Thoughts on Greek Life as a Pre-Med

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
blappe

blappe

Goku
7+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2015
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Torn between rushing for Greek life or not. First priority is medical school, and I am curious if this will be a distracting or beneficial experience. Any advice?
Members don't see this ad.
 
Opinions differ from it'll be helpful if you get legitimate leadership experience to it doesn't matter, as far as admissions are concerned.

I personally don't like frats and sororities, but I'm also a nerd and we have our own clubs. My opinion is that you shouldn't tailor your whole college experience toward getting into med school. If you think you'll enjoy something, do it for personal fulfillment.
 
Some people are going to have negative opinions of Greek Life. You can't avoid that. My recommendation is that, whether you join or not, you should certainly rush. Personally, I was in a fraternity in undergrad and it was a defining aspect of my experience and who I am today. I learned a lot about how to run an organization, deal with conflict, and handle commitments. If you the time commitment and cost won't bother you then I recommend at least trying it out. If you feel like people look down on it with regard to medical school, you can just downplay it and not mention it unless asked.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I don't feel like Greek life would be a bad idea. Maybe you would get lucky and get an interviewer or adcom that was in the same sorority/fraternity that you are rushing for!
 
Go for it if you think you'll enjoy it. It wont' add anything to your app, as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully you'll get a lot of serviced-oriented work that's off campus and outside your comfort zone.


blappe said:
Torn between rushing for Greek life or not. First priority is medical school, and I am curious if this will be a distracting or beneficial experience. Any advice?
Click to expand...
 
I personally think greek life is great. Im part of a sorority and it helps to make connections. Also with my sorority i grew as a person. If you need community service, or even volunteer hours it helps you get those hours.
 
This question is a bit hard to answer because greek life is VERY different depending on the school you go to. **Generally** at smaller private schools it's more relaxed in terms of commitments, whereas larger schools Greek life is the main route to meeting people, and is a lot more time intensive. This is just what I heard through the grape-vine, you need to find out your own schools stance on greek life. I also think it depends on wether your join a fraternity or sorority - as, again generally, sororities are a bit better about hazing. In my personal experience (I TA-ed for a very large freshman inorganic chem class for 2 years) i have seen many grades plummet during rush season and it was mostly the men.
That being said you would certainly have opportunities for leadership positions, and most organizations have some sort of charity they hold fundraising events or volunteer for. I'm not against or for greek life, I just think there are certain precautions you need to be aware of going in.

If you do want to join greek life, find an organization that is flexible and prioritizes not only your grades and studying but also your general health and sleep.
 
It will definitely change your college experience. Even if it won't turn out as amazing as you expect it to, if you skip out on it, then will you think back and regret that you never tried?

Regarding connections, from my personal experience, unless you're in a relatively elite school or you join a pre-med fraternity (which in my school wasn't a real fraternity), you won't make many connections. Yeah you'll know people who can hook you up with a fast food job or maybe a job in insurance, but again, unless you're surrounded by relatively elite people, take the whole connections thing with a grain of salt.

Regarding community service, yes, it will help you get community service mainly because on most campuses, all (legal) greek life organizations are required to do some form of community service.

Regarding grades, it all depends on how long/intensive your pledging is and after, how important your fraternity members treat school. Some organizations pledge intensively for 10+ weeks, meaning you'll have no time to study properly for pre-med classes. Other organizations don't pledge at all but they're often not respected by the rest of the fraternities/sororities and you'd have to figure out if that matters to you. Most organizations are somewhere in between.

Regarding fun, yes your college experience will be 200 times more fun and you will definitely meet a ton of people and experience a lot of things outside of your comfort zone (both good and bad).

The most important piece of advice anyone can give you is KNOW THE PEOPLE before you decide to commit and pledge. During rush season, everyone will tell you that school/family/charity matters, but for most organizations, that's just BS that they say to entice new members. Some organizations mean it. The only way you can figure it out is if you get to know the members relatively well, be very observant, and ask people outside the fraternity what they think of that fraternity.
 
Greek life varies significantly based on what school you attend. Large state schools will probably give you the time of your life while tech-y institutions....not so much.
 
Everyone else has input a lot of valid points. I would definitely rush, regardless of whether you pledge or not. Beware that your pledge semester (If you're pledging a fraternity) will be ridiculously hard combined with a pre-med workload. But it can be done, and coming from someone who made a 2.7 his pledge semester, I don't regret any of it. It taught me time management, gave me hundreds of volunteer hours, great connections to doctors, and I've met some of my best friends (and girlfriend) while doing it. My admissions essays would probably be pretty freaking boring if I hadn't pledged.
 
DrShephardWannabe said:
Everyone else has input a lot of valid points. I would definitely rush, regardless of whether you pledge or not. Beware that your pledge semester (If you're pledging a fraternity) will be ridiculously hard combined with a pre-med workload. But it can be done, and coming from someone who made a 2.7 his pledge semester, I don't regret any of it. It taught me time management, gave me hundreds of volunteer hours, great connections to doctors, and I've met some of my best friends (and girlfriend) while doing it. My admissions essays would probably be pretty freaking boring if I hadn't pledged.
Click to expand...
...You met your girlfriend while pledging a frat?

....
 
I rushed Phi Sigma Pi last semester, which is a non-social, gender-inclusive honors fraternity. Not your typical greek life, but I had to rush and the initiation process was a big commitment. I was still able to maintain a 4.00 last semester (granted, I'm only going into my sophomore year), but if you're good at time management you can definitely still be successful in school. I am SO glad I rushed, PSP is kind of a nerdy fraternity, but I've gotten the chance to meet a lot interesting and different people, who have similar passions for leadership and scholarship as me. I know it's going to eat up my time in college, but it'll provide a lot of service and leadership opportunities for me, as well as lasting friendships, so I definitely think it's worth it. Plus, no matter how big of a role we play, we all serve as members of committees, so we all immediately have responsibilities once we become brothers.

Greek life is super diverse, so ultimately it's about figuring out if there's an organization at your school that fits who you are as a person. I definitely recommend that you rush, regardless of what type of greek life you're looking for, and see if you find a place that you feel comfortable in. Better to give it a shot now than to regret it later!
 
Last edited:
Members don't see this ad :)
largelyuntrustworthy said:
That is normal. A large part of the pledging process is mixers with sororities.
Click to expand...
Oh ok, my bad bro. Rushing was a bit different at my school (very unconventional Greek life) so I was thrown off a tad there.
 
Last edited:
It is all about what you do in it. It will be a lot easer to drink and waste time,but you also get some good friends. It is all about self control.
 
Yeah if you can manage time you're good. My friend rushed SAE and he's at Stanford now
 
You have to be a certain type of fit socially to find the right niche in greek life. If you are, however, it is a tremendous experience. It will help you develop as a person and human being. Forming all those friendships and being part of a brotherhood has an impact that can't be understated. For all the commitments it requires there is a reason few people who fully invest in it rarely regret it.

No it won't "add" to your application alone the way a "publication" might but allowing yourself to develop as a person is far more than that. And yes, you can knock out alot of service hours and put yourself in positions that aren't necessairly comfortable like Goro said which matters alot. If the fit is right(and thats definitely an if), it's an invaluable expeirence.

Also Extensive involvement in Greek life and being a successful pre-med involves strong time management. That's not something that should dissuade you from Greek Life in anyway, rather its something to be aware of before joining.
 
blappe said:
Torn between rushing for Greek life or not. First priority is medical school, and I am curious if this will be a distracting or beneficial experience. Any advice?
Click to expand...

OP, you don't need to pay $$$ to buy yourself a set of "friends". You can meet people by getting involved in other clubs/organizations on campus
 
Greek life has been great for me. I have had so much support from my sisters and I have maintained 3.9+ all three years. There are plenty if Greeks I know in med school. Work hard, play hard and learn to prioritize.
 
ElCapone said:
OP, you don't need to pay $$$ to buy yourself a set of "friends". You can meet people by getting involved in other clubs/organizations on campus
Click to expand...
I always hated when people used this argument. You're paying dues for the opportunity at unrivaled social events no other organizations can provide. My AMSA chapter hasn't been able to book a three day concert that hosted thousands of people. Some people love things like that and some don't. If you're a douchebag, no matter how much you pay in dues, trust me your fraternity brothers won't pretend to like you.
 
DrShephardWannabe said:
I always hated when people used this argument. You're paying beer money for the opportunity at unrivaled social events no other organizations can provide. My AMSA chapter hasn't been able to book a three day concert that hosted thousands of people. Some people love things like that and some don't. If you're a douchebag, no matter how much you pay in dues, trust me your fraternity brothers won't pretend to like you.
Click to expand...

FTFY 😛

Also tbh, I was going to rush, but I didn't like the whole rigidness and weird brainwashing conformity they put you through. It kinda felt like a mini-cult. I imagine it's probably worse in sororities (or at least based on the ones at my school)
 
ElCapone said:
FTFY 😛

Also tbh, I was going to rush, but I didn't like the whole rigidness and weird brainwashing conformity they put you through. It kinda felt like a mini-cult. I imagine it's probably worse in sororities (or at least based on the ones at my school)
Click to expand...
I do agree a lot of them have very few personality variances resulting in a lot of conformity. I actually rushed my freshman year and didn't pledge because of the vibe I got. Then I got to know quite a few guys in one of the fraternities over my freshman year and loved what it was about so I pledged sophomore year. So much of greek life varies by chapter and school.
 
I definitely get a sense of "anti-greek" on this forum. I was part of greek life and I'm in medical school.

Yes, you're going to run into people that will tell you:
ElCapone said:
OP, you don't need to pay $$$ to buy yourself a set of "friends". You can meet people by getting involved in other clubs/organizations on campus
Click to expand...
Yet they haven't a clue as to what he or she is talking about. You could end up not joining any fraternity, but network so well you could be an "unofficial active" of one if everyone there likes you. You could get into any party for free (other than formals for the most part) and pay literally $0. Or you could join a fraternity, get a bid, become an active, and have everyone there not spend time with you. You'd be paying money for awkward parties. Both are extremes, but it has, does, and will happen. Happened in my fraternity several times and I've known other fraternities to give members so much crap that they leave (NOT HAZING.)

Greek life can be amazing. You could make a lot of friends, party hard, hold a leadership position for a year or two, contribute to the town your university resides in, and still come out a successful premed. It's what you make out of it.

FWIW, I received a bid from the most popular fraternity that partied quite a bit and was quite expensive.

You could be like a few of my friends: have high aspirations for the first month of college then decide to become a professional alcoholic. They became so messed up they had to drop out by midterms of fall semester. They went through rehab at least twice, they go to a CC back at home, and will never be able to attend the university again. OR you could be like a few fraternity brothers that I know. Some went off to Hong Kong, France, the UK, etc. and make >$80,000 a year in the business sector. Others went to a top 20 Law school. No body but me went to Medical School (my graduating class,) but it has happened in the past. They were responsible and could manage time VERY WELL. One physician I shadowed during college went to a state university, pledged a BIG party fraternity, got accepted to JHU, and works at a prestigious hospital.

tl;dr Yes, you can pledge a fraternity. Yes, you can still get into medical school. No, it won't be easy. Yes, it is worth it.
 
Last edited:
FutureOncologist said:
Yet they haven't a clue as to what he or she is talking about. You could end up not joining any fraternity, but network so well you could be an "unofficial active" of one if everyone there likes you. You could get into any party for free (other than formals for the most part) and pay literally $0. Or you could join a fraternity, get a bid, become an active, and have everyone there not spend time with you. You'd be paying money for awkward parties. Both are extremes, but it has, does, and will happen. Happened in my fraternity several times and I've known other fraternities to give members so much crap that they leave (NOT HAZING.)
Click to expand...


Forgot to mention that this is what I did because I am an incredibly cheap and lazy guy. In the end, it wasn't worth it and felt like a distraction from other more important things I had to do.

On the other hand from @FutureOncologist's MDApps... 😛

"FR: 3.43 cGPA
SO: 3.13 cGPA (depression, partying too hard, and a full-time job)
JR: 3.51 cGPA (4.0 both semesters)
SR: 3.68 cGPA (4.0 both semesters)"
 
Do it. My only regret is not doing it any sooner! Obviously, you will have to turn down some socials (that is, if you have the disipline) but going greek really made a difference in my college experience. Its what YOU make out of it. Joining is by no means an automatic GPA death sentence. You decide the fate of your GPA
 
If you're interested in joining and are willing to make sure that your gpa doesn't suffer, go for it. Just don't expect it to benefit your app in any meaningful way. I joined one and I thought it was an amazing experience, but it certainly isn't for everyone and there are certain chapters of certain Greek organizations that may be distasteful to you or others due to their behavior or ideals.
 
ElCapone said:
OP, you don't need to pay $$$ to buy yourself a set of "friends". You can meet people by getting involved in other clubs/organizations on campus
Click to expand...
Lol the $ I spent on my frat went to beer, rent for the house, and the rest went to charity
 
It depends if it's the right fit for you. I'm in a fraternity and it's had a huge impact on my life. It's helped me meet some of my best friends and helped me grow tremendously as a person and a leader. It's fun to be a part of and you learn a lot, but it is a time commitment. If you think you could handle the time commitment and like Greek life, I'd go for it. If you can manage your time well, it won't affect your grades.
 
ElCapone said:
Forgot to mention that this is what I did because I am an incredibly cheap and lazy guy. In the end, it wasn't worth it and felt like a distraction from other more important things I had to do.

On the other hand from @FutureOncologist's MDApps... 😛

"FR: 3.43 cGPA
SO: 3.13 cGPA (depression, partying too hard, and a full-time job)
JR: 3.51 cGPA (4.0 both semesters)
SR: 3.68 cGPA (4.0 both semesters)"
Click to expand...
Ehh, you're only covering 1/3 of why my GPA was down. If anything, the first and the last thing started the snowball rolling down the hill; partying too hard kept adding to it towards the end of my sophomore year.
 
Rushed and was an active member in a big social/professional fraternity at a large state school and can echo everything that @FutureOncologist mentioned in his post. Was initially enticed by the community service/philanthropy stuff and ended up meeting awesome people and having a kickass college experience. Time management is extremely important but it can be done successfully.
 
Goro said:
Go for it if you think you'll enjoy it. It wont' add anything to your app, as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully you'll get a lot of serviced-oriented work that's off campus and outside your comfort zone.
Click to expand...


You don't consider holding a serious leadership position in a fraternity/sorority (I.e. President, Vice President, service chair) something that would add to an application?
 
I think going Greek is a great way for some people to get "socialized". For me, that's how I benefited from it. It's probably neutral to your med school app, as is, but if it pushes you into new social situations, that could be a benefit.
 
To tell the truth, at my school we're not that overwhelmed by 'leadership" like the top MD schools are. I surmise that's because we're more interested in training grunts than generals.




Carmiche said:
You don't consider holding a serious leadership position in a fraternity/sorority (I.e. President, Vice President, service chair) something that would add to an application?
Click to expand...
 
Like everyone said, every school is different. At my school, We have a small greek life but we make it so that its worth everyones time.
Within a year I already had plenty of leadership opportunities and thats something great to put into a resume. My boyfriend joined a Fraternity and its his best decision he has ever done. Its something you can cherish for the rest of your life, and your brothers will always be by your side.
I say Go greek, but have time management thats the key thing. If you don't have it, then your GPA might fall.
 
I dropped out of my sorority because of money issues and my "sisters" and I grew apart within 2 semesters. This was the experience of every person I know who deactivated. Because of that, I have no regrets and I do think you are buying your friends. Sorry if that offends anyone pro-Greek.

And this is just my personal opinion, but I don't take leadership positions in Greek life very seriously lol.
Edit: I also don't take the volunteer hours very seriously either since they're usually required and not actively sought out by the volunteer as something they're passionate about.
 
Some people like to call it paying to have friends.

Some people love the idea of having a place where to live and interact with a second family (if you get along lol), plus the network that you can build (alumni's). When it comes to medical school applications, I say that you are on your own (your stats will do the talking in your applications).

BTW guys, OP is a female, so it's a sorority.
 
Goro said:
Go for it if you think you'll enjoy it. It wont' add anything to your app, as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully you'll get a lot of serviced-oriented work that's off campus and outside your comfort zone.
Click to expand...

I realize I'm generalizing here, but a typical frat/sorority "going outside of their comfort zone?" Only if it's after we've slammed a couple of beers, brah.

a4977af92fb345ccca2ede3e3d495533.jpg


In all seriousness, when I was in college frats and sororities did do some kind of service projects, but it came across more as an afterthought and something that was required than something they were truly invested in. I imagine the culture varies from school to school, but just about the best I think you can hope for in terms of "application worthy" experiences is leadership type stuff. As mentioned previously, though, college is not all about just getting into medical school, and you should do things that you are genuinely interested and invested in. If you do that, the part where you have things to include on your application will naturally follow.
 
I wrote what I did because most of the frat-related activities I see listed on SDN and on apps to my school are all either for the frat itself, or on-campus activities. It seems very few of them ever do something like help plant a community garden, clean up a beach or riverbed, or build a playground.

And before anyone starts whining about how altruistic their frat is, just list it on your app or SDN post, that's all.
 
I'm not saying fraternities are necessarily altruistic or anything, but they can be fun and foster positive relationships (though, of course they can also be terrible and do heinous things). I had fun, but it's certainly not for everyone, and I certainly didn't join one because I thought it would help me professionally.

On that note, I'm about to go meet up with some of my frat bros to knock back some beers so until later SDN 🙂
 
Greek life won't help you with premed but it probably won't hurt you that much either
 
One of my friends almost ended up in the hospital as a result of rush week. Be careful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Pre Med advisor
Replies
3
Views
372
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
I
Natural science internship as an allopathic pre-med student?
Replies
3
Views
466
AJS59
AJS59
moooink
wamc no As pre april 30th
Replies
8
Views
985
Goro
Goro
N
  • Locked
Thoughts on PreReqs
Replies
3
Views
551
gyngyn
gyngyn
M
Medical School as a Paraplegic
Replies
7
Views
1K
gyngyn
gyngyn
Top