I’ve already applied and been accepted to Bama. I’m an OOS student and I received my letter for the UA Scholar scholarship, and if my ACT goes up then I will get the Presidential. I have had my heart set on going to Bama since the summer; however, I’m having second thoughts. I don’t think I will be rushing in the fall because a) I don’t have the money to and b) even if I had the money I’m not sure I would even want to be in a sorority. I’ve heard from several people, including girls at sororities at Bama, to not go to Bama if you aren’t rushing since Bama is the biggest greek school in the country. I’ve heard that if you don’t rush then you will be excluded from a lot of the social events at school. Should I be worried about this? Or do you think I can still go to Bama and meet people and make good friends without being in a sorority? I’m more of a shy person and focused on academics, but I still want to have fun and make friends. I’m worried about not fitting in or finding people like me.
Also, I haven’t paid my room deposit yet because my parents want me to be 100% sure I’m going to Bama, which I can’t be sure of until my ACT goes up a point to 32. If I don’t pay until November or December, will I be able to get Honors housing?
Alabama is not the biggest Greek school in the country - percentage wise.
If you’re not going to go thru Rush, then it’s a good idea to get involved with the school in another way. Some do Million Dollar Band, some do Alabama Action or Outdoor Action the week before school starts to meet new friends (who also aren’t rushing).
I’m an UA student with no Greek affiliation. 90% of my social cycle do not rush either, and we still have a good time here. Don’t let that discourage you from going.
I’d admit that UA is quite influenced by Greek. However, regarding meeting people and making good friends, don’t worry. I’m also “more of a shy person and focused on academics”, and I can still find my people.
Regarding Honors housing, I think you still have till February for deposit. However, don’t quote me on that. Do your own research. Regardless, I do know people put into Honors housing through the system. Another very effective and common way is to find roommates on Facebook who has priority housing. I live in Ridgecrest, which is Honors, and 2 of my roommates do not have priority housing.
My daughter is in her 5th year at Bama (she’s a grad student now) and she did not join a sorority. She had and has a perfectly fine social life, has made many friends and participated in various activities. She did join a professional fraternity. There are certainly Greek activities she could not participate in, but there were more than enough other activities to keep her happy and busy. I know a number of girls at Bama, some of whom are in sororities and others who are not. I know girls who joined sororities and then dropped out. I know girls who didn’t go through recruitment freshman year and then joined a sorority as sophomores. All seem to be happy with their choices. It’s a big school with a geographically diverse student body, and I don’t think you need to be Greek to have a good experience.
What’s your major, @paytoooon? Check out the Blount Scholars Program: https://blount.as.ua.edu/about/description/
While it’s a liberal arts learning living community, there are engineering students in the program, and probably some business majors too. They form a nice, tight-knit community. They also have their own dormitory, Blount Hall, which houses some non-Blount honors students. Freshmen admitted to the program are required to live there, so you shouldn’t have to worry about housing if you go that route. It’s also conveniently located near the Ridgecrests, where many honors students live.
@paytooon My D will also be an OOS, Honors College student for fall 17, and will not be rushing. She had reservations at first about the perception of heavy Greek influence as well, but after 2 visits, is comfortable with her decision. Something that helped in convincing her was following the many UA social media sites for the school in general, as well as different groups she is interested in. There seem to be so many activities and options to get involved outside the Greek system!
Also, once your housing deposit is done, you can start looking at profiles of potential roommates that match up with your questionnaire results, and many specify whether or not they will be rushing in their comments, so you can use all of that info to find a roommate that suits you. Or use the Facebook option, as suggested by @lhtanh98 . (If anyone has suggestions on Facebook groups to help with this, please let me know!) D will also be trying to attend Alabama Action or Outdoor Action to make some friends before school starts. Good luck!
@paytooon - there are many students that do not join the sororities. There are 500+ student organizations on campus that you can surely find several that have interests and values similar to yours, as well as many off-campus religious based groups, if that interests you. My son’s GF is not Greek and is having a great time. I agree with @mom2collegekids to get involved early on by doing Alabama Action, Outdoor Action or BlackBelt Action the week before classes start. Week of Welcome starts immediately the week of classes. And Get On Board day is shortly after. All of those offer ways to get involved outside of the Greek life.
I would supplement @beadymom comment with Camp 1831. I did both Camp 1831 and Outdoor Action, and I enjoyed both of them. I’d say the difference between them is that Camp is more of enjoying yourself, talking to people, and making friends whereas Outdoor Action is more of service learning and going out to local places to do services (but I still had a lot of fun with hiking and canoeing, etc).
Personally I liked Camp a bit better than Outdoor Action, although originally I was more excited about the latter program.
Thank you all for the responses!!! 
I appreciate everything ya’ll said and I feel a lot better about going to Bama. I will definitely look into the programs and activities you all have suggested.
My kid didn’t rush, nor did nearly all of her friends. and they are all loving UA more than you can imagine. Most kids do not rush. Yes there are thousands, but the majority do not rush.
I’m a strong supporter of the Greek system, but it’s not for everybody…which is just fine. Because the houses are so visible, it seems to be bigger than it is. Of the student body, about a third is Greek…which leaves 2/3 as NOT Greek. It’s really no problem.
My older son did not join his fraternity until it appeared on campus his sophomore year. But, as an OOS student, he did participate in Alabama Action and made lots of friends, many of whom he remains in contact with more than three years after his graduation. He also got involved in clubs and Freshman Forum. He knows many students who got involved in volunteering or church groups. So there is more to Bama than Greek Life.
I’m there now to visit and even though a lot of people wore the nice, preppy clothing. Even more people did not. At Miami of Ohio, EVERYONE was dressed like that. I most likely will not join Greek life. It was one of my big worries but after visiting, I MAY look into it but it is definitely NOT q factor in my decision.
IFor my daughter, an OOS Honors student, when she first arrived at Alabama for freshman year, people talked about sororities a lot, mainly because the sororities had just completed rush prior to her move in day. But after the first few weeks, when the school held Get On Board day, she signed up for a few clubs, and that was good for her. She has said that the sorority girls she knows are kept pretty busy with activities related to sorority, so it would be good to choose roommates who are also not choosing sorority if you are not choosing it.
deleting comment.
There is really no need to rush as UA has a ton of other clubs and social events to attend. Here’s a few links so you can see how many options there are.
https://ua.collegiatelink.net/organizations
My son had no interest in being in a fraternity and made friends by joining the Quizbowl team. They all travel together to tournaments and he has visited universities in Alabama and surrounding states. He was in Athens a couple of weekends ago and Tallahassee last weekend I think.