Rika Masuda Singh

Greek Life at Dartmouth

In my sophomore year of high school, one of the most viral trends at the time was #rushtok, where girls across the U.S. posted their experiences getting ready for and attending various sorority events in hopes of receiving an invitation to join. The videos that came across my explore pages were filled with things like frilly dress try-ons, "glowy but natural" makeup routines, and the do's and dont's of sorority rush. As someone who grew up in Malaysia, where Greek Life is non-existent, my image of sororities and Greek Life as a whole was heavily influenced by what I saw online and in the media, which really discouraged me from wanting to participate. In fact, by the time I was applying to colleges, I had pretty much decided that I was not going to be in a sorority, so it wasn't something I looked for in a prospective college. 

As you may have heard on a tour or online, around 60% of Dartmouth students are involved in one of our 12 Fraternities, 6 Sororities, or 5 gender-inclusive Greek chapters. Now, this number might seem big—it certainly did to me when I first heard it at orientation, but numbers are deceiving when they come without context, so let me give you some. Yes, many Dartmouth students are involved in Greek life, but it does not dominate your experience here. Dartmouth ensures your Greek house, if you choose to join one, is simply another community for you to be a part of, in addition to your already-established social circles that may arise from random roommate draws, clubs, sports, or classes. It does this in two ways: "frat ban" and second-year rush. Frat ban, as the students lovingly call it, refers to the 8-week period of the fall term (usually through Halloween or homecoming, whichever is later) where first-years are not allowed in any Greek spaces. This rule encourages first-years to bond as a grade and find their footing on campus before entering more upperclassmen-heavy spaces. However, after those 8 weeks, all, and I mean ALL, Greek events are open to campus, as long as you have your valid Dartmouth ID. There are no guest lists, VIP passes, or private events. Dartmouth also requires houses to register events with the College in advance, which means details are shared with the entire undergraduate population. So when people say Greek life here is inclusive, they really mean it.

Bid Day!

Second-year rush is another rule Dartmouth has in place that indicates that a student must be a second year (or completed 3 terms) in order to be eligible to rush, or join a Greek house. It's a pretty unique rule, but I think it's what made Greek life a possibility for me. Instead of rush being at the forefront of your mind as soon as you get to campus, Dartmouth gives you the space to experience college first, including your classes, your clubs, and your friendships, without the pressure of figuring out where you belong in Greek life right away. Because you've already spent an entire year building a rhythm for yourself, Greek life really becomes an additional community you can choose to be part of, rather than something that defines your entire experience. Of course, this is not to say that your first year determines the rest of your time at Dartmouth, but it does mean you do not run the risk of Greek life becoming the be all and end all of your college experience. By the time you rush, you have already built communities and connections outside of Greek life, so you are adding to your support system, not creating it from scratch.

During my first year at Dartmouth, I met so many incredible women, especially in my all-female acapella group, many of whom were involved in Greek life. I saw the way they spoke about their houses, the philanthropy events they organized, and the relationships they built through their sororities, and I started to get curious. By the fall of my second year, I still was not completely sure if I wanted to join a sorority, but I decided to sign up for rush just to see what it was like, and it ended up being one of the best decisions I have made at Dartmouth. Through the process of rush alone, I met so many amazing people, both in my year and older, and I am still friends with many of them today. One of the greatest things my sorority has given me is the people I have met and the relationships I have built. Some of my closest friends from my sorority study completely different things than I do, some are athletes with incredibly busy schedules, and many are people I simply would not have met otherwise.

My sorority "lineage"!

If you're thinking about Greek life at Dartmouth, don't let the numbers mislead you. That 60 percent can sound overwhelming at first, but it doesn't mean your experience will be defined by Greek life, or that you need to participate in it to find community here. What it really reflects is the number of different ways students choose to build connections, whether that's through Greek houses, teams, performance groups, or any of the countless other spaces on campus. Greek life is just one of many options, and importantly, it's one you're given the time and space to decide on for yourself.

For me, that difference mattered. I was able to come into Dartmouth with no intention of joining a sorority, spend a full year building friendships and finding my place, and then make a decision about Greek life from a place of curiosity rather than pressure. When I did choose to join, it felt like a natural extension of the community I had already built, not a replacement for it. So if you're unsure about Greek life, that's completely okay! You don't have to have it all figured out before you get here. Dartmouth is set up in a way that lets you explore, change your mind, and find what feels right to you. And if you do decide to rush, you might be surprised by what you find.