By AMANDA BRANNON
The Red & Black

Students who want to earn high GPAs should consider joining a sorority or fraternity and living on campus.

Reports from fall semester show that, once again, members of Greek organizations earned better GPAs than non-Greek students. The same is true for students who live on campus.

That’s because fraternities and sororities encourage high grades by enforcing minimum GPAs for membership and giving awards to those who excel.

"It’s something that is one of the top priorities (for Greek organizations)," Coordinator of Greek Life Claudia Shamp said.

Statistics from the Registrar’s Office show fall semester’s sorority average of 3.16 is higher than the total women’s average of 2.95 and the total undergraduate average of 2.85. Those numbers are down from last spring’s sorority GPA of 3.23.

The average fraternity GPA also dropped from 2.92 last spring to 2.81 in the fall, but remained higher than the all-male average of 2.73.

Similarly, while the overall student average GPA dropped, students who lived in residence halls earned an average GPA of 2.96, while those who lived off campus earned a 2.85.

"I feel more inclined to study now that I live on campus than I did when I lived off campus," said Keith Holder, a junior from Marietta who earned a 2.9 GPA last semester. "It’s easier to study because you’re closer to the library and the study lounges. Parking is also so hard to find on campus that I don’t want to move my car to go out every night."

Most sororities have standards requiring members to maintain a 2.6-3.0 GPA in order to remain in good standing and participate in activities.

Fraternities also have requirements for membership, and members must maintain at least a 2.5 to be involved with the Interfraternity Council.

"A primary goal of every Greek organization is the development of its members, and the Interfraternity Council has always taken very seriously the scholastic development of its members," said Dave Battle, IFC vice president of public relations. "We strive as a system not to merely meet the University’s increasing academic standards but to exceed these standards."

National Pan-Hellenic Council awards $100 to each sorority chapter with an average GPA of 3.0 or more, said Darrell Ray, assistant coordinator for Greek Life.

Shamp cites chapter programs of peer mentoring and tutoring as well as incentive programs as contributing factors in the academic success of students in Greek organizations.

"There’s a real community effort to do well academically," Shamp said. "It’s a very healthy competition."