I'm from the Big 10 also, and I agree things are much different. Our chapter took a trip to Georgia to visit another chapter for their formal and it's a much different style of Greek. Ours is much more laid-back and less formal.... Which can be a good or bad thing depending on what you want. (For instance, our Exec Board proposed doing all Formal Meetings instead of two formal and one semi and one informal and faced a lot of resistance from some girls and support from the others)

My experience with the Big 10 is also that you can't really tell if a person is Greek or not unless they wear letters. Overall, there are plenty of GDIs who dress extremely classy on a day to day basis. And the "Coastie" nickname took off on our campus to describe the dress of some of the Greek girls, and it describes a scrub look, rather than a dress and pearls.

Really, with the fraternities on our campus, the "fratty"-ness depends on which you pledge. Some are really close-knit brotherhoods where the men wear suits regularly and have that more country-club feel. Others are much more loose and laid back where the guys spent a majority of their time with people outside the fraternity and live in sweatpants. They both do very well, because different guys (looking for different things out of their GLO) pledge them.

Bottom-line: It won't be the same as what you find in the SEC. But that doesn't mean it won't be terrific.

I guess being fratty means something different at our school (that is, an exclusive attitude that you're either with the fraternity or you're an outsider to everyone).

I do note that when I break out the seersucker suit and string tie, I get some good natured ribbing.

Thomas

Perhaps it's more significant here?

I went to a public high school and graduated with over 500. 1/4th went Greek, 1/4th never went to College.

I think there are just plain more colleges here too. That has something to do with it. The pool of students is more spread out.

The whole "kids from [Insert High School] usually pledge XYZ" happens in a few places, just not in the SEC.

My school is far from "Southern," but there are 2 big all-boy private schools and 2 big all-girl private schools (well one recently became co-ed but is still 90% girls) where the guys from one school usually end up in Pike and the guys from the other pledge a few other chapters (we have a lot of guys from the other all-boys school).

With the all-girls schools, they either end up in Alpha Xi Delta or Phi Sigma Sigma (especially the legacies).

Of course, there are exceptions to this general rule-my little brother now is from the school where most guys pledge Pike. But it is still almost expected that people from certain high schools pledge certain chapters.

And my school is far from Fratty- our Greek system is less than 30 years old. So it goes to show that this happens outside the SEC too.

This caught my interest, I was wondering how are "Formals" in other campuses? Because on mine, it's an all-out, rent-a-limo-or-party-bus kind of thing. Kind of like Prom in college except with an open bar.

I've seen formals from places like UF and they seem to be done in regular banquet halls.

And how much are tickets per couple?

So what are the fraternities up north like in terms of how they dress? Do they usually wear block letter hoodies and what do they wear for gamedays?

And I pray they don't wear jorts.

Although I do not go to USC (Southern California), I know quite a few people who do and it is interesting that it mimics the SEC Greek experience in a small handful of ways with particular emphasis on the sorority system. Before people on both sides of the "fratty" system jump on me, I'm well aware that there are certain aspects that don't align (fratty wardrobes, lack of racial integration, etc) but there are some that do which I find very interesting.

For one, the emphasis on tradition is very present. USC is one of the very few schools from outside the South/Texas area that seems to be so heavy on tradition. When you look at their Greek system, which contains several single letter chapters, you see this. My friend in one particular chapter said that every year they have dozens of in-house legacies coming through rush, many of whom pledge there. She said of the four sororities that are considered "top tier", three of them are overwhelmingly full of legacies and, most interestingly to me, women from particular areas of Southern California. Women from one high school in Newport Beach will invariably go XYZ, from another high school in Malibu the women will all go ABC, etc.

In addition, they have many of the aspects of Greek life that seem to be present with the SEC. Full blown formal recruitment where recommendations are extremely important (if not vital for a few chapters), huge football traditions, overwhelming alumni support, gigantic well decorated chapter houses, 200+ member strong chapters with pledge classes routinely in the high 60s, etc.

However, unlike the SEC there are chapters that are available to women without recommendations/connections, etc and to state that Southern California "money" is close to SEC "old money" is ludicrous. I also think that just about anybody can go through recruitment and have an incredible Greek experience, which is strikingly different from many SEC campuses. For clothes, the sundresses are decidedly more trendy and the men are much more likely to throw on an RVCA t-shirt than a Polo shirt. So I do see the many differences. But I do feel that for certain houses on that campus (both fraternities and sororities) the amount of tradition, legacy and connections required to pledge certain houses mimics a budding version of Southern California wealth where certain families will have been attending USC and pledging certain houses for many generations (one friend of mine pledged a fraternity as a fourth-generation legacy!!!).

As I said, I do not attend there but have many friends and relatives that do. Can anybody confirm/deny/add? The Greek system (well, those few houses I guess, not the entire system) there has always interested me.

EDIT: With USC rising so quickly in the academic world I also wonder if the shockingly higher standards for admission from the last 10 or so years will stop this "SEC of California" trend as many legacies will not be able to gain admission to the school. I should also add that I have several family members who went to USC, hence my interest in their school/Greek system.

Honestly, from what I've seen, it totally depends on a bunch of factors: the chapter in question, who plans it, the occasion, etc.

For my chapter, it really depends on who's social chair. Last semester, our formal was really more of a semi-formal. It was in a small room in a rather nice, but not uber-fancy restaurant. There were no tickets, only what you bought food and drink-wise. Dresses were suggested, but not required (nice pants and a fancy top were an option). Guys were expected to wear a collared shirt, but a tie was optional.

This semster, we're having a formal in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton in our city with a four-course meal. It's black-tie and will be between $40-$70/couple.

The fraternity formals I've been to vary as well, much of it depending on the fraternity, who is planning the event, the occasion, etc. (I'm not sure how much they cost: I've never had to pay.) I've had to go out and buy a dress or just borrow my roommate's sundress.

From what I've seen or heard, the sororities are in much of the same boat. A Tri-Delt friend of mine helped plan her formal. It was at the chapter house and dinner wasn't served: many people went out for dinner beforhand. Apparently, KKG had their formal a year before at the same place we are.

Ours is totally different.

Fraternities at the UofArkansas go to another city to hold the formal. They split a two bed room with a date and another fraternity brother and his date and spend the weekend there. It is very, very formal but the dancing is usually done in the downstairs of the hotel or really close so we can spend time drinking at the bar. Common destinations for formal are Kansas City, St. Louis, Dallas (try not to go there so much because so many of the members or their dates are from there, so it's not much of a getaway) or Memphis. Hot Springs is also an option but a far less used one.

Hot weather: Body Paint
Cold weather: We dress like eskimos

truth

I went to nearby Pepperdine and I'd say that much of this is true, from what I observed. There are a lot of legacies, recs are highly recommended, and the dress is trendier than what it is in the south. And all the chapters have a ton of alumni support. The worst chapter at USC is still likely to be a strong chapter for the sorority.

I agree with your comments on admissions to an extent. Yes, it's getting REALLY hard to get in to USC now, and not all legacies can get in, but keep in mind that USC is a private school. It can admit whomever it wants - unlike public schools that have strict formulas, a private university like USC can be totally subjective in its admissions. That's not to say that they'd admit a bunch of losers, but they I'm sure weigh legacy status heavily. Private schools depend on their alumni donors, unlike public schools that get their money from the state (also, a lot of the money given to public schools goes to athletic programs).

we do this too. We go to the closest big city, and get hotel rooms that we share with our date and another brother. They are very formal, even more so than prom. Its been a while since I've been to prom so things might be different now.

Why did you go to Penn State if you were seeking "Southern fratty"?
I totally agree with nittanyalum.