social life for freshmen not in a sorority

i wouldnt live in callaway if you’re not going to rush, you will probably feel very left out and it might be hard to make friends unless you’re close with one of your roommates and they invite you to stuff with them. I would recommend living on campus and joining a flo, youll have a great social life doing that and even might meet some girls in sororities in your flo that can vouch for you sophomore year during recruitment. overall, A&M kind of has weak Greek life and there’s a lot of stuff you can get involved in outside of it, plus rushing sophomore year gives you a better chance to get to know the vibes of the houses better bc there are a lot of untrue things about every house on this website :)

My experience is that most people at A&M do not make many friends their freshman year. Most people I've met stick with their high school friends + 1-2 people from fish camp + 1-2 people they picked up along the way. People in FLOs meet some decent friends, but not a lot of people get in, and almost all have to find other ways to get involved after their freshman year. A lot of people do mens/womens orgs, but some are selective and hard to get into as a freshman.

My bias would tell you that greek life is the best all-around social solution at A&M, but only if you choose the right sorority. I imagine that your dad is against sororities because of the high cost and he probably think that you'll party too much.

If I were in your shoes, I would ask around for a sorority that fits your personality. There are a lot of sororities that are very academically focused, and have really great elements, such as philanthropy, and have high on-campus involvement.

If you find a sorority that you really like, and can convince your dad that it would be a good addition to your life, do it. Then again, you can still wait until sophomore year, although there are pros and cons to that. Otherwise, you can still have a great freshman year, but you'll have to make a conscious effort to get involved.

Last thing: I think freshman girls and guys have opposite problems: as a guy, it's easy to make friends but hard to party, and as a girl, it's easy to get into parties but harder to make friends. Keep that in mind.

I wish you the best!

Really really try to talk to your dad and show him all the pros and cons of rushing, I made all my friends through it and have established an amazing friend group through my srat and other people i’ve met in greek life with the same major. I promise you it’s worth it!

I hate to sound negative, but freshman year is tough. It is hard to make friends, even in a sorority, and there are cliques just like there were in high school. College isn’t the best time of your life like people say. Social media makes it look more fun than it is. Just try to make a few friends in the dorm or in class. Join a Bible study or an org if you can get one - flos are extremely hard. And don’t feel bad if you’re not having the time of your life. Tbh it’s normal.

Two of my roommates are in Alpha Zeta Chi (woman's org) and love it. Their dues are like a third of what a sorority's are and yet they still function a lot like a sorority--bigs & littles, philanthropies, meetings, parties, formals, etc. Of course, women's orgs don't have houses or a National organization backing them but that's not always a bad thing (you may not want to live in the house). Anyway if your dad won't let you go through pan recruitment, consider getting involved with a woman's org. You can still rush as a sophomore or maybe you won't feel the need if you really connect with your woman's org. Good luck!

anyone have a ranking of women's orgs? how many are there?

You absolutely do not need to be in a sorority.
A&M is huge and a small % are Greek. Even if you go Greek it can be hard to find your group. A sorority does not automatically mean best friends. There are lots of cliques since so many girls went to high school together.