good people who just wanna have a good time, like all of us. I'm not in a frat, but there are few that i know in the greek system that i consider to be "Fake" or dolled up or stupid or whatever. If you dig that feeling of community that they offer, the greeks are a great alternative to living in dorms or your own apt (plus its way cheaper).
Coops are up there too though, they can be fun, but just as dirty as frats.</p>
<p>cheaper? hmmm, how about the millions of dues? such is the concept of buying friends to have a good time.</p>
<p>If you factor in the dues and the cost of living in a frat house, it's most likely still cheaper than most nearby housing around the campus.</p>
<p>About 10% of the student population are in the Greek system, I believe. It's not a big thing here compared to some colleges. Frat houses are pretty cheap and to find good parties (on some nights, any parties at all) you either are in a frat or know someone in a frat.</p>
<p>Man tenniscraze, you seem to be so knowledgeable about the Greek system, it's pretty incredible. As a member of the Greek system, I may not be in the position to assess the validity of your claims, but please, do humor me.</p>
<p>"hmmm, how about the millions of dues?"</p>
<p>Well, living in my fraternity house is a flat $750 fee. That includes utilities, internet, cable, meals, and social. No matter what, $750 is the most I am required to pay. Now, $750 is definitely not chump change. So let's have a look at the dorms.</p>
<p>For the Academic year, living in a double in the units will cost $11,970 (<a href="http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livingatcal/rates.html)%5B/url%5D">http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livingatcal/rates.html)</a>. Now, divided by the length of the academic year, 9 months, this comes out to $1330 a month. This cost is 56% ($580 per month) more than the cost of living in the fraternity. Over the whole year, this cost is $5220 more than living in the fraternity.</p>
<p>Now, I know there are more fraternities more expensive than mine. However, generally fraternities are less expensive than dorms and have a flat, inclusive fee.</p>
<p>"such is the concept of buying friends to have a good time."</p>
<p>Well, fraternities are organizations. Organizations require financing. People in band have to pay dues and rent their uniform to support their organization. People in band (Id assume) have other friends in band. However, I'm not sure if I'd call that paying for friendship. Just a group of people in an organizaton striving for a goal, and taking the necessary financial steps to keep the organization running.</p>
<p>Dues aren't for "friends", they're for things like big ass parties, mucho beer, strippers, buses & cab rides to take you to and from the parties, beer and stippers, etc. </p>
<p>Oh yeah, then there's other minor things like INSURANCE, house up-keep, charities, more kegs..., sorority mixers... </p>
<p>Members of a fraternity join because they get along with the members, believe in what the fraternity stands for, and want to have a blast. They provide a communal atmosphere that is very hard to match. After going through the things that you go through, and living together, you really do start to feel like brothers.</p>
<p>And before you fire back at me with the claim that all fraternities do is party, I'll tell you this: Because of my association with the fraternity, I was able to get a position as a research assistant at the Haas school of business. Because of a member of the house who shares my major, I was able to receive feedback on a paper that I ultimately received an A on. Fraternities do more that party (although that is a big part, I'm not gonna lie)</p>
<p>Now, people who don't necessarily desire this atmosphere, seek apartments, or people who want this atmosphere without an above organization seek coops. Thas fine.</p>
<p>The greek system is not right for everybody, but I would certainly not denigrate it on false premises.</p>
<p>
[quote]
For the Academic year, living in a double in the units will cost $11,970 (<a href="http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livingatcal/rates.html)%5B/url%5D">http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/livingatcal/rates.html)</a>. Now, divided by the length of the academic year, 9 months, this comes out to $1330 a month. This cost is 56% ($580 per month) more than the cost of living in the fraternity. Over the whole year, this cost is $5220 more than living in the fraternity.</p>
<p>Now, I know there are more fraternities more expensive than mine. However, generally fraternities are less expensive than dorms and have a flat, inclusive fee.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>that's an unfair comparison, considering ucb has recently been cited as having the most expensive dorms in the nation.</p>
<p>Being in a fraternity does have its benefits. Those who criticize it have not experienced it yet...</p>
<p>As a freshmen, it's good to form your circle of friends asap because it will make your life so much more enjoyable for the next 4 years. And don't forget about the CONNECTIONS, as indicated by hopefullyhaas. Through my frat, I was offered a real-deal summer internship as well. And depending on how rigorous the pledging process is, it will really make you feel like you are part of a family away from home.</p>
<p>P.S. It's <em>very</em> easy to get behind in academics because you have so much fun, so prospective Go Greek students watch out...</p>
<p>Many, many things on campus can thwart academic success, not just the Greek system.</p>
<p>And just a note, the co-ops I've heard are great social scenes, but don't have great repute from the university per se.</p>
<p>ccmadforever: the comparison then does make sense. they're not comparing rent in a frat to the national average but to the area (because that's what you have available to you in going to school at berkeley).</p>
<p>i just find it unjustified that the comparison is made to dorms, especially since dorms are THE most expensive in the nation. he could've just as easily compared the cost of living at coops, which is probably more relevant.</p>
<p>Good point. Though the price of the dorms itself is unjustified! Crazy prices.</p>