What's everyone's thoughts and feelings on joining a Fraternity while in college?

[jred321]

i'm kind of disappointed that in my time in college we didn't have a toga party. we had every other theme including tequila and goldfish but no toga

 

[Scott]

Fraternities are something I avoided in college. But they aren't without merit. For example, if you are inducted into one with a strong alumni network and a long history, you can make great benefit of it in your career after college. It always helps to have friends in high places, and that's one thing a Fraternity can do for you.

 

[Rush]

I always ran like the wind when it came to anything involving fraternities and/or sororities. Then again, I was up at Penn State's main campus .. and the vast majority of the people from frats/sororities that I came across were egotistical snobs. I couldn't stand them.

 

[KZL_99ES]

jeeze, I got a place by myself next year, not that i dont like my roommates, but i actually like to be able to have clean dishes to eat off of and walk on the floor.
so if you're like me i wouldn't join one.
and the cost, mine is only 350 a month!

plus i just go other places to have parties anyways!

 

[blueprotegelx]

jeeze, I got a place by myself next year, not that i dont like my roommates, but i actually like to be able to have clean dishes to eat off of and walk on the floor.
so if you're like me i wouldn't join one.
and the cost, mine is only 350 a month!

plus i just go other places to have parties anyways!

that's exactly the way i am! haha. me and my roommate are both like that though. i think we have the cleanest dorm on campus. haha. i just like to be able to walk around and eat off clean plates just like you. but i'm thinking about just gettin a place next semester. i use to have my own place before coming here and i think that's my problem coming from my own place to a dorm! it blows. lol

 

[Prodigy]

Frats consume time and money that could easily be spent somewhere useful.
I prefer to keep my GPA up and have time for better things.... like project cars!

 

[Sierra117]

I've always found it interesting when I see people say they would have gone Greek, but they were worried about academics. My house had required study hours, required that you maintained a specific minimum GPA to stay involved, and was very unforgiving to brothers who fell below that mark. We wouldn't kick them out or ball them, but we put a lot of pressure on them to step up to the plate. Hell, I graduated with a 3.5gpa, and I was very active in my house.

I also did a good bit of growing up being in a fraternity. After my first semester at school (which was really just one long bender), I started pledgeship. They did a pretty good job of waking my ass up to the reality that no one gives two flying s**** about what you did in high school, how much ass you pulled, how many game winning touchdowns you scored, and what clubs you were in. I grew up more in those eight weeks than I've done any other time, short of when my fianc left me (that being another story). I also went from being a pretty shy kid that partied with the same five people every day to taking leadership roles and really stepping up when asked to step up. I also formed a great bond with alot of my pledge class, and though separated by distance, I still keep in touch with all of them. I am positive that if I needed anything (like I did with the above mentioned story), they would be there for me, and I for them.

Yes, some houses only care about getting boozed up and wasted and laid, but honestly, I see them being more and more in the minority. Anyone with half a brain and a desire to do so can get laid, being in a house only presents more opportunities as more social events arise. You can ask one of my room mates, just throwing out some letters and popping your collar doesn't promise you ass. And at no point during Rush was I, or did I, promise anyone they would get gobs of pussy just because they had a cool shirt with some letters on it.

I did find brotherhood in my fraternity, but maybe because I wanted to. You will get out of a fraternity what you put into it. If you only go into it expecting to get blasted and laid every night, then I doubt you will enjoy the experience. If you go into expecting to get something out of it, then you will find that you do. I didn't learn, but I cultivated leadership skills, learning how to deal with people I don't like but am forced to deal with, better time management, and more.

I'm not gonna say fraternity life is for everyone. It isn't. Some people just don't do well in the setting. I did. I made the most of it, enjoyed every second of it, and made some great friends that I know I wouldn't have if I hadn't joined.

Hazing...yeah, it happens. However, it varies greatly from house to house in severity. The definition is basically being made to do anything you don't want to. In my house, the hazing was minimal, and mostly physical stuff. Nothing stupid or sexual or having to whip it out or share my darkest secret in a coffin. We didn't have hell week, it was called I Week (inspiration week), and honestly, I've been through worse in football all throughout high school and college.

Expenses, yeah, they are there, but most houses offer plans to help you pay them, scholarships, etc. I hardly considered it paying for friends, I looked at them as the same dues I paid to be involved in any club. It is part social fund to help pay for parties, and part fund to help spread the fraternity.

Again, they aren't for everyone. Some people will get into a house and succeed, some will just use it for booze, drugs, and ass, and get nothing out of it, and end up regretting it. It depends on you. Yeah, there will be people you don't like, but s***, thats the real world, get used to it. Yeah, it may get tough during pledgeship, but hell, you'll be tested all throughout life.

Basically...at least rush. Even if you choose not to go Greek, just give it a fair look, and make your decision then. If you have any questions at all, feel free to PM me, I'll be glad to answer any of them.

 

[FL_PR5]

jeez, bunch of negative fraternity stereotypes in here.

i'm 20, just turned it not too long ago. was bored in college, thought about enlisting i was so bored, didn't see a point to staying in college. i thought to myself, why not join a fraternity, i knew some of the guys that were in it and they were cool with me so i rushed. it wasn't a big deal, but i soon made friendships that would last for life. yea, theres networking, parties, sorority sluts, and all that, but that's not what it's all about. granted i do not live on the biggest campus/most populated. but we have fun every weekend with my other wise wasted time that i could not occupy. i still have a 3.2, actually had a 3.5 before i joined but i started slacking due to car stuff actually. was more focused on working on car parts in my dorm. i personally, don't like sorority girls since they are worse than highschool girls with gossip and rumors. when you join there will be parties and memories you will never forget. i've had some great memories with my fraternity and wouldn't change it. each fraternity differs with regions of the US as i have found out. so one fraternity you think would be best for you at your college, might be totally different at a state across the the map. it's really up to you and what you want to do. and if they make you do sexual s***, then man up and say **** off. i'm not here to fraternity bash or promote so it's really up to the you and who you feel the most comfortable around. just go to rush, meet the guys and give them a shot. who knows, it might be one of the best decisions of your life.

 

[blueprotegelx]

i thought about rushing but with it being the spring semester i don't think u can. i'm pretty sure here it's pretty much you choose a frat and goto the spring meeting they hold and your pretty much in. it's not like the fall rush where u go from frat to frat get info and talk to information. plus i think most of the spring rush is over. so i may have to wait til my sophmore fall rush

 

[blueprotegelx]

on the way home yesterday to drop my car off, I paid it off finally so we took it home to let it sit so i don't have to have insurance on it and save money. but, pretty told eachother how we've been feeling the past week. I told her i don't wanna join a frat b/c she wants me to i wanna join b/c i want to and that i know i have negative stereotypes about frats and that i need to set them aside if i decide to join. but until then i will get information about them, meet with some of the guys and i may rush. my only factor is money. i mean i have money but i'm 22 and this is my freshman year. i went to college for one semester after i graduated and couldn't afford cause i knew nothing about financial aid. when we started dating her date introduced me to financial aid, which our high school did not promote, and we started here at EKU last semester. but i've always had bills b/c i had my own apartment, car payments, insurance etc, and now that i paid my car off this week (YES SIR!) we took my car back home to sit til may and i'm going to take the insurance so i can save money between now and then. i still have this image that i'm pretty much payin a frat to make friends. i'm a very social person and make friends easily, and if i join i need to realize there's other options. but she keeps tellin i should join b/c i look like a frat guy and i have the personality of one. kinda made me laugh b/c i thought that definetely was not a good reason to join. haha. but i appreciate everyones input and i realize now that "what u put into it, is what your going to get out of it" thanks ladies and gentlemen!

 

[FL_PR5]

i use to get the whole, you look like a frat guy, my first semester freshman year. i went through spring rush last year, my freshman year. you should have a meet the greeks nite, and then go to rush events such as every fraternity doing their own events to promote theirs and let you meet the guys and let you get a feel of what event is about.