Hi, I’m a freshman at a college with a spring rush. I am considering rushing for a frat next semester. I want to at least go through the rush process to see if being in a fraternity is what I want to do, and potentially make more friends. I’m not like most college kids who absolutely need to party, but I like to get out once in a while and also want to have friends to make college more enjoyable.
My dilemma is, I’m not sure if I should rush by myself or not. Most of my friends and acquaintances at school are girls. I do have my best friend from hs here, but lately we don’t always hang bc I feel like I’m intruding on him and his roommates. He seems to just do whatever his roommates are doing and will probably rush with them, but in frats more focused on “prestige”. I’m just wondering if I should go ahead and rush a fraternity I may be interested in alone, or rush with him and go to one’s I don’t like.
I would rush at the fraternities you like…this is a chance to make friends that may be more “your tribe”.
If he is still your friend you will get together any way…if not, you may be stuck at a fraternity he likes, that you don’t and he doesn’t hang out with you.
Take college as a chance to stretch yourself beyond HS.
Being in a different fraternity doesn’t mean you can’t be friends anymore. And consider that friendships change over the years. This is your chance to branch out, get to know new people, and try out new things. Don’t be afraid to go your own way. If he’s a true friend, he’ll cheer for you. If he doesn’t encourage you, maybe he’s not the friend you thought he was.
There is little point in rushing for fraternities that you don’t like. Would you join a social group for life (or, at least, until the end of your college career) just to avoid a potential few weeks of discomfort?
Rush the fraternities that YOU like. The rushing process is supposed to be for you to explore YOUR own interests and preferences amongst the chapters, not for you to explore what your friends like. And it sounds like your best friend isn’t even choosing the chapters he likes; he’s going along with his roommates. So you won’t even be rushing what he likes; you’ll be rushing what a bunch of strangers you don’t even care about like. Sounds like a recipe for disaster!
When you rush, even if you don’t make a house you’ll still meet tons of people during the process that may later become friends.