Much has been written about the need for student involvement to build a sense of belonging on college campuses. However, when it comes to membership in Greek social organizations, such involvement has been largely cast as negative. Unlike many of the anecdotal articles critical of the influence joining a Greek social organization can have on student success in college, this article offers the largest study ever conducted on the impact of Greek membership on the academic performance of first-year students, involving more than 45,000 student records from 17 different institutions. This study provides information regarding grades, credit hours earned, and retention. The findings offer not only a collective view in judging the efficacy of maintaining Greek life on our college campuses, but encourage individual institutions to use the methodology to inform policy at the institutional level.
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