The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or graduate school search.
Joining a sorority isn’t all about parties and Greek life socials — it can also help a student stay enrolled and graduate from college, studies find.
A 2015 annual report from the National Panhellenic Conference, which represents 380,565 undergraduates in sororities, states that its members are more likely to graduate on time: 58 percent of sorority members graduate within four years , compared with 46 percent for nonmembers.
A 2014 research study on conference members found 93 percent of sorority members stayed at their respective schools from freshman to sophomore year, which is 11 percentage points higher than for nonmembers.
[Seecolleges where freshmen usually return.]
On average, a typical college or university with a sorority presence has around 12.4 percent of female undergraduates in a sorority, according to data reported to U.S. News by 635 ranked colleges and universities in a 2015 survey.
At the top 10 schools where sorority participation is the highest, 58 percent or more of female undergraduates are Greek. All these schools, many of which are liberal arts colleges located in a southern state, are private institutions.
[Learn how toconnect with scholarships for sorority sisters.]
Washington and Lee University, a private institution based in Lexington, Virginia, grabs the top slot with 81 percent of its degree-seeking women involved in a sorority during the 2014-2015 school year. This university also had the highest percentage of male undergraduates participating in a fraternity, which was at 78 percent for the same year .
Below is a list of the top 10 schools with the highest percentages of sorority members during the 2014-2015 academic year. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.
| School name (state) | Percentage of female undergraduates in a sorority (2014-2015) | Total undergraduate enrollment (2014-2015) | U.S. News rank and category |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington and Lee University (VA) | 81% | 1,890 | 14 (tie), National Liberal Arts College |
| Bethune-Cookman University (FL) | 75% | 3,900 | 39 (tie), Regional Colleges (South) |
| Allen University (SC) | 73% | 678 | RNP*, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Welch College (TN) | 72% | 328 | 63 (tie), Regional Colleges (South) |
| Ohio Valley University (WV) | 66% | 397 | 70, Regional Colleges (South) |
| Rhodes College (TN) | 65% | 2,031 | 51 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| DePauw University (IN) | 63% | 2,216 | 51 (tie) National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Millsaps College (MS) | 63% | 771 | 93 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Transylvania University (KY) | 60% | 1,014 | 82 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Wake Forest University (NC) | 58% | 4,867 | 27 (tie), National Universities |
* RNP denotes an institution that is ranked in the bottom one-fourth of its ranking category. U.S. News calculates a rank for the school but has decided not to publish it.
Don’t see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find sorority and enrollment data, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.
U.S. News surveyed nearly 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2015 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News’ data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News’ rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The sorority and enrollment data above are correct as of June 28, 2016.
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