<p>I'm a 23 year old transfering as a Junior to UC Berkeley, which is far from home and I will only know like 2-3 people. I was wondering what I can expect from living Greek. Everywhere I read about it it says that it's "not for everyone" but I dont know who it's for. I have a 4.0/honors/lots of ECs but really enjoy a social life and hope to incorporate a social life into academics and/or future success/resume building. </p>
<p>What kind of advantages/disadvantages are there for Sororities/Fraternaties? What is the point of them? What do they do? </p>
<p>Greek life does create a sense of belonging to a group. It can be a good way to meet a lot of people. However, when they say Greek life is not for everybody, that is true. People who are very individualistic and like to go their own way may feel uncomfortable in a fraternity where most activities are a group effort. There are also quite a number of rules and regulations which must be followed. I think there is also a Greek mentality which is sort of hard to describe. The stereotype is that Greeks can be hard partiers and sort of jerky types of guys. Different frats can have different reputations though and attract different types of people on campus, so look carefully and research well before getting involved.</p>
<p>Researching well should mean on your own. don’t go looking on gossip websites or really even asking others what their opinions are on a house. go visit the houses and meet the people. form your own opinion and join a house you personally like.</p>
<p>Also, slightly off topic, but does anyone else think their could be a separate forum for greek life?</p>
<p>^^ We have some guys that age in my house, some older, it’s not really an issue.<br>
I’d say the biggest advantages are meeting a ton of people, great parties, great events, fun philanthropies/ volunteering opportunities, and getting into things that you wouldn’t have otherwise.<br>
The main negative I would say is cost. I would catagorize Greek life as very busy though, so just make sure you’re up for it. For example last Friday I had a midterm then partied that night and went to bed around 4 then got up at 5 and went canyoneering/camping for the night; albeit that’s an extreme example, but still. </p>
<p>A decent amount of the fraternities are stereotypical of what you see on tv and movies but not all are like that, especially at Berkley I would imagine. Go check out the houses during rush week, if it’s like ucla it’s super chill you just walk in all the houses with a bunch of other people and eat free food and chat with and get to know some of the members. That’s the best way to learn about greek life/different houses.</p>