<p>Hey everybody, Cornell has been on my list of potential colleges for a long time now and I went to visit it seemed like a really solid match for me...but I'm having some apprehensions about the Greek life scene.</p>
<p>Now don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for a college that has no party scene or anything like that...I'm really looking forward to the social aspect of college too, but I don't know how comfortable I am with the the entire fraternity thing you know?</p>
<p>So is it really that important at Cornell to be in a frat? Honest answers and input is appreciated</p>
<p>You don’ t have to be in a frat at all to have a great experience at Cornell. A good portion of the students at Cornell are greek (about 30%), but the campus is large and diverse enough so that it doesn’t completely dominate the social scene like at some schools (like large state schools or a school like Dartmouth which is almost 50% greek). The fraternity’s and sororities themselves are also quite diverse. We like to say there is a greek house that is a fit for everyone. </p>
<p>Greek life at Cornell is also really different than at a lot of other schools. For one, freshman cannot rush until the Spring semester. Cornell and the greek system want to make sure you get acquainted to life at Cornell before throwing you into a greek system. Also here, academics really comes first. You don’t have to dedicate your life to your sorority or fraternity. Plus, hazing is not allowed. </p>
<p>If you do end up coming to Cornell, you have the whole 1st semester to decide if greek life is right for you. The worse thing you can do is go through Rush and find that it’s not for you. Or you can do rush and find a great house that you really like and have a great experience. And if anything, frats are were freshman go to party (free beer!).</p>
<p>I’m not into the Greek scene either, and what I love about Cornell is that it’s big enough for you to find your own niche. Sure, lots of people are into Greek life and partying, but it hasn’t affected me at all because there are plenty of others who aren’t, and it’s so easy to find friends with similar interests. Whereas some universities’ social scenes are completely dominated by Greek life, it’s only one of many options at Cornell. You can also have fun partying without joining a frat or sorority.</p>
<p>You don’t have to join a frat to party, but it certainly makes things easier. Parties are dominated by the frat scene during freshman and sophomore yeah, then it moves to collegetown. Hazing of course is not allowed, but it positively still happens.</p>
<p>Cardsfan, I had the same apprehension that you did. I actually posted something like this a couple of years ago before I accepted my offer that I didn’t want to be on a campus dominated by the Greek scene and drinking. I couldn’t have been more mistaken. I was pushed to rush by a couple of frats because of some reasons I can’t post but in the end I didn’t do it and I’m perfectly fine. I’m rarely ever bored, and there’s plenty to do. I never thought of myself as a fraternity-type person, but the parties that they host can be really good. The greek scene stigma is really overhyped. Really: don’t let that at all be a factor of whether or not you want to be at Cornell. It will only be a big part if you let it, but it truly is optional.</p>
<p>just to support the others - social life at Cornell is not dependent upon the frats. If you want to immerse yourself in that world, it can consume you. If you don’t, you can honestly forget frats are even there. A lot of people do the collegetown house party / coffeehouse lifestyle or any number of others.</p>
<p>It’s not that Cornell is that huge of a school relative to a lot, but the hype about it being socially diverse is not exaggerated. You can easily find your niche, whatever it may be. </p>
<p>Keep in mind - only about 30% of the students go Greek. That leaves 70% outside the system (though you’ll probably find a lot go to parties freshman and sophomore year, but that fades).</p>