Can anyone tell me what the social scene is like at university of Rochester? I’m a girl and I want to go into engineering so would it be a good idea to rush? I’m not much of a sorority person tho
I think it’s fairly easy to find your people at UR. It’s not a big spectator sports school, so Saturdays devoted to tailgating and football games aren’t really a thing. But there are lots of parties on the weekend, especially at the beginning of the semester. Rush doesn’t happen until second semester, so you’d have time decide for yourself whether or not Greek life is something you want to pursue. I will say that sororities at UR don’t really fit the prevailing stereotype and a lot (maybe even most) of those who do end up joining hadn’t planned to when they first came to college.
You don’t need to decide about joining a sorority right away. As EllieMom mentioned, rush doesn’t start until January --although must register your intention to rush in December and attend an informational meeting. You can always wait until sophomore year to rush–which is what D2 did. She said about 1/3 of rushees were sophomores when she rushed.
D2 wasn’t a traditional “sorority girl” either–she was a very serious student (graduated with departmental honors in both her majors & Greek honors), a double physical science major and a very outdoorsy person. (Backpacking, hiking, rock climbing, etc). She’s not into the stereotypical clothes, boys and heavy duty partying and was the very last person her high school classmates ever thought would join a sorority. Her reasons for rushing ran more along the lines of “most of my classes are mostly guys. I want a social outlet that just girls” and “I want to practice social networking skills for my future career”.
Different sororities have different missions and different atmospheres.
The atmosphere of UR is pretty inclusive but as you identified, most engineering students are guys. So I would encourage you to check out the sororities and see which seems like a good fit for you.