University of California - Berkeley
- Greek Life

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The phrase you’ll often hear from the Greek community is that “Berkeley is different,” meaning the Greeks aren’t the Animal House-style, superficial jerks one might first imagine. The Greek system at Cal is the largest on the West Coast, and therefore hosts a range of houses. While many sororities and fraternities are far from the stereotype, many are spot-on. The system is predominately Caucasian—far from the racial breakdown of the overall student body—and attracts many snobby students who are looking for friends within Berkeley’s far-from-materialistic campus.

On the flip-side, the Greek system is also full of students who never thought they’d be in a sorority or a fraternity. Especially for new students, it is an effective way to make the campus feel smaller. Besides giving members 100 automatic friends within their chapters, the Greek community as a whole is also fairly tight-knit. Most of the houses are just off the southeast edge of campus, making it easy for the Greek houses to form a physical community. Most chapters also help members connect to the school by organizing philanthropic events, creating intramural sports teams, supporting members in outside activities, and hosting social events in San Francisco. The Greek system dominates Cal’s party scene, especially for students who are too young to go to bars. While it is easy to avoid the Greek community by partying in the co-ops (student-run housing on the opposite side of campus) or hunting for house parties (often held by the sports teams), it is easier to get into fraternity parties if you are in a house or friends with someone who is.

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Greek Life at University of California - Berkeley

harry0123

Computer Science '15

5.0

A+

Best Social Enhancement

I pledged a fraternity this semester and my college experience and social life became exponentially better. The greek community is very diverse, so you get to meet people of different backgrounds, majors, and personalities. There exists "tiers", but it all comes down to which brothers/sisters you like, which house you see yourself in, and how much time you are willing to commit to the house. Geeds may end up in bottom tier frats/sororities. Although we are not the best looking school, there is a good amount of attractive women in sororities, and although we are not a party school, there are parties almost every weekend. All in all, greek life at Berkeley is the best social enhancement on campus.

May 15, 2012

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Greek Life at University of California - Berkeley

EduardDrizzy

Business '14

5.0

A+

Bomb as hell if you're cool

As a brother of the top house, if not top, then at least top three, I have enjoyed numerous nights of conquering sorostitutes and fratting hard with my fellow brothers. I was appalled to discover that Berkeley received a grade of C+ for its Greek life. We are the only ones on campus that fully enjoy the college experience, yet GDIs and losers who have joined inferior organizations (i.e. TDX or Kappa Alpha Theta) go on this site and complain about their sad and alcohol free lives. If I didn't have alcohol, was fat, and/or was a brother of tdx, I'd be sad too. =[

Apr 23, 2012

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Greek Life at University of California - Berkeley

hermosakiwi

Latin American Studies '13

3.5

B

Unknown

I haven't had any interaction with any "greek" life since I've been attending, but I know for sure that they exist. I've heard positive things from other students about the housing, comradere, and their social contributions.

Mar 16, 2012

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