Fraternity Life at W&M...

<p>I have some questions about joining a fraternity at W&M. I am an incoming freshman, and it's definetly something I want to do, but is it a bad idea to pledge first semester of freshman year? Also, how is the process of joining a fraternity overall? Is it stressful, and will it likely hurt my grades? What's involved in rush week and the pledge process? Lastly, I've heard that W&M is restricting the number of fraternities, what's the deal with that? Thanks.</p>

<p>^^^As a parent of an incoming freshman who is interested in pledging, I would also be interested in this information. I am concerned about the time involved and how pledging might impact first term grades. Can a freshman wait until second semester to pledge?</p>

<p>at least one fraternity when I was there only had pledging 2nd semester. I am 99% sure that you can wait. You can pledge as a soph also. I wasn’t involved in the greek life, but I had friends that were, and they seemed to enjoy it. As I understand during rush you go around and visit the different houses while they have various events.</p>

<p>I recommend you (or your kid) attend Meet the Greeks which is Monday during orientation: [William</a> & Mary - Meet the Greeks](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/offices/greeks/events/meetthegreeks.php]William”>http://www.wm.edu/offices/greeks/events/meetthegreeks.php) they should be able to talk to all the chapters on campus and find out what their rush rules are (such as if they take people 2nd semester).</p>

<p>I haven’t heard that W&M is restricting the number of fraternities, but the housing that was built for them has proven to be too big (and low quality) that some of the frats can’t find enough people to live in them, so they have been forced to move. I believe 4 of them are in Ludwell this year, but you can ask them about that at Meet the Greeks also.</p>

<p>Unfortunately we are moving S2 in on Friday & will not be able to stay until Monday. Nor would S2 want his parents there.</p>

<p>Do you recall what kind of time commitment pledging requires? We are concerned that S2 will just be meeting new friends and learning to manage his course schedule in the first semester, and Fall pledging will limit his friendships and take time away from academics.</p>

<p>I’m interested in knowing about the time commitment involved in pledging too.</p>

<p>I’m not in a fraternity, but I have several friends who are so I can offer some information.</p>

<p>Fall rush freshman year is definitely when most people join fraternities. Spring semester rush usually isn’t as big, but there are always exceptions depending on which fraternity you’re looking at. I had a friend who rushed Fall semester of his senior year too, it’s always open really.</p>

<p>Pledging and rush activities aren’t particularly stressful. I’ve never heard of any real “hazing” that caused problems for anyone. Fraternity life at W&M is very alcohol-centric, but as far as I know no fraternity has a litmus test i.e. “drink this or you can’t join.” I have a few friends in frats who don’t drink by choice and they seem very happy with their decision to rush.</p>

<p>As for grades and the impact on academic performance, it’s really up to the individual. A kid who lived in my hall who was in an upper-mid tier frat did very poorly due to his decisions to put fraternal life and drinking in front of academics; he is not coming back in the fall 2010 semester because of his low grades. All the other guys I know in his frat did just fine though. It’s a matter of self-control and learning to manage your time.</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

<p>I believe 1/2 of W&M Greeks rush as sophomores so it’s also perfectly okay to weight and somewhat commonplace among W&M Greeks.</p>

<p>Pledging does take time (mandatory meetings, study halls, activities) but is very manageable especially if students are careful not to join everything under the sun the same semester as they pledge.</p>

<p>Greek life at W&M is very well run and really supports the ideas of community, scholarship, and service. It’s a great way to get involved but is only one way of many. There are over 400 clubs and organizations students can join which they’ll learn about at the Activities Fair on Tuesday of Orientation.</p>

<p>Define upper mid tier Greeks?</p>

<p>I think he may mean in terms of average GPA. They publish a list each year. I think they are all generally below the school-wide median.</p>

<p>Probably not what he meant. Probably meant a frat along the lines of KA, Lambo, or Sig Pi.</p>

<p>^^Please explain.</p>

<p>If it’s like it was years ago when I was there, not all frats and sororities are equal in terms of popularity; there is a social order. Some frats, as well as some sororities, are more popular because they have a better reputation and are harder to get into. The “tiers” would be in terms of their overall reputation on campus and how relatively hard it is to get a bid.</p>