<p>can everyone find their “nitch”?
do frats/soroties rule the social life?
is it a big party school?
is hazing involved in frats/sororties?
is the campus cliquie?</p>
<p>well, no one has responded, so i will as a parent…your questions fit any school, so of course you can find your own place and friends, regardless of others’ cliques, etc. DC is a wonderful place, in part for parties. AU is considered a “dry” campus. greek life is there but i don’t think dominates. hazing is seriously outlawed everywhere.</p>
<p>I doubt that AU is actually a dry campus. Whether or not hazing is outlawed, it still goes on, but varies by fraternity or sorority. Keep asking & you may get some current students to respond to your very important questions.</p>
<p>ok, it’s not dry, as no campus is. but there a a few more obstacles in DC, is all.</p>
<p>I only have a moment but</p>
<p>can everyone find their “nitch”?</p>
<p>Yes, you can settle into the political scene, go greek, find volunteer opportunities, or a combination of all three. You will find students from the US and abroad, wealthy and middle-class, liberal and conservative. More than likely, you will have a good mix of all the above. </p>
<p>do frats/soroties rule the social life?
Yes and no. Roughly 20% of students on campus are greek. However, houses are off campus and the Panhell community runs their own events around campus. Parties you will go to freshman year are generally all at frat houses, but you do not have to be greek to go, and people inside and outside of greek life participate in most activities on campus. There isn’t really a barrier here like in other schools. </p>
<p>is it a big party school?
This depends on your definition of party school. I have never been disappointed in the “social opportunities” here.</p>
<p>is hazing involved in frats/sororties?
In frats moreso than sororities. The hazing people get in trouble for is generally forced study hours, late meetings, etc. Some of the unofficial fraternities on campus dress up in stupid costumes during “Hell week” but that’s about it. I’ve heard some other sororities (I am greek, and my sorority has STRICT rules against any hazing, we treat our newest members with the same respect as all other members during the pledging process) have rules during the week before initiation where the pledges are not allowed to wear makeup or talk to anyone outside the sorority, but Panhell generally cracks down on this pretty fast. It isn’t really a significant problem. </p>
<p>is the campus cliquie?
Hard to distinguish between clique and niche. You will develop a group of close friends while here, and probably do most of your hanging out with these people. However, this isn’t to say that each “niche” ostracizes others.</p>
<p>I visited this past fall and met two students who spent a long time talking with me at the bookstore. They both said you get out what you put in regarding social life. Both had not been too involved in activities freshman year and said this was a big mistake. I think this is probably true in any school. Neither felt forced to party or not and neither felt the school was too clicky (I had heard there was the party group and the study group division). During my tour I noticed that my guide knew a ton of people and they all seemed really friendly. As our group walked by a building, a group of students sitting on the steps eating yelled out “Come to AU!”, this was the 12th school I have visited and that has never happened. Overall pretty good experience.</p>