Greek Life Statistics

1. Since 1825, all but three U.S. presidents have been members of a fraternity.

2. 85% of Fortune 500 executives were part of Greek life. The first female astronaut was Greek. So was the first female senator. And college graduation rates are 20% higher among Greeks than non-Greeks.

Which begs an obvious question: Does being in a fraternity or sorority increase your chance for success?

3. Nine million college students are members of a Greek organization and whether they join to make friends, to build their resumes, to go to parties or to learn leadership skills, they each have an incentive to change some aspect of their life.

5. A common deterrent for joining are the sometimes-negative stereotypes associated with Greek life.

6. Fraternities and sororities are often associated with hazing, drinking and partying. Since 1975, there has been at least one hazing-induced death per year across college campuses — and 82% of these have come as a result of binge drinking.

7. But hazing scandals make headlines — and fundraisers and philanthropy events generally do not.

8. Historically, partying was not the reason to commit to Greek life.

9. In the 1820’s, less than 1% of white males went to liberal arts colleges and universities primarily trained their students to become ministers.

10. On November 25, 1825, five Union College students came together to form a private group to engage in educational debates and discussions.

11. Naming their fraternity the Kappa Alpha Society, members got together to prepare themselves for careers that their professors didn’t train them for, and to discuss topics that were not covered in class.

12. Fraternities were often referred to as “secret societies.” As these societies quickly spread to other campuses and the first sorority emerged in 1831, Greek organizations consisted of a network of supporters, with brothers and sisters vowing each other’s loyalty to the death.

13.What makes Greek life rewarding is that members are given the unique opportunity to interact with and lead their peers.

Sometimes members who don’t get along are forced to work together — skills that are vital in the post-college work force. And most importantly, members are given the chance to practice and fail in their endeavors, without losing their network of support.

“You get the opportunity to fail miserably and have brothers and sisters that love you and care for you pick you up and dust you off and challenge you to do it again,” Stollman said.

Curtis Burrill, American University’s Greek life coordinator, said sorority and fraternity membership teaches crucial social interaction skills. Making conversation with strangers and running weekly meetings are just two examples.

“If you can be the new member educator for 30 women, I’m probably going to hire you to run a team,” Burrill said.