<p>Take3, I am not implying that it is difficult to make friends as an independent after the first couple weeks. However, the first couple weeks of college usually go like this: first you get there and there are a lot of new people and you have to find your way around, then you start to make friends with people on your floor and people in your classes, then the Greek recruitment starts. If you don’t want to rush, but every one of your friends that you have made so far does want to rush, it would definitely limit what you have to do until you can make new friends, which, depending on your personality, could be easy or difficult. At no point did I say that an independent can’t make friends, I just said that the only scenario where I think it would be hard to have fun as an independent is if every one of your friends is Greek and you are not. As long as you have one or two independent friends, even that is enough to give you something to do on weekends and some weeknights.</p>
<p>I think the biggest difference is is scheduling. If you are independent, there are definitely some nights where most or all of your friends will be busy with homework or meetings of some kind, so while you will have a free night, you won’t have much to do. If you are Greek, you are living in a house with 100 other guys, and there is bound to be at least a handful free, so you can find someone to go out with. I know I have had my fair share of nights where I had nothing to do for school, but couldn’t find someone to go out with so I ended up staying in and watching baseball or something, but I still do not think that not being Greek detracted in any way from my experience here at UIUC. In fact, if not for the fact that I had a girlfriend left over from high school that made me basically drive home every other weekend freshman year (a sad chapter of bad judgment in my life), I think I would have had an even better time at UIUC than I already had as an independent.</p>
<p>My advice, is if he wants to go Greek, then go Greek, but if he doesn’t, there is ample opportunity to meet people and make friends and have fun without it. I just replaced Greek life with Illini Pride, so I was surrounded by a gazillion Illini fans at all the sporting events pretty much year round. Plus, you have to join that organization to be a part of the Block I or Orange Krush, which I would suggest anyone who is a fan of sports should do at least once to give it a try. I made innumerable friends doing this.</p>