UK international student interested in greek life?

[silverraindrops]

Hi, I'm a high school student from the UK and I'm thinking about either going to the US for university or doing a study abroad year, and I'm really interested in sorority life.

Greek life isn't a thing here, so I don't know too much about what greek life entails, and I was hoping someone could help me out. If I did one year studying abroad, would greek life be possible/worth it? I'm quite sporty, so would doing both sorority life and a competitive sport be possible? How much does joining a sorority cost, and would being from the UK be any help in joining one or would sororities expect me to completely understand everything about sorority life before I joined?

The more I look into greek life, the more fun it seems and it definitely seems like something I'd want to experience, there's just not much info anywhere for confused international students like me!

[DGTess]

I cannot answer all your questions, but I caution you against thinking Greek life will be the same at every school. What it costs, whether or not it's possible to balance its requirements with those of a competitive sport, and the priorities of the school's social life will ALL vary with the school.

Very large schools, those with sports teams that take over fall semester, schools in the American southeast, *in general* are very competitive and the fact you're here for only one year could play strongly in your selection or non-selection. Smaller schools, those which are not often mentioned on sports-news segments, more specialized schools have a different vibe, and are more likely (note I am not in any way declaring this universal) to want the experience of a sister from another country, or who will spend only one year here.

Recommend you do some searching to see which American sororities have alumnae chapters in UK; to have an alumnae group once you return to UK might allow you the continued sisterhood many of us feel for decades after leaving college. Then see which of those groups are present at the campuses you consider.

That's only part of the entire equation. Best of luck to you.

[Sciencewoman]

There was a poster last year or two years ago who joined a sorority while on a one-year study abroad program at William and Mary in Virginia. She also asked questions before going through recruitment...could someone with better sleuthing skills than mine find that thread?

[carnation]

We have hosted international exchange students for years and one thing I've noticed is that many think they can play on a competitive sports team at school without a tryout several months earlier. This is often not possible. Especially at big schools, the competition for athletic teams is intense and many of the aspirants have had years and years of coaching and experience. At some schools, many more are cut than make the team.

In college, you can play club sports or intramural sports; the players don't get money or scholarships. Therefore, if you pledged a sorority, you might play for their intramural team, or you could play for your dorm team if you didn't pledge.

[Sororitysock]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

There was a poster last year or two years ago who joined a sorority while on a one-year study abroad program at William and Mary in Virginia. She also asked questions before going through recruitment...could someone with better sleuthing skills than mine find that thread?

I think it may be this one. http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...lliam+and+Mary

[Sciencewoman]

Yes, that's the thread! Thanks!

[silverraindrops]

Thanks so much everyone! I'll definitely have a look for sororities with alumnae chapters in the UK, that would be so great to still have that connection with people after leaving. I'm not sure if I would be able to; navigate trying out for sports teams, playing competitively with them and a sorority for just a year or two, does anyone know whether US colleges have the more recreational sports clubs (for those that don't want to compete as much)? Everyone's been so helpful - thanks!

[FSUZeta]

I would wager that most colleges, large or small, have intramural sports. I played on my sorority’s sports teams and on a fraternity’s little sister sports teams and was an officer 3 years for my sorority. Time management is key.

[ForrestGrump]

There are a lot of variables to your question. Attend university abroad for all four years vs. one year abroad? Large university vs. small college/university? University sports team vs. intramural sports team? So much is going to depend upon which of these options you really want to pursue. If you attend a larger university with a more competitive Greek Life and intense sports atmosphere, then it may be more difficult to pledge a sorority (or gain a spot on a sports team) if you're only going to be on campus for a year. But that might not be a problem if you attend a smaller university where things aren't so competitive. If, on the other hand, you opt to enroll in a U.S. university for your undergraduate degree, you would likely have a similar Greek experience (both recruitment and membership) to any other student going through the process.

For my undergraduate degree, I attended a small, liberal arts college/university in the Midwest with about 1200 undergrad students (and an equal number of graduate students). There are quite a few international students on campus, primarily from Europe and South America. Most of them are recruited for the university's sports teams (golf, tennis, basketball, football/soccer), and many of them pledge sororities and fraternities. Because the university is smaller, and its sports teams compete more regionally, against other smaller universities, athletes do seem to have more time to devote to other activities, such as Greek life.

So you may want to first give some thought to what kind of American university experience you want to have?

[GammaGirl1908]

With regard to sports, there almost always are opportunities to participate or play; it’s not choose either a sorority or never to break a sweat again, with no alternatives. If you want to play your sport, you can play your sport.

The distinction some people are drawing is about being an official college athlete, who is playing on the big-deal varsity team against other schools’ scholarship players, some of whom eventually play the sport professionally. You don’t rock up out of nowhere at an ACC or SEC (or similar) school and just join the varsity. Those players often are targeted years in advance. Even the varsity players at my Big Ten college who weren’t offered scholarships could have been full-scholarship players at other schools, and even those players get recruited long before August.

But you absolutely can participate on pickup, small group, intramural, rec center, or club teams for many sports. There are PLENTY of opportunities to be sporty for a few hours a week at most US schools.

[Kevin]

Do it. If you want the quintessential U.S. college experience, Greek Life is a must. This will help you completely immerse yourself in U.S. culture and will leave you with many solid connections you'll keep for the rest of your life.

[silverraindrops]

Thanks everyone, I definitely understand the sorority system a lot more now. I had a look at intramural sports and it definitely seems like the kind of thing I would love to take part in, and I get how it all works now.

My original question is definitely massively vague, so thanks to everyone that's managed to help with my really unhelpful question haha. I'm still a couple of years off applying to uni and then I would apply for study abroad later, but the current colleges I was thinking about include; Boston College, University of California Berkeley, UCLA, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia and University of Richmond.

I would love to have that US college experience that I think a lot of people in the UK would dream of - really popular football teams with cheerleaders etc, which is why I'm so interested in greek life. I know it's a pretty long list, but if anyone knows anything about the general atmosphere as well as the greek life at any of those schools I'd be really grateful. Thanks!

[navane]

Originally Posted by silverraindrops

My original question is definitely massively vague, so thanks to everyone that's managed to help with my really unhelpful question haha. I'm still a couple of years off applying to uni and then I would apply for study abroad later, but the current colleges I was thinking about include; Boston College, University of California Berkeley, UCLA, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia and University of Richmond.

Hi silverraindrops,

As others have mentioned, being an international student won't necessarily count against you. If nothing else, you should go through recruitment ("rush") to experience this uniquely American tradition!

A few tips:

-- Boston College is a Jesuit university and I believe it does not acknowledge/allow fraternities and sororities.

-- Many sororities are national or international in scope. Meaning, they have chapters at universities all across the U.S., Canada and some additional international locations. There are different inter/national councils for sororities. These are umbrella organizations which are a conglomerate, or a cooperative effort, of the various inter/national sororities. There is the National Panhellenic Council (NPC), the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), and the National Multicultural Greek Council (NMGC). Some sororities are local or regional only and are concentrated in a small area. With that in mind, when you are researching your options, it would help to search for key words like "panhellenic", "NPHC", or "multicultural Greek" in conjunction with the name of the university. So, a search for "UCLA panhellenic" would take you to the go-to website at that university.

-- Keep in mind that some universities hold recruitment in the fall (most common) and some in the spring. If you are only in the U.S. for one year, it wouldn't make sense to go through a spring recruitment and only be a member for a few weeks before going home. Unless, of course, you just wanted to participate in recruitment for the experience. University of Pennsylvania, University of Richmond and University of Virginia have spring recruitments. You "could" join anytime of the year; but the "main" time to join is during fall or spring formal recruitment.

I hope this helps!

[naraht]

Originally Posted by navane

Hi silverraindrops,

As others have mentioned, being an international student won't necessarily count against you. If nothing else, you should go through recruitment ("rush") to experience this uniquely American tradition!

A few tips:

-- Boston College is a Jesuit university and I believe it does not acknowledge/allow fraternities and sororities.

As a note, some Jesuit Universities do have a significant Greek system (including National Social Fraternities and Sororities) including Marquette University and Creighton University.

[Titchou]

here is the final football rankings for this past season.https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/rankings/
As you can see, only one of your schools is anywhere on these lists - Virginia....and they are at the bottom. I'm not saying the schools on your list have bad teams, they have all have decent teams and a decent following, show up on TV a lot, send the odd player to the pro teams, etc. But if you are looking for really popular ones, look at the southern schools: Alabama, LSU, Auburn, FLorida, FSU, etc.. Toss in Ohio State, Michigan and one or two others. However, a main concern would be your field of study...do any of these schools have a program in that? How good is it? Weather could also be a consideration...do you want school where it snows some or one where you rarely have have to wear winter type clothing? Do you need it to have good access to international travel?Lots to consider...