Which fraternity to join

This fraternity will obviously be extremely weak starting out, and honestly looking at the record my campus has, colonies are having a really hard time getting founded. In addition, the National Organization discourages people from meeting before the colony is formed, which puts me at a disadvantage if only for the fact that I am a gay man, and as such will be unsure of what position that will put me in with the group.

Fraternity P is pretty relaxed and I know the guys. I know that they like me, and they are pretty strong locally. Now for the bad parts. Nationally, they are very weak. I love this type of question and appreciate you taking the time to ask it.

Let me break down my thoughts on each fraternity — then give you my advice. Being part of a something new is always exciting.

I see the appeal of being there at the start and building something great. However, you must realize how colonies typically start I actually have a free report on this process available in my article — How to Start a Fraternity.

First, there will be a core interest group. Then, nationals will get involved to help them get a bunch of random guys interested in being part of the colony. Then, boom, you are a fraternity. There will be a high attrition rate. From there you realize there is more to fraternity than partying and you really start your fraternity.

This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site. A new school year is fast approaching, and with it, the opportunity to determine how you wish to spend the rest of your college career. Each year, roughly , of you will spend that time as part of a fraternity or sorority. On the other hand, fraternities and sororities are not for everybody.

Obviously, it goes a little deeper than that. There are real pros and cons to joining a fraternity or sorority. Greek life enjoys a long and storied connection to higher education. However, the price of membership can be one of the largest expenses in your college budget. This sum likely only includes local chapter dues, national organization dues, and insurance.

There may still be other incidental fees associated with being Greek, such as:. You can usually calculate the cost of membership while researching the fraternity or sorority you wish to join.

However, you may want to look at the cost breakdown. The main cause for the price differences between Greek organizations, especially those on the same campus, is the amount of dues that go toward the national organization insurance bill. Organizations that have banned alcohol from their events will often charge a lower annual bill to members.

By contrast, organizations that have a history of alcohol- or hazing-related violations or fatalities will usually pay astronomical amounts for insurance. This is an expense that gets passed along to esteemed members. Learn more about the history and culture of each organization before making a commitment. Networking is an integral part of the college experience and Greek life provides one of the strongest foundations for social interfacing with a network of peers.

Greek organizations help build networks that often prove beneficial to students when looking for internships, employment, recommendations, or employees. The connections gained through your organization, both within your university and at the national level, can have serious long-term benefits.

There are currently more than nine million alumni of fraternities and sororities working out there in the real world. For example, the Alpha Fi Fraternity gives out scholarships every year to high school students who need financial assistance getting into college. This is by far one of the main cons of joining a frat.

Granted, many frats offer accommodations for members. But, in my experience, renting a college party house with a bunch of friends was a ton of fun. But, some more serious examples of frat hazing include physical abuse, sexual abuse, branding, kidnapping members, and forcing people to walk around nude. Again, this is somewhat less common, and in my opinion, a bit of light hazing is something a lot of guys go through anyway, be it from high school sports or just hanging out with dudes.

But, before you decide to join a frat, find out what the pledge process is like because some of this stuff is absolutely ridiculous and not worth it. When frats first started, the idea was to group like-minded individuals together in a sort of elite social club. And, throughout history, American frats have helped business owners and entrepreneurs find their starts in life.

In other words, joining a frat used to mean you were tapping into some upper echelon of society in a way, expanding your network in a way that might otherwise have been impossible. And, these days, things like internships or literally just using LinkedIn can help you meet the right people.

But, in my opinion, you can have an unreal college experience where you meet lots of people and network without having to pay to join a frat. Related Articles. Author Info Last Updated: October 21, Part 1. Decide what type of fraternity you want to join. Fraternities may have similar goals of cultivating friendships and taking part in campus life, but no two fraternities approach these goals the same way.

Each fraternity has a different charter, plans different events, and focuses on different aspects of campus life. Attend events at several different fraternities. Spend the first night or two of rush week sampling events at as many fraternities as possible to determine which one best suits your personality and goals for life on campus. In addition to simply meeting people, keep track of what life as part of each community will entail.

Create a narrowed list. After getting a sense of a wide array of fraternities and what each one is about, create a short list of the ones that most appealed to you. Meet with as many brothers of each fraternity on your list as possible. This is dependent upon how many fraternities are on your list, but spend an extra day of rush week meeting with as many brothers of each fraternity on your list as possible.

Be pleasant yet honest with all of the brothers with whom you meet. By keeping your options spread three or so fraternities, you raise your changes of getting into one of them. Manage your bids. Depending upon the demand of the fraternities on your list, they may hold offering bids to potential recruits until late in rush week, or they may start offering them early on if they find people they believe are a perfect fit.

In addition to accepting or declining a bid, most fraternities will allow you to place a hold on the bid while you continue weighting your options. Make sure you fully understand the specifics of putting a hold on your bid. Choose your fraternity. Take the proper amount of time to weigh your options and choose the one that most complements your personality, goals on campus, and expected level of interaction.

Part 2. Know what to expect. Due to the highly controversial history and connotations of pledging, many fraternities have actually done away with the process.