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I rushed and quit about 5 days in. I felt way too judged.

My college didn't have sororities So jealous!

Nope. Didn't have the money for it. My sister rushed a service sorority this year though, and she seems to like it.

I didn't but it looked like fun!

@anbanan15: it was so sad. They were known as the "beautiful and smart" sorority (so why they gave me a bid is beyond me). They picked a lovely young woman who was a little more pear shaped than most and they put her on a diet and would heckle her if they saw her eat anything not on her ok list. They would circle those areas as a reminder to her. It was shockingly awful but so common that it wasn't even thought twice about by most people. No wonder there was such a high incidence of eating disorders

@anbanan15: you are too sweet :). I was hoping these practices were dying out in the 2000-sies, but I guess not.

I joined Gamma Phi Beta, but had to quit a semester after initiation due to other personal and financial obligations that needed more of my attention. I never thought I would have anything to do with a sorority, and am not a fan of drama, but Gamma Phi Beta turned out to be exactly the opposite of what I imagined and I loved it and the girls!

Yup. Kappa Kappa Gamma!! It was a wonderful experience for me. I made lifelong friends. I never witnessed or experienced and hazing. Pledging basically consisted of getting lots of presents and going to awesome parties where you could drink or not. No one forced anything.

@bree72: That's really sad about the one house that seemed cool. There was a lot of that at my college too (except surprisingly toward the minority and gay fraternities/sororities...) At one point I did consider going Kappa Delta Phi, since most of my friends were Asian anyway, but I too was really put off about the whole deal.

I'm surprised to see the negative comments - I had an incredibly positive sorority experience. I went to a school in a different state with no friends and without my sorority I don't know how I would have made a connection with so many people. It was a fantastic and uplifting community - sororities AND fraternities at my midwest school had higher GPAs than the all-school adverage and there was a strict no-hasing policy and I never even heard of hazing going on. We built each other up, never broke each other down with weight issues/looks, etc.

Our sorority did a lot of good things including philanthropies, donating blood every semester, encouraging school involvement, tutoring and good grades. It definitely helped me get the most out of my 4 years - not JUST party-wise.

I think it can vary school to school, but I would think most are pretty positive.

Yep. Delta Sigma Theta. A positive experience for me. I made lifelong friends.

I rushed at a big southern school, and wowzers, it was intense! It made me feel insecure as a 17 year old who had never experienced true southern belles before. You were supposed to go down before other students and weren't "allowed" to go out during the rush week. It came down to one sorority that I liked, and when I didn't get a bid from them, I opted not to join at all.

My friends who did join usually loved it for a year or two, then just fizzled out and grew tired of all the functions and rush and so on. Many have good memories, and I know it was a great way for people to create strong friendships. I did have a friend who officially quit, and she had to sign papers vowing to not reveal secrets of the sisterhood.

I'm ultimately glad I didn't join mainly b/c of the money situation. My parents helped me with rent and groceries, but anything for fun was supposed to be earned by me. There's no way they would have paid for the fees for all those functions, nor would I have had the money to buy new outfits. And finding dates for all of them! I feel a little stressed thinking about it!

Another amazing sorority experience here, Sigma Kappa. I actually went on to work at NHQ for two years. The school I went to had NO hazing policies and were very strict about them, so it was a very positive experience. The sorority houses were technically on-campus housing (they had large meeting areas and kitchens but only slept 10-12) and the school regulated recruitment. The new member period was "dry" for most sororoities meaning no drinking for the 6 weeks you're pledging. Of course we all had huge parties after initiation Working at NHQ I did learn there was still some hazing going on, which I don't think is acceptable. But I think sororites are mostly getting better. Fraternities are behind though.

ETA- the school had strict "No Hazing" policies not zero hazing policies in place, LOL. My school was strict!

@anbanan15: your NHQ was right down the road and I had friends who worked there... there's a road, Founders Road, that has a bunch of fraternity and sorority NHQ's. Our NHQ looked like a dentist's office meets the Brady Bunch house, but your NHQ was amazing. Your old one was sold to Theta Chi and the new one was built across the street, and it's SOOO GRAND. The whole top floor is storage and since my job entailed a lot of stuff that got stored (extension- opening new chapters) I remember being IN AWE and so jealous of it!!!

I went to a school with no greek life, so it was a non-issue for me. I probably would have pledged if I had been at a larger school though.