Fraternities and Sororities Experiences and Outcomes in College, Work and Life
Survey
Jul. 2021
Sample Size:
3,033
Demographics:
US adults
Topics:
Student Support
Value
Educational Pathways
Top Findings:
- Sixty-four percent of affiliated members say they held a leadership position in their organization during college.
- Eighty-four percent of affiliated members say if they had to do it all over again, they would still join their fraternity or sorority.
- In addition to affiliated alumni being more likely to financially support their alma mater than nonaffiliated alumni, more than one-third (37 percent) of affiliated alumni have donated to their member organization or foundation in the past year.
- Affiliated alumni are more likely than nonaffiliated alumni to say they felt supported by faculty and mentors.
- Affiliated alumni are 3x as likely as nonaffiliated alumni to say they engaged in experiential learning.
- More than one in five affiliated alumni (23%), versus 14% of nonaffiliated alumni, strongly agree with all of the following: 1. They had a professor who cared about them as a person. 2. They had at least one professor who made them excited about learning. 3. They had a mentor who encouraged them to pursue their goals and dreams.
- Nearly one in four affiliated alumni (24%), as opposed to just 8% of nonaffiliated alumni, answer affirmatively to or strongly agree with all of the following: 1. They had a job or internship that allowed them to apply what they were learning in the classroom. 2, They worked on a project that took a semester or more to complete. 3. They were “extremely active” in extracurricular activities and organizations.
- A majority of affiliated alumni are “promoters” of their institution, based on their likelihood to recommend it. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of affiliated alumni selected a 9 or 10 on a scale where 10 is the highest likelihood to recommend their alma mater, compared with 43% of nonaffiliated alumni.
- Affiliated alumni are substantially more likely than nonaffiliated alumni to recommend their school to others.
- Affiliated alumni are also more likely than nonaffiliated alumni to strongly agree their education was worth the cost, and they are more likely to donate to their institutions.
- Almost half of affiliated alumni strongly agree their institution prepared them well for life outside of college (44%) and they gained important job-related skills (45%) — outpacing nonaffiliated alumni, among whom about one in four say the same.
- Affiliated alumni are nearly twice as likely as nonaffiliated alumni to feel that their alma mater prepared them well for life after college and that they gained important job-related skills. Further, the majority of affiliated alumni (64%) say they held a leadership position in their fraternity or sorority during college.
- Just over half of affiliated alumni had a job waiting when they graduated or found employment within two months, compared with 36% of nonaffiliated alumni.
- Employed affiliated alumni are substantially more likely than nonaffiliated alumni to be engaged in their current jobs, which means they are highly involved in and committed to their work and workplace.