Ask the Fraternity Council to provide you the GPA avgs of each fraternity. You will see that most Fraternities avg GPA is above the school non-Greek avg. Most fraternities have required study hall 2-3 x per week for rushers. And the top fraternities will kick you out or put you in probation if you don’t make grades.
@Crimsongrad No need to ask the Fraternity Council. Here’s the report from the office of Greek affairs. On a lot of campuses the Greek average is well above the campus average; that’s not the case at Alabama at all.
There are safety in numbers: for many 4.0 students there are ones who barely scrape by with a 1.67. I say that in response to OP’s original question.
The most telling sign for me is the ‘new member’ GPAs. In some cases they buoy the overall organisation’s GPA, but in a lot of cases they do not. Unless students have a very good GPA foundation their first few semesters, as they move into harder, upper-division classes, often the GPA will dip. It would be great to have this info by major/college!
That’s going to be true for any student - Greek or Independent.
My son will be a freshman in the fall, Honors College, Presidential Scholarship and will be rushing. Like you, his dad was not in a fraternity and felt the same way that your dad does. Luckily for my son, I was in a sorority and can speak to the benefits of Greek membership, which persuaded his dad. IMO, you get more leadership, community service and networking opportunities in the Greek system. My oldest son held several elected positions in his fraternity and they sent him to the Wooden Institute (for Leadership). IFC sent him to UK for a summer program. Lots of opportunities to grow your resume and have a great time making lifelong friendships along the way. My advice, sign up to go through formal rush and explore the different houses. You don’t have to accept a bid if you find it’s not a fit for you. I gave this same advice to my friend’s daughter, who was reluctant to go the Greek route. Well, she did and says it’s the best advice she’s ever taken (serious student and not a partier). She is graduating in a few weeks with a high GPA, headed to grad school for Accounting, was President of her sorority, and has an internship this summer with KPMG. In all of her interviews, her sorority leadership experience was a major focus - if you can live with 60+ girls or guys and survive, you can pretty much do anything and employers value that experience. So, explore your options, embrace the opportunities, and remember - this will be THE best 4 years of your life! Roll Tide!