What is it like for girls at RHIT?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
1

<p>So it looks like I’m going to Rose-Hulman! I only got into two- this one and Lehigh. I think R-H is a better match, and it’s a bit late to change anyway. But a few questions:</p>

<li><p>I don’t drink or smoke. Will I still have a social life with interesting people (ie, not just religious people such as Mormons, although I don’t mind too much if people are religious)?</p></li>
<li><p>I’m female. Will the guys be simply dripping off me? I can imagine it now.
Me: If only I had a man to fulfill this particular desire I have…
Guys: Oh! Me! Pick me!
Me: Hmm… howabout you…
Guy: Yes! And this desire?
Me: For my physics homework to be completed. Mwahaha!</p></li>
</ol>

<p>I visited with Mom a while ago and the guys were super nice. Holding doors and getting trays for us and stuff O.O They were probably thinking, “Oh my goodness! A female! I’ve heard about them on the internet before. Odd, though. Why the clothes? They usually don’t have them…”</p>

<li><p>Non-Greek social life. I’ve never been a big party person. It’s not my element. But spending time with close friends, eating lunch with some aquantences or setting up study groups and so on are good. This is common, right?</p></li>
<li><p>Anybody else go there and have anything you want to say about it?</p></li>
</ol>

2

<p>Hey, Calantorntian. I'm glad you've decided to come to Rose. You'll love it here. I will try to answer your questions as best I can, but note that I am only a freshman, so I don't necessarily have the best perspective on all aspects of campus life.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>You can easily have an interesting social life if you ACTIVELY seek it out. Lots of people make friends through sororities, clubs, and organizations like our Student Government Association. If you look for ways to get involved, you'll definitely find friends. People here really don't care whether you drink or smoke...as long as you're a kind person and are easy to get along with, you should have no problem.</p></li>
<li><p>I don't really know much about what life is like for the girls here. I only really know one girl well, and she's taken, so I can't relate exactly how the single girls are treated. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>I would say that, socially, you will have more dating options than most of the guys here. But I do not think that you will be treated much differently in other areas of life. It's my belief that the people you encountered were holding the doors for you because they're kind to all visitors, not just the girls. The guys here aren't really desperate for social attention from girls, for they can head on over to ISU and socialize all they want. It's not as big of an issue as it would seem.</p>

<p>Also: be careful not to take advantage of the fact that you're a girl. DO ask for help from friends when you have problems...we're all about being a tight-knit community here. But be careful that you're not taking advantage of guys because you're a girl. People tend to look down on that.</p>

<p>That's my opinion of things. I don't really have many friends that are girls, so, again, PLEASE take that with a grain of salt.</p>

<ol>
<li>Yes, spending time with close friends, eating lunch with acquaintences, and study groups do happen often. I am not in a frat, and I've made a number of friends on my hall and through classes. Being in a sorority is certainly not required to have a social life.</li>
</ol>

<p>HOWEVER, I would strongly encourage you to rush in the fall. Sororities are not always as they appear on TV or as your friends describe. They're great ways to make friends and don't always require you to be extremely social. There was actually a new sorority created here on campus this year because the girls who weren't big partiers didn't like the options they had. I would highly recommend that you check it out...I think it's Alpha Omicron Pi.</p>

<ol>
<li>I think that the biggest key to being happy in college is to be very open to different activity options at the beginning of your time here, and then become very active in one or two organizations. Whenever you see an announcement for a campus event, don't write it off as dumb or a waste of your time...go check it out! If a group of people asks you to go out to dinner, don't remain a recluse! Join a few clubs you're interested in, go watch a play, go to a few football games...get involved!</li>
</ol>

<p>That said, a proper balance between social life and school is needed. Freshman year isn't terribly, horrendously difficult, so you shouldn't have a huge problem balancing. Just beware that school comes first and other plans should be made around it.</p>

<p>Hope I helped! Feel free to post any other questions you may have. I was always disappointed that there aren't many Rose people on CC...you might want to check out our MySpace page. You'll get your Rose email address in the fall, and then you'll be able to join Facebook and meet more Rose kids.</p>

3

<p>Ha in response to Calantorntain's comment what exactly is the girl to guy ratio out of curiosity? Also, the way you made your point was humerous, Calantorntain =)</p>

4

<p>Ok, so I know this is kind of late but I figure if you find this it might be of use, being one of the females at Rose.</p>

<p>I'm going to be a sophomore in the fall, by the way.</p>

<p>First off, great schools you applied too.. I was considering Lehigh myself! :)</p>

<p>Here are my responses to your questions:</p>

<p>1). You will still have a social life if you don't drink or smoke. While drinking is prevalent at Rose and a lot of people partake in this.. activity, there are plenty of other things to do if you don't want to. People are very understanding of your lifestyle choices and aren't going to criticize you if you choose not to.</p>

<p>2). Yes, there are plenty of guys around, but you can make them as involved in your life as you want to. I personally hung out with mostly guys but that was my choice. However, by the end of the year I developed friendships with a few girls and I'm glad I did. It's good to have a good mix of guy and girl friends.</p>

<p>And no, guys will NOT be fawning over you all the time. Yes, you are a hot commodity but frankly you're all there to learn and do well so academically you're seen as one of their peers, which is exactly how it should be. Guys at Rose, however, are more contrite and polite than one would expect. I've almost never had to open my own door and my guy friends will do almost anything for me, whether it be to cheer me up with a funny movie or go out and buy me oreos and milk if I'm craving it (2 examples of things that happened this year).. yes, girls are appreciated on campus, but just avoid contracting "Rose Goddess Syndrome" and understand that you have to coexist with them for the same reason: to get a great education.</p>

<p>3). First off, let me talk this up.. Do Recruitment!!!! I am involved in Greek Life myself so of course I am going to talk up joining in. However, even if you don't think it's for you, go to the Panhel events and the recruitment parties! It's a great way to meet other girls on campus since there's so few of us.. and if you like one of the 3, then you're gaining a bunch of great girls as your sisters!!! Greek life at Rose is totally different compared every school so give us a chance, we're pretty cool :)</p>

<p>Okay, now for your actual question.. like I said before, there is a life for those who don't party and stuff. And enough people are GDI (not in a fraternity / sorority) that you don't need to be in one to make friends. However, you will find that your group of friends will be a mix of every walk of life at Rose - the 3 sororities, the 8 fraternities, the different organizations, clubs, your classes, etc.. you'll find your niche soon enough.</p>

<p>4). Rose might be a little weird to come to at first. I know that I found it weird - I came from a tiny all-girls Catholic high school - but you get used to it after awhile. It's a good place to be as a woman, I promise :)</p>

<p>Good luck, and see you in the fall :)</p>

<p>PS - Mills - the guy:girl ratio is about 4:1. My class in the fall had 82 girls out of about 450+ students - about 6:1. However, I think the freshman class upcoming has 100+ girls in it.. better than in the past :) are you a male or female, and are you coming in the fall?</p>