Is UA a culture shock? Yes…absolutely. And that’s not a bad thing. Don’t you go to college to experience different people and ideas, to broaden your experiences and horizons? If you’re going to be offended by any little thing or thought that’s different, then you don’t have to come South to do that. Keep your mind and ears open and you might learn something.
I’ll address the Greek thing. It’s true that the entire campus is NOT Greek…although the big fine houses might lead you to believe that. And not all Greeks are the same. There are a number of Greek letter organizations with no housing. Some are in very small houses, some even off campus. It’s a way to humanize a very big campus. But it’s not for everybody, and most people realize that. It tends to be a big deal to first-year students and parents. The farther along you are in your college career, the less it matters.
Campus politics really only concern a handful of people, and frankly don’t mean a whole heck of a lot. It’s something for the campus journalists to write about.
You might not like the food…but you might. At least you’ll have tried it. You might not like the town. At least you’ve lived You might not like every fellow student. But at least you’ve met some people different from you, who have different ideas and histories. You’ll probably meet a lot that you do like, and some you can’t stand. That would be true anywhere.
And finally campus life is a big shock to most anybody. You go from being under 24/7 parental supervision to none, with nobody checking to see that you study, bathe, wear clean clothes, go to bed, or eat healthy food.
All that’s going to happen on any campus anywhere.