Onward State put together a running compilation of every Greek life scandal at Penn State, and honestly, reading through it feels like scrolling through a highlight reel that nobody asked for. It's long. It's messy. And if you've spent any time inside a chapter, some of it is going to make you uncomfortable in a very specific, recognizable way. ... Read more

A former fraternity leader at Northern Arizona University just got sentenced to jail time after a pledge died from alcohol poisoning during a hazing incident. The case got national coverage - Fox News, Yahoo, AZ Family, the Arizona Republic, the Independent. When a story hits that many outlets, it means people outside Greek life are watching, forming opinions, and making up their minds about what fraternities are. I used to be one of those people. Now I'm not. And I think that actually matters for how I read this story. ... Read more

I remember standing in a dark room with about fifteen other guys, wearing something ridiculous, having no idea what was about to happen next. And honestly? I thought it was gonna be mostly theater. A ritual somebody made up decades ago, preserved out of stubbornness, repeated because nobody questioned it. I figured I'd get through it, shake some hands, and that would be that. I was wrong in a way I still think about. ... Read more

Suspensions, hazing, movie deals. It's been a crazy week in Greek life around the country. Here are the biggest fraternity and sorority headlines. DA To Announce Results From Penn State Investigation  Results into the death of a Beta Theta Pi fraternity pledge are scheduled to be live-streamed on Monday, November 13th.... Read more

Summer is almost over. Wow that went quick. Potential new members are doing all the research they can ahead of recruitment to make sure they get into one of their top houses. For the last several years we have put together the GreekRank rankings of the best fraternities and sororities in the country in the in each of our categories. Here are GreekRank’s Fall 2017’s top sororities and fraternities in the categories of Sisterhood/Brotherhood, Involvement, Classiness, Popularity, Looks, Fun, And Overall Highest Ranked... Read more

Think your university has strong Greek roots that go way back? The first collegiate social Greek organizations in North America were established in the first half of the 19th century. A few schools proudly proclaim they are the “Mother of Greek Life” or the “Mother of Fraternities”.  We have assembled a list of universities that can boast the greatest number of fraternities and sororities established on their campuses.... Read more

While there are plenty of excellent colleges without much of a Greek Life, it’s important to acknowledge the positive influence that having a strong Greek Life presence on campus offers students. From the percentage of undergraduate students involved in Greek Life to the number of chapters on each campus, the following schools have risen above the rest. Checkout the following list of colleges across the country that offer the best Greek Life experiences by the numbers:... Read more

Fraternities are filled with some of the most ambitious and overachieving people in the world. While movies like Animal House tend to portray fraternity brothers as nothing but raging alcoholics, the reality is much different. We take a look at some of the richest and most successful fraternity men today... Read more

You have made one of the biggest decisions of your life to go to college. Congratulations! However, that’s not the only decision that you’ll have to make when it comes to college life. Another important decision that you’ll probably make is the decision to go Greek in college. Greek life has lots of benefits to offer to its members – opportunities to build a network, social/community activities to participate in, a strong brotherhood bond to maintain, and many more!  However, one of the biggest challenges college guys face at the beginning of their Greek life is choosing the right fraternity for themselves.... Read more

Thirty pledges. A filthy basement. Injuries. Condiments. That's what law enforcement found when they responded to a Wisconsin fraternity this past week, and it's the kind of story that makes even the most committed Greek life defender go quiet for a second. I'm not a committed Greek life defender - I joined a fraternity sophomore year after spending my first year firmly in the GDI camp - so I'm not going to sit here and spin this into something it isn't. What happened at that house was hazing. Full stop. And the fact that frat leaders were actually arrested over it means this one isn't going away quietly. ... Read more

Every fraternity recruitment pitch includes some version of the same line: join us, and you'll have brothers for life who will open doors for you. It sounds good. It's also, depending on who you ask and which house you're talking about, either completely true or total mythology. I've spent the last couple years watching my male counterparts from various chapters either cash in on those connections or realize the network was mostly vibes and a LinkedIn request from a guy who never learned their name. ... Read more

I've walked through a lot of houses. Fraternity houses, obviously - that's my world - but also plenty of sorority chapter houses over the years, usually for study halls, mixers, or just dropping someone off after a late-night campus event. And every single time, I walk away thinking the same thing: the way sorority housing works is genuinely fascinating, and almost nobody outside of Panhellenic actually understands how it functions day to day. ... Read more

So a university decided it was finally going to get serious about Greek life. Crackdowns, new rules, oversight committees - the whole package. And now CNN is checking in to see how it's going. Spoiler: it's complicated. It's always complicated. Anyone who's spent five minutes inside a fraternity or sorority house could've told them that before the ink dried on whatever policy memo kicked this thing off. ... Read more

Every summer, incoming freshmen and transfer students start Googling things like "how to prepare for rush" and come back with the same recycled advice: research chapters, practice talking about yourself, dress well. And honestly, some of that is fine. But a lot of what gets passed around as recruitment prep is either useless filler or actively counterproductive. I went through recruitment as a sophomore - which meant I had a full year of watching people do this wrong before I did it myself - and even then I made some dumb calls about where to put my energy. ... Read more

Cornell just banned fraternity parties at annex properties, and if you read that sentence and thought "okay, that sounds reasonable," you're missing the bigger story. The ban came through a Student Fraternity and Sorority Life representative who delivered the news directly to Greek life leadership. Not a vote. Not a committee process. A representative telling chapter leaders what the new rules are. That's the part that should make every inter-council officer sit up straight. ... Read more