Anonymous wrote:It depends on the school and the vibe.

At Cornell, it dominates. At Vanderbilt, it dominates. At Duke, it's off campus, but it dominates social life/culture.

At Northwestern, it's growing. 3 more frats came back over the summer. Too much demand and not enough after the failed Abolish Greek Life movement.

I think social media (all those frat parties with big-name performers and the sorority dance/videos) has had an impact even at the most selective schools.

I have experience with all 4 schools listed here presently (my own kids, relatives, and very close friends' kids attend) and can attest to the fall frenzy for Greek life for all of the kids. Yes, both the freshmen males and females want to attend the parties. The females have the easiest time all around. Males are stressed about wristbands/invites every week. It's demoralizing for them at all four of these schools presently, where dirty rush abounds.

Now all of our kids attended private (feeder) HS and are probably looking for something similar in a college experience (going to parties, bars, drinking, socializing, work hard/play hard). I am sure it all works out, but Greek life culture at each of these schools is probably more alike than people think.

None of the kids is CS or eng or pre-med if that makes a difference to you.

OP, you have an interesting question, and I have an opinion. Look at The Common Data Set for the most reliable information. Ideally, greek life participation in the teens, so less than 20%. However, if that's hard to find, look for low 20% and not more than 25%. Reason being: your GDI needs a big enough cohort of other GDIs to find friends, lots of friends. Things that limit the GDI cohort: Freshmen are still finding their way, a bit clueless. Seniors are mentally checked-out already, thinking of post graduation. There will be students away on study abroad. There will be students away on internships. There will be foreign visiting students therenbriefly. There will be part-time student, older students, nontraditional students.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is more nuanced than you might think.

It's not necessarily what %age of the school that directly participates vs. how much of the overall social life revolves around Greek parties.

I think at UPenn like 25% participate, but there is always lots going on at the school and the City that the 75% that don't directly participate don't feel like their experience is significantly impacted. Also, many of the parties are generally open to all.

It seems like other schools perhaps in more remote locations may have similar direct membership, but the social scene is dominated by the Frats and Sororities.

I’ve heard it’s hard for Penn boys who aren’t Greek to get into parties after freshman year?

Not my kid's experience. Now, the school did implement a stupid 100 person max rule this year.

There are a fair number of Frats, so it's always different if you expect to get into the "top" frat parties vs. just wanting to have fun at another Frat.

I heard this from my freshman daughter. The 100 count limit at frat parties is frustrating to many (both boys and girls). Particularly when many of these parties are outside.

Anonymous wrote:Even at schools with only 10-15% Greek participation rates, those 10-15% usually run the show. At 20% or above, you're not going to have much of a life, especially as an underclassman male, if you don't pledge.

People on this board love to point out that 20% Greek means 80% independent, but it also usually means that the 20% of men who are in Greek life pull at least 80% of the foyine girls and leadership positions on campus.

The fact is that joining a fraternity offers a slew of positives and little to no negatives. The hazing horror stories that make the news every couple of years are rare exceptions, certainly not the rule. If you conduct even a modicum of due diligence during rush, you can avoid a house where they push things too far - but again, those are RARE.

Pledgeship is almost always a healthy experience where deep bonds are formed quickly through forced togetherness and shared vulnerability. And it's only 8-10 weeks on average, a period many brothers fondly look back on as the most fun they never want to have again. Once you get initiated, the letters on your shirt confer a god-like status on campus. Other kids will look up to you as a leader, and the most desirable members of the opposite sex will be much more attainable as dating partners than they will for any GDI who doesn't look like Chris Hemsworth.

Greek members also make better grades than GDIs. This isn't hot air or conjecture. Most schools publish something called a Greek report card every semester. You can find these online. It breaks down semester GPAs by house and also gives the combined Greek and non-Greek GPAs. The Greeks win on almost every campus, and they have higher graduation rates and starting salaries, too.

The best advice I can give no matter the Greek rate on your campus is to pledge and rule the school!

the quoted part is (unfortunately) true.
the rest is weird garbage.

Even at schools with only 10-15% Greek participation rates, those 10-15% usually run the show. At 20% or above, you're not going to have much of a life, especially as an underclassman male, if you don't pledge.

People on this board love to point out that 20% Greek means 80% independent, but it also usually means that the 20% of men who are in Greek life pull at least 80% of the foyine girls and leadership positions on campus.

The fact is that joining a fraternity offers a slew of positives and little to no negatives. The hazing horror stories that make the news every couple of years are rare exceptions, certainly not the rule. If you conduct even a modicum of due diligence during rush, you can avoid a house where they push things too far - but again, those are RARE.

Pledgeship is almost always a healthy experience where deep bonds are formed quickly through forced togetherness and shared vulnerability. And it's only 8-10 weeks on average, a period many brothers fondly look back on as the most fun they never want to have again. Once you get initiated, the letters on your shirt confer a god-like status on campus. Other kids will look up to you as a leader, and the most desirable members of the opposite sex will be much more attainable as dating partners than they will for any GDI who doesn't look like Chris Hemsworth.

Greek members also make better grades than GDIs. This isn't hot air or conjecture. Most schools publish something called a Greek report card every semester. You can find these online. It breaks down semester GPAs by house and also gives the combined Greek and non-Greek GPAs. The Greeks win on almost every campus, and they have higher graduation rates and starting salaries, too.

The best advice I can give no matter the Greek rate on your campus is to pledge and rule the school!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is more nuanced than you might think.

It's not necessarily what %age of the school that directly participates vs. how much of the overall social life revolves around Greek parties.

I think at UPenn like 25% participate, but there is always lots going on at the school and the City that the 75% that don't directly participate don't feel like their experience is significantly impacted. Also, many of the parties are generally open to all.

It seems like other schools perhaps in more remote locations may have similar direct membership, but the social scene is dominated by the Frats and Sororities.

I’ve heard it’s hard for Penn boys who aren’t Greek to get into parties after freshman year?

Not my kid's experience. Now, the school did implement a stupid 100 person max rule this year.

There are a fair number of Frats, so it's always different if you expect to get into the "top" frat parties vs. just wanting to have fun at another Frat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the school and the vibe.

At Cornell, it dominates. At Vanderbilt, it dominates. At Duke, it's off campus, but it dominates social life/culture.

At Northwestern, it's growing. 3 more frats came back over the summer. Too much demand and not enough after the failed Abolish Greek Life movement.

I think social media (all those frat parties with big-name performers and the sorority dance/videos) has had an impact even at the most selective schools.

How exactly do off-campus organizations dominate school social life and culture? Especially at a school as large as Duke? Not trying to start an argument - I literally don’t understand how that works.

Let’s say 20% if kids go to off-campus Greek parties on weekends. Aren’t there other social activities and options on campus for everyone else. What do the non-Greek kids do for fun? They can’t all be pining for invites to off-campus frat parties, can they?

Frat parties are generally open to male members only and all females. On campus university-organized parties will not serve alcohol to minors, in addition, while frat parties will. 20 percent frat membership will translate into a much greater dominance over the dating/hookup pool.

To quantify that, at Harvard, only ten percent of Harvard men are in final clubs, while the majority of Harvard women attend final club parties at least once in their time on campus. That leads to a huge imbalance in gender at final club parties, and a huge imbalance in sexual market opportunities between final club men and independents.

Now double that, and you have Duke.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the school and the vibe.

At Cornell, it dominates. At Vanderbilt, it dominates. At Duke, it's off campus, but it dominates social life/culture.

At Northwestern, it's growing. 3 more frats came back over the summer. Too much demand and not enough after the failed Abolish Greek Life movement.

I think social media (all those frat parties with big-name performers and the sorority dance/videos) has had an impact even at the most selective schools.

How exactly do off-campus organizations dominate school social life and culture? Especially at a school as large as Duke? Not trying to start an argument - I literally don’t understand how that works.

Let’s say 20% if kids go to off-campus Greek parties on weekends. Aren’t there other social activities and options on campus for everyone else. What do the non-Greek kids do for fun? They can’t all be pining for invites to off-campus frat parties, can they?

Pp is wrong about Duke. Nongreek is common and there is still plenty to do. There are concerts and parties on campus that are not greek

I think you need to describe the kids that are not Greek and what they are doing socially 3 nights a week.

Are the Greek organizations at Duke still predominantly white?

Who keeps the numbers on this? Predominately, probably not. It most likely mimics the makeup of the student body. And note, there is a deeply historic, robust, vibrant Black Greek scene (Google "Divine Nine") that will probably attract most of the Black men/women.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the school and the vibe.

At Cornell, it dominates. At Vanderbilt, it dominates. At Duke, it's off campus, but it dominates social life/culture.

At Northwestern, it's growing. 3 more frats came back over the summer. Too much demand and not enough after the failed Abolish Greek Life movement.

I think social media (all those frat parties with big-name performers and the sorority dance/videos) has had an impact even at the most selective schools.

How exactly do off-campus organizations dominate school social life and culture? Especially at a school as large as Duke? Not trying to start an argument - I literally don’t understand how that works.

Let’s say 20% if kids go to off-campus Greek parties on weekends. Aren’t there other social activities and options on campus for everyone else. What do the non-Greek kids do for fun? They can’t all be pining for invites to off-campus frat parties, can they?

Frat parties are generally open to male members only and all females. On campus university-organized parties will not serve alcohol to minors, in addition, while frat parties will. 20 percent frat membership will translate into a much greater dominance over the dating/hookup pool.

Anonymous wrote:The answer is more nuanced than you might think.

It's not necessarily what %age of the school that directly participates vs. how much of the overall social life revolves around Greek parties.

I think at UPenn like 25% participate, but there is always lots going on at the school and the City that the 75% that don't directly participate don't feel like their experience is significantly impacted. Also, many of the parties are generally open to all.

It seems like other schools perhaps in more remote locations may have similar direct membership, but the social scene is dominated by the Frats and Sororities.

I’ve heard it’s hard for Penn boys who aren’t Greek to get into parties after freshman year?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the school and the vibe.

At Cornell, it dominates. At Vanderbilt, it dominates. At Duke, it's off campus, but it dominates social life/culture.

At Northwestern, it's growing. 3 more frats came back over the summer. Too much demand and not enough after the failed Abolish Greek Life movement.

I think social media (all those frat parties with big-name performers and the sorority dance/videos) has had an impact even at the most selective schools.

How exactly do off-campus organizations dominate school social life and culture? Especially at a school as large as Duke? Not trying to start an argument - I literally don’t understand how that works.

Let’s say 20% if kids go to off-campus Greek parties on weekends. Aren’t there other social activities and options on campus for everyone else. What do the non-Greek kids do for fun? They can’t all be pining for invites to off-campus frat parties, can they?

Pp is wrong about Duke. Nongreek is common and there is still plenty to do. There are concerts and parties on campus that are not greek

I think you need to describe the kids that are not Greek and what they are doing socially 3 nights a week.

Are the Greek organizations at Duke still predominantly white?

When you say “dominate” what do you mean?

For the kids who want to go to parties, drink, dance, frat parties, formals, date parties and darties provide that option in a way that movie nights, a cappella concerts and game nights don’t.

One isn’t right or better. It’s a question of which lane you pick. At some schools males who aren’t Greek have a hard time getting into parties at the first option after first semester. So that lane is effectively shut. Are the okay with the second option as the outlet?

Note by senior year it’s all moot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the school and the vibe.

At Cornell, it dominates. At Vanderbilt, it dominates. At Duke, it's off campus, but it dominates social life/culture.

At Northwestern, it's growing. 3 more frats came back over the summer. Too much demand and not enough after the failed Abolish Greek Life movement.

I think social media (all those frat parties with big-name performers and the sorority dance/videos) has had an impact even at the most selective schools.

How exactly do off-campus organizations dominate school social life and culture? Especially at a school as large as Duke? Not trying to start an argument - I literally don’t understand how that works.

Let’s say 20% if kids go to off-campus Greek parties on weekends. Aren’t there other social activities and options on campus for everyone else. What do the non-Greek kids do for fun? They can’t all be pining for invites to off-campus frat parties, can they?

Pp is wrong about Duke. Nongreek is common and there is still plenty to do. There are concerts and parties on campus that are not greek

Anonymous wrote:I am suspect of an 18 year old who states they are not interested in Greek life. What exposure have they had to the Greek system to form that opinion?

What exactly are you suspect of? I had enough “exposure” to the Greek system in one week at school to realize that I had no interest in joining a sorority. I had a very fun and active social life as a GDI.

I am suspect of an 18 year old who states they are not interested in Greek life. What exposure have they had to the Greek system to form that opinion?