Quote from Reddit
Greek life is extremely huge at Duke, despite what other people might tell you. While the statistics may same something like only 30 - 40% of students are affiliated with Greek life, its presence is very prominent, and you will likely be affected by it at some point in your Duke career. These students mostly control the social and professional environment of the school because they often come from the wealthiest and most connected families.
Also, Greek life is very hierarchical. People often have conversations about which sorority or fraternity they think is “higher tier” than another one. You can see Duke’s section of the website greekrank if you want a little taste of these kinds of conversations. People will often have prejudgments about you based on what Greek organization you belong to.
Even if you don’t personally join a Greek organization, chances are, one of the friends you make first semester will. One common adage at Duke is that rush (the process of joining Greek life and other social organizations)"
"2. What’s the social hierarchy at Duke?
With some flexibility, the social hierarchy is:
1. Athletes
2. People in the “top tier” sororities and fraternities
3. People in the “mid-tier” sororities and fraternities
4. People in the “top tier” SLGS
5. People in the “mid-tier” SLGS
6. Independent Girls
7. People in the “low-tier” sororities and fraternities
8. People in the “low-tier” SLGS
9. Independent Guys
Girls have a slightly easier time than guys since many guys higher in the hierarchy will invite them out to events if they find them attractive enough.
Dating and socializing above or below your respective social tier is also virtually non-existent. People literally have conversations about which social group another person is in and will pre-judge them based on it. While there are friend groups that exist across different social tiers, it is by far not the norm."
Unfortunately, not everyone has equal chances at becoming a member of each organization. The organizations in “higher tiers”, except for athletes, are comprised mostly of WASPs or children of famous/important people. They won’t directly ask how wealthy you are, but they find ways to get the information out of you by asking things like what your parents do for a living, where you live, and what high school you went to. You can see any Greek organization’s Facebook or Instagram page to get an idea of the kind of people who generally join them.
These groups also start recruiting before the school year even starts through pre-orientation programs. If you want to try your luck at getting into any social organization, it will be tough regardless since you will be competing for roughly 20 spots in each group with around 300 – 500 people, if not more."
