Columbia University - Greek Life

Quick Stats

College Prowler Take

Students agree that there is not much of a Greek Life at Columbia. While there are fraternities and sororities, they do not dominate the social scene. Those involved in the Greek system, however, seem to really enjoy it. Perhaps because there is so much going on at Columbia in the way of academics and extracurricular activities and with the whole city of New York as a playground, the Greek life does not have much to add on this campus. Since you don’t have to be in a frat or go to a frat to drink beer and meet people, most Columbia students choose not to.

The Greek system does exist at Columbia, but it’s very
self contained. It’s not the kind of school where people think you’re cool if you made it into Pi Kappa Alpha, and most Columbia kids couldn’t name more than one fraternity or sorority, if they could even name one. The Greek system is also tied closely to the athletic world—athletes are Greek and the Greek are athletes. Like all groups at Columbia, the Greeks enjoy their way of life, it just happens not to be the center of attention at CU.

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

Greek life is a complete joke at... Greek life is a complete joke at Columbia. Fraternities and sororities definitely do not have the same meaning and clout that they do at other universities. Houses that try to act like those at state universities get laughed at. 12345 Greek Life Report

Anonymous says:

There are a few fraternity parties... There are a few fraternity parties each year, but they are packed, and the bad beer keeps flowing, so it’s worth going to at least one to check it out. 12345 Greek Life Report

Anonymous says:

It doesn’t really dominate unless... It doesn’t really dominate unless you want to. However, I think that there were record amounts of girls who rushed for sororities recently. 12345 Greek Life Report

Anonymous says:

Greeks are among the more social... Greeks are among the more social people, but the scene is not dominated by them. Many of the frats, like my own, are associated with a sports team (for example, Sigma Nu = swimmers, Sigma Chi = football players, Kappa Delta Rho = basketball players). There are only four sororities. My favorite among them is Kappa Alpha Theta; a lot of them are really cute and fun girls. 12345 Greek Life Report

Anonymous says:

Greek life at Columbia is pretty... Greek life at Columbia is pretty lame. 12345 Greek Life Report

Facts

Did You Know?

Columbia has a chapter of St. Anthony’s Hall, a semi-secret literary society that has only a few chapters at elite schools in the U.S. While they’re known at other schools as being snobby intellectuals, their reputation at Columbia is only as snobs. Typically, they’re among the wealthiest students at Columbia. But before you turn up your nose, remember, they throw open-bar parties every Thursday night at their beautiful brownstone on 116th and Riverside Drive, so it’s best to befriend them if you can.

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