<p>Hey, this is Steve. I'm transferring from a community college to the U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this fall. I was excited at first about the social opportunities the school offered, but then I realized that making friends for me might not be so easy. </p>
<p>My main worries are whether I can get along with my cluster and especially my roommate (I'm going to live in the transfer cluster in hopkins. I really want to know about the type of people that usually dorm there and whether I'd be compatible with them. I can be outgoing, but also a lot of times I am a bit shy because I can't always think of an interesting story to talk about or something else interesting to say). I just want to know how easy it is to make friends there, and also on campus in general.</p>
<p>Also, I need to know about the frat parties and the frats themselves in general. Are all of the social frats as obnoxious as they're rumored to be? Or is that just a few frats? Also, for frat parties, is there anywhere I can get in without having to know everyone in the frat or having to bring along a crowd of girls?</p>
<p>Thanks, this was really helpful! Idk, I was just sorta worried that I wouldn’t be social enough to be compatible with other people on campus or my floor and I’m deathly afraid of becoming “that guy” who never talks or hangs out and stays in all the time and doesn’t go to parties. I’m also afraid that my past (from high school, didn’t hang out too much and found it difficult to meet ppl) would come back and haunt me. But with this, I can at least feel a little more confident about going in the fall.</p>
<p>Also, a few questions about frats. What do they judge you on in terms of giving you a bid? I’ve heard looks and personality is a must but I don’t know of anything else they’d evaluate you on. But yeah, I want to have an exciting social scene without getting too crazy and interfering too much with the actual reason I’m going there (Comp Sci major). I turn 19 3 days before moving in But yeah, I really will consider going Greek, dependant on whether I could fit it into my academic calendar.</p>
<p>my fraternity had potential members fill out a info sheets where you listed your activities, interests, grades. basically, having a nice personality got your name brought up. from there we just looked at your grades and what activities you are involved with. being able to pull *****es or binge drink is not discussed at all.</p>
<p>What are you looking for in a fraternity? They all take different time requirements and the different tiers look for different things. You can PM me if you don’t want to say and I could perhaps give you a good list of fraternities to look at. It’s a bad idea to try rushing blind, anyway.</p>
<p>In general, personality is the #1 aspect that all fraternities look for. Second, I would say looks (both physical and in what you wear). It is mostly just how you carry yourself. Different fraternities obviously have different styles, and they pick people who fit that style.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: I am not claiming to know everything about every fraternity. In fact, I will say that I do not have a full understanding of most of them…but that is because there are so many. I know much more about the main social fraternities.</p>
<p>I belonged to a low-key fraternity in the mid 90s, and we usually didn’t let guys into our parties unless they knew someone in the house. There were 100+ guys living in our house, so we really couldn’t justify allowing too many extra guys in for parties. </p>
<p>It gets even worse for the after hours parties at the really popular fraternities. As a freshman, I tried dropping the names of a handful of guys who belonged to Sigma Chi that I knew from the dorms, and the guys working the door said that no guys were allowed.</p>
<p>Well, I’m looking for a frat that doesn’t have a reputation for being too judgmental or ******y but still knows how to have a good time. Also, what kind of personality are frats usually looking for? I know the more stereotypical ones are looking for someone with an “alpha male” personality but what else do they look for in a pledge?</p>
<p>And inspirose, I would be happy if you could PM me about some frats that might be cool to rush.</p>
<p>They don’t necessarily look for alpha males. Most generally, they look for chill, funny, and cool guys. Just be yourself and rush the fraternity you enjoy being at and can see yourself joining.</p>
<p>If you want to be a part of the in-crowd, Alpha Tau Omega and Sigma Chi are the houses you’ll want to join. When I was in college, those two frats were the most popular on campus. They have the best exchanges, and the best football block. However, unless you are an athlete (i.e. football or hoops player for the U of I), their pledgeships will probably be prettty intense. Hazing galore.</p>
<p>@Bill73 that is still true, SigChi and ATO are the top 2 houses for sure. ATO has gotten in trouble for their hazing lately (I think it was once or twice last year), so they have been taking it a little easier.</p>
<p>Yes, guys in those two houses are often arrogant ******bags, but those two houses are still the most popular fraternities on campus. And, unfortunately, at U of I, that is a big deal.</p>
<p>How much of a time commitment is it to be in a top fraternity.
Is it possible to be in a fraternity and still maintain a strong gpa in engineering?</p>
<p>The top fraternities usually have pretty intense pledgeships. If you are an enginering major and don’t want to see your grades suffer the semester you are a pledge, I would stay away from the extremely popular houses.</p>
<p>Great year. Actually, after watching Illinois beat Michigan in football that fall, I decided that I wanted to attend U of I. I was only 10 at the time, but I knew I was going to be an Illini one day.</p>
But yeah, I really will consider going Greek, dependant on whether I could fit it into my academic calendar.</p>