People who are/have been in fraternities

[proton]

i'm looking for people who are/have been in fraternities, since i know that most of you who arent/weren't in them will say they are for losers who party all the time

how many of you here were/are part of fraternities and what are your opinions of them?

 

[scorpa]

I have a friend who was in a sorority, so through her I knew some guys in fraternities and heard all about them. I know she really loved it, and they party a lot but that isn't all they are about either. I think they are required to have charities that they put time into as well. Personally I don't like them though. My friend had to pay 500 bucks a year to be apart of hers (as was standard for all of the others on our campus) and this year when she couldn't afford to pay the dues she found no one in the sorority would hang out with her anymore. I don't see the point in paying for friends personally, just go out and make your own.

 

[Vanadium 50]

I was a member of a fraternity in college and consider it to have been a very positive experience. I would certainly urge you to look carefully at the particular chapter you are joining, as even the same national fraternities can have very different tones chapter by chapter. While there are some that surely party day and night, others - including mine - had a much more balanced view.

As far as finances, it was cheaper to live in my fraternity house than in the dorms. Partly it was an extra degree of responsibility on our part - we had low-water, high-pressure shower heads installed long before anyone else - because the water bill came out of our pockets. We negotiated food service contracts and paid less for orange juice than the university paid for theirs! Again, it came out of our pockets. And partly it was because more work was involved - we did all the upkeep on the house ourselves.

 

[Evo]

My ex-husband was president of his fraternity when he was at Dartmouth. Since he was planning a career in finance/business, belonging to a good fraternity to mix with the "right" people was essential. All the frat boys I dated were planning careers in law/finance/business so they needed the social networking aspect. Guys I dated in the sciences did not belong to frat houses.

 

[scorpa]

Most of the frat guys I knew were engineers.

 

[Monocles]

I'm currently an undergrad in a fraternity and I've found it to be a very positive experience. If nothing else, its very nice to have a HOUSE to go to every day at school instead of a dorm room. Its actually far cheaper to live in my fraternity house (including the cost of brothers dues) than it is to live in the cheapest dorms on campus. My fraternity is about as far from the stereotype as it goes though. We're co-ed (so we have female brothers as well), we have a whole 1 party a semester (not including LAN parties hahaha), we're incredibly nerdy (the whiteboard we have downstairs is almost always covered in equations), we don't do any sort of hazing, we don't do mixers or anything like that with sororities... I could go on but its not really necessary.

Its been an extremely positive experience. I have some very good friends that I probably would have never met otherwise, its very easy to find people to collaborate with on schoolwork, I save money, I learn leadership skills and responsibility... I really don't see a single con to joining my fraternity. I have 0 regrets.

 

[Poop-Loops]

so we have female brothers as well

 

[Monocles]

Yes, we still call them brothers.

 

[Poop-Loops]

 

[rocomath]

I'm with Poop-Loops! That's awesome Monocles, somewhat jealous :p

 

[chroot]

I was a founding (alpha class) brother of Pi Kappa Alpha's Epsilon chapter at Virginia Tech. On the whole, it was an incredibly positive experience. I certainly met people I would never have otherwise met, and helped host some of the best parties and social functions the school had to offer.

The dues were not very expensive, and it was very clear what you were paying for. Rush was a wonderful experience, both as a pledge and as a brother. I can say that it had far-reaching positive effects on my social development, but I don't consider the greek experience as one that should not be missed, or one that is right for everyone.

As has been said, fraternities and sororities can vary wildly from one chapter to another. If you're considering rushing, spend some very serious time hanging out with the organization. If the shoe fits, wear it.

- Warren

 

[proton]

I'm currently an undergrad in a fraternity and I've found it to be a very positive experience. If nothing else, its very nice to have a HOUSE to go to every day at school instead of a dorm room. Its actually far cheaper to live in my fraternity house (including the cost of brothers dues) than it is to live in the cheapest dorms on campus. My fraternity is about as far from the stereotype as it goes though. We're co-ed (so we have female brothers as well), we have a whole 1 party a semester (not including LAN parties hahaha), we're incredibly nerdy (the whiteboard we have downstairs is almost always covered in equations), we don't do any sort of hazing, we don't do mixers or anything like that with sororities... I could go on but its not really necessary.

Its been an extremely positive experience. I have some very good friends that I probably would have never met otherwise, its very easy to find people to collaborate with on schoolwork, I save money, I learn leadership skills and responsibility... I really don't see a single con to joining my fraternity. I have 0 regrets.

that actually sounds a lot like the fraternity I'm considering joining, which is why i'll probably end up joining it

I was a founding (alpha class) brother of Pi Kappa Alpha's Epsilon chapter at Virginia Tech. On the whole, it was an incredibly positive experience. I certainly met people I would never have otherwise met, and helped host some of the best parties and social functions the school had to offer.

The dues were not very expensive, and it was very clear what you were paying for. Rush was a wonderful experience, both as a pledge and as a brother. I can say that it had far-reaching positive effects on my social development, but I don't consider the greek experience as one that should not be missed, or one that is right for everyone.

As has been said, fraternities and sororities can vary wildly from one chapter to another. If you're considering rushing, spend some very serious time hanging out with the organization. If the shoe fits, wear it.

- Warren

the fraternity I am considering joining is not wild at all, which is good for me, but on the other hand, i don't really "click" with the brothers, even though theyre all really nice. but i'll likely join them anyways since I'm having incredible difficulty finding a niche at my school

 

[Monocles]

that actually sounds a lot like the fraternity I'm considering joining, which is why i'll probably end up joining it

I forgot to mention we're all a little psychotic and maybe slightly insane. I have no data to support this, but we also probably have the largest percentage of people with unnatural hair colors of any given organization on campus. I myself have blue hair.

the fraternity I am considering joining is not wild at all, which is good for me, but on the other hand, i don't really "click" with the brothers, even though theyre all really nice. but i'll likely join them anyways since I'm having incredible difficulty finding a niche at my school

I actually never really clicked with the brothers until after I was initiated (so I was actually a bit surprised that I was initiated at all). It was my pledge class who I really bonded with (which actually started out as being larger than the active brotherhood, but the initiation class was smaller than the current active brotherhood at the time). So I wouldn't worry about that TOO much.

 

[Monocles]

Um, so to answer the question on opinion of fraternities posed in the OP. It depends on the school really. Some schools have very small greek systems, and some schools probably only have "stereotypical" fraternities. I go to a very nerdy school that has one of the largest greek populations (Georgia Tech) so there is a fair amount of diversity amongst the fraternities here. I know very little about the sororities though.

Also, different chapters of a given fraternity can vary wildly. There are a few other chapters in my fraternity that are similar to us, but most of the rest of them fit the stereotypical fraternity picture.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

I was never a member of a fraternity. However, I joined the fraternity skulling team of Iota Rho Beta. After the first race, they invited me to the defeat celebration party. I danced with too many of their girlfriends and so they kicked me out. Joining a frat is a great way to meet girls.

 

[cristo]

However, I joined the fraternity skulling team of Iota Rho Beta.

 

[proton]

I was never a member of a fraternity. However, I joined the fraternity skulling team of Iota Rho Beta. After the first race, they invited me to the defeat celebration party. I danced with too many of their girlfriends and so they kicked me out. Joining a frat is a great way to meet girls.

ha, they didnt do anything with their sister sorority for the entire semester!

 

[Cyrus]

Right now I am reading "Surely You're joking, Mr. Feynman!" (Which I am not liking), and he talks about being in a frat in MIT where it was half smart kids half social kids. The smart kids would teach the social kids how to get good grades, and the social kids would teach the smart kids social skills and how to talk to women.

 

[morphism]

However, I joined the fraternity skulling team of Iota Rho Beta.

jimmysnyder, your posts are always brilliant!

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I was never a member of a fraternity. However, I joined the fraternity skulling team of Iota Rho Beta.

Aha! I knew that there was a special name for rowing teams but always thought it was just "crew".

 

[mordechai9]

Fraternities are really interesting organizations because they are "social clubs". Social clubs don't really exist anywhere else in society in the same way; they are usually much less formalized.

I'm in a smallish (50 or so brothers) Jewish fraternity. Overall, if the circumstances are right, I think fraternities and sororities can be really good. On the other hand, they can also be bad influences, and the stereotypical frat dude at my university is a real d-bag. At least some of the fraternities (like mine) I think most of the people are well intentioned and good spirited. We don't do any hazing or anything like that. Some things to watch out for in the fraternity system are: elitism, hazing, drug (mainly alcohol) abuse, and general distraction from school. Assuming the fraternity is a generally well-intentioned, good-spirited (morally and ethically) organization, it offers a lot of benefits to the participants.

Some benefits:
1. You have a really nice way of meeting a big group of people, really easily. Also, this allows you to meet more females, future connections, etcetera.
2. Imagine the best party you can throw with 2-3 people. Now, multiply that by 20. Then you have a fraternity party, and throwing your own fraternity parties can kick major ass. If you have 50 people working on a party, you can do much more than you could by yourself.
3. Chance to work on your social and interpersonal skills. You probably won't be best friends with everyone in the fraternity. There are just too many people, and a lot of people that are very different from you. Most people aren't super compatible with each other. However, you CAN be respectful and understanding of everyone, regardless of your level of friendship. In this way, you get the opportunity to learn to live and work with other people's differences.
4. Good leadership opportunities in the form of: (a.) personal leadership experience that you will acquire, and (b.) observations of the leadership qualities of others. The latter aspect I feel has been very valuable for me, as there are definitely some people in my fraternity who are just natural born leaders.
5. Definitely other benefits to be had...

The initial experience I had of joining the fraternity was really awkward for me because it felt like a totally artificial way to make friends. I felt like the fraternity was trying to force friendship on me or something. So, the fraternity can be a pretty unusual experience at first. With time, I became more relaxed and my expectations become more laid back. Now, I am really thankful that I have my fraternity as another outlet for personal activity. Hope this helps.