The Half of It | Geek life: sisterhood scholars and fratastic GPAs

Chi Omega has a Career and Personal Development committee. Alpha Chi Omega has a director of Intellectual Development. Psi Upsilon, also known as Castle, hosts dinners for alumni to talk to brothers about professions. And Sigma Chi just installed four study carrels in its chapter house.

Contrary to contemporary stereotypes, members of Penn’s Greek community are not only focused on social excellence — or social climbing. They benefit from a multi-tiered system of scholarship and career service. And as an unaffiliated student, I can’t help but begrudge the academic support that accompanies these Greek socialites.

For many Greek institutions, this support begins with mandated study hours for new members during spring semester: Alpha Epsilon Pi requires 8 hours a week; Sigma Chi, 10; Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 12.

“A lot of people’s [grade point averages] go up because of it,” said Castle Academic Chairman and College and Wharton sophomore Gage Alpert of Castle’s 12 study hours per week. Many sororities have similar requirements, although in much smaller doses (Sigma Kappa mandates 2 hours a week; Chi Omega, 3).

And academic aids await these scholarly armies of Greek geekers. Sigma Chi and Chi Omega keep logs of all classes taken by members. “This way, if girls want help or need notes … they can take the independent initiative to contact a sister and ask for help,” Chi Omega Vice President and College sophomore Nicole Scott wrote in an e-mail. SK keeps a list of member’s majors, and Castle maintains an internal online course review. Sigma Chi also just started an internal bank of old notes, tests and study guides, according to its Academic Chairman and College junior Dan Helbig.

It’s not that Greeks don’t struggle academically. In SK, sisters who drop below a 2.3 go on probation and must begin attending study hours again. Chi Omega sisters below a 2.5 must meet with the vice president and personnel chairwoman to talk about better study habits. New members of SAE submit dates of midterms to College and Wharton sophomore and SAE Scholastic Chairman Jamie McCroskery. A week or so before the test, the chairman will “check in with them so they’re not falling behind,” McCroskery said.

These methods seem to pay off. Last semester, the average Greek undergraduate had a GPA higher than that of the non-Greek undergraduate. For Greek women, this has been the case for the past 18 years or more, according to Office of Student Affairs/Fraternity Sorority Life director Scott Reikofski. The undergraduate Greek men pulled ahead of non-Greek counterparts just last semester—a feat which could be attributed to AEPi’s 3.68 average, the highest of any fraternity or sorority in Penn’s history.

Greek perks continue post-Penn. College and Wharton junior and AEPi brother Ben Kruger practiced “mock-interviews” with AEPi alumni to prepare for On-Campus Recruiting. Wharton junior and AEPi Vice President Dan Lesk claimed to have occasionally run into AEPi alumni at recruiting events. Chi Omega’s career and personal development committee helps set up workshops about interviews, resumes and financial literacy, among other things, according to Scott. Castle alumni are also “very receptive to helping out undergrads,” Alpert said. And according to Helbig, getting jobs and interviews through Sigma Chi alumni “definitely happens.”

For those who opted out of Greek life, do not despair. Our average GPA might be lower, and our career networking narrower. But we don’t derive academic discipline from a chairman.

Emily Orrson is a College sophomore from Baltimore, Md. Her e-mail address is orrson@theDP.com. The Half of It appears every other Wednesday.

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