Love this board – great place for all sorts of information.
My daughter will be an incoming freshman in Fall 2017. She has been accepted to the Honors College and completed her housing application. In browsing for roommates, she has been struck by how many plan to rush. In fact, it’s difficult to find an incoming freshman girl who isn’t planning to rush. We knew this was a big part of campus, but have been assured that it’s roughly 50/50 between those in Greek life and those who are not. My daughter is not planning to rush.
So my questions are: Is this typical of the early applicants? Should she expect more non-Greek kids to pop up over the next few months? And, more importantly, what are everyone’s thoughts about choosing a roommate who is planning to rush? Are Greeks and non-Greeks good matches? I’m imagining the roommate spending most of her time rushing and with the sorority and little with the new roomie. And, looking ahead, starting from scratch on the roommate front for sophomore year.
Would love some input either from students or parents who have lived through this. Thanks.
Sorry I am also a high school senior so I don’t have first hand experience. I agree, every single person says they want To join Greek life. I think more people will show up since a lot of those who are already signed up to go are probably from Alabama or know a lot of people there. But I could be wrong. I don’t want to join Greek life either, I am not against it but just don’t think it’s for me.
@ohdad33 Yes, I would think that freshman girls who want to rush and live in Tut have probably deposited for housing early, so they are looking for roommates now. However, only about 30% of campus is Greek. Your daughter will definitely find other young women who are not rushing.
What is your daughter’s intended major? Often, young women who are STEM majors will probably not rush because of the heavy course load, or those involved in sports or MDB might choose not to rush as well.
First, your daughter should decide on Honors (if eligible) or Non-Honors Housing, suite style or traditional dorm, and then try to connect with other girls who want that same type of housing. Note that many Greek and non-Greek girls live together successfully and become friends. Just know that the Greek girls who are rushing will have a busy agenda.
However, if your daughter goes to a “Get on Board Day” and joins some clubs/groups, she should be able to find plenty of like-minded friends that share her own interests, to keep her actively involved in campus life.
If your roommate becomes a best friend that’s a bonus, but sometimes that is not the case. As long as roommates respect each other and stick to the roommate agreement, they will be fine.
Your daughter should just keep looking, and remember to ask pertinent questions of any prospective roommate regarding cleanliness, partying, drinking etc. to make sure they have the same expectations.
Great feedback, both of you. soyunchico, that’s what I was thinking – a lot of Alabama people in the system early. My daughter feels the same way – she’s not against Greek life, but feels it’s not a great fit for her. I don’t know if you’re interested in Honors housing, but if so, feel free to message me and I can connect the two of you.
robotbldmom, good point about Tut, and excellent thoughts on the role of the roommate compared to other friends. She definitely is the type to get involved, and I’m sure she will meet other students in other ways. She is a public relations major, and she’s interested in Honors housing. You’re right – finding someone she can live with peacefully is more important (and more likely) than finding an instant best friend.
Thanks again for the replies. Very helpful.
I believe that somewhere around 65% of freshmen girls went through rush the last couple of years. Did they all join a sorority? No, but around 55-60% did, from some numbers that I saw a while back. Will they all stay in a sorority during their tenure at UA? No, but most will. I’m sure this year’s freshmen class is more “social Greek” than this year’s senior class … the GIRLS at least, probably not the guys. My son (3rd yr) loves Alabama…but he recently told me that if he could change ONE thing, he would make it “less Greek”. Nothing against Greek life; just not his cup of tea. The social Greek life is very visible on campus, but there are SO many other things to get involved in! Roll Tide!
@ohdad33 So a few comments for you:
- I’d be very focused on finding roommates with similar study habits, similar levels of tidiness, and ideas of what “fun” meant instead of worrying about Greek or not. Our experience last year was that our DD rushed and pledged, one girl rushed and dropped, and the other two did not pledge. Our DD was supremely happy with her roomies. She took them to football game tailgates at the sorority house, they dragged her out on Saturday morning to the Farmers Market. They all spent many Friday nights in the common room doing homework and watching TV together, getting a late night snack after they were done. This was a group of “non party” oriented girls–including my daughter who was Greek but not interested in drinking.
- So some unsolicited advice for you–if your daughter even has an inkling of wanting to rush, then as a family you should talk about that, what it means time commitment wise, financially and the pros and cons. And there are some. It is a way to immediately meet people from across the US. It is also a very expensive way to do so. It also requires a substantial commitment of time to meet the requirements. Sorority life also offers great leadership opportunities as well. Just have the conversation before the season of getting recs, putting together resumes, etc is here.
- if she is not rushing, I would heavily encourage her to explore doing an Honors Action program (on the honors page website) to meet people before school starts. That will help ease her into the social structure of the Honors College, have her meet people, etc. The Honors College also has a bunch of events as school starts that are great jumping off places to meet people.
- After school starts, as a PR major, she’ll have the chance to attend/join PRSSA and apply for a position in the Capstone Agency. Those groups will widen her circle of friends as well.
Best of luck to your daughter. Roll Tide.
Thanks, @swim4school. Good thoughts. She’s planning to do an Honors Action program and is very much someone who will get involved. I don’t anticipate any challenges in making friends. Just trying to help her make the right choices in terms of a roommate.
Also, as a general rule of thumb (i.e., not specific to Alabama), the first kids who go onto to Facebook looking for roommates are highly likely to be the extroverts who unsurprisingly, are also more likely to go Greek. Just tell her to be patient (it is only mid-October!) and she can always go for a random roommate if she does not find anyone she likes on Facebook.