<p>I am going to be a freshmen next year and am looking into fraternities. I am from out of state so i dont know much about of IU's rush works. Should I contact any fraternities this spring, or are there any rush events before the fall semester? Also so I can get an idea on some of the houses, what fraternity would you say has the best balance of partying and studying and is a well rounded house? I am into partying, but would rather stay away from an "animal house" type fraternity but i also dont want to be in a house where everyone just studies.</p>
<p>“I am going to be a freshmen next year and am looking into fraternities. I am from out of state so i dont know much about of IU’s rush works. Should I contact any fraternities this spring, or are there any rush events before the fall semester?”</p>
<h1>As far as contacting fraternities early; there are a select few that do pre-rush, but I do not encourage you to start contacting every fraternity before arriving. </h1>
<p>"Also so I can get an idea on some of the houses, what fraternity would you say has the best balance of partying and studying and is a well rounded house? I am into partying, but would rather stay away from an “animal house” type fraternity but i also dont want to be in a house where everyone just studies. "</p>
<p>Each fraternity is different from the next and I encourage you to give each house a chance, but at the same time go into rush with a focused mind. I say this because there are over 20 houses at IU and unlike sorority rush you will not have time to visit each. It is good to have some idea or have a list of houses you think will fit you so you do not waste your time at a house that does not fit you.</p>
<p>This should be helpful…
<a href=“http://sao.indiana.edu/documents/Spring2010FraternityandSororityGradeReport.pdf[/url]”>http://sao.indiana.edu/documents/Spring2010FraternityandSororityGradeReport.pdf</a></p>
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Shoot me a PM if you would like more information/further details on specific houses. Good luck!</p>
<p>I’m pretty bored so I’m going to lay it all down for you.</p>
<p>First, know that contacting fraternities before rush is pointless. Don’t bother. I’m a freshman at IU and have been through Fall Rush already. You’ll honestly have more than enough time to meet/rush all the frats on your list during actual rush.</p>
<p>It’s really a very simple, unorganized, and fun process compared to sorority rush. Basically, it just boils down to crazy parties. The first few weeks there will be frats that are easy to get into (bring a girl and your in) and those that are hard (you have to be on a list). If, however, you know someone in the house or “drop a name” (even if you don’t really know them) you can almost always get in. Once your in though, be careful, it’s easy to get caught up in the night and forget to actually talk to any brothers. Some of my best/craziest nights at IU were during rush week. Enjoy it man, cuz honestly once you’re a pledge, it blows.</p>
<p>At Dunn Meadow (basically a “fraternity fair”), be sure to have as many solid conversations with different fraternities brothers as you can. If they like you, you’ll get a call back/text that weekend inviting you to a party. If they like you at the party, they’ll invite you to another party, and if they still like you, you’ll probably get a bid. It’s that simple.</p>
<p>Most of the fraternities actually have a pretty good balance of study/party and average around a 3.0 GPA. I’d say avoid Acacia and Delts (Delta Tau Delta) since they party more than most and Sigma Epsilon because they don’t party at all. </p>
<p>Hope this helped you and some others out.</p>
<p>Beta, Sigma Chi, Fiji, and Phi Psi are all “top” houses that have more of a focus on academics than the rest. Sig Ep is a good choice if you’re very academically minded, but I’ll warn you that they don’t get much respect at all from the rest of the Greek community, and their house is completely dry.</p>