@bud123 : They definitely are not as I suggested. Most private schools are VERY pre-professional,(HYPSMCh, and all of the super elites are notorious for feeding into medicine, law, and finance, and now Tech…yet most have very high levels of intellectual vitality that is a large part of the social scene) especially the elites. Some schools are just naturally more intellectual and nerdy than others and that can have to do with a conglomerate of things (that mostly have to do with the past development of the school, intensity of some of the programs, and the selection scheme).
Greeklife is less polarizing as long as it doesn’t create noticeable stratification in social or intellectual life or start to impact academic climate (at most elites, the effect is not as big as it is elsewhere but places like Dartmouth have had issues apparently, as have other places). I guess the question is whether the school is such that Greek life is its own huge bubble or if there are merely students in Greek life who don’t separate it from what other orgs they participate in. At schools with a huge Greek dominance or influence, often there is a high amount of linkage to only a few other orgs (such as student government whose elections can turn into a popularity contest) which can cause resentment or concern. It’s kind of like: “Greek is just another one of my affiliations” versus "It is my primary affiliation and my presence in these other things is at least somewhat linked to our desire to lobby for the Greek orgs:. Note that many students at Duke, for example, have expressed concerned about such stratification whether it was real or perceived. The fact is that even the perception that they receive special treatment or “are taking over” (or act as a monolith in anyway) brings discomfort.