I just learned the unhappy (for my D) fact that Greek life at Santa Clara is a big part of campus social life, despite having a 0% official Greek participation (all frats and sororities are off-campus).
Is there any easy way to figure out what the real Greek percentage on various college campuses is? I was relying on Common Data set and College Transitions info, but now I am no longer confident in that data. Greek Life Participation on College Campuses.
IMO the best way to get this type of question answered is to ask Admissions to connect your D with a current student. My D did this at multiple schools and found students were very straightforward. She can also follow the Instagrams of the Greek Houses to get an idea of the culture.
@thumper1 Any thoughts? I know you don’t have a current student but perhaps you still have access to the parent page?
I never participated on a parent page for SCU. BUT, when my kid was there, the Greek groups usually had very open events. My daughter did not go greek, but she still attended a number of formal events and other things the Greek groups did.
She graduated in 2010, so I don’t know if that has changed…I hope not.
She says the Greek groups were really inclusive.
In addition, my kid says there was still plenty to do. It’s not like the Greek groups dominated the social life at SCU.
Have her go on the reddit page for individual schools and ask about greek prevalence and culture there.
The website niche is one of the best ways to determine what students think of Greek life on campus, which is usually specifically mentioned in the “campus life” section of whatever college you search. So, for SCU, 48% of students said Greek life is average and no one will treat you differently if you don’t participate, but only about 25% of students join. So 3/4 don’t. At Binghamton, 52% of students say the same thing, but only about 15% participate in Greek life. At Bama and SMU, 60%+ of students say Greek life is pretty big. At these schools, participation is closer to 35-50%, roughly speaking.
I think what matters is how dominant it is on campus. If it was me, I wouldn’t be too worried about SCU. I’d be more concerned about a college like SMU, where Greek life seems to dominate. Big difference between saying “Greek life is average” and “Greek life is pretty big”, IMO.
If she is really concerned about no Greek life, there are colleges that have none or very little. I’d ask her to look at the clubs listings and see which ones have active and updated events. Niche has student reviews, which can be useful for getting an idea if kids are involved in other things on campus.
oh wow, I had no idea, really good to know
Much tougher for boys where Greek life is big. Girls will get into every party. Not the case for the boys
Yeah, honestly those parties should be avoided by everyone - too high a risk of being a victim or perpetrator of SA or ending up with alcohol poisoning. I’m not against parties or even substances when used carefully and mindfully, but Greek parties are a nightmare in my opinion.
Fair point. Which, at my son’s frat they do not allow boys from outside the frat to their events. They are fully responsible for any/all behavior. Thus, strict policies help maintain safety for all (and limits liability).
That said, this makes being a non-frat boy have limited options to party.
Maybe your son’s frat is an anomaly but for many frats in the country being “fully responsible for any/all behavior” typically just ends up meaning the brothers have one another’s backs and maintain a firm vow of secrecy. Frat brothers are not turning each other in for SA. It wouldn’t be such a huge problem if they did.
“Research has found that fraternity men are three times more likely to sexually assault a woman than non-affiliated classmates. Additionally, for women in sororities, it was reported that they are 74% more likely to be raped than other college women.”
I hope you aren’t claiming all frats are bad. Wait, you are. Your “broad brush” is noted.
I am very proud of my son and his anomaly frat. He chose his people. But, he is probably just covering things up. You know, we all saw Animal House. Please keep your children safe and forbid them from Greek life. 
Trying my best to do so!
It isn’t a claim or an opinion - It is statistics. And of course not every frat or every member of a frat is involved in SA and I am not saying your son specifically is. I have close friends who participated in Greek life and I don’t think they were all rapists.
But to pretend that it isn’t a very serious problem specific to Greek life is putting your head in the sand. Please read the link I posted above.
Here are others:
I agree. I came here to find out how important it may be to join at different schools. I don’t feel like my son is into joining a fraternity but he isn’t ruling something out that he knows nothing about.
He will get involved in many clubs and such but would also like to know what the social scene and college experience would be for a student who does not join a frat.
I’m really glad you asked this. In looking at schools for my S25, I’m keenly aware of actual reports from the parents of other boys who indicate the fraternity rushing experience involves trauma bonding: sleep deprivation, drinking/eating until getting sick, humiliation. I’m not interested in promoting any “boys will be boys” with my kiddo.
At the same time, I hear from the parents of girls who have their sorority sisters looking out for them and making sure their grades are good.
I’m open to my student being involved in fraternities, but not at the expense of treating people with respect. And trying to figure out how to gauge the impact of Greek life on campus is definitely difficult. I’ll be eager to see responses and use them in the coming college visits.
@CryptoDad It’s not ok to joke about assault. Hard stop.
I know on Niche you can see how important Greek life is at a school but I’m not sure how accurate it is. You will here different things. Saw a few place that it’s big at Delaware and then my two neighbors who both graduated from there said they were never in it and didn’t ruin their college social life one bit.
A school is what you make of it.
That gets a “yes, and…”
It’s silly to pretend that it doesn’t matter. At some colleges, Greek life dominates the social scene. Yes, a kid can still have friends and people to hang out with, but particularly in more isolated areas and non-urban campuses, the social options can be pretty limited.
Everyone on CC assumes that every college kid owns a car, can easily do “off campus stuff” whenever they want, have an unlimited entertainment budget, etc. I think trying to avoid a campus where Greek life dominates is just as valid a criterion as some of the other things folks post on CC as being “Very important”. And being the only kid in your Econ study section who isn’t going on the frat ski trip or the sorority Spring Break beach extravaganza gets old pretty quickly.
You can check out the website Greekrank. It’s where students rank the frats and sororities. Kinda like RateMyProfessor but for Greek chapters at specific schools. So bear in mind the fraternity and sorority members are mostly the ones doing the ranking so it will be biased in favor of Greek life overall but should note if there is not a good Greek scene too.
For example here is a link to the review and discussion of UNC-Asheville I picked it because we toured there and I know it has very little Greek scene at all (no houses, just a couple of frats that have a little space in the student union). University of North Carolina at Asheville - UNCA Reviews - Greekrank
Vs Santa Clara Santa Clara University - SCU Reviews - Greekrank
Vs Alabama University of Alabama Tuscaloosa - UA Reviews - Greekrank
That said it’s about the quality of the Greek life at a school not the quantity. I think if you are looking for little to no Greek Life then a C or D rating is a sign that it is not important, but a school could have an A rating but have a fairly small percentage of students participate but it’s “high quality” participation, like UNC Chapel Hill which has a little less than 20% of students involved in Greek life.
This is super helpful and interesting thank you. I will read discussions for all schools on my D25 list.
I have been poking around there and sadly in the first three minutes of looking at CalPoly-SLO’s discussion page found blatantly racist posts. 
We had heard there was a racism issue there, but kind of crazy that I read it within a few minutes of looking.
And (unconfirmed) prostate exams from pre-med brothers as a hazing ritual at a frat at UCSD. 
(not posting here, but look in UCSD for “Interesting Beta Hazing Ritual”) (I’m hoping it was a joke, but things like that do not seem far out of the norm)