"Best" Colleges and their Greek Systems

[Senusret I]

Yeah, even though the educational aspect of the schools is interesting, I'm really just curious about what Greek life is like at USN&WR's highest ranked universities and how it works.

[Miriverite]

Harvard University doesn't officially recognize fraternities and sororities, so any organizations on its campus does not get funding or a house, etc. However, there are three sororities (if I remember corrently, they are Kappa Alpha Theta, Delta Gamma, and Kappa Kappa Gamma). They function pretty much the same as any sorority anywhere else; all recruitment, parties, etc. are done in the dorms or on other common areas on campus. I also know some Harvard girls who participate in city-wide sororities, like our Boston chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha or the community-based sorority Delta Psi Sigma.

Greek life at MIT is surprisingly huge for a technology-heavy and northern school. We have 6 sororities and 26 (last I checked) fraternities. According to statistics, about 50% of men and 40% of women will pledge a GLO during their time here. We only have NIC/NPC organizations here, along with a service fraternity (APO) and a professional fraternity (AKPsi). There are no Christian, music, or MCGO's... nor do I ever recall an interest being present for any of them. I think most of our frats/sororities are diverse enough to begin with. Everyone is super loyal to their GLO, and while we don't host a ton of Greek events (think Cyprus-Rhodes Greek life), we do have many opportunities to show our support. Most of the GLOs on campus, in fact, are known for two things: 1) their parties, and 2) their annual philanthropic events. I definitely know that the sororities (aside from very blatant stereotypes that are tossed around) are best known for their annual events - AXO has Lipsync; APhi has the King of Hearts male beauty pageant; AEPhi has their Spaghetti Dinner; Theta has their KATwalk fashion show (clever); Sigma Kappa (which is NEVER called SigKap up here) has Late Night; and Pi Phi has their Pie Sale and Read-a-thon. As for frats, they are mainly known for their parties There are definitely a lot of trends and "stereotypes" within each GLO, but I think that everyone accepts that and ignores it.

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by Miriverite

Harvard University doesn't officially recognize fraternities and sororities, so any organizations on its campus does not get funding or a house, etc. However, there are three sororities (if I remember corrently, they are Kappa Alpha Theta, Delta Gamma, and Kappa Kappa Gamma). They function pretty much the same as any sorority anywhere else; all recruitment, parties, etc. are done in the dorms or on other common areas on campus. I also know some Harvard girls who participate in city-wide sororities, like our Boston chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha or the community-based sorority Delta Psi Sigma.

Greek life at MIT is surprisingly huge for a technology-heavy and northern school. We have 6 sororities and 26 (last I checked) fraternities. According to statistics, about 50% of men and 40% of women will pledge a GLO during their time here. We only have NIC/NPC organizations here, along with a service fraternity (APO) and a professional fraternity (AKPsi). There are no Christian, music, or MCGO's... nor do I ever recall an interest being present for any of them. I think most of our frats/sororities are diverse enough to begin with. Everyone is super loyal to their GLO, and while we don't host a ton of Greek events (think Cyprus-Rhodes Greek life), we do have many opportunities to show our support. Most of the GLOs on campus, in fact, are known for two things: 1) their parties, and 2) their annual philanthropic events. I definitely know that the sororities (aside from very blatant stereotypes that are tossed around) are best known for their annual events - AXO has Lipsync; APhi has the King of Hearts male beauty pageant; AEPhi has their Spaghetti Dinner; Theta has their KATwalk fashion show (clever); Sigma Kappa (which is NEVER called SigKap up here) has Late Night; and Pi Phi has their Pie Sale and Read-a-thon. As for frats, they are mainly known for their parties There are definitely a lot of trends and "stereotypes" within each GLO, but I think that everyone accepts that and ignores it.

Thank you for responding!

Although I am not sure if there are any members currently on campus, I know for sure that the Alphas (MIT, Tufts, Harvard) and AKAs (MIT, Harvard, Wellesley) have had members from there in recent memory.

[aephi alum]

Originally Posted by Miriverite

Greek life at MIT is surprisingly huge for a technology-heavy and northern school. We have 6 sororities and 26 (last I checked) fraternities. According to statistics, about 50% of men and 40% of women will pledge a GLO during their time here. We only have NIC/NPC organizations here, along with a service fraternity (APO) and a professional fraternity (AKPsi). There are no Christian, music, or MCGO's... nor do I ever recall an interest being present for any of them.

Slight correction from a crusty old alum...

There are two local fraternities at MIT: Nu Delta and Phi Beta Epsilon. I'm not sure exactly how old they are (their web sites both appear to be down) but they were both well-established when I was at MIT (mid 90s). PBE has been around for at least 100 years, if memory serves. There are 24 national fraternities with active chapters, and Pike is recolonizing.

There are six NPC sororities.

There are also five Independent Living Groups: WILG (Women's Independent Living Group), Student House, Fenway, pika, and Epsilon Theta. Epsilon Theta used to be a chapter of Sigma Nu, but the chapter wanted to initiate women, Sigma Nu's nationals said no, so they went local and took their chapter designation as their new name. pika (note lowercase) similarly was a chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha, and went local because their nationals wouldn't let them go coed. All the ILGs except WILG are coed.

The groups are collectively referred to by the acronym FSILG. Back in my day, all FSILG groups were members of IFC - in addition to Panhel or the Living Group Council where applicable. Now IFC governs just the fraternities.

As for NPHC, there was a pretty big Alpha Phi Alpha and Alpha Kappa Alpha presence in my day. Alpha is still a recognized student organization, but AKA is not (but I'd be surprised if they're not still around).

Greeks are highly visible around campus, particularly during recruitment (naturally) but also throughout the year. Each NPC sorority chapter is known for its major annual fundraiser.

Balancing your course load with your GLO obligations and the rest of your life was made easier, I think, by the fact that everyone has a killer course load, so if you had to punt something because you had a problem set due the next day, your sisters/brothers tended to be understanding.

[agzg]

Penn State and Pitt come to mind for Northeastern State schools that carry a huge alumni following and for many programs are considered "one of the best" in the Northeast.

Of course, I like to think Penn State alumni are also some of the most annoying college grads on the planet, but that's just because I went to Pitt.

The VP and one of the directors of my department have degrees from Ivy League colleges (Harvard and Yale). I don't feel like it carries that much weight, particularly not in my field.

Now that I'm in the midwest, University of Michigan and University of Illinois carry a lot of weight around here.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by agzg

Penn State and Pitt come to mind for Northeastern State schools that carry a huge alumni following and for many programs are considered "one of the best" in the Northeast.

Of course, I like to think Penn State alumni are also some of the most annoying college grads on the planet, but that's just because I went to Pitt.

The VP and one of the directors of my department have degrees from Ivy League colleges (Harvard and Yale). I don't feel like it carries that much weight, particularly not in my field.

Now that I'm in the midwest, University of Michigan and University of Illinois carry a lot of weight around here.

Also the Northeast is the home of most of the "elite" old money institutions. But even at those institutions, which historically have been the bastion of Greek Life, less and less students are going Greek, with some exceptions of course.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by Psi U MC Vito

Also the Northeast is the home of most of the "elite" old money institutions. But even at those institutions, which historically have been the bastion of Greek Life, less and less students are going Greek, with some exceptions of course.

Right but I'm talking more specifically about public institutions.

In terms of private, not-for-profit institutions (outside of the Ivy League), I can think of a handful more, including Syracuse University, University of Rochester, and a crap ton of the schools already on Sen's list.

[AnotherKD]

-

Originally Posted by agzg

Penn State and Pitt come to mind for Northeastern State schools that carry a huge alumni following and for many programs are considered "one of the best" in the Northeast.

Of course, I like to think Penn State alumni are also some of the most annoying college grads on the planet, but that's just because I went to Pitt.

The VP and one of the directors of my department have degrees from Ivy League colleges (Harvard and Yale). I don't feel like it carries that much weight, particularly not in my field.

Now that I'm in the midwest, University of Michigan and University of Illinois carry a lot of weight around here.

[nittanygirl]

Originally Posted by agzg

Of course, I like to think Penn State alumni are also some of the most annoying college grads on the planet, but that's just because I went to Pitt.

I like my school. And we don't think you are annoying anymore (at least us current students with no games anymore to give us a rivalry)
We dislike Ohio State

Buttttttt all things aside if I was on the outside looking in... I could see how people would think our alumni are annoying. I've heard it referred to as "cult-like" lol

Penn State Alums have a TON of pride for their/our school. We're very proud of it, our football team & our personal experiences here.
WE ARE... PENN STATE!

[Miriverite]

Coming from Texas, I can also partially vouch for this southern mindset. Most of my friends chose to stay at home in UT, Texas A&M, or SMU instead of accepting or applying to higher-ranked colleges out-of-state. In fact, I've had friends turn down schools like Carnegie Mellon and Stanford just so they could stay in-state, eep!

[33girl]

@ littleowl33: Was JHU all male previously? Why did it take them so long to get sororities?

Also, I'm having trouble with the nomenclature in this thread. To me, "state schools" are former teachers' colleges in PA, KS, NY State and a few others that have been Universities for the past 30 years. They are outright owned by the state. UWM, U of I, IU - those are "flagship" schools and a whole different category. Penn State and Pitt (and Temple and Lincoln) are state related, but they are not state owned. I don't know how it works elsewhere.

[agzg]

Originally Posted by 33girl

@ littleowl33: Was JHU all male previously? Why did it take them so long to get sororities?

Also, I'm having trouble with the nomenclature in this thread. To me, "state schools" are former teachers' colleges in PA, KS, NY State and a few others that have been Universities for the past 30 years. They are outright owned by the state. UWM, U of I, IU - those are "flagship" schools and a whole different category. Penn State and Pitt (and Temple and Lincoln) are state related, but they are not state owned. I don't know how it works elsewhere.

Pitt, Penn State, Lincoln, and Temple are all classified as Public Universities instead of Private, not-for-profit, like University of Chicago, or Private, for-profit, like University of Phoenix.

I know they're "state affiliated" according to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but the Department of Education classifies them as Public.

That's what I'm referring to when I say "State" in reference to NY, PA, etc., - also, NY State has the SUNY system and most "state" colleges and universities fit into that SUNY picture.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by 33girl

@ littleowl33: Was JHU all male previously? Why did it take them so long to get sororities?

Also, I'm having trouble with the nomenclature in this thread. To me, "state schools" are former teachers' colleges in PA, KS, NY State and a few others that have been Universities for the past 30 years. They are outright owned by the state. UWM, U of I, IU - those are "flagship" schools and a whole different category. Penn State and Pitt (and Temple and Lincoln) are state related, but they are not state owned. I don't know how it works elsewhere.

Here, "state school" means "public school" -- created by the State Constitution (the University of North Carolina system as a whole) and the General Assembly (specific institutions within the UNC system or the North Carolina Community College System) and funded by taxpayer money. We have no distinction between "state related" and "state owned," and while UNC-Chapel Hill is often referred to as the UNC System's "flagship" institution, that's mainly a recognition of UNC-CH's historical place and its academic and research ranking. It doesn't mean anything any different with regard to how the school is governed or relates to the state.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Here, "state school" means "public school" -- created by the State Constitution (the University of North Carolina system as a whole) and the General Assembly (specific institutions within the UNC system or the North Carolina Community College System) and funded by taxpayer money. We have no distinction between "state related" and "state owned," and while UNC-Chapel Hill is often referred to as the UNC System's "flagship" institution, that's mainly a recognition of UNC-CH's historical place and its academic and research ranking. It doesn't mean anything any different with regard to how the school is governed or relates to the state.

Here too, state school = public. If there's any other ranking among them it's a slight negative perception towards "directional schools" i.e. ones that mention North, South, etc. in their names. And that's mostly gone away as those smaller cheaper state schools have come to be seen as a good education for a cheaper price than UIUC, UIC, etc.

The general public doesn't distinguish between "flagship" schools and state schools though the U of I has an excellent reputation statewide. I suspect there's probably a Chicago/rest of the state difference too, but I can't speak to that.

[littleowl33]

Originally Posted by 33girl

@ littleowl33: Was JHU all male previously? Why did it take them so long to get sororities?

That's correct - JHU was all-male until 1970. Beta Theta Pi was the first GLO on campus (in 1877, just a year after the university was founded) but the first NPC groups didn't come on until the early 1980's. I would guess they had to wait those 10 years for there to be enough of a female student body to support the colonization of our two first sororities (Alpha Phi and Phi Mu in 1981). I've heard that some NPHC sororities had sisters on campus in the 70's but I don't know this for sure.