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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They aren't good people at UVa, but they will give money to the school and will make $$$.

That must be why the school lets them graffiti the whole campus. I find it weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There were secret societies at Duke. Their initiations were weird, silent processions around campus. It was the wealthy kids who were the obvious members, and since I was on 95% financial aid, I wasn't part of it. Without the public initiations, I wouldn't have known they existed, and it made no difference to me.

NOT TRUE. Both my husband and I went and that is simply a fabrication. There was a greek system at Duke that has now been disbanded but exists off campus to some extent.

[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.

+1, same experience. Cool way to build a small community with a faculty member and very diverse peers. You REALLY know people well at the end of the year. Strong supportive alumni network as well. More broadly, no one one I knew at Yale thought much about them or cared whether they were tapped or not. Very little impact on undergraduate life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

Eating clubs at Princeton and finals clubs at Harvard are social clubs similar to Greek life. Secret societies seem more old money.

Inaccurate.
Some Princeton Eating Clubs are "Old Money" and some more inclusive.
The seven Male Harvard Final Clubs definitely "Old Money".
There are dozens of Yale Secret Societies but only the 3 most exclusive ones (Skull and Bones, Wolf's Head and Scroll and Key) would be considered to have "Old Money" roots.

It is fair to say that these "Clubs" are far different today than they were 75 years ago.

[Anonymous]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collegiate_secret_societies_in_North_America

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collegiate_secret_societies_in_North_America

Thai k you. Very helpful, especially the section about philanthropy and giving to the university for UVA

[Anonymous]

This is an example of how the secret society members give philanthropic gifts to UVA. https://newspub.live/south/virginia/virginia-athletics-receives-40-million-gift-from-former-student-athlete/

[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?

What top 40 colleges do not have these secret societies? They seem more appealing.

[Anonymous]

I attended Oxford University. The people in the secret societies there were shits like Boris Johnson who destroyed the country for their own advancement.

[Anonymous]

Bonesmen dominated the CIA in the 50s and 60s, and look at the mess they made all over the world. We're still paying the price for their arrogance and stupidity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Congratulations if you got into Princeton, Harvard and UVA. If you are trying to make a decision, these clubs are trivial, go to Harvard or Princeton.

This! OP is a pot-stirrer. Come back and discuss AFTER your kid gets in.

[Anonymous]

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

NP. I think they're both absolutely vapid, shallow, and idiotic. Feel better?

[Anonymous]

Same experience as prior Yale poster with secret society. Some of the traditions are rather silly (Tap Night especially), but the experience in general is not shallow or vapid . Several from my society are lifelong close friends of mine, and I had not known them before senior year, nor would I have been able to meet them otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same experience as prior Yale poster with secret society. Some of the traditions are rather silly (Tap Night especially), but the experience in general is not shallow or vapid . Several from my society are lifelong close friends of mine, and I had not known them before senior year, nor would I have been able to meet them otherwise.

There are very few people on this forum that can speak to Yale Secret Societies (Skull and Bones, Wolf's Head and Scroll and Key). I'm sure others have opinions on these societies, but can you speak directly to your experiences with these societies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we heard there is one at w&m too

Several.

I was/am a member of one at W&M. I was almost a full scholarship/aid kid. There was no cost to join from what I can recall. The only reason I can assume I was tapped/selected/whatever is because I was very involved in campus life.