Greek Life Rankings

<p>Just thought I would post this about TKE:</p>

<p>The Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity was founded in 1899 at the Illinois Wesleyan University as a society for young men to develop mentally, morally and socially. The official philanthropy of TKE is the Alzheimer’s Association, adopted in 2001 in honor of alumnus former President Ronald Reagan. Other famous Tekes include singers Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley.</p>

<p>EDU In Review ranked it as there Top 10 College Fraternities:</p>

<p>[Top</a> 10 College Fraternities | Edu in Review Blog](<a href=“http://www.eduinreview.com/blog/2009/04/top-10-college-fraternities/]Top”>http://www.eduinreview.com/blog/2009/04/top-10-college-fraternities/)</p>

<p>Hi, I’m from out of state so tuition is kinda crazy. I was wondering what the costs are associated with joining the different fraternities. I know the bigger ones have dues in the thousands of dollars a year, but are there any “top tier” fraternities with cheaper dues? And how much are the dues at various other fraternities? Lastly, is there anyway around paying the dues? (scholarships/ working for the house/ officer position)</p>

<p>^ No, the whole reason the ranking put them at “top tier” are because they have so much money. They can fund a better house, have more events, more formals, etc.</p>

<p>You can get as low as $750 a semester at Acacia (they have paid off their house so it’s really cheap), then it just kinda jumps up to mid-range around 2k-3k for the rest of the middle tiers, and go up to 5k or 6k for like Sig Ep or Fiji.</p>

<p>So I know next to nothing about greek life, and I’m assuming that there’s no way for a low income student to get around frat dues, so my question is based purely on curiosity. Anyway, do frats have a general policy on rushing older, non-traditional students?</p>

<p>It’s an interesting question. If you are a first semester freshman intending to stay at the university for 4 or 5 years, you would fit the profile that most look for, in that way. The big top tiers only take people during their first semester of their freshman year, and recruitment started during the last semester of high school and orientation during the summer.</p>

<p>Some of the smaller (or rising) fraternities are willing to take non-freshman in order to increase their membership (more dues = more fun). But a lot of the bigger ones don’t want to take people who are just going to graduate in a year or two.</p>

<p>But then again if you are a freshman who will be staying 4 years… I don’t know. I would almost say just try rushing and see what happens. I don’t think there are any official rules in the department of Greek Life about this.</p>

<p>well, because no computer based classes will transfer to UT from ACC, all I took were my basics, so that means I’m going to be at UT 4 years because of how the curriculum is set up. however, none of that really matters because I come from a low income family, so I can’t afford the dues. I was just asking purely out of curiosity :P</p>

<p>ok im totally lost here… can anyone explain the purpose of greek life? thanks :)</p>

<p>^ Fraternities. Sororities. Haven’t you like, learned about this before? Seen movies or something? It’s a whole lot to explain… tons of aspects… maybe Wikipedia has an article lol</p>

<p>I think I see where seaswee is coming from though. pop culture doesn’t really explain greek life very well. all it really shows is that they throw big parties and the induction process can be very embarrassing. It’s all very ambiguous as to the actual purpose of fraternities. Rarely is the emphasis on brotherhood or anything else really showcased. :/</p>

<p>This might give you an idea, seawee. [HowStuffWorks</a> “How Fraternities Work”](<a href=“How Fraternities Work | HowStuffWorks”>How Fraternities Work | HowStuffWorks)</p>

<p>I have a few Greek Life questions. I’m only looking to join a fraternity in the Interfraternity Council (IFC) for various reasons that I’ll leave out.</p>

<p>1) 25 organizations are in the IFC, but only 16 are listed on the houses map. Does this mean those 7 organizations don’t have houses? Does that make them worth not joining?</p>

<p>2) 10 organizations have a seperate room and board fee. Do you only have to pay this if you live in their house?</p>

<p>3) Are brothers who don’t live in the house treated a bit differently? I’d rather live in my own apartment with a roommate.</p>

<p>4) Most of the fraternities that were listed on the second post as being the “best fraternities” are the ones who have been in violation of hazing. Is that something to be concerned of or not? Uniquely enough those are the ones with the highest member dues. </p>

<p>5) Sigma Phi Epsilon is the only fraternity that has been in violation of hazing AND is a fraternity in “good standing.” How are the fraternities deemed “the best” on the second post, deemed that if they’re not in good standing and have violated the hazing law (regardless of what year). </p>

<p>Thanks for your help.</p>

<p>@jeptha thank u, that site really helps</p>

<p>1) True, many don’t have houses. You can join them if you feel like it, or don’t if you don’t want to. It’s up to you. There are advantages of not having a house (lower dues) and disadvantages (no house, lol).</p>

<p>2) Yes</p>

<p>3) Most houses don’t even fit all the members, so it is expected for people to not live in the house. It’s usually mostly sophomores that live in the house.</p>

<p>4) Nah, the hazing issue isn’t that bad at all. I wasn’t hazed.</p>

<p>5) In “good standing” is not worth looking at. Most of the fraternities that are not on that list are not on that list because they didn’t send 2 delegates to some meeting or something. Most people here are ranking the fraternities based on social aspects and selectivity. Meaning, the better ones have more parties and events, more exclusive parties, and a more exclusive membership. Sig Ep is a well well known fraternity around campus, with a very nice house and lots of members. It’s also very expensive (2nd after Fiji).</p>

<p>Alright, thanks. I guess I’ll look into their individual websites some more and find some that look like they’re worth investigating, haha.</p>

<p>I’d recommend emailing the rush chairs of the ones you might be possibly interested in and actually going out and meeting some of them in person at other times than big rush parties. Sometimes the websites are not that all up to date (I know ours was just updated, but it’s lacking in content right now, so it looks kinda lame) and a lot don’t pay too much attention to their website.</p>

<p>Thanks, if you don’t mind me asking, what fraternity are you a part of? You can PM it to me if you don’t want everyone to know, or you can just tell me you’d rather not provide that info if it is too problematic.</p>

<p>I don’t see why a fraternity member wouldn’t say which one he’s in, if he’s already been initiated haha. Unless you’re embarrassed by it, which I highly doubt anyone is. (I know which one Why Two Kay is in. He’s probably thinking “duhhh” at me right now. I have some crazy connections in his frat)</p>

<p>I just don’t know people’s personalities. Some people are especially private, but yeah he messaged me and told me his name and everything haha.</p>

<p>;]</p>

<p>another question here…
if i dont join a sorority, would there still be parties that i can go to? (im a girl)
cuz its so expensive to join a sorority >.<</p>

<p>seawee, yes!</p>

<p>LOL! considering UT is considered one of the top party universities in the nation, I’d say you’ll never want ;)</p>