tiers

No, most people don't care. Here is how it makes a difference to you. The tier your fraternity occupies generally determines which sororities you socialize with. Also, the tier your fraternity occupies also affects recruitment. Rushees make quick decisions and a lot of times that's based on reputation. The higher you rank on the social ladder the more selective you can be. Maybe half the fraternity men on campus would fit comfortably into ANY fraternity. The difference between tiers is the numbers of "studs" (or the lack of them) a fraternity has. I don't like that word, but whatever you call them blue chips, studs, alfa males, whatever. Those are the guys who establish the public identity of a fraternity. But no, in real life no one cares.

The only people that care about what their sorority/fraternity ranking is are superficial/insecure people. If you're a stud, you could join tke and still bang the hottest girls on campus. Most people join greek life because they are missing something on their own. If you are an outgoing and likable person then people will be drawn to you regardless of what fraternity/sorority you're in.

I think the tier obsession is more of a girl thing than a guy thing. Girls are more superficial on average and care more about that kind of thing than guys do. I should know, I'm a girl!