College of Charleston Top Questions

What are the most popular student activities/groups?

Taylor

Social life is incredible! Music Farm downtown.. Beaches surrounding Chas.. Incredible restaurants.. Shoppes for every taste.. Historical sights.. I would reccommend including pictures or something of Marion Square and the activies that all the student are involved with there..soccer, volleyball, fresbee, lacrosse, tanning, reading, studying..everything

Ash

There is always something to do here. The nightlife is great but so is everything else. There is plenty to do for drinkers and non-drinkers.

Alex

The popular groups on campus are the sororities, faternities, leadership center, cougar activies (major popular). We had twister the rapper to come and give us a personal concert. We had the ying yang twins too. Students in dorms do not leave their dorms open. The police safety here is strongly enforced. If I am awake 2am on a Tuesday then i am either A) coming from a bar/club or B) coming from the library. There is a lot of shopping going to. We have the latest fashion stores, and boutiques!

Lauren

While there are plenty of students in fraternities and sororites, if your not part of one you are not left out. When I talk to friends from other schools they make seem like that is all that is going on at thier school, but in CofC the majority of students are not part of greek life. It is very rare to not be able to find a party are something to do any night of the week in Charleston. While I have not been personaly involved in many student activities there are always flyers all over campus of fun things you can do. They show free movies, have interesting guest speakers, and have a program that gets students together on the weekend for non-alcoholic fun.

Lauren

Greek life is not large here, but we are a tight knit group. I love the fact that there are socials/mixers almost every week, fund raising events, and just general hanging out. I thought it would not be for me, but it is AMAZING how well it worked out. I say give it a shot even if you are completely against it. The Greek life here is 110{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} different from anywhere else. I met my closest friend that way, and I never would have changed it. We all stay here on the weekends and hang out at the beach, pool, or shop. We all go out to eat at nights and out afterwards. Greek life has been the best thing I ever could have participated in. It also led me to join other clubs and become active.

Stephanie

The most popular organizations on campus is Greek Life. Students in dorms do leave their doors open sometimes only when they are in the room so others can walk in and talk or introduce themselves. If I am awake at 2 am on a Tuesday morning, I'm probably trying to study in the library or watching tv getting ready to go to sleep. People party quite often, and if you have a roommate or suitemate that parties a lot and has people over all the time at late hours in the night, you need to have a talk with them as soon as possible and set the rules straight. If not--it will continue for the rest of the semester and things wont go good between the relationship of the two.

Jen

CAB is great! They always have something going on and I love the activities...plus they're free! There's always stuff going on on and off campus put on by the college. Greek life is kind of big on campus, but you won't be left out if you decide not to join one. CofC is a party school there's no denying that, but students quickly realize how fast grades will drop and most students find the right amount of time to study and party. I met my best friends through housing and we now live off campus. Plus it's nice since CofC is mainly female to have the Citadel which is mainly male only a few mins away!

Laura

There's CAB, the Campus Activity Board, which plans all these events (like Game Show Night) where they give out prizes. This year at the game show they gave away 6 bikes, a $250 spa treatment, an Xbox 360, an iTouch, an iNano, and some As Seen On TV prizes.

Elana

People part a lot here. Sports aren't very big here, we don't even have a football team. Like music is a big deal, which is really fun! Most people do things off campus.

Matthew

People party at least 3 days a week. There are a lot of house partys. Most are kind of boring with a lot of beer pong being played. The clubs and bars are pretty mainstream, nothing very unique and interesting. There is some theater however for movies, there is no cinema downtown so you need a car to go the the cinema.

Ann-Marie

Alot of students are very involved in defferent organizations. Many girls are involved in Greek life but not as many guys. I think alot of our student body has a good balance between a happening social life and studying.

Amy

There's a decent amount of people involved in Greek life, but its not something you have to do to have fun. Berry girls DON'T leave their doors open so that sucks, but some of the other dorms, like Buist and Liberty, do. People tend to not actually date- they either hook up with different people continually or they start hooking up and then almost move in together. That's an easy problem to fix though if a few people started trying to date around. I met my closest friends at orientation and through my sorority! Graduation is the best tradition- on the Cistern and everyone wears white.

Katie

social life is AMAZING because it's downtown and tons of fun. greek mixers are in clubs or bars downtown. dating is great for guys but harder for girls, but the citadel nearby makes up for the lack of male population.

Melissa

I think Greek Life is pretty popular on campus. While a lot of students are involved in Greek Life it's not the majority of the student body. While I think we have an amazing Greek system, it's not like other schools where it's Greek or Geek and you have to go Greek to have something to do. I'm in a sorority and I have a number of friends that I've met outside of Greek life and I participate in other activities that aren't associated with Greek Life. My sorority did give me my closest friends and kept me from transferring my freshman year. I had a really hard time meeting people my freshman year because I lived in McAlister and students don't leave their doors open in that dorm. I think in Berry and McConnell students are more inclined to leave their doors open because their doors don't open to the outside. There isn't much of a dating scene at CofC. It's more about hooking up. I think this is in large part due to the girl to guy ratio and that guy's know the odds are in their favor so if they aren't getting what they want from one girl they can just go down the hall and get it from their neighbor. If you want to party 7 nights a week, you can find one. Most people I know don't, but if you really want to go out every single night you can find something to do. One tradition that I look forward to every year is pep supper. On a Saturday night if you don't feel like drinking, you can go to a movie.

Michelle

Athletic events are fairly popular. Greek life isn't as big here as some campuses, but they are definately the most active organizations on campus. The guy to girl ratio isn't great for girls who are looking to date and there is also the Citadel in Charleston so you get this CofC guy vs. Citadel rival even though they don't know eachother. There is a lot of partying and going to the downtown bars. Ecspecially Thursday nights and the weekends. If you don't want to drink, there are great restaurants, movie theaters, and people just hang out in the dorms or at houses.

Leila

The most popular organizations are the sororities, namely ADPi and Tri Delt. I'm in Phi Mu and I love all the girls in it, but it's not as popular as the other sororities. Students in the Honors Dorm that i live in do not leave their doors open. From what I've heard, the dating scene is pretty awful - a lot of one night stands and cheating. I've been with my boyfriend for a year a half with no problems though, so a long term relationship is definitely possible here. People party hard here, a lot of alcohol especially. If i'm awake at 2AM on a tuesday, it's because i'm doing homework. A lot of people go out on weekdays but not everyone.

Alissa

The most popular groups/organizations on campus are Greek Life and SGA. That is in my opinion. As said before I am involved in Greek Life. I am a member of Sigma Delta Tau. There are not many dorms in which students are able to leave their doors open. The rooms are so spread apart that it makes it impossible to leave their doors open. Athletic events are not as popular as they are at bigger schools. I believe the school is doing their best to make it a big part of the school. Guest Speakers seem to be visiting a lot. We've had John Edwards and Barack Obama, and more. Of course, theater is a big part of the school. We are a liberal arts school. I met my closest friends by joining my sorority. In my opinion there is no dating scene. There aren't enough guys, it's upsetting. :( If i am awake at 2am on a Tuesday, personally I am doing homework or about to go to sleep. For others, they are out partying. There are a lot of fairs that happen in Charleston at Marion Square. We have had the Wild Life Expo, Fashion Week, etc. Partying seems to happen almost every night except for during finals and midterms. Instead of drinking on a Saturday night, there is also plays usually going on or you could just stay in. There is not much I do off campus besides grocery shopping or visiting my family.

Grace

Different dorms have different reputations as far as like friendliness - for example, in Rivers one of the Honors dorms, students tend to keep to themselves or stick with their close friends. But in College Lodge or McConnell, everyone leaves their doors open, everyone hangs out, and there seems to be more of a community atmosphere.

Melanie

Greek Life plays a large part in and around campus. We raise a lot of money for our philanthropies. However, there are activities for everyone. If the activity that you are interested in is not offered, you can start a club or found a team. On the weekends, people typically go to the beach if it is warm enough or walk around downtown. There is something to do all the time, whether its walk to the battery, go to a basketball (which is the big the sport), or go to the outlet mall in North Charleston. Our campus is a block off King Street, and a few blocks from Market Street, which are the main hot spots in downtown Charleston. The CofC campus has boundaries that are determined by a brick sidewalk, but it does overflow into the city which makes it more fun and eventful.

Paige

A lot of house parties on the weekends. The dorms have a lot of drinking, as do off campus houses. Most people live off campus after freshman year.