sorority reputations here?

sorority rush isn’t until spring semester

you can only do COB if you have 12 credits already so you’ll likely have to wait for spring.

Zeta psi fits all the criteria above

You can rush COB if you want, but to get a sense of all of the houses, I would wait till spring. It's a better new member experience too. And I don't think freshmen are allowed to do COB unless they've done formal recruitment,in case that's you.

Hi, I also went into sorority recruitment knowing nothing a few years ago, and as a senior, I completely recommend that, as you can see what "vibe" of sorority fits you the most. Despite the rankings, a lot of sororities here are more similar than people would like to think. It's def harder to make interpret your own impressions of each house during cob, since you aren't seeing them all like in formal recruitment. I def recommend attending meet the Greeks, which will be on the weekend before classes start. However, to offer a bit of guidance to help you narrow your search down, here you go:

"nicest/best" sisterhoods: theta, aoii, gphi, deeph, and adpi, HOWEVER there are going to be girls who you will get along with in every house and girls you won't get along with in every house, that's just the way life is

"smartest" girls: disclaimer that this is a bit harder to measure, as gpa isn't always a defining factor of smarts, and some majors are much harder than others but phisig, kd, aephi, and gphi, but all sororities other than aphi and sk got average GPAs above 3.5 in fall 2023

most "likeable": aphi, tridelt, theta, and kd are well loved by the frat men, but don't always have the best impression with the rest of campus, so i'd say the overall most well liked are the ones with the nicest girls and best sisterhood

the ones you should "completely avoid": NONE! All the houses are great. One thing about UMD, is that the "bottom" and "midtier" houses tend to cycle through each other. In the 2000s, apparently zeta was the bottom house. In the 2010s, it was adpi and dg, and now it's sk and sdt, while the houses I previously mentioned have risen/are rising in the rankings. However, the rankings on this site mean nothing other than looks. All the sororities here are great, and I additionally recommend doing your own research into each of these chapter's nationals, what are their values, what is their philanthropy, and see if you vibe with the girls when you go through COB in the fall. Go Greek, good luck, and I hope you find the home that is best for you!

Hi, I also went into sorority recruitment knowing nothing a few years ago, and as a senior, I completely recommend that, as you can see what "vibe" of sorority fits you the most. Despite the rankings, a lot of sororities here are more similar than people would like to think. It's def harder to make interpret your own impressions of each house during cob, since you aren't seeing them all like in formal recruitment. I def recommend attending meet the Greeks, which will be on the weekend before classes start. However, to offer a bit of guidance to help you narrow your search down, here you go:

"nicest/best" sisterhoods: theta, aoii, gphi, deeph, and adpi, HOWEVER there are going to be girls who you will get along with in every house and girls you won't get along with in every house, that's just the way life is

"smartest" girls: disclaimer that this is a bit harder to measure, as gpa isn't always a defining factor of smarts, and some majors are much harder than others but phisig, kd, aephi, and gphi, but all sororities other than aphi and sk got average GPAs above 3.5 in fall 2023

most "likeable": aphi, tridelt, theta, and kd are well loved by the frat men, but don't always have the best impression with the rest of campus, so i'd say the overall most well liked are the ones with the nicest girls and best sisterhood

the ones you should "completely avoid": NONE! All the houses are great. One thing about UMD, is that the "bottom" and "midtier" houses tend to cycle through each other. In the 2000s, apparently zeta was the bottom house. In the 2010s, it was adpi and dg, and now it's sk and sdt, while the houses I previously mentioned have risen/are rising in the rankings. However, the rankings on this site mean nothing other than looks. All the sororities here are great, and I additionally recommend doing your own research into each of these chapter's nationals, what are their values, what is their philanthropy, and see if you vibe with the girls when you go through COB in the fall. Go Greek, good luck, and I hope you find the home that is best for you!