Engineering and Greek Life
 

Can someone in a sorority or fraternity please give me some info on the feasibility of being an engineering major and a member of a sorority? I am talking about this in reference to time commitment. I've heard that engineering majors have to spend an extraordinary amount of time studying, but I'd like to hear it from those who have been there (or know someone who's been there). Thanks!

We had a few members in my chapters who were engineers. It is a lot of work to be in that major, but these girls made it work. They were able to attend chapter meetings, and some even held smaller chapter offices. I think it is doable-- school must come first and you may not be able to attend as many of the social events as others might, but as with any major, you just need to prioritize.

The social element of membership is very tempting. It isn't mandatory to attend these events, but some members who lack maturity or time management skills can get caught up in it-- their grades will suffer. The sorority has academic programs to help members, but even those programs can only do so much!

If pre-med/biochem majors did it all the time at my school, I'm sure engineering students could, too. No offense, but it's more about how well YOU can handle it than it is about the major itself.

Also, my boyfriend was an aerospace engineering major at Michigan - one of the toughest majors at one of the very best engineering schools - and he is a proud member of Phi Kappa Psi.

It really depends on a variety of factors: how you personally handle time management, the school, the engineering program and the chapters themselves.

We had quite a few engineering majors in my chapter and many of them were able to balance their engineering course load with being an active member in the chapter. A few even held chapter officer positions.

The husband went to a small, competitive, private engineering school and managed to be a two-sport varsity athlete, member of his fraternity and keep a decent GPA through his four years of college. That's because he knew [mostly] how to handle his time (and could survive off only 3-4 hours of sleep per night).

A friend of mine was speaking with me at a highschool on a "college panel discussion" (where the highschool kids ge to ask the college people questions about what college is going to be like)...he had some very succinct wise words. STUDY.PARTY.SLEEP - Pick 2, and since your at college to get an education....

Considering the fact that we have chapters at some schools which are primarily engineering majors, I'd say it's feasible... eg. Michigan Tech, Kettering, etc.

I'm a senior in mechanical engineering and am a proud member of my sorority!!! I'm SO excited that you are thinking about going through rush!

I'm assuming you are a female, so I apologize in advance if you are a guy! ;)

Firstly, I want you to stick with engineering!! Don't let anything- or anyone- discourge you! You will be putting in more work than your peers. You will also meet lots of people (especially in greek life, at my school) who have majors that don't require as much work. At times you will feel that life is unfair because other people don't have as much homework as you do! But don't worry- you'll get through it!

Secondly, my number 1 reason for joining a sorority was that women are hard to come by in engineering. Sure, you will have girls as roommates, but as life (in engineering) goes on, you will be spending more and more time with guys on group projects, study groups, and in class. When my boyfriend (also an engr major) suddenly broke up with my in sophomore year, I realized I had no girlfriends to go crying to!!! That's when I knew I had to rush.

I am very involved in the Society of Women Engineers (on a local and national level) but still, I am lucky if I have another SWE member in my classes! I def!! encourage getting involved with SWE, but they are generally more of a pre-professional organization than a 'friendship' organization.

I am the only engineering major in my chapter of about 140 girls. I have a small officer position. Being in a difficult major, and in a GLO, is a huge time balance. You need to work out a schedule and stick to it (i.e., you have to learn to NOT play on the internet for the 3 hrs you have between classes, but to do homework instead). That way, you will have time for your GLO's activities in the after hours. Going out, socials, and late night activities were always hard for me since most engineering classes are either early in the morning (7:30 AM) or late at night (6 PM or later) to cater to those of us who do internships and co-ops. Unfortunately, that usually doesn't change and it's hard to get around it. I've had to say no to going to socials that lasted until 2 AM (although I WOULD go if they came back at midnight or so).

It is definitely feasible, but you need to remember that you are in a much more demanding (not necessarily more difficult) major than your peers. ALL of your five (or however many) classes will require you to do lots of really hard homework ! :p There's no way you can slack off, even on one homework, and pass the class- at least at my university. There will be lots of fun, smaller, bonding activities such as banner painting, buying decorations for skits, etc that you will have to pass on.

But- never forget your sisterhood. You will need to make sacrifices so that you CAN bond with your sisters. I have seen too many (okay, only 4) girls that are engineering majors in sororities that have pretty much abandoned their sisters in the name of academics. Don't forget that college is about having fun too! If you have any more Q's feel free to PM me, or I can continue answering them here for the benefit of others with the same question!

There are two social fraternities that are members of The North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) that are specific to engineers.

Sigma Phi Delta Fraternity - The Premier International Fraternity of Engineers

Triangle Fraternity - a National Social Fraternity for Engineers, Architects, and Scientists

And there are at least two national social sororities for engineers. However, neither sorority is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC).

Phi Sigma Rho - National Engineering Sorority

Alpha Sigma Kappa - Women in Technical Studies

I also feel the need to comment that, while there are GLOs at all-or-mostly engineering schools, I would think that the GLO would cater to that lifestyle. I can't imagine how different my sorority would be if my entire chapter were engineering majors!! There would be a LOT more studying and a lot LESS late night activities :) And to be completely honest, I just think there would be less activities in general.

At my school, there is ALWAYS something going on (panhellenic meetings, philanthropy event, intramural game) but I think at a school where nearly everyone is an engineering major-- the entire Greek system would conform to their needs and capabilities as students. My chapter would definitely be left in the mud if we had all of our current activities and 140 engineering majors- my 'would-be sisters' would have such a hard time planning, participating, and keeping track of things..

I am about to start me senior year of college in the field of civil engineering. I currently serve as the chapter president. It can be done. There were many a times i couldn't go to that intramural game b/c i had lab reports due or homework that needed to be done. But if you plan out when you will study and do homework you know exactly how many social events you can attend. For me being president i needed to be at almost all of the socials, so i planned my time accordingly. I still have a good GPA and have been inducted into Tau Beta Pi and Chi Epsilon. Two engineering honor societies. If you are interested in being greek and an engineer I highly encourage it!

Hijack on this thread, quick funny story...

I have been invited to join TBP and Pi Tau Sigma (the ME honor society) although I haven't done so since I didn't think it would be worth my $60 for each. Anyway, when I got the e-mail for PTS, I was absolutely floored since my GPA isn't that good but I guess it's great for engineering. At the end of the invite e-mail they said,

"...We hope to see you at the induction ceremony.

Congradulations,
Pi Tau Sigma Officers"

Hahaha!!!

women in engineering is hot.

Well, if the whole school is engineering major heavy, I'm sure the chapter events and calendar are set up accordingly. The thing I think the OP is worried about is being an engineering major in a sorority full of girls with less demanding majors* who have more time for sorority events.

*insert your own, I'm not going there.

engineering & sorority life
 

I am a senior in civil engineering at Clemson and a proud and very active member of my sorority. I know at least for me, it was a bit difficult my first year because I had to spend so much time going to homework help sessions and sometimes they would conflict with sorority new member meetings or chapter meetings, but when it comes down to it, you're at college to get an education, and if there's a conflict between your school stuff and sorority stuff, school stuff comes first. Your sorority will excuse you from mandatory events if you have a huge project or something to be doing for your major.

I know for me, being in a sorority adds another dimension to my college career--it's a perfect compliment to (mostly) all guy classes to have a network of sisters who are there for you, even if you won't see many of them in your classes. Many of your sisters will be dating the boys in your major, and you may be surprised how many of your classmates you find at social events!

I struggled for a short time with whether or not I should wear letters to my engineering classes, because I didn't want my professors to think differently of me. But I've found that I can be a great student while wearing letters, and what is better PR for your organization than to succeed in school and prove any stereotypes of "dumb sorority girls" wrong?

Definitely go through recruitment. You CAN do both a sorority and a difficult major. I've seen countless women do both and excel. :) Good luck!

Thanks to everyone for their help. I've been thinking about a sorority because, although academics are my first priority, I want to have fun in college. I love math and science, but I also love having a good time with my friends. I don't necessarily want to hang out with engineering people all the time, either.

Peppy, you said something about the fact that it's not the major, but how you handle it. Well, when I attended my orientation earlier in the summer, they must have mentioned the amount of hours we would spend in class/studying a minimum of five to seven times. I'm not kidding. Yes, I realize I may just be a naive freshman, but it made me somewhat nervous.

From reading some of the posts on here, I've come to realize there are different levels of Greek involvement on campus. It seems like southern schools might be more involved/more time intensive. (I'm sorry if this is a stereotype. Please don't slam me if I'm wrong.) I will be attending a state school in the midwest.

Anyway, thanks for sharing. I appreciate your comments.