The college he's looking at is about 1,700 students, with about 50% Greek.
> On the other hand, a school could have an enrollment of 9,000 with 75% of students involved in Greek Life.
I appreciate and agree with your main point -- every situation is different and has to be judged on its own merits -- but I've gotta say, there are limits. I hope I'm not insulting your alma mater, but that would be an automatic "F" in my book. I've never been involved in college administration but have spent some time on the other side of the lectern as an instructor, have observed some things from that perspective, and have discussed some of these issues with other teachers. That seventy-five percent number tells me that (a) the school is making no effort to facilitate other avenues for student social life; (b) there's far too much unhealthy peer pressure going on among the students (and perhaps being tacitly endorsed by the faculty and administration); and/or (c) the school's student body is unacceptably homogeneous.
As for fifty percent, that may not be enough in my mind for an "F," but it does raise some red flags. The 1700 number doesn't make me feel any better. I can't help but wonder if the non-Greeks have enough of a critical mass to form any sort of alternative to the Greek system, and if so, would the school even have the latent ability to support such alternatives. At least with a size of 9000, the 2000+ non-Greeks in the hypothetical could take advantage of the infrastructure and resources of a small university. With <2000 total enrollment, the "Monty Python Society" may have no other option than to hold its meetings in someone's dorm room.
Well, those are generalities; you're right, what I really need are specifics about this situation.
> Try looking at some of the school ranking sites and see what people say about the Greek system. If there are many strong opinions about it, pro and con, it's probably a pretty prevalent presence
Great idea; I'm an old fart and sometimes don't think of going to the Internet first for information. I'll take a lot at some of those things, as well as try to track down some recent alums and whatever else I can find.
> Don't forget, too, that one of the most important factors when picking a college is the quality of the academics and related educational opportunities.
Well, it's a good school, but so are a lot of others.
Thanks for your comments!
DM