My friends and I all agree that not having Greek life at our school is a blessing. I'm confident that if my school did in fact have sororities and fraternities, I would be in one. After speaking with friends both in Greek life and not, I am glad that my school does not have them. Below, I have devised a list of the pros and cons of not attending a college that has Greek life.

Pros:

• There is no pressure to participate in Greek Life.
  • At big schools with Greek life, the pressure to feel like you have to join a sorority or fraternity is a very real thing. Even if you think it really isn't your cup of tea, you might join a house anyways so you don’t feel like you’re missing out.
• You won’t be labeled by the house that you joined.
  • Generally, each Greek house has their own stereotypes that come with it. Whether you fit that stereotype or not, people are going to automatically assume you do before they even get a chance to know you.
• You don’t have to deal with the exclusivity of Greek life.
  • Usually, people tend to stick to their house. If you’re not in the house, then you most likely cannot participate. This goes for parties, social events and other on-campus activities. Without the “cliquey-ness” of Greek life, you’re free to roam around whatever social activities you please.
• You save some dough.
  • Yearly dues, social payments, and clothing for house events add up fast. Those of us lucky enough to not have Greek life have much more money to spend on fun, frivolous items like those new Nike kicks or that 2 a.m. pizza delivery that we were craving.
• Missing out on the enormous stress that is rush.
  • As freshmen, you are able to focus on getting acclimated to college life and don't have to worry things such as what house you want to join, and if you'll even get in or not.
• You have a lot more free time.
  • Having to rush is a big time commitment in itself, along with many other activities that people in Greek life partake in. Without these, there’s more time to hit the gym, study, and of course, waste countless more hours watching Netflix.

Cons:

• It is harder to meet at bunch of people right off the bat.
  • People in Greek life have the advantage of meeting a ton of people during rush, while us folks at universities without Greek life have to make friends the old-fashion way.
• Missing out on a whole network of older students to help with academics.
  • If you’re in Greek life, you get to be in touch with a lot of upperclassmen who have most likely taken some of the classes you’re going to take. These people can serve as a huge resource to us underclassmen.
• There may be less social opportunities.
  • Lack of Greek life also means a shortage of big, wild house parties. While a huge rager might not be on your agenda every weekend night, one every once and a while would be fun.
• You may be at a disadvantage with housing.
  • Going off my previous point, there can’t be big parties if there aren’t big houses to throw them at. Also, not having houses means no opportunities to live with all your “sisters” or “brothers”… which in some cases might actually be a pro.
• There is a lack of formals without Greek life.
  • Yes, most schools have athletic formals, but only those involved and their dates are allowed to attend. If you are in a Greek life, you at least get the chance to go to the formal for your house. For boys, not having formals might not be that big of a deal. But as a girl, I'll happily take any chance to buy a cute dress that I can get.
• You may miss out on potential networking opportunities.
  • Simply because of the scope of fraternities and sororities, there is a huge network of students and alumni to connect with going forward when you're looking to find a job. Or, even just hearing about fun things happening on campus can come from these people as well.
• You have to hear about all your friends’ experiences with Greek Life when you are home.
  • Friends from different schools in the same house “throw what they know” when they are home. It's hard not to feel a little left out when everyone is talking about how awesome Greek life is and you're just sitting there like “yeah... our school has a chess club.”

There are both amazing and not-so-great aspects of Greek life. There is no right answer as to whether or not a school should have it -- I believe that it all comes down to the individual and what feels right for him or her.