<p>i've been told that it's a little more difficult to meet people and stay in contact with them at Michigan.. which would make sense because if you went to a small school you could meet someone and see them around and recognize them.</p>
<p>and since i don't plan on joining a sorority, how can i maximize my chance of making friends? join a Michigan Learning Community? (p.s. could someone elaborate on what a MLC is?) </p>
<p>luckily i already know a lot of people who attend u of m and there's a ton of people in my grade going, but i love meeting new people and hope to establish some lasting friendships! :)</p>
<p>oh and.. i read another thread on here that said freshmen/sophomores don't get into many parties if they're not involved in the Greek scene. so... how can this be overcome? ha</p>
<p>What makes you think it will be hard to meet people on a campus of 40,000 students?</p>
<p>Unless you plan on staying in your room all day with the doors shut, it is hard to not meet people.</p>
<p>Came here knowing essentially nobody, found it insanely easy to make friends. </p>
<p>And for your greek system question, you’ll be able to get into parties with girls during welcome week but after rush there’s really no reason for a fraternity to let you into their party unless it’s a big open party which doesn’t happen very often. Most greek events are mixers with other sororities and are limited to just those members, even if you have friends that are brothers at whatever frat’s party you’re trying to get into. This really can’t be overcome, you will either have to go greek (advised) or live with not always having an option on the party front. People not in greek life tend to try to find older friends that throw house parties often, but seeing and drinking with the same few people over and over can get old fast.</p>
<p>Living in a dorm and taking the initiative is all that is required to make friends. And it is a myth that it is easier to make friends at a smaller college.</p>
<p>I just had a question on the greek front…i will be a male engineer and I was wondering if it is necessary to join a frat ti get into parties…I am worried about rushing because I know my workload will be insane but at the same time I wanna have fun in college ya know</p>
<p>To be honest I’ve never understood why people push Greek Life so hard. It’s great and all, yeah, and the people in it tend to like it, but it’s not for everyone, and I personally see it as an extension of high school. It’s very clique-y, and the parties are overrated. If you want to go to their parties, find someone in a fraternity who will get you in to the parties. </p>
<p>It is true, though, that getting in to parties freshmen year is difficult, but sophomore year you won’t have a problem at all. seriously. none.</p>
<p>Only 15% of undergrads at Michigan are greek, though I am sure far more than 15% are having fun! There is so much more to Michigan than frats.</p>
<p>Finding someone you know in a fraternity won’t get you into their parties. Yes, you can have fun if you’re not greek, but it’s gonna be very limited to house parties, necto (ugh), and the occasional open frat party. If you are greek you will have mixers every weekend to go to and your social life will be much easier, not to mention you will also have IM teams to be on, a place to live sophomore year, and a ton of great friends around you. The greek system here is in no way an extension of high school, I know from experience.</p>
<p>thank you everyone for the responses! maizeandblue…since you are knowledgeable.my question is how much of a time commitment is a frat? i might be interested in joining one but i will be a chemE major and i know that is a tough major that requires a lot of time for studying and work…is it manageable to do both?</p>
<p>D was pretty adament about never joining a sorority (sp?). But because she was worried about making friends (she is OOS), she decided to go through rush to keep her options open. She found that some of the houses were stereotypical sorority b&*%$es and she had no interest in those houses, but she ended up finding one house that was a perfect fit for her and is very glad she went through rush. But even if she hadn’t gone Greek, she has made a ton of friends outside the Greek system and she has found MI to be very friendly. BTW, she is in LSA honors and they told her that the girls do fine with sororities, but that the boys who join fraternities their first semester usually pay for it with a bad GPA. I have no idea if that is true, but that is what she was told.</p>
<p>Zier, I don’t know if it’s still around but years and years ago my sib was a member of Triangle. They had a beautiful house on Washtenaw and it was all engineering, architecture, etc. students so they totally understood the academic schedule. You could check and see if that one is still around.</p>
<p>Honestly, if you like to party on the weekends, you really need to join a frat. It will make your life a whole lot easier. There is definitely so much more to Michigan, but like I said, if you want to have the party lifestyle, rush.</p>
<p>I have to disagree with everyone saying that you can’t get into frat parties without being in one. I know from experience this is completely wrong. Some frats may be very exclusive to their own members but I have found several that are not. Just by knowing 3 or 4 people in different houses I’ve gone to parties every weekend without pledging anywhere. I am however going to pledge this semester, just because I enjoy the idea of being in a fraternity. </p>
<p>What maize and kebudnik said about the lack of open parties is partly true. If you stay connected you can find out about an open party happening maybe once every 2/3 weeks (and by stay connected I mean get a lot of FB friends so you see the events online). Open parties are usually absolutely packed (and therefore get dry fast). If you know people in frats they can inform you about parties that are meant to be just for the frat guys and their friends. </p>
<p>I guess what the point is, to overcome not being in greek life, you have to be a little more aggressive with the “what are you doing this weekend?” question. And you have to develop a broad social base.</p>
<p>thank you everyone for the great responses! i still dont know if i am going to rush but i guess i have lots of time left to decide! btw when do freshman rush at mich? fall winter or spring?</p>
<p>I think this is right but I’m still kind of new to Michigan so I might be wrong but there are two rushes, one in the fall and one in the winter. I hear that winter rush is kind of crappy and that it’s best if you rush in the fall. You might want someone else to confirm this though.</p>