There are plenty of stereotypes attached to Greek life on college campuses. Some believe fraternities and sororities are nothing more than social clubs that drink their weekends away, with the obligatory community service event squeezed into the schedule on occasion. Horror stories of hazing and embarrassing scandals paint fraternities in a bad light to outsiders as well.
While these instances are undoubtedly troubling, a clearer depiction of normal fraternity life is much more tame. Fraternities raise millions of dollars in philanthropic endeavors, and qualitative aspects of going Greek — such as job connections and developing early college friendships — are hard to deny. When evaluating whether Greek life is right for you, it's important to weigh both sides of the coin.
Using 2015 data from Wintergreen college surveys, StartClass found the colleges with the highest percentage of involvement in social fraternities among male students. In all, 892 schools responded to the Wintergreen survey. We wanted to focus on larger colleges, so we only included schools with at least 5,000 students for this list. Colleges are ranked by the percentage of male students that are in social fraternities.
#25. Washington University in St. Louis
Percentage of male students in fraternities: 25 percent
Number of fraternities: 10
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 9
#24. University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
Percent of male students in fraternities: 26 percent
Number of fraternities: 29
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 17
#23. The University of Alabama
Percent of male students in fraternities: 26 percent
Number of fraternities: 38
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 29
#22. Cornell University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 27 percent
Number of fraternities: 42
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 34
#21. College of William and Mary
Percent of male students in fraternities: 27 percent
Number of fraternities: 17
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 12
#20. Emory University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 28 percent
Number of fraternities: 17
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 11
#19. Chapman University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 28 percent
Number of fraternities: 9
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 0
#18. Creighton University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 28 percent
Number of fraternities: 5
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 0
#17. Northwestern University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 29 percent
Number of fraternities: 23
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 17
#16. Duke University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 29 percent
Number of fraternities: 15
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 0
#15. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Percent of male students in fraternities: 30 percent
Number of fraternities: 29
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 25
#14. University of Pennsylvania
Percent of male students in fraternities: 30 percent
Number of fraternities: 32
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 26
#13. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Percent of male students in fraternities: 30 percent
Number of fraternities: 13
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 13
#12. Tulane University of Louisiana
Percent of male students in fraternities: 31 percent
Number of fraternities: 12
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 9
#11. Bradley University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 32 percent
Number of fraternities: 17
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 15
#10. Vanderbilt University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 32 percent
Number of fraternities: 17
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: Did not report
#9. University of Mississippi
Percent of male students in fraternities: 33 percent
Number of fraternities: 16
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 16
#8. Southern Methodist University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 33 percent
Number of fraternities: 13
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 10
#7. Case Western Reserve University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 34 percent
Number of fraternities: 17
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 14
#6. Wake Forest University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 39 percent
Number of fraternities: 14
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 0
#5. Lehigh University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 40 percent
Number of fraternities: 20
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 17
#4. Texas Christian University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 41 percent
Number of fraternities: 20
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 10
#3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Percent of male students in fraternities: 39 percent
Number of fraternities: 27
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 26
#2. Harding University
Percent of male students in fraternities: 50 percent
Number of fraternities: 14
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 0
#1. Dartmouth College
Percent of male students in fraternities: 61 percent
Number of fraternities: 15
Number of fraternities with chapter houses: 15