<p>What really struck me at CPW was the ridiculous amount of fraternities at MIT. Considering that rush is like the second week, it seems like there's no way we could possibly narrow down which frats to focus on without some advance information.</p>
<p>So, I was wondering if some people could post about the general reputation of individual MIT frats (i.e. "traditional" frat boys, jock frat, nerdy frat, etc.). I've looked on the individual frat websites, but most of what they write is pretty generic and not that informative.</p>
<p>Well, my daughter and one of her closest friends have been dating guys from ZBT. They have both told me they consider ZBT to be a very nerdy fraternity, more of a brotherhood than the typical frat house. The average gpa of the young men who live there is said to be much higher than the average gpa of males at MIT. My daughter roomed at ZBT over two summers, so she has met many of the members, and she dines there occasionally. Having met one of the young men, it makes sense to me…I was impressed.</p>
<p>That’s the point. The more time you get to think about your decision, the more likely you are to choose a dorm.</p>
<p>This is the reps circa 2000. May have changed somewhat</p>
<p>ZBT has no pledge program…it’s the only one without one.<br>
And that is a good thing. I agree with CalAlum in her positive impression of ZBT.</p>
<p>.</p>
<p>Sig Ep – hard drinker/jock frat/have history of hazing
their motto is “the balanced man”, I think this might mean they drink both beer and hard liquor.
Kapp sig – if you want to crush a beer can on your head, this is the frat to join
Beta Theta Pi – really smart stoners – one of the highest GPAs on campus but one of the biggest pot smokers
Phi Kappa sig – also called “skullhouse”, girls I knew from one sorority were afraid of them, top 3 potsmokers
TDC – cool guys IMO, but a lot of hard drugs. they did drugs I had never heard of.
Theta Chi – a little nerdier than average, pledge program is minimal, people friendly
Delta Upsilon – preppy jocks, a lot of guys from the lacrosse team
sigma chi – not nerdy, but not traditional hard partiers/frat boys. I knew a Marshall Scholar there, seemed like a classy fraternity. Also preppy.
Lambda chi Upsilon – I remember in their yearbook picture they were all half-naked with whipped cream/shaving cream and stuff. If this appeals to you, this may be the frat for you. </p>
<p>phi sigma kappa – pretty big house, fairly social, all kinds of people
sigma nu – I think most people in this house are foreign.
phi delta theta – never heard anything bad about this frat.</p>
<p>Similar to picking dorms, please do not run on reputations alone for picking fraternities. Rush week is really fun and there are plenty of quick events you can drop in on and I assume you will quickly get a feeling as to whether you are comfortable with the brothers or not. Also, if i remember correctly, there is a greek cookout to kick off rush week, and all the fraternities have tables set up in the same place which would help you out a lot.</p>
<p>That being said, don’t feel pressure to join up right away, I know several guys who found themselves hanging out with a certain fraternity as the year went on and were extended informal bids.</p>
<p>Heh. I also dated a guy from ZBT, and reluctant as I might be to say good things about my ex, I will also join the chorus of approval of the frat. They are very un-frat like in the sense that they don’t have pledges (everyone immediately becomes a brother once rush is over, so there isn’t even an opportunity for hazing). In general they are very upstanding, classy guys. I no longer really know anyone who lives there personally, but it sounds like the overall culture has not changed.</p>
<p>SigEp used to be very hardcore into substances and hazing, and were actually temporarily disbanded because of disciplinary action. They’re just now reopening their house and have definitely reinvented themselves. I know a couple of their current/recent brothers and they are very laid-back, responsible guys who I know would never get involved in that kind of thing. I’ve never been to the house and I don’t know enough of them to really say much about what they ARE like, but I think they definitely are NOT like their old stereotype/reputation.</p>
<p>ZBT - Went over for rush this past year. As people above said, they seemed like friendly guys.
Theta Xi - Been over to their house a few times, also really great guys. Seem fairly queer-friendly.
Theta Delta Chi - I haven’t actually been to their house. I know some brothers from LGBT events, and they also seem queer-friendly. They’re also amazing guys.</p>
<p>Phi Beta Epsilon is probably the most stereotypical frat on campus, they throw tons of huge parties and I think are the only ones that consistently have parties on Thursday nights.
I know a few guys from this new fraternity on campus, Sigma Alpha Epsilon. There’s only 10 or so of them so they don’t have a house yet, but they are a bunch of good guys…</p>
<p>This happens throughout MIT - not just in living groups, but also with clubs and such. I think the UA actually has funds for doing this as a random group you can throw together.</p>
<p>(I don’t know of any DFSILGs that do this, other than that EC - where I live - has.)</p>
<p>so, at MIT frat brothers are not really as bonded as frat brothers at state universities? because I know a couple of people who joined a frat and quit. one particular guy quit the frat and left the house because he wanted to live in an apartment</p>
<p>I would think people quit frats everywhere, and not just at MIT, and probably just because they decide that a frat is not right for them. And I don’t think this has much do to with any bond between brothers.</p>
<p>After becoming members, people move out of the house for various reasons. It’s not really considered quitting.</p>
<p>However, I suspect the rate of depledging is higher at MIT than most other schools for the simple reason that the pledging process takes so much longer. At MIT, it is typically at least a semester, while at a lot of schools it is 2-3 weeks.</p>
<p>Kind of surprised no one has mentioned my frat, Zeta Psi…anyways, we’re a pretty tight-knit, friendly, good-humored group of guys with quite diverse backgrounds; I’d say we’re all part nerdy part crazy. Any 2014 males out there should definitely come hang out with us during Rush, you won’t regret it <em>ends shameless plug</em> :P</p>
<p>I got into a discussion with a brother about various fraternities, and found that the reputations listed here have changed in the past decade. Figured, since rush is coming up, it might be worth reviving this thread :)</p>
<p>Here are some corrections on reputations that are either now glaringly inaccurate/harmful to their members.</p>
<p>Sig Ep - Was “rebooted” by their national. They’re now a smaller house, and not hard drinkers.
DU - Lots of water polo.
Sigma Chi - Lots of volleyball players, tends towards white.
ZBT - Has a nerdy reputation.</p>
<p>I noted earlier that EC had faculty dinners. Some fraternities (like PDT) host quite classy ones, and pika (which isn’t a fraternity… it’s my independent living group :D) also host them. I bet there are more that I don’t know about :)</p>
<p>Besides fraternity reputations, there have been other changes. The freshmen-on-campus requirement caused quite a bit of change. Also, many fraternities have shortened their pledge programs.</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that any house is far more than its reputation. I strongly encourage you to find out about these fraternities for yourself and not let anything posted here stand in the way. As I do with dorm rush, I encourage incoming students to explore lots during FSILG rush - remember that you’re trying to find a group of people that you can form a home with, that will be your best friends and family for the next four years. (Are you going to really let what a couple strangers say on the internet deter you from checking something out? Finding the right fit is at least worth 10 minutes of your time.)</p>
<p>Jessie (jessiehl on here) once said in an MIT Admissions blog entry that what you’re looking for is the people you want to be like, because living somewhere will shape what you become. That’s pretty much the best advice I can give :)</p>