Greek System at WVU and JMU
 

Hi!
I have been accepted to West Virginia University and James Madison University and I haven't decided yet where I want to attend (I know, I have to decide soon!).

Can anyone tell me anything about their Greek Systems at these schools? Is it big there? Do I need recommendations? Is recruitment very competitive? I have looked at both of their Greek websites but they haven't been too much help.

I can't say that having a strong or weak Greek System will influence my decision a lot, but I would like to go to a school where Greek Life is on the "bigger" side.

But especially I'd like to know about recommendations!

Thank you :)

James Madison's Greek Life is about 20% of the student population. Greeks definitely have a presence on campus--you'll always see someone in letters headed to class and our sorority houses are right along like the lake when you drive onto campus. We have 11 Panhellenic sororities with 1 associate member, and 15 fraternities. Greek Life is growing; we are currently expanding and have colonized and chartered 2 sororities and 2 fraternities in the past few years.
Recruitment has become competitive in a sense, but only because of numbers. Around 880 women signed up for recruitment last fall, and each chapter takes about 50-60 new members each year, so about 200 women did not receive a Bid either because they chose to withdraw from the process or were released. Recommendations are not necessary and are definitely not the norm here, but I would encourage you to get if you have a particular chapter you like and know an alumna personally who would write you a positive recommendation; it could be useful if you are like me and come across shy or introverted in cold-contact conversations.
I hope this helps you, and dig a little deeper into the JMU Fraternity and Sorority Life website; I know it's a little messy and hard to navigate, but there's plenty to see if you look around.

Greek life at WVU is getting larger every year, with more girls going through recruitment, and therefore larger pledge classes. There are 16 IFC fraternities and 8 Panhellenic sororities. There are 2 fraternities colonizing in the Fall and (if rumors are true) another sorority colonizing in the spring of next year.
WVU is similar to JMU in the fact that it is growing. In 2011, around 400 girls went through recruitment. In 2012, the number went up to 600 and already even more girls are signed up for Fall 2013 semester. However, the class of 2016 was the school's largest in history, so the school itself is also expanding. Very few people have recs here, but they will definitely help you (they helped me!) Recruitment here is more competitive than it has been in the past, but it is still nothing like it has been in the past. Every sorority took around 40 girls in the fall. Though that may seem like many girls got dropped, it seemed that most girls actually chose to drop out because they did not get invited back to the houses they wanted (everyone I know who did not end up going Greek dropped out for this reason).

Though I do not know much about JMU's Greek life, it sounds that both WVU and JMU are similar in the ways that they both are growing and becoming larger and larger on campus. I would recommend visiting both campuses and seeing which one you feel more comfortable in. I know this was posted about a month ago, but I hope I'm not too late!

Is WVU open for expansion? This is the first I've heard of sorority extension there.

Key word is "rumors." I would take them with a grain of salt.