Dorm selection??? Greek House???

Big10Padre
Thu, 06 Jan 2011 02:13:25 +0000

Crete - our freshman D lives in Burge and loves it. Her roommate and many of her best friends are from Chicago and the surrounding burbs. Per our D, Burge’s party reputation is a bit overblown. It certainly is a very social dorm with some floors worse/much worse than others. It all depends on the kids on each floor/wing. She studies plenty in her room and her grades are fine. She has made friends at Hillcrest, Currier and some of the other dorms and they too are very social. The U of IA also has great Honors housing and living/learning community options if you’re interested.

LMK2 - our D also rushed. Mixed bag there. I agree that many of your and Beast’s points are, unfortunately, true. Our D also met the “eye test” for being greek - blond, trim, attractive, very outgoing. However, she didn’t have the classic sorority profile. She was a dedicated H.S. athlete (soccer & lacrosse; two-year captain in each. Sorry, not to stereotype - she was also in band, yearbook, gov’t etc) and she and most of her gal-pals always considering themselves as a part of the jock clique in high school. In any event, she rushed at Iowa mainly because a majority of the gals on her floor decided to test the greek waters. In the end, only her 3rd choice house preference returned the favor and she, like your D, opted out. While she was very disappointed, she wasn’t devastated. In fact, only a handful of gals on her floor ended up pledging. She has not looked back since and has never regretted her choice. In hindsight, her decision absolutely was the right one for her.

I’m probably a little bit more open-minded about greek life than others. For some kids, it’s a fine choice. Many of our older son’s UW-Madison’s friends are greek and truly enjoy it. In the end, choose wisely and choose what’s the best fit for you.

Good luck.