Looking into joining a fraternity?

Most universities have a Greek Affairs office that coordinates rush (membership recruitment) you will need to contact them over the summer and they will tell you what you need to do to participate in rush.

Every school is differernt but the general jist is that you will spend some time getting to know the members of a fraternity and at the end of rush you will receive invitations to join a house.

Most school’s greek chapters have websites now a days so you can surf around and get some background info on them before you start rush.

Good questions to ask fraternity members:

*Does the fraternity have a house?

*Will I be required to live in the house?

*What are annual costs (usually this is less than living in the dorms)

*What are the pledge class requirements (many will have required study groups, bonding nights, etc)

*What is the weekly time commitment (some have a required dinner on Monday night, they will have occasional meetings, etc)

*What are your academic requirements (many require you maintain a minimum GPA)

*What is the house involved in (do they emphasize sports, partying, school involvements)

Good things to ask yourself:

*Do I have the self dicipline to study when I need to (there will be a ton of distractions, can you say no to your friends and sit down and study when you need to)

*Can I live with a large group of people/share a room?

You will hear a lot of negative stuff about being greek, some of it is true and some of it is not. Each house is different, so be sure to try to get to know as many people as possible and really make sure you have a good idea of what you are getting into. Don’t make your decision based on one person or just join the same house as your friend, really find somewhere that you fit in and feel comfortable.

Hazing: Hazing is illegal but some houses still do it. This can vary between pledges clean the house weekly all the way up to physical abuse. Some people like hazing, they see it as male bonding, others hate it. No one will admit to doing it during rush so it is kind of a craps shoot but just be aware that it may or may not be something you will have to deal with.

Alpha Phi Omega: Coed community service fraternity. Though different on every campus most of them allow you to join even if you are in a social fraternity. I highly recommend it as a great place to get involed in community service, meet girls and party.

I’ve always told interests that there are three essential questions to answer before decided to pledge a fraternity. 1. Is this something that you really want? Joining a fraternity entails a lot- added responsibilities, a change in social life, and heavy expectations as a brother of a fraternity. Weigh the costs and benefits of joining or not joining before you make a decision. 2. If you decide you do want to be a part of one, which one really represents the ideals that best reflect you? A lot of people assume that all fraternities are the same, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. Latino fraternities rock things differently from, for example, a traditionally Anglo one, and each Latino one is different from the other. Are you looking for a more active social life, or is community service more what you want? You did good by going to different informationals, but you might want to try websites too. They can tell you what the mission of each organization is. 3. Could you see yourself as a brother (in the truest sense of the word) with the brothers of whatever respective fraternity you are leaning toward? Even if you believe in the mission statement of a particular group, if you don’t really get along with the brothers of that particular chapter or see yourself as a brother to them someday, it probably isn’t right for you. Being in a fraternity really does mean you become part of an extensive family. Just be sure of your decision. I know more than a few guys that joined fraternities that later regretted the decision, because they didn’t do the research. As a brother of Phi Iota Alpha I lean towards my own organization obviously, but we’re no different in the sense that we have our positive and negative qualities as well. There are good people in every org- it just matters which one fits you as a person. Buena Suerte, Joseph “Innovador” Alvarez

Joining a fraternity/sorority organization is often the first time students are responsible for living on their own and within their means. Fraternities and sororities are examples of democracy in action. Membership provides an excellent opportunity to experience leadership and other responsibilities. National research shows that students who join fraternities and sororities are more likely to return to college the following year.

If you choose to join, simply attend recruiting events for the different chapters, making sure to go to more then one chapter because all of them are different then the others. At the end of the recruitment period, the chapters extend formal written invitations, known as “bids.” to the students they would like to join. If a student chooses to accept the bid, then he/she is affiliated with that chapter.

I was a member of a fraternity during my time at college and it changed my life. Not only did I meet friends that last a life time, but my GPA went up as well. After graduation I was able to get a well paying postition through an alumni of my fraternity who happened to be hiring at the time, so networking is a plus.

My advice, join a greek chapter and have a great time in college.

If you join Sigma Phi Epsilon, this greek organization unlike others, does not require pledge. They have Balanced Man program and they also have scholarship. They are the largest fraternity in the nation and have very good reputation. And they recruit throughout the whole year. They maintain one of the highest GPA. In my local chapter, when someone wanted to join at the time there finals, they didn’t then recruit and said to him check back later. So that means they care about academics. But each chapter may be different. You need to look into people.

Joining a fraternity was the best decision I made in my college career. It’s difficult finding the right one for you, but when you find it you’ll have the best time of your life. When deciding which fraternity you want to be a part of, look at the guys that are already in it. Could you hang out and respect those type of guys. Never join a fraternity simply because of its image because believe me you’ll hear many people badmouthing every fraternity. You are probably going to be spending 3-4 years with this group of guys so think carefully about your decision. Most people are going to judge you by the friends that you have. Some things to look at when deciding would be: scholarship, philanthropy, community service, school involvement, *activities, and the overall character of the guys involved.

As far as joining, let me tell it’s probably going to be hard. Don’t expect it to be a cake-walk. Expect many late nights doing things that you really don’t ever want to do again. Every fraternity has different rituals and such but as far as I know, none of them are easy to get in to. Unless you’re Alpha Phi Omega. Lol! j/k…

Definitely join something….but I wouln’t recommend greek. I did greek life in college and it wasn’t that special, it was actually alittle degrading and stereotypical, people judge you as soon as you say you’re in frat/sorority. They think they have you figured out as soon as you say you’re greek. My suggestion is look into joining club rugby. It was the best experience of my life. You make friends, stay in shape, do community service and events, and all rugby teams revolve around socializing/parties (and beer, beer, and more beer). It was like being greek but way more fun and way cooler people. Not to mention rugby is a bad *** sport. Getting initiated into rugby was way funner than rushing greek, and my rugby friends have always stuck with me. Not to mention- have you ever heard a rugby song??