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.
While Greek life in college isn’t for everyone, some students join to socialize, engage in philanthropy and build a community — to name just a few reasons.
More than 6,100 fraternity chapters existed on roughly 800 college campuses in the U.S. and Canada during the 2014-2015 school year, according to data from the North-American Interfraternity Conference.
For students interested in joining Greek life, the presence of fraternities — or lack thereof — might become a factor when deciding where to apply.
Among the 784 ranked colleges that submitted these data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the average proportion of male, degree-seeking undergrads who joined fraternities in fall 2015 was about 9.6 percent.
[Explore what to ask before you join Greek life.]
However, among the 11 schools with the highest percentage of male undergrads in a fraternity, the average was much higher: 58 percent.
Indiana’s DePauw University topped this year’s list, with 79 percent of male undergraduates in fraternities, closely followed by Washington and Lee University in Virginia at 78 percent. Those are the only two colleges where more than three-quarters of male undergrads pursued Greek life.
[Discover a range of fraternity scholarships.]
DePauw — where the Greek system dates back to 1845 — and Washington and Lee each have about 25 fraternities and sororities on their campuses, according to information submitted to U.S. News.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, 195 ranked colleges reported to U.S. News that zero percent of male undergrads joined fraternities in fall 2015, and 220 schools reported between just 1 and 5 percent.
Most of the schools on the list were National Liberal Arts Colleges, which emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the liberal arts.
Below are the 11 schools where the largest percentage of male, degree-seeking undergraduate students joined fraternities in fall 2015. While fraternities are predominately male, there are a few coed fraternities. 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 male undergraduates in a fraternity | Total undergraduate enrollment | U.S. News rank and category |
| DePauw University (IN) | 79 | 2,265 | 53 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Washington and Lee University (VA) | 78 | 1,854 | 11, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Welch College (TN) | 65 | 327 | 31, Regional Colleges (South) |
| Millsaps College (MS) | 62 | 761 | 90 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Sewanee–University of the South (TN) | 60 | 1,710 | 47 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Wabash College (IN) | 54 | 868 | 65 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Ohio Valley University (WV) | 50 | 418 | 45 (tie), Regional Colleges (South) |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 48 | 4,527 | 7, National Universities |
| Westminster College (MO) | 48 | 940 | 149 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Dartmouth College (NH) | 46 | 4,307 | 11, National Universities |
| Ohio Wesleyan University | 46 | 1,675 | 95 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Don’t see your school on this list? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find data on fraternities, 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 more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2016 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 fraternity data above are correct as of Oct. 25, 2016.
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11 Colleges Where the Most Students Join Fraternities originally appeared on usnews.com
