I'm sure the greek experience is enriching and enjoyable, but there many benefits to choosing not to rush as well, some of which are listed below.

1. It's simply too expensive for some people.
   
2. Being a Christian, I'd rather have fun outside of a drinking/sex-oriented atmosphere. Yes, I know that's a stereotype and I know that there are many other things that fraternities and sororities do. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it definitely is part of the experience.
   
3. There are plenty of other ways to make friends and meet members of the opposite sex, including:
   a) Enough clubs and organizations at UCF (or any other respectable college) to represent most any interest.
   b) Extra-curricular sports activities.
   c) Talk to other students in your classes (also in study groups, project groups, etc).
   d) Roommates.
   e) Church college groups. Any church, especially large ones, will have plenty (sometimes even hundreds) of college-aged individuals looking to hang out, have fun, and participate in activities and events.
   
4. After high school, and especially after college, (I worked for 2.5 years after my undergrad), it is more difficult to find friends that have similar interests as yourself. While an organization such as a fraternity/sorority definitely can fill the void after high school, it doesn't provide real-life experience for finding and establishing friendships outside of college. Finding friends and meeting people through the other means mentioned above is practice for the real world, similar to co-op employment only on a social level. 
   
5. Yes, there is a greater possibility that you will occasionally end up alone with no one to hang out with, but there is also great wisdom to be gained (in my opinion) through being content with entertaining yourself and being completely comfortable without someone else to depend on for fun.
   
6. Outside of a fraternity/sorority, you are forced to consider what it is that you enjoy doing with your free time, helping you potentially become more of an individual. Questions arise such as: What are my interests? What club do I want to join, if any? Who do I want to spend time with? In a Greek environment, the answers to all of these decisions are already right in front of you.
   
7. If you're an engineering student, or in some other major who has to spend a lot of time studying and working on homework, then having so many people around you spending a lot of social time together could be pretty darned distracting. For me, just having a roommate who had plenty of free time on his hands, I often found myself frustrated because I had to spend so much time on school work, when I would rather have been having fun like he was - and that was just one person, not a whole "family". Some degrees require more hard work and discipline than others, making it difficult to socialize as often as you'd like.

To summarize, it's not only possible to still have fun and party when you're not going Greek, but you might learn a little more about yourself along the way. Still, I can definitely see the benefits and enjoyment associated with the Greek choice, especially since it's an experience that you will only find in college. To me though, it seems like an easy way out of a lot of choices and experiences that can affect and enhance your growth as an individual during your college years.

Below is a response to my opinion from someone else.

Applause to you Michael. I feel the same way about the "greek experience". Along with working here at LMCO (Lockheed Martin), I am also an RA on campus at UCF. I repeatedly see the freshmen get sucked into the “beneficial social interaction” associated with Greek Life and ruin their college careers in the process. So many promising students and young people get caught up in the drinking, the partying, and the overall recklessness that falls between the volunteer hours (if any at all) and the fundraisers.

So many greeks complain about the "stereotype" that greek organizations have, but what do they expect? Stereotypes occur for a reason. For instance, I’m not sure if all of you heard about the SAE debacle during homecoming week. Some poor pledges were duped into riding duct taped together in trucks while their “loving and caring brothers” played chicken with each other out by lake Claire. One of the brothers “dropped his cell phone” and veered into the other truck. One of the pledges went partially through the windshield, and gravity kicked in and pulled his face down while half of it was still stuck in the windshield and nearly severed his nose. Supposedly they weren’t playing chicken and were just out for a drive. Yeah right. 

How can these be "families" of caring supporting people when the higher ups would force…no wait, no one is forced to do anything…influence their pledges to do such stupid things. So many Fraternities and Sororities claim that hazing doesn’t occur, but they all know they are lying. Hazing happens whether they plan it or not. Whether it is playing chicken in a pickup or drinking games between pledges, each is equally potentially dangerous.

FYI—I know first hand one of the pledges that was in the back of one of the pickups, and he was still a SAE pledge after the incident. Even after such a horrendous experience why would someone want to be involved with an organization that would even think of putting their members through something so ridiculous? I don’t know, and that is probably one of the greatest human paradoxes.

My advice would be live your life without the crutch of a group mentality. You are your own person, make your own choices for yourself with the comfort and confidence that it is the right decision because you made it. Live your life for yourself the way you want and not for others and the way they feel it should be lived for you.

Regards, Shawn

Here is the other side of the coin - 
people with praises and recommendations for joining a fraternity or sorority.

Okay let me first start with this... I have a 4.0 GPA, I'm double-majoring and I have over 150 hours of community service. So by the way, it's not all about partying. I'm not buying my friends either. If you had any idea what lies inside a fraternity or sorority, you wouldn't be saying any of this. Your ignorance shows through all of your emails clearly. SAE cannot set the standard of what a fraternity or sorority is made of... last time I checked there were like 15 others... oh and by the way, you only hear the bad things. I have gained so many connections and friends and it has made my UCF experience. Laura you will love it. I'm guessing you're like 20, 21 maybe... not 40... So, enjoy your college life, you have the rest of your life to work. Oh and another note, you do learn other things besides clubbing and partying. I have had so many leadership opportunities through my sorority, not to mention internships and there is a mandatory GPA requirement, study groups.. and wait, BIBLE STUDY... so don't throw the religion card out when you can't back it up. I know at least 4 sororities and fraternities, other than mine, that have bible study. And as far as the money goes... yeah, it is expensive. Not all of them though. I don't see why anyone would complain about being connected to something for the rest of your life. You join honors societies and clubs don't you. So please do your homework before you preach a bunch of crap. I have been in a sorority for almost 4 years.. I pay for everything myself... rent, sorority, car, cell phone, living... and I manage a social life and extracurricular things too. Don't let people who clearly have no idea push you one way or another.

-Heidi

Let me pose a few questions. Do you have friends? do you go out with them? do you ever throw parties that cost you money? do you ever host events like formals where all your friends dress up and have a good time? do you and your friends collect money for Habit for Humanity, Boys and Girls club, or some cancer research? We are not paying for friends. we pay dues because like minded individuals want to come together and make a difference, move ahead with the career plans, and have a good time doing it. Weather you realize it or not, if you were to do all the things that Fraternities and Sororities do you would spend the same amount of money. Now other than just money, I decided to rush because my so called friends pretty much turned there back on me. Everyone you meet will put on a front. I have grown as a person, for the better, I have the ability to call someone out on something that is shady, and pull out the bullshit card when appropriate. Greek life is much more than just making friends, its joining a band of brothers or sisters that will never let you down. similar to your own family. Go for it, you what feels right, but be selective and don't get sucked in by the fake people that do it for glory (popularity and all).

-Christopher