I plan on being an engineering major and am not to keen on being in a frat, I’m not completely closed minded on the idea of going one, but would prefer not to. How is the social scene outside greek life and what are the other options for social life?
I’m curious about this too. I like most things about Vandy except the dominant greek life.
Parent here. Not sure if this is relevant to you young guys/girls, but I did a complete 360 on this topic.
I was not in a frat when I was in school, and it wasn’t a big presence on my campus.
I find the idea of frats kind of offensive, in principle. They seem exclusive, superficial, and conformist.
All things you would hope that intelligent young people would abhor.
I can’t say that my position on any of those aspects of frats has changed, but as a parent trying to help
a child find a college that fits, I keep running into the same problem - the perfect school… except that
it’s dominated by Greek life.
Our options are limited due to finances, and that’s what has forced me to give the idea more consideration.
Maybe I’m deluding myself, out of necessity, but I think it’s not as big of a deal as it seems.
So you join a club in order to meet some people and have a group to hang out with while you try to
branch out and make other friends.
Maybe you’ll have to hold your nose during the whole rush process, but once it’s all done, you’ll
be fine. Think of it as a sociological experiment.
Once you get over that hump, you’ll probably realize that honesty and a strong work ethic are disposable
principles as well. Just kidding 
I say don’t make it more than it is. Join a frat and have some fun. Don’t turn down Vandy over something
as insignificant as frats.
It really depends on what you want to do and what type of social life you’re looking for
If you want a traditional college experience you should definitely join a fraternity. If you don’t care about that then there’s no reason to do so. Just be aware that Greek Life dominates the social scene here. As far as the social life outside of the Greek system you can go to bars(most are 21+), go to off-campus parties if you know about them (there aren’t very many as Vandy is very residential), go to dorm parties in suites/Mayfields(these are very small and usually not that fun), or go to concerts. If you are a guy you may be able to get into frat parties if you know enough brothers. You will not be allowed into their pregames or other events. This isn’t the case for girls.
I would say come in with an open mind. Many people join frats who didn’t expect to, and they are not all stereotypes.
How important it is depends on what type of person you are. If you are a rich white kid who went to prep school, like to wear pastels and boat shoes, like going out to the bars, and all your friends are really fratty people, then you’ll need to join a frat to have fun.
If you like to stay in and play league of legends and don’t drink, then you definitely don’t need to be in a frat to have fun.
Not to say that that those are the only type of people inside/outside of greeklife, just that those are the types of people where your greek affiliation would make or break your experience here.
Parent also. S2 is a Sr Engineer and did not go greek. Was not interested in the “rush” process. He did join the Co-Ed Engineering Fraternity. He has friends that are both greek and non. He has had an amazing 4 years, socially and educationally and is very sad that it will be ending in a few weeks.
Parent here: My son is a freshman engineering major at Vandy now. Went greek and is VERY happy. I will tell you, however, that his grades have suffered. Pledging involves many required study hours… which is great! But it also involves many other activities that often fall the night or weekend before big tests. Engineering is one of the toughest majors on campus… if you pleage, the struggle to balance social and academic will be very real.
It is definitely true that pledging is very time consuming. However, the GPA of the pledges is tracked and houses are incentivized to keep them up. I wouldn’t let concerns about grades keep someone from rushing. Most guys would agree that their social life is much better than if they hadn’t went Greek. If possible, I would recommend taking 12 hours second semester if you plan on pledging.