time commitment

It's definitely possible to be friends with people outside of your sorority! I don't know a single person in Greek life who isn't friends with a lot of people outside of the Greek system. It's even easier for you because you're in Tisch and will probably be spending tons of time with non-Greek people. That's something you definitely don't have to worry about.

As for the time commitment, it depends on which sorority you get into but there are plenty of people juggling part-time jobs, internships, heavy courseloads, and other clubs while staying active in Greek life. Typically there's one meeting a week (called chapter), and you're allowed to miss it if you need to study or have some other excuse. Nobody will care. Everyone at NYU knows that academics come first. You can pick and choose which Greek events to go to so the time commitment is really whatever you want it to be, as long as you show up to the few "mandatory" events a semester (there's like three or four of them for most sororities I'd say, and you can only skip them with legitimate excuses like illness or class).

DEFINITELY RUSH. I'm in tisch too and studio hours can be crazy but it's definitely possible to handle it all. The first few weeks of being in the sorority is a bit crazy with all the new commitments but after a while, it's really not bad. Depending on your year and what sorority you may be interested, maybe hold off on the sorority until the spring semester or next year though only because you might not want it to have a negative impact on studio. Tisch has a lot of extra stuff out of the classroom but if you feel like you can handle it, doing both a sorority and being in Tisch can be a great time!

As far as making friends outside of the sorority, don't worry at all....like, AT ALL. Tisch is almost built to help you meet people and spend a lot of time with them and get close. I actually waited to join a sorority until sophomore year and a big part of my decision was because I wanted closer friends OUTSIDE of tisch. Don't get me wrong, I love my studio friends but at a school like NYU, you have to put a bit more work in expanding your friend-group. You'll have a very strong and unique bond with your studio/tisch friends and especially with your sisters - all are amazing and wonderful. GOOD LUCK!

don't wait till spring, not all sororities do spring rush