Hi guys! I applied to Vandy ED2 because I really liked it at the time. Although, I went into a rabbit hole online and found that people were saying that the Greek Life dominated the social scene. I really want to go to big parties and have fun, but at the same time I really don’t think I want to ‘rush’ or be apart of Greek Life, I just want to go to their parties. Can any admitted students who aren’t in Greek Life speak to their social experience?
If you are a girl, then you can go to any party you want to.
If you are a boy, you need to be close friends with someone in a fraternity to be able to go to the parties. Some of the “lower” fraternities that have on campus parties will let in random guys. If you are a guy though, you have to realize that a lot of brothers don’t want a bunch of guys not in the fraternity to be there. They are paying for the drinks and you are not.
I recommend signing up for rush. You do not actually have to pledge, but signing up opens up fun opportunities first semester to meet some guys and get to know the campus. There are also frats that are not super crazy, and more laid back- they definitely value academics. If you do not want to pledge, upon second semester it will be tough. Unless you have close friends in frats, it will mostly be bars.
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Jeez, folks, that is some seriously damning testimony!
My D did not rush and did not go to fraternity parties. She had a group of friends that did things together, and they had a great time. She worried beforehand about what she saw online, as well, but not “everyone” is into the greek scene. If you think you might be, though, go ahead and rush to see if it is for you.
Wouldn’t worry about it one iota. The majority, 57% of Vanderbilt undergrad students, aren’t in greek life. One of my daughters rushed, was invited into her top 3 sororities and chose her top one. She did sorority stuff for a year and says it was nice, but got involved in so many non-sorority ECs, she drifted into a completely different social group and never attends any of her sorority stuff anymore. My other daughter didn’t rush and feels she is missing out on absolutely nothing.
They both love Vanderbilt and wouldn’t trade it for any other college. For crying out loud, Vandy is on the doorstep to Nashville. Even a shoegazer can find too much to do outside of school work.
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Although not at Vandy, S attends another southern school with similar Greek stats and supposed domination of social scene. He chose not to go Greek and LOVES his school, experience, social group, etc. His school is smaller than Vandy so the numbers make Greek seem more dominant.
It really comes down to finding your tribe vs. the herd mentality. Like Vandy, his school had spring rush so first semester everyone can find their footing. He attended lots of Greek parties, is friends with some Greek kids, but decided it wasn’t for him. Access to Greek parties certainly fell off, (because he’s a he), but he and his friends found lots of other things to do including having their own parties. (that are pretty well attended).
He would also tell you, as someone else mentioned, that many Greeks evolve beyond their brotherhood and socialize other ways. Clubs, SGA, etc. And of course, once of age, the bar scene gets pretty popular with all of them.
You’ll be fine either way. You may want to explore the Greek scene just to meet a lot of people and make decisions based on that.
If you think the Vanderbilt social scene isn’t entirely dominated by Greek Life you’re wrong. I’m a current student and there isn’t any party that isn’t hosted by fraternities, with the exception of certain athletic teams who have their own off-campus houses. With the Office of Greek Life absolutely bulldozing on-campus parties, everything happens at off-campus houses or booked venues and if you don’t have the address, proof of invitation or a wristband you’re not getting in. If you are adamant about not wanting Greek life to be a very large aspect of your social life at college in terms of parties then don’t come to Vandy. That being said, the parties are fun when they don’t get shut down and kids are nice and not representative of the kind of Greek life you see at big state schools. Also, forget bars until you’re 21 - Nashville gets so many bachelorette parties they don’t need your business and your fake is just going to get taken.
I just got accepted and I’m hoping to do Greek life and have a lot of fun during college. I’ve heard that there is a war on fun right now at Vanderbilt though and that it’s not as “cool” as it used to be. I understand that there are better options if I just want to party, but that’s not the case for me. Vandy always seemed like a unique school that was fun and also very academic. Is that still the case? Bulldozing parties sounds annoying. Thanks.
Hey! I was super nervous about that too. I wasn’t super interested in greek life (also it was too expensive for me), but I wanted to have fun at parties and stuff. I got really worried when my 2 best friends decided to rush. I thought that I’d be left out, but that wasn’t the case at all. Yes, most of the parties that I’ve been to have been hosted by fraternities, but if you’re a girl there’s no issue at all getting in. If you’re a guy, odds are you’ll have a friend that knows a brother, or you yourself are friends with one. There are also a good amount of kickbacks that happen in dorms which honestly can be a lot more fun.
Thanks for the info, y’all. I’ll be transferring to Vandy in the fall, and I’m so excited!
Hi! I am interested in transferring in the fall of 2021 into the class of 2024. could you give me your stats and tips on how to improve my application?