Growing up with two older sisters in Greek life, it never occurred to me that joining a sorority, where you wear matching shirts and sing songs looking like the cast of Disney during rush, was in fact not the norm in every country at various universities.

One of the number one tips I’m sure you’ll hear from people when coming to the University is to join various activities to meet new people and make coming to campus feel more like home, which is essential to any new student, but especially if you are coming from another country.

And one activity you can consider joining is going Greek. Firstly, you should understand what that means.

There are different types of Greek life here at the University. They’re all centered around fraternities and sororities. Fraternities were originally created for men and then there are fraternities for women, which are referred to often as sororities, but there are also different types of co-ed fraternities.

There are social fraternities and sororities, which were created for people to find friends similar to them. They include a variety of values including academics and philanthropic service, but what makes these different than the others is it focuses on the social aspect. Social fraternities and sororities are almost always separated by gender. Social fraternities and sororities are often thought of like the movies “Neighbors” or “The House Bunny.” 

There are also service fraternities, which are based on philanthropic services. These are typically co-ed.

Then there are professional fraternities, which focus on a certain major or career path such as business or law. These are also co-ed.

There are then honors fraternities, which are Greek letter honors societies. These are typically ones you have to be invited to after achieving various honors such as receiving a certain GPA. These organizations are also co-ed.

Lastly, there are cultural or religious fraternities or sororities. These organizations often focus on cultural or religious aspects in their activities, but not all are exclusive to members they let in. These can either be co-ed or separated by gender.

You can also be involved in more than one of the different types of fraternities or sororities, but only one in each category.

As an international student, there are a variety of different types of Greek life offered on campus. Greek life is a great way to get involved on campus, whether that be joining a social fraternity or sorority to discover more of the social aspects of the University or a cultural one to feel closer to home, there is a house for everyone if you want to get involved.

Kelly is a sophomore in Education. 

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