What is Greek Life?

Greek life is the fraternity and sorority community at colleges and universities. These are groups of students who join together for academic support, participation in campus activies, community and university services, and fellowship. Fraternities are respectively for men and sororities for women. The names of individual fraternities or sororities originate from letters in the Greek alphabet, and this is where the term "Greek life" comes from. For some people, being part of a fraternity or sorority is a major part of their college identity. Greek life is a great way to connect to a large network of people. Engaging in Greek life during college will also look good on your resume; many businesses believe that sororities or fraternities help produce responsible members of society, and the network you'll establish during your membership will be a great way to make career connections in the future. 

Many Greek life communities offer housing, and it is often less expensive than university housing. Greek life housing allows you to live with people who you have something in common with, but individuals should consider whether they will be comfortable living in a house with a large amount of people as the number of people in a fraternity or sorority house can reach higher than fifty people.  

Most often, Greek life communities will require the maintainence of a certain GPA level and joining can incur some fees. There are often recruitment fees, housing fees, and chapter dues, as well as other costs like clothing and paraphernalia or events and activities. Being in a fraternity or a sorority provides frequent opportunities to engage in different kinds of events and activities. Some examples are themed parties, philanthropy events, community service, or theatrical productions.

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Updated: February 2014