The Effects of College Residence Groups On Students' Self-Concepts,Goals, and Achievements

This study compared the traits and achievements of students in various living groups. Students in fraternities and sororities were found to be more socially oriented, and students in off-campus rooms or at home were less socially oriented on a wide variety of measures. When students' pre-college scores were controlled, there were few differences among the groups on self-ratings or life goals. Fraternity and sorority students had more college social achievements but were not superior in other areas of non-academic achievement or in grades. These results were interpreted as showing that the effects of living groups are small.