I’m an international student attending W&L this fall and I was wondering what would it be like to not be in greek life, socially speaking. I want a good college experience & make lots of new friends, but I’m not very interested in Greek Life. My academics come first of course, but I’d want to go to a party from time to time & not spend my college years feeling lonely.
Calling @V3rnor
All parties are open to everyone (maybe after 10 pm?). I expect you will have no trouble making friends as it is a very friendly place. There are other ways to make friends besides being in a fraternity or sorority. My son was in a fraternity, and also made friends through his department, sports team, club team, first year dorm, clubs etc.
This thread includes a lot of information that may be helpful to you.
Hi hi! Sorry I’m extremely late to this, haven’t been looking at CC recently.
I was wondering what would it be like to not be in greek life, socially speaking.
I’m an independent at W&L (not greek affiliated) and I really like W&L with my social life. I will preface this by saying that I’m personally not a party person, but I am friends with many people who enjoy W&L’s social life.
Our reputation as a party school is true, but that isn’t just limited to Greek life (even if 75% of the school does Greek life). Beyond frat/sorority specific events, most parties are open to the public. They usually run from 10PM - 2 AM (when the last traveller shuttle runs), and are hosted at one of many locations. So if you do want to go out, even if it’s once in a blue moon, no one is paying attention to whether you’re Greek-affiliated or not.
For those nights were you don’t want to go party but still have fun, I’ve found a lot of fun just spending time around my friends. Despite W&L having a significant Greek life there are a lot of people who aren’t affiliated. Ive often found myself hanging out with them in common areas, or at other areas. W&L has things like Friday Underground (FUDG) where people can go hang out that aren’t nessecairly heavy drinking parties.
Often you’ll find your own group that you’ll hang out with primarily in your Freshman year and beyond - my friend group is a mixture of both independents & Greeks. Often you’ll find these people through academics; I have many close friends I’ve made through being a pre-med student. Everyone is friendly, and you’ll have no trouble making friends.
not spend my college years feeling lonely
Please don’t worry too much about this. I will say the transition to college absolutely sucks, but afterwards it often smooths out significantly. I had trouble my freshman year, which were alleviated as I began to find my own group. Your freshman year will give you ample opportunity to both build bonds with the broader W&L community and also to find the people you want to be in your inner circle.
Let me know if you have any other W&L questions, or want me to clarify what’s being said. Otherwise, look forward to helping you move in this fall!
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