Marquette University Top Questions

Marquette is has one of the most involved campuses. Many students are involved in a plethora of organizations. I myself am highly involved in four organizations currently. A large majority of these groups are service or social awareness. There are over 200 organizations for students to choose from to get involved. Many departments of Marquette, such as the Office of Community Service and the Office of Student Development, work hard to see that students get involved with what works best for them. In fact, I just established a service organization this semester with a few friends and have received tremendous support. While I am involved in three service organizations, I am also a member of a sorority on campus. Although only about 12{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of campus is involved in Greek life, there has been a dramatic increase the past few years and seems to only be growing. In addition, many of the Greeks are members of other organizations as well. Unlike at some state schools or Big 10 schools, Greeks are not so much about drinking and partying (although we do really enjoy that), but also actively being involved with campus, especially service. Marquette in general has been dubbed a "drinking school" partly because we are in one of the beer-capitals of the world. Most weekends, students can be found at house parties, at the local bars, or Water Street. During the winter, men's basketball games are a popular attraction on the weekends. If drinking isn't your thing, Marquette sponsors "Late Night" events which are super fun alternatives to partying.

I might be a little biased, but I'm really proud of the Greek community on Marquette's campus! We have started small but are progressively getting bigger and looking to hopefully expand. The sororities and fraternities really work together to form a great Greek community that is much less dog-eat-dog than it is at some bigger schools. I've been in a sorority for 3 years and have loved how it makes me feel so much more connected on campus. I can't take a class without having at least one of my sorority sisters in it, which is a nice problem to have!! Club sports are also pretty big on campus. We are a D1 school so we obviously have great regular athletic teams, but we also have club sports teams for just about every sport. These are great opportunities to meet people and stay in shape to avoid the freshman 15! The dorms on Marquette(especially sophomore year) are generally very social. McCormick is our most popular freshman hall and I know so many people who are still friends as seniors with their wing from freshman year. I was an RA in a sophomore building and I would say that although students tend to not be as social sophomore year since they have friends, you'll still definitely find lots of activity and social opportunities in the halls (living in dorms is required for your first two years). Marquette does try really hard to provide alcohol alternatives. I would describe the drinking culture on Marquette as very present. It's there if you want to participate, but there are still plenty of things to do if you don't. We have discounted movies, excisions downtown, speakers (our last one was Frank from PostSecret- so awesome) to keep you busy on the weekends. And it actually isn't uncommon to hear about someone staying in a weekend night to go to "Club Raynor" aka our library, because we do have an academically motivated campus.

There is not one student organization at Marquette that does not have a major service event planned for the year. Orgs will do everything from holding fashion shows benefiting a non-profit to cleaning up neighborhood homes.

Freshman year dorms it was rare to see a closed door on your dorm floor. Everyone on our floor got along, and I'm still friends with many of those people to this day. Marquette students work hard and play hard. Because Marquette doesn't have football, basketball is HUGE. Students line up outside the Bradley Center for hours before big conference games, and games against Wisconsin. Student season tickets are insanely cheap compared to other institutions in the area, and give you the full season, where you can see schools like Syracuse, UConn, Georgetown, Villanova, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, etc. night-in and night-out.

There's this theory of the "Marquette 100" that goes around every once in awhile - that there are "100" (it's just a random number, there are probably at least 300-500 at any given time) students that all know each other because they're the ones that do everything on campus, whether it's student government, res life, orientation staff, campus ministry, Greek life, choir, band, leadership summits, service project events, Winter Flurry, etc. I'd say the idea of such a community is actually pretty accurate, even if the number isn't, and these people are generally well-regarded on campus. They get involved in so much for the usual reasons - because they want something to do, they want to build their resumes, they want to meet people, they want to give back to the community. Most of them are the most outgoing people you could imagine. And it's not like these people don't interact with others - they definitely have friends who are less involved and are always open to meeting new people. Marquette's Greek life is nothing like what you'd see in the movies or at a big school. Greek life is at about 9-11{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the campus population at any given time - slightly more for sororities than fraternities. Non-Greeks tend to think that Greek life is a big joke and that you're paying for your friends, but from the inside it's truly an amazing experience. Those who go Greek tend to be interested in leadership roles and in getting more involved in the campus community. They do it for the networks and the relationships more than for the access to parties. I didn't drink until I was 21 and I was never pressured to do so in my chapter. The fraternities are usually friendly with each other but there are a few rivalries that exist - nothing harmful, though. The sororities are generally friendly with each other, but each chapter does have stereotypes that change every few years depending on the members they get.

Work hard and play hard. That's what we do. Find a niche that makes you happy, and friends that make you a better person. Clubs, volunteering, partying, late night study groups at "Club Raynor" (the library), we do it all.

We have so many groups to choose from ranging from club sports, fine arts, cultural orgs, service orgs, academic honors societies and greek life. I wouldn't say there's one particular one that is most popular. They offer a lot of opportunities to get involved and are not difficult to locate of contact which is very important. The residence halls are very fun and where I met a lot of my close friends. In McCormick, where I lived freshman year, our doors were constantly open and we bonded a lot as a wing. The RA's and building staff are great and very supportive and helpful. Besides basketball there are a lot of fun things to do on campus. The student government and other student organizations sponsor and hosts events throughout the year, like recent box office hits every Friday and Saturday, Night of Chocolate (all you can eat chocolate), Snowball (winter semi-formal), Carnivals, Brewer's game tailgates, speakers, concerts and more. There is a lot of inter-cultural and diversity programming as well, which offers a lot of unique experiences. The city itself is a great place to explore and the University really encourages students to step outside campus limits and see what it has to offer both for entertainment purposes and community immersion and service. I've had great experiences with social life on campus. Whether you want to go out and party or are looking for a more laid back evening, there always seems to be something to do. There are also a couple of great campus bars for the 21 year old and older crowd as well as some unique spots throughout the city.

Marquette's social life, people, and night life is what really makes Marquette an awesome University. People from all over love visiting Marquette, even all the way from California. People who visit the school are amazed at how friendly the Marquette students are and love the Marquette nightlife. In fact, people from Notre Dame, DePaul, Loyola, St. Thomas, University of Milwaukee and many others say Marquette a ton more fun than their school. At Marquette it is easy to find someone who wants to go out any night of the week. However it’s also acceptable to stay in and study for a night if it's necessary.

Marquette's social life, people, and night life is what really makes Marquette an awesome University. People from all over love visiting Marquette, even all the way from California. People who visit the school are amazed at how friendly the Marquette students are and love the Marquette nightlife. In fact, people from Notre Dame, DePaul, Loyola, St. Thomas, University of Milwaukee and many others say Marquette a ton more fun than their school. At Marquette it is easy to find someone who wants to go out any night of the week. However it’s also acceptable to stay in and study for a night if it's necessary.

Basketball games. The biggest school spirit shows up at basketball games. Depends on which dorm you live in, but most tend to form close friends. Some will leave doors open, some will not. Not many join clubs. Not many join greek life, but they are popular for parties. Lots of drinking and partying on weekends. MU students live by the philosophy "work hard, play hard". Most students will be partying every weekend. Milwaukee has tons of alcohol to go around.