Carnation, you and your husband are such incredible people; and have done a terrific job raising your children (something that is more than apparent by their manners, their community involvement, and their academics). As a mother, we often do things or encourage our children to choose paths that (non-parents) do not understand, because we feel it is best for them. I know the truth, as do you... However, it is a waste of time and energy to explain it to people that have not had an opportunity to enjoy the highs/lows/successes/mistakes of parenthood.

That said, I noticed at this particular school, if you take out a "particular chapter," the average size is 87 and those five chapters made quota. We have a similar "particular chapter" at USM that is full of wonderful young women, but they rarely pledge more then ten members during formal recruitment and they are about fifty members below the other chapters. Socially few fraternities ask them to mixers and they often are unable to participate in certain Greek activities due to money/numbers. Most young women join sororities for not only the sisterhood, but for the social atmosphere...

Keep the post on topic and refrain from attacks, please. The use of the b*tch in this thread is not necessary under any circumstances. N'est pas?

This is something that was a totally foreign concept to me upon entering college - I went through the whole process looking for a solid academic school, and although I wanted to go Greek, that in no way affected where I applied. In fact, only one school I applied to had a strong Greek system. I was under the impression Boston U. was non-Greek until I showed up for orientation.

That said, it doesn't surprise me that some people base their decisions on Greek affiliations. I'm using purely empirical evidence, but there seem to be a lot of people who know as soon as they get to a school who they will join.

I guess everyone has their own reasons for choosing a school, so far be it from me to judge someone else's reasons. I'm sure people would have things to say about why I chose Boston U. over other schools that accepted me.

While I personally don't see the long-term merits of choosing a school specificially for its Greek System (I was more interested in an academic program that would prepare me for a good career, feeling safe and comfortable in the location and knowing the campus provided a variety of clubs and activities), there are different strokes for different folks. Some just have different priorities.

I would advise anyone looking at colleges and universities to look at the big picture and where you see yourself in 5 years (preferably with a diploma). You should enjoy the time you spend in college, but there are a lot of factors that go into your being happy. If Greek Life is one of them, make it a criteria for school selection... but I wouldn't recommend making that the end-all criteria for your final choice of a university. You DO want to go on to work at a decent job or get into grad school once undergrad is done... so good academics and campus activities are probably a consideration.

one thing to consider if you're picking a school in part b/c of the strength of the greek system- what are you going to do if you don't get a bid?

Re: University of Alabama rush!!
 

I just thought I would point out to a few of the people on this site who think this girl is choosing her school based soley on their Greek system that she was asking about the STATE and CAMPUS as well. Considering that she is interested in Bamma and since she hasn't visited them yet, it is smart of her to ask about the things she is interested in. If she applied their without knowing about their greek system (which clearly she does not becasue she is asking about it) in advance then she must have applied for other reasons (i.e. academics).

Obviously the girl has an open mind considering she was able to read the book Pledged and then change her mind about sorority life and then decided to go Greek. So why don't we all do the same thing for her that we tell everyone else to do about Greeks: Keep an open mind!

Well, you either deal with it, or, uh, you transfer. ;)

But again, college disappointments are not unique to the Greek system. At Wisconsin, there are several majors (nursing, journalism, business, education, etc.) that you have to apply to during your sophomore or junior year and be accepted into the program in order to actually major in them. Some of them are notoriously difficult to get into -- most people in the school of education have a 3.7+ GPA. One of my friends applied to the nursing school here during her sophomore year, but also to the nursing school at Oklahoma, where she was guaranteed to get in, just in case Wisconsin didn't work out. Fortunately it did, but many others aren't so lucky. I have another friend who applied to the business school, didn't get in, and had to change his major. He doesn't regret it, thank god, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who do.

what about rushing 3 times then transferring? ;)