<p>Hi. Does Greek Life dominate the Social Scene at Colgate? According to the Princeton Review, 33% of guys are in fraternities and 29% of females are in sororities. </p>
<p>Does social life at Colgate revolve around Greek Life? Any opinions (especially from current students or parents or alums!) would be fantastic! Thank you!</p>
<p>Weâve had several threads (I used the search function to bring up the ones that disappeared). Youâll notice that alums/current students use the same message over and over again, âNo. People talk but they donât always walk. Social life is what you make of it because there ARE opportunities for entertainment on weekends besides frat parties.â</p>
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<p>Thank you!!</p>
<p>My daughter is a sophomore at Colgate, and is currently not in any sorority (I think there may only be three which means, what, a hundred girls out of nearly 1500 â hardly a dominant Greek scene for women!). I donât think the sororities even have houses where youâd live. Yet she has lots of friends, plays rugby, enjoys dorm life in a great dorm suite. The guys seem to be more inclined toward frats, and Colgate still has eight or ten (about 15 when I was there in the 60s!). They do play a big role in weekend parties, but parties would otherwise just be somewhere else. Itâs certainly less important than in most of the big traditional frat colleges you hear of in the South or elsewhere, but somewhat more important than at most urban universities. The Greek organizations kind of fill in for the rural nature of Colgate and give you friends, a place to have meals, social options. I was in a fraternity when I was a student, and it was mostly a very good thing â good friends, meals, a place to live one semester (otherwise in apartments), a few parties, people to give me a ride, new people to meet. My âbrothersâ were pretty smart (highest GPA on campus!), many became doctors and lawyers, so donât assume frat membership is for stupid jocks only. Itâs all pretty harmless and fun, not a major âAnimal Houseâ scene. I wouldnât pay it much attention, frankly. I dropped out of my frat after about two years (as a junior) since I had grown up, but I donât regret joining.</p>
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<p>Although I agree with the majority of your post, the sororities have about 50-70 girls per YEAR. So thatâs 150 per sorority at minimum, 450 total. Itâs not dominant, but itâs not that small either. </p>
<p>And all of the sororities have houses where you can live.</p>
<p>As a junior class of 2014 at Colgate I have found the social life to be one of my least favorite parts of Colgate. At this point I would say 50-60% of all sophomores, juniors, and seniors are part of greek life, and most other students are very cliquey in nature. Hard alcohol binge drinking revolves around most events the average students will be at here and it isnât super safe. Greek life does not dominate campus but it is a presence in terms of that one will likely desire to be in it yet not everyone who rushes can get in. I know many students who have had very good experiences at Colgate and they are all either in greek life or athletes. As not a member of either and rush didnât really work out for me, I regret not being in Greek life and would definitely say I feel like I am missing out by not being in it. Would not highly recommend coming to Colgate if you donât plan to go Greek.</p>
<p>I posted on this a couple of threads agoâŠbut here it is again: My niece is a senior and sorority member at Colgate. She absolutely loves the school and the social scene. They do have houses - but only a handful of members live in them. My impression from her is that greek life is pretty dominant there. Lots of parties, drinking. They are in the middle of nowhere, so they are quite adept at creating their own fun. She loves it and is doing very well academically - but she is also a person who embraces the âwork hard, play hardâ mentality. </p>
<p>I visited last year and got to tour her sorority house and met some of the members. As someone from the deep South where sororities are traditionally segregated by race and somewhat by religion, I was impressed by how ethnically diverse her sorority was.</p>
<p>How âYOU FEELâ about the social scene at Colgate, as a prospective student, is a very subjective experience. Not what someone tells you. So, the only way to personalize your comfort level is visiting on various occasions and really âdigging in.â You have to find your own comfort level, currently. You also have to anticipate that youâre going to experience a great deal of growth during your four years of college. Colgate, while similar to many other selective LACâs, is very uniqueâŠnot for everyone ! So dig inâŠitâs better to challenge yourself now about your likely comfort level with the social scene than risk becoming unhappy with your decision later.</p>
<p>Caddyshack, it may feel like 50-60% of students are in Greek life if your friends all joined, but the fact is that only around 40% of sophomores, juniors and seniors are involved, which is around 30% of the overall student body.</p>
<p>I wasnât involved in Greek life at all and am not an athlete and I never felt left out. I had an amazing time at Colgate. Not everyone gets blackout drunk every weekend, though most people do drink at least occasionally. I never felt unsafe on campus, unless you count the skunks.</p>
<p>Iâm sorry youâre so unhappy at Colgate, but I donât think your experience is true for everyoneâŠ</p>