Is Greek Life Worth It? Pros vs. Cons

For many of us, our first introduction to Greek life is a bit on the shady side. Mental images of parties packed with hundred of students, fraternities and sororities engaged in rivalries that largely amount to a series of pranks that get more serious throughout the film. The fact of the matter is that there is definitely much more to the Greek life than what you see from Hollywood, and that’s gong to be the focus for our article today.

Don’t get us wrong – there are definitely parties – but there are also things like grade point requirements, academic support networks, and networking possibilities that can get you really far in the game of life.

Let’s take a closer look at the Greek life so that you can see what it’s really all about and make an informed decision about it. Is the Greek life really worth it? While we can’t tell you what to decide, we CAN give you the facts that you’ll need to make an informed decision.

Read on and you can see for yourself exactly what it’s like and what the Greek life can actually do for you!

Pros and Cons of Greek Life

Despite what the 80’s movies have taught us about life at a frat or a sorority house, there’s definitely more to the Greek life than parties and crazy hijinks – in fact, most are going to be much tamer than you are expecting. To give you a proper perspective, we’ll give you a breakdown of the pros and cons so that you’ll have a better understanding of what these organizations are really all about.

The Benefits of Greek Life

It’s always good to start on a positive note and the Greek life definitely has its perks, so let’s take a look at the most compelling reasons why joining a fraternity or sorority can make an enormous difference in your future.

Networking exposure early on can only help your career

You’ve probably heard the phrase ‘It’s not what you know, but who you know’ and while it’s an ugly truth, it’s a truth nonetheless. Networking is a lesson that can serve you well, especially if you learn it early on, and the Greek life is a great way to get your start in this important life-lesson.

It’s a powerful one.

While these organizations certainly have a presence on the campus, what you might not realize is that fraternities and sororities also cast a very large shadow. Across the United States, you’ve got a rough estimate of 750, 000 undergraduates who are living the Greek life and over 9 million alumni who’ve moved away from campus and started their new lives.

Statistically that means that around 4% – 5% of the adult population of the United States is affiliation with the Greek life through the organizations they chose to join in college. If that still doesn’t impress you then you should consider this – roughly 76% of congress members and a whopping 85% of Fortune 500 execs were living the Greek life in college!

It’s a very powerful network and you might well enjoy the benefits for a lifetime, but even just after you’ve just finished college, you’re going to have a better chance of getting hired. According to a survey from the National Panhellenic Conference and North American Interfraternity Conference 2021, more than half of the alumni who were part of a sorority or a fraternity were able to secure a job within 2 months of completing their education.

When you compare it to the 36% of non-affiliated alumni that were able to do the same thing, then it’s easy to see that the power of networking is indeed a substantial one and a great reason for living the Greek life in college.

Philanthropy provides experience and opportunities

When you think of charity work, you probably don’t think of fraternities and sororities, but you should – every year fraternities and sororities raise close to 7 million dollars in for the various charities they choose to champion. This is something that you’ll likely be a part of as well, as most Greek organizations do this, and there’s even a possibility of you landing a leadership role in helping them to do so.

Many sororities and fraternities give you a lot of freedom in selecting the charity organization that you’ll be helping, so you can get valuable experience organizing charity events for causes that you personally support!

You’ll also be making a difference locally, as community service is another aspect of most frats and sororities, as it instills the important lesson of the merits of improving and supporting your own local community. In fact, Greek organizations contribute more than 10 million volunteer hours every year, making them the largest network of volunteers in the United States.

At the very least, this kind of firsthand experience is definitely going to look good on an otherwise fairly-modest resume, and if you like the work then it might even lead to a career path that you weren’t even expecting!

You have an Academic ‘safety net’ in most cases

Another reason to be distrustful of those 80’s frat movies that seem to depict 24-7 partying is the fact that most fraternities are going to have a minimum grade point average that you’ll be expected to maintain. The good news is, as a member, you are definitely NOT alone and your fraternity or sorority has resources that can help to give you an academic edge.

Imagine a cache of study files, coursework examples, and a number of other students who are available to help tutor you in the areas where you are not confident and you’ll have a basic idea of what your organization can do for you.

One government study even found that while just over 50% of non-affiliated students will graduate, those who joined a sorority or fraternity had a much better chance — with a whopping 70% of them graduating and moving on into their new lives.

You can ‘unlock’ awards, grants, and scholarships in some cases

The final perks that we wanted to bring to your attention is that living the Greek life can help you to get financial aid that you might not otherwise have access to. Fraternities and sororities often offer grants, awards, and can help you to get scholarships to continue your education.

For instance, let’s say that your sorority chapter decided to nominate you for an alumni scholarship through the National Pan-Hellenic Conference Foundation. Well, this organization awards $250,000 worth of scholarship funds every year, in the for of 20 awards of $2500 each going to students for academic achievement excellence and another 20 awards of $10,000 each based on academic performance and financial necessity.

As you can see, the Greek community takes care of its own, and this is something that you can be part of in college if you’re willing to put in the work and keep those grades stellar!

The Negatives of Greek Life

Sadly, the Greek life isn’t all rainbows jet-boots that sail you up the ladder of success. Like anything, there are downsides and we would be amiss if we didn’t give them a fair accounting in this article today. Let’s take a look at the potential cons of the Greek life that you definitely need to know about.

The overall costs can add-up quickly

If you will be joining a sorority, then you’ve got the definite advantage for learning about the costs in advance. This is because sororities actually disclose their fees in the Panhellenic Manual, so that everything is laid out nice and neat. Hooray!

On the flipside, fraternities do not do this. The problem that we have in this section is that the fees, dues, and other costs may vary quite a bit depending on where you’re going to school, but we can say with certainly that they might be as low as $600 to as much as $6000 per month.

Keep in mind that this approximation includes room and board, alumni and rush fees, registration and social fees, and chapter dues.

You’ll certainly be able to get a good idea of what you are in for when you are being considered for one of these organizations, but just to keep things realistic we’ve compiled a list of common and commonly-overlooked aspects of frat and sorority life costs:

Application fees – While the amounts will vary, applications typically cost between $50 and $100.
Membership fees and dues – Usually new members will pay anywhere between $575 and $2500 in that first semester and there are chapter membership dues that help to cover costs such as local upkeep for the community area, operational costs, and costs associated with national and sometimes international chapter costs where they apply. This is usually an extra $20-$200 per month or sometimes up to $3000 per semester. The higher end costs are usually going to be with more established Greek orgs at the larger schools but it’s a good idea to ask about these in advance.
Housing costs – This one can be a mixed blessing. First off, even if you choose not to be housed at your sorority or fraternity, you might still have a fee for use of the house. Now, the good news is that sometimes housing with your organization may be cheaper than living in the dorm and includes a meal plan. We’ll talk a little more about housing in this article, however, because there is definitely a little more that you’ll need to consider.
Social events (plus gifts, attire, and other goodies) – Sororities and Fraternities host a lot of social events and that means that you may need to be ‘dressed to the nines’, so you’re going to need special attire and said attire may vary dramatically depending on the event! Some events require that you bring gifts and don’t forget that these are official events – you’re likely going to have to wear your Greek letters on a membership pin that you’ll be purchasing in advance.
Rulebreaker ‘tax’ – It’s not really called ‘rulebreaker tax’ but it might as well be. Fraternities and Sororities have their own sets of rules and regulations and if you violate them, then you might be in for fees in the neighborhood of $100 or less (or more, depending on where you’re going to school). Familiarizing yourself with the rules can help you to avoid this but it’s something that you should be aware of.
New pledge fee – With sororities, this will be mentioned in the Panhellenic manual, but if you are joining a fraternity then be sure to ask if there is a new pledge fee that you need to know about. Usually, it will be covered in your membership but you’ll want to doublecheck just in case to avoid any surprises that might hit you in the wallet.

The housing situation might be a bit cramped

You’ll want to check out the housing in advance because it’s not always going to be ideal. For one thing, depending on the sorority or fraternity that you choose, there might be weekly parties at the house, or it might be a much easier ‘once or twice a year’ thing. It’s a good idea to check, since that can certainly be a bit of a distraction from your studies at the very least.

Larger frats and sororities might be a bit crowded as far as housing goes, so this is another potential pitfall that you’ll want to find out about before you decide to be housed at your organization. While this isn’t always the case, sometimes larger orgs might be housing quite a few students in one location, and you might find yourself with 3 – 5 roomies if you’re not careful.

Factor in the volume, the lack of privacy, security concerns, and even just the overall dust and debris that accumulate with a cramped lifestyle, and you might just decide to stay in the dorm or off-campus housing instead if you decide that you want to live the Greek life.

There is a possibility of hazing (although it might not be so bad)

You’ve likely heard or read a story or two about hazing deaths and the truth is, they do occur although not really at the frequency that the media might be suggesting to you.

According to Hank Nuwer, a journalism professor at Franklin college, over 200 hazing deaths have occurred when you track the numbers all the way back to 1838 – with 40 of those occurring fairly recently, between the years 2007 and 2017.

The culprit in most of these cases was alcohol poisoning, so if you encounter hazing (which is technically forbidden these days, but eh… you know how that goes) and alcohol is involved, then you’re going to need to use your best judgement.

Be careful and if you are worried, check with your college directly for their in-house resources — Every single one of them will have a ‘hazing hotline’ and even staff members tied directly to the college, and you can even check your particular Greek organization for their own resources where you may ask about or even report hazing events.

It’s in their own best interests to help protect you and the organization as a whole, so you can’t bet that they have provided the means for you to report anything unsafe and you’ll be able to remain anonymous if that’s what you are worried about.

Remember, your safety is the most important consideration, so don’t hesitate to use available resources if you even suspect that it might impact your health and safety.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, there’s a little good news for you in that most hazing that DOES still occur in the background part of the pledging process is usually just going to be a matter of performing menial, usually quite demeaning tasks, that are simply designed to take your pride down one or several notches and to encourage a bit of communal bonding with your new brothers and sisters.

Your best bet is going to be researching the organization you are considering in advance to see what kind of reputation that they have.

If you hear rumors of severe hazing, it’s a good idea to factor that into your decision, and we should also add that a reputation like that is a bit of a red flag, not only for the danger of it, but for the fact that it can add to the dues that you’ll be paying.

Fraternities or sororities that are known for brutal hazing or alcohol consumption might be fun, but they’ll DEFINITELY be paying insurance costs that are through the roof – and by extension, so will you.

We know that this section was probably a little unpleasant to read, but it’s supposed to give you a little food for thought – even if that ‘food’ just happens to be the verbal equivalent of ‘Brussel sprouts, broccoli, and kale. We’d be amiss if we left these important facts out of the miss, so now that you have them, do with them what you will.

It’s time consuming for your already-busy schedule

If you have any family or friends that have already gone to college, then we highly encourage that you ask them this one, simple question: “How much free time do you remember having?”

Once they stop laughing, an important consideration is going to become very clear. Students do NOT have much free time at all if they are taking a full load of courses. This is especially the case if you are going to be working to help get through college and all of its varied, often-surprising expenses.

Your Frat or Sorority is going to have regular house meetings, and you’ll be expected to attend, and there are also going to be fundraisers, chapter events, local community service, and those are just a few examples of the many ways your organization is going to tax your time.

Did we mention that the pledge process can last anywhere from 6 to 10 weeks?

It’s an enormous commitment, really, and the rewards are definitely worth it, but you want to go into this with the understanding that it’s not going to be easy.

How Can I Join a Fraternity or Sorority?

So, you’ve read the pros and cons, and now your interest is piqued. How do you go about joining a Greek organization? Well, it’s going to depend on where you are going to school, but usually with sororities recruitment events are held in the fall, while spring recruitments tend to be more informal.

Fraternities will function in a similar fashion, but what they both have in common is that there will be event drives designed to let you socialize with members, learn more about the organizations, and to get a general idea of what they are all about.

It’s a good idea during this time not to just rush to one fraternity, unless you have a family member that was part of the organization when they were in school and have already decided that this is the frat or sorority that you want to apply to.

If the decision hasn’t already been made, right now you’ll want to focus on learning as much about these organizations as you can through their events. This is a good idea even if you have your heart set on a particular Greek org, as the ‘hard truth’ is that there is NO guarantee you’ll get in and you might even find another fraternity or sorority that you like more.

Events will be advertised all over the campus and they often begin during a period of time known as ‘rush week’ at the beginning of a semester. When you attend these events, you’ll want to ask lots of questions about duties, dues, expectations on your time, and you don’t want to rush this process.

Make a list of the organizations that you like and as you attend their events, you’ll soon be able to ‘rank’ them by your own level of interest. Ideally, someone from one of these organizations will offer you a bid, which you may accept, reject, or in some cases, place on ‘hold’ so that you can think about it.

If you decide to ‘hold’, just make sure that you ask what this really means — you don’t want to lose out on a chance to join simply because you waited a little too long.

Once you’ve gotten your bids, then it’s time to consult your list and make a decision on which Greek organization you will be joining. They’ll have you sign a ‘bid card’ and after that, the pledging process will begin and you’ll be well on your way to enjoying the Greek life and what it has to offer.

What if I Can’t Afford the Costs?

If the costs are going to be prohibitive, we highly suggest that you don’t give up just yet. During the events that fraternities and sororities are hosting, one of the most important aspects of the process is getting to know your potential brothers and sisters. You might just be surprised at how many of them are in EXACTLY the same boat that you are in now.

Ask about grants and scholarship options. Students and alumni who have already been part of the organization are going to have experience in regards to the grants and scholarships offered to their fellow Greeks. This is INVALUABLE as it can give you an idea about your chances to not only join the organization that you want, but to seriously defray the costs that have so worried right now.

It’s an important life lesson and the sooner you learn this, the better – if you want something, there’s usually a way to get it and the way to do it is 99% likely to be ‘by working hard and disciplining yourself’.

So don’t give up if it all seems overwhelming right now. Take a breath, relax, and focus on your list and find out every available option before you decision. It probably won’t be easy, but if you really want this and you’re willing to work for it, then it’s time to get into the habit of betting on your own success.

In Closing

In this article, we’ve taken a closer look at the Greek life, weighing in the pros and the cons to give you a more realistic picture of what this really entails. While it’s definitely hard work, the potential perks are worth serious consideration, and if it all seems overwhelming then we urge you to remember that if you decide to join, then you’ll be in good company.

Since 1825, almost every vice-president and president has been a member of a fraternity. All of the Apollo 11 astronauts and the first female astronaut were also Greek. The first female senator was… you guessed it, also Greek.

Currently there are over 750,000 undergraduates – just like you – who are members spread through a network of approximately 800 campuses in the United States and Canada, by the means of over 12,000 available chapters.

Is the Greek life really worth it? Well, that’s ultimately going to be up to you and before we go we should mention that if you think it’s too much work, so did Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Barack Obama and they all seem to have done JUST FINE.

Now that you have all of the facts it’s up to you to decide. Just be sure to check out all of the events that you can before making your final decision, because it’s a good habit to always make an informed decision whenever that’s possible.

That way you’ll have all of the facts you need at your disposal to make the right decision… for YOU.