<p>Can someone explain to me what a fraternity really is? I know the basics of what they are, but can someone still explain what they are and what's the point of them? People say you have to be invited or something.... Can someone explain the process and what they do? How are they in Cornell specifically? I hear there is a good social life, but haven't heard much about how the girls are. I know that Cornell is not going to have as many attractive girls as schools of lower prestige, but how are they in general?</p>
<p>a club of ******baggery</p>
<p>anyone with some useful information? I’d really appreciate a good answer.</p>
<p>Why would the girls not be as attractive?</p>
<p>@MrKrabs</p>
<p>Tell me what you know.</p>
<p>The hottest girls at Cornell are about as attractive as the middle-tier girls at say ASU or USC or even Syracuse. But if being surrounded by hot girls supersedes getting a rigorous education, you shouldn’t really even be considering Cornell to begin with. That said, I think the girls at Cornell are far more attractive than those at any other Ivy League school. No competition. There are a lot of cute girls here, the only problem is that supply-and-demand turns a lot of them into stuck-up bit**es. There are a lot of girls here who were cute but nerdy/shy in high school thus never really got much attention from guys. Then they arrive at Cornell and quickly discover that they are far hotter than their competition (who by and large is overwhelmingly fugly). This gets to their heads and can be accounted for by the many colloquialisms we use (the Cornell bump, Cornell goggles, etc.) to describe this phenomenon. Generally speaking, a girl gets a +2 bump on Cornell’s campus (e.g. a 7 on the streets of NYC would be a 9 here).</p>
<p>Regarding frats and such: A fraternity is just a social club. It’s exclusive and requires a kind of application process (rushing). During rush week, you meet with the brothers in the frat that you think you’d like to join and they take you out drinking, buy you dinner, and have various events that can be either tame or wild (think strippers) in order to try to recruit you. While this is happening, the brothers are internally deciding whether they want to invite you to join the frat. If they like you, they’ll accept you and give you a “bid.” If you accept their bid, then you being a 2-3 month initiation process called pledging, where you’re basically their bi***. After this is over, you become a brother.</p>
<p>At Cornell, frats and sororities dominate social life. Most (but definitely not all) attractive girls here are in sororities and access to them is by and large dictated by which frat you are in. Yeah many of them are vapid and boring, but if your goal is to cut loose rather than get wifed up, you’ll have a lot of fun. In addition to the social benefits, the networking opportunities after graduation are supposedly pretty good.</p>
<p>If you don’t want to join a frat, there are still many social outlets. Cornell’s a big school so there are still a couple thousand social people who aren’t in frats or sororities (like me). It’s just more difficult to find parties/things to do due to the rigidness of the dichotomy between greeks and non greeks and also because the school is in the middle of nowhere. Upperclassmen just go to the bars anyway so by senior year, it doesn’t matter too much.</p>
<p>I’m not considering Cornell because of the girls, don’t worry. I just wanted to know what they are like if I do go there, and right now it’s my first choice. Thanks for explaining the whole process. Can u just elaborate on the whole rush week. What kind of things do they look for when the brothers are recruiting people. And what kind of things do I do for them once I pledge to a frat? Does being in a certain frat affect what kind of girls I’ll meet and the overall social life I’ll have? I know that there are frats that are superior to others, but how much does it affect the social life I’ll have? Since you are a Cornell student, can you tell me if I have a good chance of getting in if I apply early?</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1132029-can-i-get-into-cornell.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1132029-can-i-get-into-cornell.html</a></p>
<p>[College</a> Search - Cornell University - Housing & Campus Life](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>
<p>this says 24% of cornell men and 20% of cornell women are in frats/sororities. are you saying they’re wrong? what % would you say then?</p>
<p>Come on guys, looking for some input. Please respond to my response to Caillebotte.</p>
<p>^ It depends on the Fraternity.</p>
<p>The schools with only 20% or so of students in Greek life will still feel dominated by Greek life. The fraternities throw all the desirable parties, hold the most leadership positions in student organizations, and participate in a lot of fundraisers. Greek life, no matter how big or small, still plays a large part in any college campus.</p>
<p>Can I get more insight on the recruitment process and pledging? What do the “brothers” look for when they are recruiting new kids into their frats and what happens during the 2-3 month pledging?</p>
<p>Even on my campus, where 10% of the population of Greek, Greek Life still has a significant impact on social life; it’s just that you won’t be out of place if you aren’t Greek.</p>
<p>That said, it’s great that you’re seeking information.</p>
<p>The idea is that a fraternity is like a home away from home. It’s a brotherhood. There’s exclusivity, but that’s because you otherwise wouldn’t be able to form all the close bonds and always be there for each other.</p>
<p>That said, there’s the whole rush and pledging process to determine whether or not you’d be a good fit. During rush (recruitment), you’d visit chapters that interest you, and the brothers will gauge whether or not you might be a good fit for them. If they feel that you may fit in, they give you a bid, and you become a pledge on acceptance. During the pledging period, you learn more about the fraternity while bonding with everyone in it. If all goes well, then you get initiated as a brother.</p>
<p>That’s the general picture: you join a fraternity for the brotherhood, and the process is there to filter out anyone who can’t contribute to that.</p>
<p>As for what happens during pledging: that differs for every fraternity. Ask about it during rush.</p>