I’m a HS senior from the Chicago suburbs and I’m about 80% committed to UA. I’m also considering joining a fraternity. My dad went to hope college and was in a local fraternity there and thought it was a great experience. I know this may sound cliché, but I’m looking for a fraternity that has a good balance of hard work and fun. My studies are very important to me and I need to maintain a 3.5 for my scholarship, but at the same time I want to be with a group of guys that will be involved In things such as intramurals, and still have time to have fun. But my main question regards rushing. Should I rush in the fall, spring, even sophomore year? Or, take a similar path as my dad, who befriended a group of guys that were in a specific fraternity and then decided to join it. Any Advice?
@momreads What fraternity is your son a member?
@ScreenName77 What is your major? If Eng’g or CS, then you might want to look at the Coed Eng’g fraternity.
I am a finance major so I will join a business fraternity, but I want to join a social one as well.
UA fraternities have a formal recruitment, but really most recruiting is done during informal parties starting NOW and continuing through the summer, with bids being issued all along. If you would like to wait until you’re a sophomore, that’s fine - class is not as important for fraternities as it is for sororities.
There are a LOT of fraternities. Most are housed, but some are not. Most are single sex, and social, but a few are major-related. Theta Tau is the engineering co-ed fraternity with a strong social emphasis. I don’t know of any other major-related fraternity that has as strong a social emphasis.
There are a LOT of fraternities, and they are all different. Some are dry. Some are emphatically NOT. Some, let’s face it, do serious hazing. Some do not. Some are strong on academics, some are not.
For these reasons, I would recommend holding off pledging.
Enroll, spend your first semester getting used to a new environment, learning how to study for college classes, enjoying football season, meeting lots of new people. As you meet people, you’ll meet fraternity men and begin to learn the differences. If somebody invites you do a fraternity house (and they probably will), go and get to know the group and the atmosphere.
Don’t feel pressured to join right away. You’ll know when you meet guys who will be your lifelong friends.
Welcome to UA - Roll Tide!
Fall rush is much larger and will give you many more options. Spring rush is more or less done on an as-needed basis, not every fraternity does it regularly. Advise you to get starting while you are still in high school to give you the best chances, contact alumni and go to alumni events, being proactive will maximize your options.
@Mandalorian by alumni events do you mean specific fraternity alumni events? And contacting alumni of specific fraternities?
M2CK: My son was president of Sig Ep during his time at Alabama. They have been among the higher GPAs over the years, and often they have a number of engineers.
@ScreenName77, which scholarship did you receive that requires a 3.5 GPA to maintain it?