Hi guys! Hope you are all good. I just wanted to know if anyone had any input on something…I am transferring to Vanderbilt and have heard that the Greek Life is really big there… I am not really a fan of Greek Life. Do people who are not in Greek Life feel excluded? Is there sort of a need/push that you should be a part of greek life to have fun and enjoy Vanderbilt? Thanks for the help!
I went to Duke, another school with a strong Greek presence on campus. I was not in a fraternity, and I didn’t feel excluded at all, largely because I found a circle of friends in my dorm, which was fiercely independent from Greek life. (This is not to say that I liked the overall atmosphere on campus, but only that this atmosphere didn’t impinge upon my ability to connect with people who had similar interests and values.)
So long as you take advantage of non-Greek opportunities to meet people and make friends, you should be fine. A campus like Vanderbilt’s should boast many such opportunities.
On a related note, I see that you chose Vanderbilt over BC. Others might disagree, but I think you made a great decision. Good luck!
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Thank you very much! Thanks for your input and advice @MrSamford2014
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Most kids are not in a fraternity or sorority, so you should not have a problem finding non-Greek friends.
If non-Greek parties seem scarce (assuming your group remains against Greek parties…) on campus, you have surrounding Nashville to lean on for fun.
I think you’ll be fine.
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Depends on what you like to do and who you like to hang out with
I feel like there’s a social continuum here, where only the “middle of the spectrum” is negatively affected by not being in greek life.
There is a large part of the campus culture that does not associate with greek life, and those people seem to enjoy their time here and have their own social circles and are totally uninfluenced by greek life. (for example, McGill, wilskills, etc.).That’s one side of the spectrum. On the other side, all the greek life people enjoy their stuff too.
The people negatively affected by the strong greek life culture are those who aren’t part of it, but most of their friends are, and they enjoy the activities that greek life helps you do. If you really like playing beer pong and drinking and going to the bars and chatting up sorority girls, and all your friends are in frats, and you’re a GDI, you won’t have as much fun if you’re not part of it.
If you’re already “not a fan” of greek life, you’re probably on one side of the spectrum so I wouldn’t worry about it.
This was one of my greatest concerns when I was committing to Vanderbilt, and I almost went to an elite LAC instead because of it, and other such social preconceptions about Southern schools. I am SO glad I didn’t waste the opportunity to go to Vandy on that basis alone.
Granted, I am in the music sphere and reside heavily in that world along with my Blair colleagues, so perhaps I’m yet another layer removed, but if you don’t want to be a part of Greek life, it really feels very strongly as though the majority of campus is totally fine with that, even those in Greek life. If you don’t want to go Greek but still want to party and enjoy those events, you have a million options inside and outside of the frat world - seriously, I can’t tell you how fine it is going to be. Focus on finding your niche on campus in both your studies and extracurricular pursuits, looking for things you enjoy doing, and consequently finding people you click with, and the rest will come more easily than you could have ever imagined. It just will.
our Vandy son was Greek-free. Lived in McGill 2 years. Lived in a house with 10 people on campus another year. I would say that people (including his Duke Greek participant elder brother) who are in Greek life feel very strongly on your behalf…haha…that you are “missing out”. Be kind to yourself and others as most likely your entire class, Greek or not Greek…will go on to lead interesting and maybe even very contributory lives past the Vanderbilt years. My big plug for Vandy is this for non-Greeks: celebrate your setting near the heartbeat of a hip, fun, diverse Third Coast City in the USA. Some fine schools with the same Greek vs non-Greek divides are in geographically isolated places. Embrace Nashville and be tolerant of your classmates whose social lives can indeed be centered in their Greek groups–it’s only a brief chapter of a long life. Take the long view. Get to know all the brave young men and women who traveled pretty far away from home to be in Nashville. Show up to things that interest you and just start helping out–Vandy is small enough that new people can find their ways to contribute as transfer students. Enjoy your mid-sized fine college with all of its diversity of academic pursuits and its deep resources. congrats on your admission.
S was not Greek, but D was. Both had wonderful experiences and made some of the best friends of their lives while at Vandy. With only 6 people being allowed to live in each of the fraternity & sorority houses, there are so many opportunities to mix with lots of other people. The key is to get involved in something you enjoy to find your people, as mentioned in the posts above.
Hey, I also got accepted to transfer to Vandy and I have the same concerns. I’m trying to decide between Vanderbilt, Oberlin, Kenyon, and Smith lol definitely struggling right now. I’ve been trying to research life outside of greek and I have found they have stuff like alternative breaks and other clubs that you can join and eventually form friendships through. nevertheless, the greek culture also makes me a bit nervous…
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If you’re choosing between those schools, you should mainly think about school setting/type of school. Those are all liberal arts colleges in really small towns; whereas Vanderbilt is fairly urban and in Nashville (although it isn’t an enormous city, it’s orders of magnitude larger than those LAC towns). Being in a larger city is actually another thing that is nice if you aren’t that into greek life, because there is plenty going on off campus at all times.
Our non Greek son did Alternative Spring Break three years and loved each of his groups. Went abroad Junior year (and so can you!)
If you don’t like greek life and you don’t fit greek life personality-wise you will be absolutely fine
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