<p>I’ve seen lots of posts on frats and sororities and I guess I’m more confused than ever. I THINK my son is interested in a fraternity, but I really don’t want to encourage him if it’s just a party scene! Are there any fraternities that are honors associated or require high GPA’s, etc. Someone in the A&S suggested ATO? Any information from you veterans? I’ve seen many posts about how loud the houses are. How many honors college students join? Any stats on that? I want my DS to have the full college experience, but education is my first concern.</p>
<p>I have issues with the Greek system at Bama, and any campus for that matter. However, with that said, there are many Greeks at Bama who are high achievers, and almost all of the Greek orgs are well known for their philanthropy, and cultivation of leadership. The avg. GPA of the Greeks at Bama is higher than the overall avg. of non Greeks, but of course, that is not really surprising if one remembers that involved students tend to be more conscientious about school work, and have relationships which can help them with their schoolwork. I think Greek life is a great choice for many at UA, but it is not necessary to have a great time while there. Does your son want to be involved in student government? If so, being Greek would certainly be an asset, while being non Greek could work against him at UA. The non Greeks tend to have apathy toward student government, though that might be changing as the student body grows and becomes more diverse.</p>
<p>Atlanta, he would like to be involved in student government. Government involvement is his ultimate career goal, so he would like to get experience at this level. That being said, I still don’t want his college years to be focused on a party every weekend.</p>
<p>I am concerned about frats and partying. </p>
<p>My friend’s sons did pledge, but the parents required them to maintain at least a 3.5 GPA otherwise they’d have to quit their frat.</p>
<p>bamafana,</p>
<p>As a former UA greek, I highly recommend the experience. If your son is interested in politics the connections he’d make in the greek system would be beneficial for years to come. </p>
<p>There are many things fraternity life provides other than partying. Take a look at the GPA’s of the respective houses. There are several that are most impressive. This wouldn’t be possible if all they did was party. </p>
<p>ATO would definitely be a house to look at. They have the highest GPA on campus, are involved in a lot of philanthropic activities, and their house is DRY. Now this doesn’t mean they don’t party on occasion. It just means they don’t allow alcohol in the fraternity house. </p>
<p>I would urge you to allow you son to go through rush. There are many ways to learn on a college campus other than in the classroom. </p>
<p>I’ll try and find the list of the respective GPA’s of each house and pledge class for you.</p>
<p>Here’s a link that provides the GPA’s of each fraternity & sorority house as well as of their pledge classes.</p>
<p>Scroll down to the Fall 2009 report as that’s the latest information.</p>
<p>[Greek</a> Life](<a href=“http://www.greeklife.ua.edu/forms.html#]Greek”>http://www.greeklife.ua.edu/forms.html#)</p>
<p>While I’m an independent, I still recognize that Greek life can be a good thing for many people and would suggest that your son do consider joining a frat. I’m not familiar enough with each to give you a ranking, but ATO might be a good choice for your son as might other fraternities. Remember that at UA, we have Old Row and New Row fraternities.</p>
<p>M2ck, partying is a valid concern that many parents have about Greek Life, but I feel that if the student likes to party, they will do so whether they are Greek or GDI. I encourage parents to let their child consider rushing and helping the child find a way to pay for joining if they decide to do so.</p>
<p>Ok, I’m a rising senior and after the June SAT and ACT I WILL have a 1350+ SAT or 30+ ACT to get a big OOS discount. If not…I’m not going to be a happy camper, lol.</p>
<p>Anyways. Sea_tide or anyone who knows something about the frats recommend a couple that I should look into? </p>
<p>I’m OOS, so meeting a lot new people is a definite plus, but I guess I don’t want to get lost in the crowd. Would like a down to earth (not many tools, dbags, etc…) frat that likes to party, but gives back to the community and gets a pretty good GPA. ATO sounds nice, but I’m afraid it might be a revenge of the nerds type house and the dry house thing kind of sucks (I don’t want to party 24/7, but it is college, and want to have a little fun). But I don’t think I want to be in a frat that has an average GPA of like 2.4 and gets wasted 5 days a week, etc… Decent pull with the sororities would be nice too. </p>
<p>Any suggestions? Are my expectations to high haha?</p>
<p>ATO and Beta are a lot alike except that Beta isn’t dry. If you are looking for something like ATO but don’t like the dry factor then Beta is something you should consider. Sigma Pi, Beta, and ATO do tend to take a higher number of OOS students than most of the other fraternities. None of the fraternities will force you to party seven days a week and no fraternities will not allow you to party seven days a week. Every fraternity has its fair share of smart, wealthy, poor, lazy, and all kinds of people. You just have to go down and get to know people and see where you think you fit.</p>
<p>coolege,</p>
<p>Many of the Old Row fraternities already have 95% of their pledge class done. They are great fraternities but it’s very hard to get a bid from them since they primarily recruit in state kids from their own schools and towns. For example DKE is made up of primarily Mobile area kids where as Phi Gamma Delta is made up of mostly Huntsville area kids. SAE, KA, Sigma Nu, and Phi Delta Theta are the other Old Row fraternities.</p>
<p>I would personally recommend that you look to a few New Row fraternities which are less exclusive but still rank amongst the best on campus. The best of those in my opinion would be Sigma Chi, Theta Chi, Pike (Pi Kappa Alpha) and Beta Theta Pi. ATO is solid but apparently not quite what you’re looking for do to the “dry” factor. Supposedly Lamda Chi Alpha is also coming on strong as of late and just recently completed re-furbishing their house. All the houses above are solid numbers wise, socially, and academically.</p>
<p>It’s really all up to you though. Go through formal rush and get a feel for each house. You’ll know which guys you hit it off with and which you don’t. Remember it’s a two way street though and just because you may like them doesn’t mean they’ll feel the same about you. Be yourself, relax, keep an open mind, and enjoy the process. You’ll find the right house and you’ll enjoy the experience, friendships, and benefits for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>I’m still working associating the nickname of a fraternity/sorority to it’s official name, but it seems that I see a lot of old row Greeks in my classes (business). I’m most familiar with Sigma Nu just because of the people I’ve met around campus. Look at all of the fraternities and pick some that interest you. Even though you’re OOS, you still have a chance at any of the fraternities. </p>
<p>You can still party and have a little or a lot of fun as a GDI provided you are willing to be friendly and meet people. While a few people in honors may exclusively be the quiet, nerdy type, most of us are interesting people who like to have a lot of fun, but know when we have to sit down and get to work. Some, but not all of these honors students are also Greek.</p>
<p>Don’t have a dog in this fight since I have a D, but NJBama: how can a frat already have 95% of it’s freshman class full? Don’t they have some type of recruitment process like sororities? With cuts & all?</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>The frats do informal rushing all the time, however, they can’t formally give out bids until a certain date in Aug or Sept. So, some have collected names already.</p>
<p>I don’t know if frats have limited quotas like sororities do. So, if they don’t, they could always take a few more if they want.</p>
<p>Fraternities can give out bids whenever they want. However they don’t become official until after formal rush. Old Row fraternities recruit “mostly” from certain high schools and home towns, as well as alumni recommendations and spring and summer pre-rush parties. They offer very few bids during formal rush. Not saying one can’t get a bid from an Old Row fraternity during formal rush, just saying there aren’t many issued.</p>
<p>Fraternities don’t have set quotas. They offer bids based on their needs and wants. There are “cuts” during formal rush but one isn’t required to go through that process to get or accept a bid.</p>