For many college students, being a part of a sorority or fraternity creates a sense of belonging and provides opportunities for service, leadership and networking. But like other parts of campus life, it also comes with some risks.
Here are six factors to keep in mind before joining a Greek life organization at your college.
What to Consider Before Joining a Greek Life Organization
Think About Your ‘Why’
Before registering for recruitment, suggests Shaleeah Smith, associate director of campus activities and fraternity and sorority life at Appalachian State University
in North Carolina, ask yourself: “What am I hoping to gain from this experience?”
“It’s important to reflect before joining about why you want to join and what you’re hoping to gain for your personal growth and as an extension of your college experience,” she wrote in an email. “There’s a lot of variety across fraternities and sororities, so once you figure that out, you can start to research each chapter and ask questions that will help you find the organization that is the best fit for you.”
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Some questions to consider, Smith adds, include what charitable causes — if any — are important to you, what personal development you hope to gain, your ideal organization size and whether you want to be involved postgraduation.
Do Your Research
Some colleges have few or no social sororities and fraternities on campus, while others have dozens. There are different types of councils under which they typically are grouped, including the Interfraternity Council, the Panhellenic Council, the National Pan-Hellenic Council — which oversees historically Black Greek organizations, known as the “divine nine” — and the Multicultural Greek Council.
To understand a sorority or fraternity’s values, philanthropy, GPA requirements and member expectations, look at an organization’s social media pages or website, experts suggest.
“Traditionally many of the IFC and Panhellenic organizations are college-bound,” says Dorsey Spencer Jr., dean of students at Colgate University in New York. “You’ll often hear people say, ‘Well, I used to be fill-in-the-blank organization.’ They confine their membership to a time when they’re in college. Whereas culturally, a lot of the historically Black, Latinx, Asian or multicultural organizations tend to be a lifelong commitment. These organizations expect you to participate, give back, pay membership fees and dues for the duration of your life.”
Make sure the organization you choose is recognized by and affiliated with your college or university, he says.
“There’s a lot of shadow or ghost or underground organizations that exist and there’s a lot of issues with those,” Spencer says. “If something goes wrong, they don’t have the same level of backing and support that a national organization has. Even when things go wrong, there’s still some kind of process and structure, in addition to the support and service and education that the institutions, universities and colleges provide.”
Understand the Cost
The cost of being a member of a fraternity or sorority varies. Sorority dues per semester at Auburn University in Alabama, for instance, range from $624 to $1,686 for new members and from $509 to $1,030 for active members. New members of Panhellenic sorority chapters at Arizona State University pay between $475 and $3,516.03 per semester, while dues for active members range from $450 to $2,660 for the fall 2025 semester.
If your college doesn’t provide information about dues for members, you should “ask for it as dues are one of the big factors when determining which fraternity/sorority you would like to join,” Sarah Johannes, coordinator of sorority and fraternity life at Marquette University in Wisconsin, wrote in an email. “It is not the end all be all. If you really want to join XYZ sorority/fraternity and their dues are high, ask if there are any payment plans to help with costs.”
Note that in addition to recurring costs, many chapters fine members who miss mandatory events without approval.
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Know the Time Commitment
Being a member of a fraternity or sorority is a time commitment. Expect to spend at least two hours per week engaged in Greek life activities, Smith says.
“Joining a fraternity or sorority isn’t just about the social aspect,” she says. “There are required service hours and study hours, mandatory meetings, philanthropy events, and each organization has different required commitments for its members. Some members come only to mandatory events; others come to every event whether or not it’s mandatory. Members with leadership positions can expect to spend five to eight hours a week on organization business. Of course, there are busier times (recruitment, intake, philanthropy weeks, etc.), and those events and expectations for attendance are shared well in advance.”
Look Into Housing Opportunities
Not all chapters have housing for members, and those that do vary in size and amenities. Some residences can fit only a few members while others are large enough to house a significant amount of a chapter, such as a pledge class.
If there are housing options, Johannes says, “ask about what living in the housing is like, what are the room options (double, triple or if there are single room options), how much more are dues going to be with living in the house, when and how do you need to sign up to live in the house.”
Be Aware of the Risks
The social environment of a sorority or fraternity may come with risks, such as exposure to alcohol and drugs. Members are typically required to participate in health and safety trainings — which discuss prevention methods — and colleges have codes of conduct, although hazing may still occur. Hazing is when prospective new members are subjected to physical or mental discomfort by being forced to participate in unsafe, unhealthy or degrading activities in order to be initiated into a group.
“You need to do your research in advance of joining and your experience is what you make of it,” says Dani Weatherford, CEO of the National Panhellenic Conference, an association of 26 national and international sororities. “So knowing that your values align with any organization before you join it, making sure that students and caregivers have looked on university websites for conduct issues of any student organization, not just Greek organizations.”
Joining Greek life may also affect your academics, so take advantage of on-campus academic resources such as a tutor or academic adviser, Johannes says.
“Some may and do thrive and have stellar grades, but I have seen many times members getting caught up in the social aspect of their fraternity or sorority and now their academics are not meeting our standards,” she says. “I understand the social aspect of being in Greek life, but you are a student first.”
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Should You Join?
Greek life isn’t for every student.
“It’s one opportunity out of many at a college or university,” Spencer says. “There’s tons of different things that you can do at a college or a university that can accomplish many of the things that joining a fraternity or sorority do.”
If you choose to pursue sorority or fraternity membership, keep an open mind, experts say.
“One thing that I oftentimes see, especially on a deferred recruiting campus is, ‘I only want to be a member of’ or ‘this social organization has more social influence than the other organization.’ So they don’t go open-minded,” says Devin Hall, director of fraternity and sorority life at Butler University in Indiana. “They go into this experiencing kind of already knowing what they want. … We want these students to realize that it’s not about just joining Alpha K Omega on that campus, it’s about joining a group of women that align with your values, your aspirations and just that human connection piece.”
During the process, be yourself and see how you “vibe” with the sorority or fraternity members, Johannes says.
“That is how I made my decision to join my sorority,” she says. “I was a lonely first-year who was looking for connections. When I walked into my sorority’s room on round-robin, they threw a ball of yarn around and introduced themselves and answered the question, ‘Why did you join Delta Phi Epsilon?’ Most of the women said they joined for similar reasons as myself and I knew then and there that I found my place of belonging.”
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Factors to Consider Before Joining Greek Life originally appeared on usnews.com
