I really want to join a sorority but my parents won’t allow it because of the stereotypes and drinking, and I also want to have an awesome social life in colleges where greek life is very prominent (Vandy, USC, UMich, Berkeley, etc). Will joining sorority rush solely for the purpose of making friends be a good idea, even when I know I’m not actually gonna join a sorority?
Joining a sorority rush(knowing that I won't join a sorority)just for the purpose of making friends?
Sorority rushes can be very expensive and really only worth it if you intend to join a sorority. There are plenty of ways to party, make friends, etc in college without going greek. If your school offers any preorientation activities, especially ones like a backpacking trip, do it. The connections formed from the non exclusionary activities will likely be far more substantial than ones formed from a week of small talk with potentially hundreds of women.
You do meet a lot of people during rush, but making friends takes longer than a week. In your situation, I’d be tempted to seek out clubs, religious groups, and volunteer opportunities instead. You certainly don’t have to be Greek to have a social life, and at many schools, many of the Greek parties are open to non-Greeks.
Do your parents believe that non-Greek students at the schools you mention don’t drink? There are both Greek & independent students everywhere who don’t drink, rarely drink, or responsibly drink.
@yaupon what clubs do you think are very tight knit or similar to sororities? i am for sure going to join a figure skating club
@cowycam7, depends on the school. In general, the more time & passion you spend in an EC, the better you get to know the other students who are involved and the more meaningful your experience.
You don’t need to join a sorority to have a fabulous social life. Just talk to your classmates while in class, study together, and then start hanging out! Sororities are expensive and seem superficial to me, but that’s my opinion. You can also join clubs or find a new hobby like ballroom dancing and meet people through those activities. You can also volunteer and join charity events and make friends through there… I believe your social life will be better as there will be no hardcore parties.
I agree you dont need a sorority to make friends or to have fun. But going through rush and not joining just to make friends is not worth it. Rush is only a week or two so the chance that you will stay friends with someone you meet is very slim. And if you really want to join a sorority then try a smaller (not huge with a house) sorority. And you can communicate to the girls about your parents concerns and (if they have nothing to hide) they would be willing to talk to them.
No. The actual rush parties you spend talking to the girls who are members, not to others going through rush. The first day you’ll be with a group going from house to house with little time to socialize with the others in your group. After that, you may all have different schedules with some going to House A while you are at B or C. It’s pretty frantic. Usually Rush is the first week of school, or even the weekend before, and you could use that time to join other activities that you are interested in, go to dorm activities, find others with your same major.
If you are just interested in learning more about rush, then go through it.