I would discourage it. I saw so much of my daughters time and money devoured by the sorority, that she would not remain focused on her prime objective. She was fine with it before the sorority. Now that she is out of it, she is back on track.

I think you should check into the sorority now and see what it's like, and remember you can take Rocks for Jocks and History of Harry Potter to get a nice GPA. The one sorority girl I have to deal with on a regular basis is painfully, painfully stupid. Like remarking about 8 weeks ago that "I don't really like Bush. I hope he doesn't get elected again." (For non-Americans, there's a two-term limit on the presidency. He can't be elected again, ever, barring major changes to existing laws that are supposed to part of your early school education.) I've also lived in two fraternities (cheap rent over the summer, convenient when the dorms were closed). One was a complete pigsty, the guys were always drunk, one of the toilets was jammed and it never got fixed, there was a penis drawn on my wall and it had apparently been there at least two years. The other was a dry house (so no alcohol), was very nice, the guys were nice- They might have uncouth posters on their walls or be asleep late in the day, but they never bothered me and I had good conversations with many of them. So! Check out the sorority, and more than just what they show you at rush.

It really depends on the school. I go to a very prestigious school (one of the top 20 universities in the US) and I would totally encourage it. Joining my sorority was the best decision of my life! I always have someone to study, eat, talk, and go work out with! The social scene is much better too, but the resources for excelling academically is one of the main reasons I joined.