{"id":6376,"date":"2026-05-26T11:31:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:31:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/?p=6376"},"modified":"2026-05-26T11:31:33","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T18:31:33","slug":"what-is-greek-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/2026\/05\/26\/what-is-greek-life\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Greek Life?\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/RS70499_20170826-TigerRoar-0063_web.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6384\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/RS70499_20170826-TigerRoar-0063_web.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/RS70499_20170826-TigerRoar-0063_web.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/RS70499_20170826-TigerRoar-0063_web.jpg?resize=768%2C511&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/RS70499_20170826-TigerRoar-0063_web.jpg?resize=930%2C620&amp;ssl=1 930w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/RS70499_20170826-TigerRoar-0063_web.jpg?resize=400%2C266&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/RS70499_20170826-TigerRoar-0063_web.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Approximately&nbsp;9 million&nbsp;people&nbsp;across the United States\u2014roughly 3%&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;adult population\u2014belong to sororities and fraternities&nbsp;either as active members or alumni.&nbsp;About&nbsp;750,000 active members belong to 6,000 chapters of these \u201cGreek\u201d organizations across the country.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Student-led organizations with specific rituals and traditions that provide community and life-long connections, Greek organizations&nbsp;help students make the most of their college experiences and provide support long afterward.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why is it called&nbsp;Greek&nbsp;Life?&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Fraternities and sororities are referred to as \u201cGreek\u201d because they are known by their&nbsp;Greek initials.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbk.org\/about\/history\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Phi Beta Kappa<\/a>&nbsp;was the first fraternity, founded at the College of William and Mary&nbsp;during the American Revolution.&nbsp;Its&nbsp;letters\u2014\u03a6BK\u2014stood for Philosophia&nbsp;Biou&nbsp;Kybern\u0113t\u0113s. Roughly translated,&nbsp;these words&nbsp;mean&nbsp;\u201cthe love of wisdom is the guide of life.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other organizations followed PBK\u2019s&nbsp;model and&nbsp;became known&nbsp;by&nbsp;their initials.&nbsp;Gradually, participation in these organizations became known as \u201cGreek Life.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Greek Life 101<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Phi Beta Kappa is&nbsp;probably not&nbsp;the first Greek organization that comes to your mind! But it is proof that the Greek Life world is&nbsp;broader than the types of Greek chapters that make their way into movies and shows.&nbsp;Generally&nbsp;speaking, Greek&nbsp;organizations fall into three categories:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Social Greek&nbsp;organizations:&nbsp;<\/strong>These&nbsp;fraternities and sororities\u2014with \u201crushes,\u201d initiations, parties, and traditions specific to each\u2014are the type most&nbsp;often&nbsp;portrayed in popular media.&nbsp;Fraternities are usually open to college men, and sororities to college women.&nbsp;Examples of social Greek organizations include&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/pikes.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pi Kappa Alpha<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.deltagamma.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Delta Gamma<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Multicultural Greek&nbsp;organizations:&nbsp;<\/strong>These fraternities and sororities&nbsp;bring students&nbsp;with common interests and backgrounds together to form communities and provide public service.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/pacific-newsroom\/expansion-multicultural-fraternities-opens-doors-provides-lifelong-community\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Lambda Theta Phi and Gamma Zeta Alpha<\/a>&nbsp;are examples of multicultural Greek organizations.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Professional and&nbsp;academic Greek&nbsp;organizations:&nbsp;<\/strong>These organizations&nbsp;are focused&nbsp;on&nbsp;academic areas of study and specific career paths. For example,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thetatau.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Theta Tau<\/a>&nbsp;is a&nbsp;co-ed&nbsp;fraternity&nbsp;for engineers&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.muphiepsilon.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mu Phi Epsilon<\/a>&nbsp;is a&nbsp;co-ed&nbsp;fraternity&nbsp;for musicians.&nbsp;These provide opportunities for networking and discipline-specific mentoring.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Joining&nbsp;and&nbsp;membership<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>In most cases, joining a&nbsp;Greek organization&nbsp;isn\u2019t&nbsp;as simple&nbsp;as&nbsp;signing up.&nbsp;The decision that someone should become a new member is made by both the applicant&nbsp;and the members of the sorority and fraternity.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During a period of time known as \u201cRecruitment,\u201d&nbsp;\u201cRush,\u201d or \u201cIntake,\u201d students attend events hosted by chapters, and get to know\u2013and work to impress\u2014its&nbsp;existing members.&nbsp;Formal applications can request information including your activities, grades, and whether any family members have been members of that organization.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs a first-year&nbsp;[student], I had a hard time putting myself out there, but when I heard about recruitment and saw more people getting involved, joining Greek&nbsp;life sounded like a great way to reach out and have people reach back,\u201d says Aliza Retuta, a member of&nbsp;University of the&nbsp;Pacific\u2019s chapter of&nbsp;Delta Gamma. \u201cYou dive head-first into social dynamics.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After being formally accepted into a sorority or fraternity, new members go through an educational period that lasts between one and two months. Then, they are formally&nbsp;initiated&nbsp;into the organization.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How are Greek organizations structured and governed?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>When you join Greek&nbsp;life, you join a&nbsp;<strong>campus chapter<\/strong>&nbsp;of a larger organization. Your chapter&nbsp;operates&nbsp;under a charter from the larger organization, and has a leadership board that makes decisions, plans&nbsp;events&nbsp;and organizes communal activities.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most fraternities and sororities are also part of overarching organizations as well: The&nbsp;North-American&nbsp;Interfraternity Council is an umbrella organization including many fraternities. The National Pan-Hellenic Conference includes many sororities. And the Multicultural Greek Council includes many multicultural Greek organizations.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Campus-level versions of overarching councils<\/strong>&nbsp;are often&nbsp;established&nbsp;on campuses that have multiple chapters of their member organizations, and these councils<strong>&nbsp;<\/strong>also exercise governance over campus chapters of Greek organizations.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>University student life offices&nbsp;<\/strong>may also regulate the activities of campus chapters, especially if their houses are&nbsp;located&nbsp;on campus.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Benefits of&nbsp;participating&nbsp;in Greek life<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Joining a Greek organization means becoming part of a&nbsp;<strong>close-knit community<\/strong>&nbsp;with an established ethos and values that unites students across areas of study and years in school.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to meet people you might not encounter in classes\u2014pre-dents with business or music majors, for example,\u201d&nbsp;says&nbsp;Simran Dhillon, also a member of&nbsp;Pacific\u2019s&nbsp;Delta Gamma&nbsp;chapter.&nbsp;At the same time, Retuta adds,&nbsp;\u201cBy joining a Greek organization rooted in values, you surround yourself with like-minded people.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The social benefits provided by&nbsp;participating&nbsp;in a sorority or fraternity expand beyond chapter activities. A&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/nicfraternity.org\/new-gallup-survey-shows-fraternity-and-sorority-membership-tied-to-strong-college-experiences-development-of-career-skills-and-post-graduate-wellbeing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2021 Gallup survey<\/a>&nbsp;found that Greek alumni were&nbsp;nearly&nbsp;four&nbsp;times as likely to have&nbsp;<strong>felt supported by faculty and mentors<\/strong>&nbsp;and to have engaged in experiential learning&nbsp;than&nbsp;their non-Greek peers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Greek organizations value their members\u2019 academic accomplishments.&nbsp;Many have GPA requirements for&nbsp;applicants&nbsp;and&nbsp;provide&nbsp;<strong>support&nbsp;for their members\u2019 academic careers<\/strong>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cChapters help you build your resume and include structured study hours to support academic success,\u201d says Serena Lopez, a member of Pacific\u2019s chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta. \u201cGreek&nbsp;life helps students build social connections and learn time management. It provides life-long involvement and connection beyond college.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Greek life encourages&nbsp;<strong>personal growth<\/strong>&nbsp;in other ways, too.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLeadership opportunities within your chapter&nbsp;help you grow personally and professionally,\u201d says Gissel Vigil, a member of Pacific\u2019s chapter of Alpha Phi.&nbsp;Anshini&nbsp;Parikh, a member of the same sorority, agrees. \u201cGreek&nbsp;life allows you to engage in community service and support philanthropy that benefits the broader community.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alumni networks provide&nbsp;members with&nbsp;<strong>valuable&nbsp;networking&nbsp;opportunities<\/strong>&nbsp;and connections&nbsp;across industries. While estimates&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;percentage&nbsp;of&nbsp;CEOs and&nbsp;other high-profile&nbsp;groups in&nbsp;business and public life&nbsp;who are Greek alumni&nbsp;vary considerably,&nbsp;it&nbsp;seems clear that the question is how large that number is, not whether it is significant.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGreek&nbsp;life provides professional benefits and networking opportunities that aren\u2019t always obvious to outsiders,\u201d&nbsp;Retuta&nbsp;notes. \u201cGreek organizations encourage behaviors essential for the workforce: public speaking, conflict&nbsp;mediation, financial responsibility and clear, effective communication.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gallup found&nbsp;51% of Greek alumni found&nbsp;<strong>jobs&nbsp;<\/strong>before or within two months of graduating&nbsp;compared with 36% of their peers nationally.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Things to consider&nbsp;before joining&nbsp;Greek&nbsp;life<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Participation in Greek life requires&nbsp;commitments of&nbsp;time&nbsp;and&nbsp;money:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In addition to the&nbsp;<strong>time&nbsp;<\/strong>needed for&nbsp;special events, belonging to a Greek organization usually means&nbsp;participating&nbsp;in weekly meetings, at a minimum.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Dues<\/strong>&nbsp;can range from $300 to $800 per semester for social Greek organizations,&nbsp;while those for&nbsp;professional organizations&nbsp;are usually less.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Housing costs<\/strong>&nbsp;can be comparable&nbsp;to&nbsp;or sometimes less&nbsp;expensive than on-campus housing and meal plans.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally, it is worthwhile to&nbsp;look&nbsp;at the&nbsp;<strong>hazing policies<\/strong>&nbsp;at your university.&nbsp;Because of underreporting,&nbsp;its&nbsp;frequency&nbsp;is hard to&nbsp;know.&nbsp;Consequently, it is important to check whether your university has&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/student-life\/student-conduct\/tiger-lore#Hazing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a hazing policy<\/a>&nbsp;and to understand what it&nbsp;contains&nbsp;and how it applies. You should&nbsp;also&nbsp;investigate&nbsp;the&nbsp;anti-hazing resources&nbsp;the university&nbsp;makes available to chapter members.&nbsp;For example, at Pacific, students involved in Greek&nbsp;life must attend trainings on reporting procedures, bystander intervention, safety and risk management guidelines, mental health&nbsp;resources&nbsp;and hazing prevention workshops.&nbsp;Any reports of hazing at University of the Pacific are taken seriously and addressed&nbsp;immediately.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Greek&nbsp;life at Pacific&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Pacific&nbsp;hosts&nbsp;seven&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/student-life\/fraternity-sorority-life\/social-greek-organizations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">social Greek organizations<\/a>, five&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/student-life\/fraternity-sorority-life\/multicultural-greek-organizations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">multicultural Greek organizations<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;14&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/student-life\/fraternity-sorority-life\/professional-greek-organizations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">professional Greek organizations<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Six chapters have houses on Pacific\u2019s Stockton Campus:&nbsp;Alpha Phi, Beta Theta Pi, Sigma&nbsp;Chi&nbsp;and Theta Chi houses are owned by Pacific and&nbsp;maintained&nbsp;by Residential Life and Housing&nbsp;Office, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/pacific-newsroom\/renovations-breathe-new-life-historic-greek-housing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">were renovated<\/a>&nbsp;in 2024.&nbsp;Delta Gamma and Kappa Alpha Theta are also&nbsp;located&nbsp;on Campus.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve had the best experience living in my house,\u201d said&nbsp;Arilius&nbsp;Khim, a member of Theta Chi. \u201cI\u2019ve&nbsp;made a closer bond with my brothers, and&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;also helped me a lot academically. Without their support, being an engineering major would be a lot harder.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recruitment for all chapters (except for&nbsp;pharmacy Greek organizations) takes place during the fall semester, and each organization has a specific process for recruiting new members.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additionally,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/liberalarts\/about-the-college\/phi-beta-kappa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pacific\u2019s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa<\/a>&nbsp;inducts new members each year, and sponsors events during the year. Only 10% of universities in the United States have chapters. Members must be invited, but students can increase their odds of being asked by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/2021\/06\/16\/phi-beta-kappa-is-kind-of-a-big-deal-heres-how-to-get-in\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">fulfilling&nbsp;the qualifications<\/a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Should&nbsp;you&nbsp;go Greek?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Greek life&nbsp;isn\u2019t&nbsp;for everyone,&nbsp;but many students with widely&nbsp;different backgrounds, experiences, personalities,&nbsp;goals&nbsp;and interests can find community&nbsp;in Greek organizations.&nbsp;If&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;looking for a family-like atmosphere, being challenged to lead and to give and&nbsp;grow, and are looking out for your future, looking into Greek&nbsp;life might be very rewarding.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cJoining Greek life is like joining a family,\u201d&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/2023\/05\/04\/what-to-know-about-joining-greek-life-at-pacific\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">says Mariana Arellano<\/a>, a member of Pacific\u2019s chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta. \u201cThe group should match your energy, be there when&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;down, be ready for that food run or just to sit on each other\u2019s floor to rant about classes.&nbsp;There\u2019s&nbsp;never a dull day being around your Greek family.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Learn more about&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/student-life\/fraternity-sorority-life\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Greek&nbsp;life at Pacific<\/strong><\/a><strong>.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Approximately&nbsp;9 million&nbsp;people&nbsp;across the United States\u2014roughly 3%&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;adult population\u2014belong to sororities and fraternities&nbsp;either as active members or alumni.&nbsp;About&nbsp;750,000 active members belong to 6,000 chapters of these \u201cGreek\u201d organizations across the country.&nbsp;&nbsp; Student-led organizations with specific rituals and traditions that provide community and life-long connections, Greek organizations&nbsp;help students make the most of their college experiences and provide support&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacific.edu\/blog\/2026\/05\/26\/what-is-greek-life\/\" class=\"\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">What is Greek Life?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[429,44],"class_list":["post-6376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-greek-life","tag-student-life"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - 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