My daughter just finished her freshman year and rushed in January. She says her sorority is just one of her activities on campus, it is not her life. Her friends and suite mates are in all different sororities and some did not go Greek. It does not have to totally take over your life but it does add an additional social outlet. She had looked at some of the other schools that you listed and it appeared that the sorority life was more a lifestyle than at Tulane. As fallenchemist said, the sororities have houses but the girls do not live in the houses.