Union College-Schenectady Top Questions

Being a smaller school the policy on greek life is that rushing/pledging occurs delayed- the fall of your sophomore year. However, after Freshman year most people who are not in sports or heavily involved in organizations on campus do tend to join greek organizations. Nevertheless, you do have all of your freshman year to try out and dable in various sports, academic clubs, intramural, newspaper organizations, social clubs, and minerva events. You come on campus in the fall and you join tons of those groups during Fall Club Expo. Then you receive a plethora of emails inviting you to attend club events. You go to some, skip others, and then you make tons of friends and realize what areas are of interested to you. Coming back for the Winter term (2nd trimester) you get back into the rhythm and continue with the clubs you liked, getting back with the friends you made in the groups, or you go ahead and join in on more different groups to make new friends. You've got the Spring term (3rd and last trimester) to enjoy the warm weather, and meet with even more people since everyone tends to spend spring term studying outside and being more friendly and social. Then coming back your Sophomore year you are more than acquainted and comfortable deciding if you want to go greek or if you are happy with where you stand.

Being a smaller school the policy on greek life is that rushing/pledging occurs delayed- the fall of your sophomore year. However, after Freshman year most people who are not in sports or heavily involved in organizations on campus do tend to join greek organizations. Nevertheless, you do have all of your freshman year to try out and dable in various sports, academic clubs, intramural, newspaper organizations, social clubs, and minerva events. You come on campus in the fall and you join tons of those groups during Fall Club Expo. Then you receive a plethora of emails inviting you to attend club events. You go to some, skip others, and then you make tons of friends and realize what areas are of interested to you. Coming back for the Winter term (2nd trimester) you get back into the rhythm and continue with the clubs you liked, getting back with the friends you made in the groups, or you go ahead and join in on more different groups to make new friends. You've got the Spring term (3rd and last trimester) to enjoy the warm weather, and meet with even more people since everyone tends to spend spring term studying outside and being more friendly and social. Then coming back your Sophomore year you are more than acquainted and comfortable deciding if you want to go greek or if you are happy with where you stand.

As far as athletics go, hockey is the big seller. Students come out in full force for hockey games and the team is fantastic. Greek life is present but a delayed rush system (starting in sophomore year) allows students to get a feel for the campus and explore their options. Even though Greek life does compose a large group of students, it is not an overwhelming majority and Minervas provide a great alternative. There are a ton of clubs on campus and there is something for everyone- and it is easy to start a new group. There are always speakers, concert, meetings, and movies going on so it is pretty hard to be bored. Students are friendly and it isnt uncommon to see doors open at 2am and people hanging out in Minervas or academic buildings studying. There are a lot of things to do off campus as well but the best thing to highlight are the local restaurants which are awesome.

The hockey team is probably to biggest sports team on campus. Greek life is pretty prevalent and it does control a majority of the social life on campus, but if someone did not want to involve himself or herself in it then they do not have to and can still find many things to do to entertain themselves.

There are many clubs for people to try out different things. I am pretty sure that everyone is involved in at least one club or a varsity sport team. Minerva system is also great because it provides an alternative scene of Greek Life. 7 Minerva Houses hold different events every week. There are always things going on during the week and on the weekend so no one can get bored.

We have SO many clubs. In the winter, Ski Club is pretty popular. The frats are popular on the weekends. We have many sports teams, varsity and club. The club level is much more relaxed and fun, but competition is still fostered. My closest friends are from my program or the people I lived around my freshmen year.

There is always something going on on campus. Greek life is really big at Union. There are a lot of students involved with either fraternities or sororities. There are also a lot of students involved with the Minerva system. These houses hold events throughout the week and many students attend these events. This is a great way to get involved with campus life with if greek life isn't for you! Sports teams are also a popular thing to get involved with. Many students are on a team of some kind whether its for a varsity team or just club sports. The most popular athletic events are the football games and hockey games. There are really big turnouts for both and they are a lot of fun. Theres a lot of school spirit when it comes to hockey especially! There are also other activities to get involved with like a cappella groups, ballroom dancing, and clubs (as far as clubs go, if you can think of it we have it) Meeting people on campus is really easy. Everyone is really easy going and everyone wants to meet new people. Once you start getting involved with something on campus, finding a group of people to be friends with is even easier.

Union gives various opportunities to engage in clubs, groups, and organizations. From the concert club to the black student Union, students always have something exciting to engage in. Not to mention the amount of student activities on Union's campus lets the students acquire a full Union experience and never feel left out. The fraternities and sororities are a great way to meet new people and engage in exciting activities/community, but students that do not join fraternities/sororities never feel left out. Greek life does not take over Union College and there are plenty of ways students can explore new options at Union.

our hockey team is DI and insanely good. thats where most of our school spirit lies. uprogram/ozone is very popular. the concordy (newspaper) is my favorite, and does a great job relaying info to the student body. yes, students typically leave their doors open unless they are seriously trying to get work done. the dating scene is mainly awkward weekend hookups that maybe sometimes lead to relationships. if youre awake at 2am on a tuesday you are cramming for a test or at some kind of minerva event.

You will never be bored if you come to Union. Everyday, yes everyday there is something going on around campus. From our clubs, to sports teams, to Minerva system, you will never without something to do if you wish. There are speakers, workshops, concerts, games, and any other activity you could think of going on on this campus. Weekends usually consist of pregamming in the dorms, and then venturing out to the frats. The frat scene is prominent on campus but it is presented with Union's own twist. Kids here love to dance! Letting lose with your friends on the weekends is a favorite here at Union. People go out Friday and Saturday nights as well as Wednesdays if you are 21. Wednesday night is usually "bar night"so it's usually upperclassmen out on Wednesdays. If the drinking, partying scene is not what you're into there is plenty of events going on on the weekends. If you do not drink you will never feel left out. Kids have just as much fun if drinking is something they do, or if it's not.