Greek life at CA private schools?
 

Okay...I know I ask a lot of questions but please bear with me! Is there anyone out there who can tell me about Greek life at their smaller or private school? I know all private schools aren't small but you hear a lot about public schools and I was just wondering what its like on the other end. Are the greeks more or less visible on a smaller campus? Thanks so much!

Greeks were very visible at USC, Loyola Marymount, Univ of San Diego. Have also heard visible at Chapman. System is only 5 years old at Pepperdine, but I heard they are building houses now, so that's cool.

Pepperdine Housing
 

Where did you hear that they were building houses at Pepperdine?

I don't remember exactly where, actually-- I think it may have been one of the nationals sites looking for a housing director to oversee building of house.

Ya I was wondering if any of you guys know how competitive rush is at LMU or USD, I will probably go to either one next semester and I am going to rush (as a soph.) in the spring... any tips?
Love, Linds!

Both LMU and USD have been experiencing very high recruitment registration numbers the past few years. LMU expanded two years ago and is looking at doing so again in the near future. Both are wonderful greek campuses. Good luck in rush!

USD has expanded recently too, they added Theta last year and Kappa this year.

Good Luck!

I go to a small college in WV....750 people...and our Greek population is approximately 80%. Greek are the campus here. Our independant population is extremely small and non-visible. Recruitment is not very competitive in the sense of "I won't get into a house," just in the sense of getting into the house you want during formal recruitment. Eventually, everyone ends up somewhere!

I can relate
 

Well i went to a small school in mich and this school has a total of 11 greeks on campus year to date. Two of the greeks on campus are young ones and we are one of those young greeks that exsist on the campus. It's kind of a drag and hassle to get everyone to agree with one thing at our campus because some of the greeks have been here since the school has been establish. So other young greeks lncluding my self want to see things go a step higher than what they are now. What i mean by that is all of the greeks on my campus are local no nationals, and that's what we want to do. But i can say being on a small campus is a good thing until it comes to the weekend, but with greeks it's like selling a car everyone will try there best to make there care good to the public eye, and they will bad mouth the other dealers. So we have our good and bad times as greeks on my campus. But one thing you ought to be cautious about and that's when your college does not enroll alot of students into the school, and u know what that mean.

from your brother of the newly acclaim Mu Omega Pi we are taking it to a higher level.. Greek'sss Rulesssssss

From what I know...a good friend of mine is a Sig Ep at LMU- they have a wonderful greek system there.
:)
It's also a great school in general. I really liked it.
:)

Always,
Jess

Can someone tell me about Loyola Marymount? It's one private school I've heard of but don't know too much about. See I have all these books, like "California Independent Colleges" and the Princeton Review's 331 Best but you can only get so much from books, you know? I wanna know what it's actually like to live and go to these places.

Also my parents say they're not paying for a sorority when I get to college. So I said fine, I'll get a job and pay for it my darn self, but then they won't let me get a job cause it "interferes with schoolwork" and OMG, I can't win! Ugh. I keep bringing it up the idea of going Greek so when it comes time for me to rush they'll at least be used to it. I don't know, maybe they'll change their minds. I really do want a job though. I think I'd feel really great if I could pay for the sorority myself.

Honey,
Email me your questions about LMU and I will forward them to my friends Erika and Sandy who went there. Both are DZs from Loyola.

get organized now, honey
 

when you hit college, you are on your own in a lot of ways. mom and dad won't be there holding your hand. get organized now. if you need to start saving money, do it now so you can hit the ground running wherever you end up.
cheers
mmcat
:p :D ;) :cool: :)

Amen to that one MMCat! I think a lot of people have the wrong idea about college. My school is not that expensive, but when I was at home, my parents were like, "We would rather you not work in college", but when the bills started stacking up they were like, "You might need to find a part-time job so you can cover some of the stuff yourself." I mean, it is nice to have your parents blessing in whatever you do, but eventually you have to start thinking and acting for yourself as an adult. My parents did not want me in a sorority so I pay for that myself.

Theta in CA!!!
 

I just had to put in my 2 cents about CA Thetas! We just initiated our USD girls last year, and they are just FABULOUS!!! Our LMU girls are awesome, also!!! I know Pepperdine Thetas and they loved their experience there, even though they were newbies. I'm in CA and would be happy to give you the lowdown on CA Greeks!

Greek life at a CA private Christian university
 

I just wanted to reply to the initial question, which was what is it like to be involved in greeks on a small or private campus. Well, as a sister of Chi Delta Psi... here at Point Loma Nazarene UNiversity, in San Diego... I would say that it has been a total blessing, yet it has also been difficult. Going to a religious school and being part of a greek seems to be somewhat of a contridiction in some ways, however I must say that we aren't a 'secular' greek, whatever that's supposed to mean. Anyways, to answer your question, it truly is wonderful. On a small campus of 2,500 I'm able to show people at ease what I stand for and what sisterhood means to me. I have a few friends at USD that are involved in the greeks, and they LOVE it. I think that no matter where you go though, private, public, religious, secular, small or large, there are positive and negative outlooks on greeks. But as for me I'm a ChiDeltaPsi Gal till the END!
-Ashley

Pi Beta Phi is colonizing at LMU. Yeaaa!:)

That's GREAT Carnation! Pi Phi's USC chapter is SO STRONG!!! I wish them much success at LMU! 2 of my closest friends are DZs from LMU

I can't tell you anything about rushing at CA colleges, because I didn't attend one (even though I now live in SoCal), but I did attend a small private school (crowded at 1200 students) with three sororities and know lots about what Rush is like.

In general, rush is nowhere near as stressful as I figure it would be on a larger campus (my friend went through rush at Indiana U., I don't know HOW she did it). Everyone at my school who went through rush got a bid if she wanted one. No one was ever cut after the first party, because rush was only three rounds and who can get to know someone well enough to decide if they want her for her sister in that amount of time?? Of course there's the tension and the excitement...I didn't really feel like I missed out on anything by going through at a small school.

I was very glad I joined the Greek system. My sisters and I were very close, and we were famous on campus for our unity even though we were the smallest chapter. It means you'll always have someone to eat with :) and being at a small school also gives you the chance to get to know women from other sororities. It also wasn't horrendously expensive b/c of our lack of houses.

About the job thing with the parents: This may sound bad, but don't ask, don't tell. There are a lot of low-stress campus jobs available...I got a great job and career training in the campus library...and why do your parents have to know, as long as it doesn't affect your grades? You will be of age, you no longer need their permission to get a job or join a sorority. I only worked 10 hours a week at my busiest. It was enough to cover sorority dues and have a little spending money left over. Think about tutoring, too...how could anyone argue with that?

If you want to go Greek, GO! This is YOUR life and you have to do what's best for you, not your parents. If you have doubts or questions, talk to your Rho Chi. I bet she'll be able to answer a lot of questions.

Are you insisting on going to college in CA? If not, I know of a nice private school in Wisconsin that might interest you... :)