Greek life

PennCAS2014
Tue, 18 Aug 2015 13:26:15 +0000

Penn’s social life only revolves around Greek Life as much or as little as you want it to revolve around Greek Life.

About 30% of Penn’s students are directly involved in Greek Life which means 70% are not. If you are in Greek life, the amount of time and effort you commit to it will vary depending on your interests. Maybe you are the person who only shows up to Chapter once a month and pays dues. Or maybe you are the President of your house and you are also the head of the IFC or Panhel. Penn Greek life is truly a choose your own adventure.

If you are not in Greek Life, those 30% of students who are members of a fraternity or sorority will host parties, have charity fundraisers, have concerts [sometimes], and more which are usually open to all Penn students. At Penn, even if you aren’t a member of a fraternity or sorority, you can usually go to any party and you do not have to pay for entrance or alcohol nor do you need to know someone in the house to enter. You can also be taken to Formal by someone who is in Greek Life even if you aren’t. Greek life is a great option if you are looking to party on campus or if one of the charity events they’re hosting seems interesting to you. Sometimes they also sell cookies outside of Smokes which is great when you are looking for a midnight snack after a long night but the walk to Wawa is seeming way to long.

If you don’t ever want to partake in any component of Greek life, then that’s an option too. Greek life is small enough at Penn that you never have to cross its path. While I do recommend participating in rush if only for the free food and opportunity to meet new people, you truly never have to interact with Greek life if that’s the experience you want. Philly offers more than enough in terms of fun and attractions that you don’t have to think about what kids are doing on campus. Or there are PLENTY (and I mean probably the majority) of students who just want to have a relaxing night watching a movie or just hanging out in someone’s dorm room.

Finally, any extracurricular activity you participate in will be a source of social opportunity. The debate team throws wild parties and intramural sports team will want to just grab dinner and hang out once in a while. No matter what you do on campus, there will be more than enough opportunities to socialize in the way that suits your interests.

Your social life at Penn is truly what you make of it. The school is large enough to craft the experience you want without being so large that it lacks a sense of cohesive community. Just keep an open mind and you’ll be sure to have some fun.