<p>Hello, I have been accepted at Alabama (and the honor’s college! 
) and I am interested in attending. I am however worried about how dominant greek life seems to be at Alabama. I was wondering if a girl without any sorority aspirations could have a great college experience at Alabama?
Thanks!</p>
<p>My kids didn’t go greek and they have an active social life. There are many clubs and other activities to get involved with. :)</p>
<p>I believe that for girls, being Greek is less of a big deal than it is for guys because girls can still attend Greek parties. Meeting people is not hard at all especially during the first few weeks of school.</p>
<p>Have similar concern WRT my son, who is about as un-greek-y as it gets! :)</p>
<p>You don’t have to be Greek to have a great college experience at UA. While Greek Life is an excellent option for some people, for others it is not. I myself and many other people I know are having excellent college experiences without being Greek. You can still have camaraderie, friendship, and, if so inclined, even go to parties without being Greek. While there are many parts of Greek life that I would enjoy, I decided to pursue other opportunities that I would enjoy even more. I am very happy with my decision to remain a GDI.</p>
<p>We were wondering about this also. My D asked what Greeks do and I am not that familiar. Back when I went to college in PA, the Greek fraternities allowed non-Greeks in to their parties, but the sororities did not. My D is interested in sports and asked if she is sorority material . At Alabama, is it the Greek fraternities socializing only with the sororities?</p>
<p>My D was on the fence last year about Greek Life; we’re originally from NJ and there has never been any family involvement in sororities or fraternities. D went to Panhellenic Preview Day and thought that a couple of the sororities might be a good fit. She decided not to do recruitment because she really wanted to do Alabama Action and they are the same week. While Omama’s D was able to do both successfully two years ago, my D thought it would stress her out too much ;)</p>
<p>Fast forward a semester & she has a lot going on without Greek life. The last number I saw was that 29% of UA women participate in sorority life; that means that 71% don’t. I would say that if you lived in Tutwiler and weren’t Greek, it would be really noticeable, but if you live in honors housing, not so much.</p>
<p>Thank you for the inside scoop … it was very helpful. I will pass the info on to my D.</p>
<p>OK, so my son arrived at Bama as a dyed-in-the-wool GDI, hit the ground running at Outdoor Action, made a slew of great friends, and has never been wanting for a social life or things to do.</p>
<p>So, last week I got a call from him and he said, “Dad, I’ve got a funny story for you.” The story was that he’s going through the pledge/bid process for a fraternity (is that the right terminology?). Apparently, he decided to go along for the ride with one of his friends “so he wouldn’t have to go it alone,” found the guys in the frat they’re investigating to be to his liking, and . . . we’ll see. He’s the last guy on earth I would have expected to go down this path, but I applaud him for having an open mind and taking a look under the hood, as it were, for himself.</p>
<p>BTW, if he ends up joining a frat, he’ll continue to live in honors housing. He is not required to reside in the frat house in order to be a member.</p>
<p>I’ll keep y’all posted. This is new territory for me as well.</p>
<p>malanai - that is pretty funny. i would not have expected your son to be interested in greek life at all! but if he tried it and liked it, then good for him! </p>
<p>which fraternity??</p>
<p>^^^I Eta Pi, or something like that. :)</p>
<p>Actually, I’m not sure. Gotta get back to you on that.</p>
<p>My kids could have gone either way…in some ways they aren’t the Greek type, but in some ways they are. </p>
<p>However, they really would not have had time for it. One is a math major (and CBH) and the other is a ChemE major who is also pre-med. Since both have post-undergrad plans, academics has been a primary focus for them. </p>
<p>I’m not saying that those in greeks don’t get high grades…I know many do. 
I know the sororities really keep track of that. But, I do know two kids from my kids’ high school who pledged, and while they did maintain a 3.5 GPA, it did hurt them when they applied to med school. Med schools really want to see a 3.75+ GPA. </p>
<p>The problem is that when students are pledging (the most demanding semester) it is also the time that pre-med students are doing their pre-med pre-reqs and one B iin a science or math can really derail your plans.</p>
<p>OK, it’s Alpha Sigma Phi, founded in 1845 at Yale: [Alpha</a> Sigma Phi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Sigma_Phi]Alpha”>Alpha Sigma Phi - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>The UA chapter died out in 1970 and is being resurrected: [Alpha</a> Sigma Phi - Alabama Achieves Colony Status](<a href=“http://www.alphasigmaphi.org/index.php/20090908306/News/Alabama-Achieves-Colony-Status.html]Alpha”>http://www.alphasigmaphi.org/index.php/20090908306/News/Alabama-Achieves-Colony-Status.html)</p>
<p>Their Latin motto is, Causa Latet Vis Est Notissima (“The cause is hidden, the results well-known.”). Other than that, I know nothing.</p>
<p>M2ck, we’re totally with you when it comes to academic priorities. Son is double majoring and has high ambitions. If he goes Greek and it interferes with that, I’m confident he’ll punt.</p>
<p>i eta pi! omg! i think i am a member of that one!!! :)</p>
<p>^^^Ah, yes, Mike. I’m a charter member as well.</p>
<p>Of course, as everyone knows, the most coveted house on campus is I Phelta Thi. :)</p>
<p>Uh, that’s all, folks. I’m done. I promise.</p>
<p>^^^I literally just LOL’d at my desk at work. You crack me up Malanai :)</p>
<p>Malanai is responsible for hot tea being spewed all over my keyboard. That was excellent.</p>
<p>LOL, malanai, you rascal, you!</p>
<p>I’m betraying my age here. Does anyone remember the sorority in Dobie Gillis, Zeta Eta Theta? (I Eta Pi is better, I must say.)</p>
<p>m2ck,
I must know the end of the story, did they get into med school ultimately?</p>
<p>I’m not sure what S will do. He looks like he should be in a fraternity, very preppy and all that. I don’t know what he will make of the whole pledging thing. It seems to me to be a big waste of time, but what do I know. The girl I know at 'bama says pledging for guys is really intense (“but so worth it” lol). Is it first semester? Eek, it doesn’t seem to me to be the time for getting side tracked. I don’t think he’ll need it socially.</p>
<p>I, momreads’ son, am in a fraternity, and when the Greek Life grade reports come out within the next few weeks, we will not only have the highest GPA of all Greek organizations on campus with a 3.68, but I’m inclined to believe we will have the highest of all chapters in the country, or we will at least be in the top 1%. Just a reminder that our Greek organizations in and of themselves are diverse in their focuses; academics is a huge priority in our chapter. Then again, not having pledgeship and instead having a continuous member development program helps our academic focus.</p>