<p>i'm an incoming freshie here and i'm still kind of ambivalent as to whether or not i should join a fraternity. i'm all for brotherhood and alumni connections and parties, but i'm worried about how expensive it is, possible negative connotations/first impressions when i tell people that i'm in a fraternity, as well as how it might negatively affect my grades.</p>
<p>can anyone give me a really quick rundown on recruitment and how it works?
is it basically just meet the rep at the enormous activities fair, attend rush events, and maybe get a bid? are you limited to attending the events for one council?
and... hazing?</p>
<p>i'm an asian male, so i guess the fraternities of interest to me are AsianGreekCouncil, InterFraternityCouncil, and MIGC? i'm also a bio major pre med, soo i'm curious about how the science fraternities are different than the other social ones. i'd really appreciate it if someone could give me a quick summary about what theyre all about and their reputations (as in how theyre regarded among the student body/what demographic groups they cater to)</p>
<p>You’re already coming in with negative preconceptions about fraternities.</p>
<p>Not all fraternities are your party every Thursday-Saturday, house on frat row kind of organizations. As you mentioned, there are Asian fraternities, science fraternities, and even career oriented fraternities (pre-law, pre-health, pre-business).</p>
<p>Go to activities fair, get the bajillion number of flyers, go to the rush events that seem interesting/relevant to your interests, and find out for yourself. No, you are not limited because there’s no official list tracking which events you go to.</p>
<p>if you’re looking to get great connections, party and meet girls, ifc frats are the way to go, but the trade off is the amount of dues you have to pay every quarter. </p>
<p>what i’ve noticed is that the brotherhood and camaraderie tend to be more pronounced in multicultural fraternities because it’s not all about partying and meeting girls. i know people in zeta phi rho (an MIGC fraternity but premoderately asian fraternity at UCLA) who tell me stories of the things they go through and how down they are for each other. you can tell it’s genuine appreciation for each other</p>
<p>but in the end, you need to rush yourself to make a judgment</p>
<p>I’m in the asian fraternity Lambda Phi Epsilon so I"ll give my rundown to your questions.
Dues in asian fraternities are much cheaper than in IFC. If you can’t pay, we will make exceptions. Grade wise, it is all up too the person. There is more than enough time to study if you’re in a fraternity. It all depends on if you use your free time wisely. Once you finish pledging, you don’t even have to do anything. It’s your choice what you want to do but most likely you would want to get involved.</p>
<p>For rush, you just come to the rush events and if we see you as a potential “bro”, we give you a bid. All you should do is come to rush which is free and really fun.</p>
<p>It’ll make more sense when you come here and talk to more people. Remember that you don’t have to rush fall quarter…if anything I’d recommend spring quarter. The people on my floor who rushed fall didn’t make any friends with the floor since they were so busy pledging…and the ones the ones that depledged had a much harder time meeting people later when everyone had their cliques. Rushing in spring gives you more time to meet people/get friends just in case pledging doesn’t work out, as well as get a better idea if you want to join/get used to UCLA/etc.</p>
<p>And I’m sure you heard this, but watch out for hazing in the Asian frats…their hazing is WAY more hardcore than the IFC frats since they aren’t under the same rules. Google it if you’re interested.</p>
<p>thanks guys!
that was really helpful. i guess i gotta rush for myself to really see what it’s like.</p>
<p>@hantzu1337 thanks man! that was really helpful. i’ll probably see y’all at rush ahah</p>
<p>@gatos hahaha yeah i’ve heard and damn… pushups on broken glass and death exercise regimes? obviously i’m not sure to what extent these rumors are true but… yeah i’ll keep that in mind hahaha.</p>
<p>i’m really thinking of AED the pre med frat or Triangle for science/engineering kids, but i’m not sure about how social they are…any thoughts?</p>