Hey, I recently got admitted to the class of 2023 and I have tons of questions for some alumni, parents, students, etc. I currently have another thread for traditions and experiences, but in this one I wanted to ask about sororities! I’m interested in getting involved with Greek life, but I really can’t find much info and I don’t have a sister to ask about the whole experience. I know that none of the UChicago sororities have actual houses, so I’m just looking for some general info on the attitudes and personalities of all of them. Thank you everyone!
2023? What?? How???
pulled off the waitlist and offered a spot for next year. Happens.
lmao you’re not even going to be a first year this fall and you already want to come in with preconceptions about the sororities?
The Panhellenic Council is determined to minimize any personal choice during recruitment. Go through it, see who you vibe with, and go from there. Getting too into the rumors, stereotypes, and generalizations will blow up in your face - I’ve seen it happen over and over again.
Many schools do not have houses Many more have houses that are too small to have all the members live in the house, so only a few do. One of my kids lived in her house for 3 years, the other never lived in hers. Just different experiences but still can be fun.
Ugh, missed the edit window:
That said - my impressions of the sororities (never having been personally involved, but close to people who were) are mostly positive. It attracts all types across the spectrum of people at UChicago, and really does seem to have something for everyone. And that goes for individual sororities as well, all stereotypes I’ve heard are, at best, harmlessly inaccurate and at worse deliberately insulting.
That said, I don’t like how they do recruitment: not letting you have much choice in what happens, deliberately targeting first years that often feel insecure about their friends and fitting in, and allowing very little choice - micromanaging potential new members down to their clothes (I’m sure it’s nothing compared to, say, the SEC, but it really does get to some people).
IMO you should wait and see. You should come and see who you get along with and whether you want to go through recruitment. You don’t have to do it immediately, and after your first year you will have a much better idea of what greek life at UChicago is and how you want to be involved. Many, many people rush their second year, and you will have a much clearer picture of it all by then.
Thanks for your answers! I was wondering more about what you said about recruitment. I’ve seen so many YouTube “reviews” (?) about the whole recruitment and rush experience and everyone seems to love it. Is it very difficult or
You’re getting the subset of people who feel strongly enough to create and upload videos about greek life. You might as well poll NBA Youtubers to see how Americans feel about basketball.
Your mileage may vary, every campus is different, etc. I second HydeSnark’s comment on a wait-and-see approach, and maybe rushing second year.
Eh they have a very finely tuned propaganda machine. Recruitment is very early they have to get through to potential new members (as they call it) before you even get here - so, through youtube videos.
I doubt anyone is going to make a video with a title like “I went through rush at UChicago and it sucked!” or “I don’t like sorority life at UChicago!” Life at UChicago is very busy, and what would that even accomplish? People who didn’t like it will either a) move on with their lives or b) join the sorority and shut up because they don’t want to rock the boat. People can dislike recruitment and still like greek life (happens all the time).
On the other hand, there is a lot of incentive for the sororities to put out videos advertising themselves, because then they get through to you.
Recruitment definitely isn’t universally unpopular, but it has its discontents. More power to you if you want to go through it as a first year, but definitely keep your mind open, no matter how sure you are that you’ll love Greek life.
For the most part, the sororities aren’t genuinely pernicious, unlike the fraternities. Sororities try to create social pressure to join and to stay in. I don’t know anyone who was still truly active in theirs by fourth year despite that, and I don’t think there’s much need for Greek life here because of the house system.
The advice here is good - go in eyes wide open and wait for second year to see if you actually want to be involved. And definitely don’t get into petty stereotypes before you even get to campus.
I would really like to wait a year and see, but since I’m already coming in as a gap year kid, I’ll be older than most of the girls in my class and I don’t want to hinder my chances or be judged. I know it’s silly, but I’m just nervous I won’t fit in. I appreciate the advice though! My older brother was in a fraternity at Brown and I needed somewhere else to turn for advice lol
Gap years are incredibly common at Chicago, you have nothing to worry about. Even people who take multiple (mostly men who were conscripted) have no trouble.
Omg don’t listen to any of this. RUSH YOUR FIRST YEAR. I’m currently a first year who didn’t and it’s my biggest regret. Public frat parties are rare and terrible and the only access to the private ones is through actually being a member of greek life, plus, in general, its a great, great way to meet people. If you don’t want to be bored out of your skull and stuck with a bunch of people who just play smash bros on Friday nights, GO GREEK.