Good lord, I am the poster child for how a sorority can benefit a person!
I can honestly say I have made my best and closest friends through my sorority. While many are my sisters, still many are not, but I would never have met those friends had it not been for our connection to ADPi. In college, enjoyed the experience of living in the sorority house, having the experience of going to school events like football games, etc., with HUGE groups (which makes it ever the more interesting and fun!), and just such unique little fun things.... it just made college even more amazing.
The working world: Every internship in college, every professional opportunity I have had-- again, the sorority networking! Whether it was a sister who recommended me, a sister who was my boss, a fellow Recruitment Counselor passing my name onto her intern employer, or my sorority house roommate's oldest sister taking me under her wing when I moved 3,000 miles away--- the friendships you make not only enrich your life personally, but 1000x professionally.
As an alumna, I moved away from my state not long after graduation. I knew about two people, and then I joined the Alumnae Assoc in Los Angeles. Now my closest and dearest friends are the sisters I have met through the association. It's funny, too, b/c even though we are all from different colleges and universities, I have yet to meet an ADPi that I couldn't see fitting into my own chapter. I think most sorority women feel that way, too. It's a great comfort to know you can pick up, move and start all over in a new place... but your sorority will always be home, no matter what phase of life you are in. I can't emphasize enough that sorority life is not just a college thing, just an eosteric ritual, just a status symbol-- it really is a way of life. A lifetime experience.
As you can see, the benefts are many. But they don't come overnight. Friendship is something you have to work out, so come around, show your face, call people--- you'll be richly rewarded for making the effort