Secret Societies - Eating Clubs, Finals Clubs etc. at Elite Universities.?

[Anonymous]

Columbia has a secret society for the ultra elite

[Anonymous]

I was in a (less well known/prestigious) secret society at Yale. Most of the societies had 15 seniors as members - we had 2-3 faculty members who belonged also. As to purpose, we met twice a week - Thurs and Sunday - at night and got to know each other very well. I knew a few of my fellow members before senior year but not well. Over that year, we came to know each other very well, and most importantly each were given one night to present a very detailed oral autobiography of ourselves. That’s one night devoted solely to one person. And it was a conversation, with questions and comments - favorable and not - from the full group. Most of the time, it was a great experience; occasionally it turned too critical. Every secret society I knew details about at Yale did something comparable. I would do it again in a minute.

[Anonymous]

Book about Skull and Bones at Yale:

https://alexandrarobbins.com/skullandbones/

[Anonymous]

Philanthropic clubs with a social component and you don’t get to put it on a resume if it’s a fully secret group.

Some “secret societies” aren’t really secret about their membership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a high school with secret societies and connections to Yale’s secret societies in particular. I’m not from a rich enough family to have been recruited into it and it made zero difference for me.

And?

I was answering OP’s question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From Brown's Naked Donut Run and Princeton's Nude Olympics there is some weird association between nudity and the Ivies. Can someone explain?

I think there is an association with being young and being naked. Streaking is traditional at many colleges and universities.

[Anonymous]

My nephew was in one of the more prominent societies at Yale. Seemed much like PP described — a social club with a focus on social development of members. It really brought my shy nephew out of his shell. Also, the members were almost unbelievably accomplished.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in a (less well known/prestigious) secret society at Yale. Most of the societies had 15 seniors as members - we had 2-3 faculty members who belonged also. As to purpose, we met twice a week - Thurs and Sunday - at night and got to know each other very well. I knew a few of my fellow members before senior year but not well. Over that year, we came to know each other very well, and most importantly each were given one night to present a very detailed oral autobiography of ourselves. That’s one night devoted solely to one person. And it was a conversation, with questions and comments - favorable and not - from the full group. Most of the time, it was a great experience; occasionally it turned too critical. Every secret society I knew details about at Yale did something comparable. I would do it again in a minute.

I still don’t get the purpose? To get to know each other well? Why does the club need to be secret to do that?

[Anonymous]

It’s the most DCUM thing ever to sh|t all over fraternities but think these are so elite and wonderful.

[Anonymous]

I went to an Ivy with a bunch of secret societies and I was not in one. They seemed to pick the most accomplished people on campus (caption of football team, editor of student newspaper, etc) and after that they drew a lot from the old money rich kid prep school set. I wasn't in that crowd, and it mattered zilch to me that I wasn't in a secret society. It probably mattered to people in that social group.

[Anonymous]

There is at least one at Georgetown. They look for spawn of monied alumni.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s the most DCUM thing ever to sh|t all over fraternities but think these are so elite and wonderful.

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Please read Secret Societies at University of Virginia and read about their philanthropic nature. Philanthropy done secretly is true philanthropy. That’s a wonderful message to impart to a.young student starting out in their money-making years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An anonymous forum seems the perfect place to ask this question. What is their purpose? What is their future? How do other students not selected feel about their presence on campus?

As a Harvard student who didn’t run in these circles, I was minimally aware of them, and their existence had no impact on my experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s the most DCUM thing ever to sh|t all over fraternities but think these are so elite and wonderful.

Of course. Anything the Ivy’s do is by definition “elite and wonderful.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s the most DCUM thing ever to sh|t all over fraternities but think these are so elite and wonderful.

You win the internet.