I am so excited to be joining the freshman class at the University of Alabama next year, as it has been top school for me for many years. Although with a large portion of the student population going Greek, I’m undecided if it is for me or not. On one hand, I am very social and enjoy making friends and feel like I would really like joining a sorority. On the other hand, it is very expensive (I have a full scholarship and it still is), I’ve never partied a lot in high school, and sometime I feel like some sorority girls are not like me AT ALL. I’m seeking advice from anyone that has been involved in greek life at the university of Alabama or anyone that made the decision to not go Greek. Thanks & roll tide!
I have no experience with Alabama, but if I were you I’d look at videos of each sorority on you tube. Many have recruitment videos and tours of the houses and rooms. You can get a good idea if you’d be a good fit. Some sororities are very high-pressure and only will accept you if you are gorgeous, blonde and thin.
With 18 national chapters (plus a variety of social sororities), there is something for everyone in every chapter. Youtube videos can be scary because the girls are at peak recruitment energy and honestly, it is an odd representation of the group as a whole. And for goodness sakes, stay off of Greek Rank! Look at the UA Panhellenic information page and get a feel for what each chapter stands for and what you can expect during rush. Start asking around to see if people you know are or were in sororities and what they liked about the experience. You’ll need these contacts for recommendations if you do decide to rush. It was more than a few years ago and wasn’t at Alabama, but I know my sorority had a very broad mix of women…everything from literal beauty queens to party girls to those in a slew of honor societies. The hope is everyone finds their place.
I’m a parent of a prospective UA enrollee who is also interested in Greek Life if she decides to attend UA.
We have some experience on the topic as we have another daughter that is currently in a sorority at another big SEC school: not a first-hand account of UA sorority experience specifically, but comparable.
@myloaf makes good points - there are all types of personalities in houses. I think the important thing to consider is that all chapters are not monolithically “nice” or “catty”.
I also second the “stay off GreekRank” recommendation! Like any other large social group, it is nearly impossible to be best friends with 300 people and you’re not going to get along with everyone all the time. Our oldest is very glad she did it but she admits that it can be challenging at times and the vibe is much more intense than the greek experience of some of her friends back home at New England schools.
She’s also pretty thick-skinned so was well-equipped to handle the recruitment process and not take it personally when houses would cut her during recruitment. She told us “I’ve never seen so many girls crying every day, but some of my best friends I’ve made at school were from my rush group even though they joined other houses”.
I say this because our youngest can be more sensitive than her sister; so high cost aside (UA has the highest dues I’ve seen anywhere in my research by a ton, likely to offset the costs of the MASSIVE houses) not sure we’d encourage her to rush.
Granted, something close to 40% of the students at UA are reportedly in Greek Life, but that means that ~60% are not.
Just one more perspective to consider - best of luck!