Schools in the South have a reputation for being "go Greek or go home," but at CMU, this is drastically different. Joining a fraternity or sorority is not a mandate in order to have the college experience. Having said that, approximately 20 percent of the campus is involved in Greek life, which is extremely significant when the school has about 6,000 undergraduates. Throughout a student's four years at CMU, he or she will definitely come to know many Greeks, as they are very proud and involved on campus, but Greeks do not simply hang out with other Greeks; most have great friends outside of Greek life!
Fraternity parties can be really fun and easy to get into for all girls (especially freshmen—everyone at CMU loves meeting new people outside of the small community), and usually guys don't have a hard time getting in, as long as they know someone in the fraternity. Again, it's a small campus, so it isn't that hard to get connections! The parties are split between the actual fraternity houses and off-campus houses that people in the chapter own. During Carnival, some infamous parties have been known to just continue into the next day. The sororities on campus are dry, so you won't see any parties happening there, but all of the sororities have date parties and formals each year, which are a classier way of having a good time. Greek life is involved and really accessible, but again, it is not everything at CMU. There are 200-plus campus organizations, and each are as close with each other as a Greek organization, and many are as involved as the Greeks. If you find Greek life is a good fit for you, you will never be bored; however, if you find it is not, you will still find your perfect niche to establish a strong group of friends and get involved!
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Greek Life at Carnegie Mellon University
bobz85
Entrepreneurship '05
3.5
B
Fraternity Quad
Reasonably available if you want to be in a frat or sorority. Good parties when you are a freshman/soph but they get exceedingly boring as you progress in your collegiate career. For those that don't get much social interaction in classes (i.e. lecture courses), greek is a good way to make friends.
Apr 10, 2012
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Greek Life at Carnegie Mellon University
shenley
Drama and Theatre Production '14
4.2
A-
Greek Life Is Available for All Who Want It
There is a decent percentage of Greek students on campus, but not a lot compared to most schools. One of the great things about Greek Life here is that, for the IFC and Panhellenic chapters, if you rush there is pretty much always a spot for you in one of the organizations. And the organizations are varied enough that one of them will fit your personality.
Feb 25, 2012
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Greek Life at Carnegie Mellon University
B-
Present but Not Everything
Frats are definitely fun to go to because they provide for some of the parties but greek life does not take over campus. However, it can really establish a set group of friends with similar interests if you join! The status is definitely not everything, it won't make you or break you.
Jan 11, 2012
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User rating for Carnegie Mellon University - Greek Life is
3.5 out of 5
based on 38 user reviews.
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