<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I've been hearing more and more about fraternities and a new one is starting at my school... except I have no idea about what they are and what they do?</p>
<p>Has anyone been in a fraternity and what are their unique benefts? (eg. I might meet friends there but so can I at the tennis club).</p>
<p>I've been wondering this too, what do you do besides get hazed and wasted?</p>
<p>
[quote]
what do you do besides get hazed and wasted?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Nothing other than doing that in different locations.</p>
<p>do fraternities look good for grad school? I know I want to join one next year for the brotherhood (never had a big family), for the parties,girls, social events, and connections later on in life.</p>
<p>you learn how to handle yourself in the world better. If you have leadership in the fraternity, then it looks good, simply being in one isn't impressive.</p>
<p>I am very involved in my fraternity as well as a few other activities, and it stuns me how disorganized and incompeteent the leaders in my other groups are compared to my fraternity. This summer, I lived in a 12 person house that was about half guys from my fraternity and the other half were friends of someone in the fraternity. It was stunning to see how differently we carried ourselves in a group of peers than they did. They did not understand that when you're living in a group environment, there are many desires that have to be balanced, not just your own, and they had very poor communication skills, especially with regard to conflict.</p>
<p>gstein, that was pretty dumb/wrong.</p>
<p>I've never been hazed (yes, I have gotten wasted). </p>
<p>Anyways, lots of connections, especially in business.</p>
<p>Depends on the school and that school's greek life. Some schools have a pretty weak greek life where fraternities are essentially t-shirt clubs, while other schools have much broader greek life where most your college career will be focused around the fraternity.</p>
<p>Depends on the school. Some places it's worth it, others it's not. Rush is usually free, so at worst you get a few nights of non-cafeteria food and whatever activities the rush chairs had planned.</p>
<p>I really enjoyed my time at my fraternity in college, but visiting chapters of the same fraternity at other schools made me realize how case-specific the whole greek system can be. I don't think I would have ever joined at one of those sister chapters...</p>
<p>
[quote]
but visiting chapters of the same fraternity at other schools made me realize how case-specific the whole greek system can be.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Agreed. I'm really glad I pledged at my school...but there are bunches of other schools that I've been to where I don't think I would've went Greek at all. I can help with grad school if you get involved in leadership roles and actually give back to your Fraternity. If you just party and live in the house then it won't be much help at all when it comes time for graduate study. Pretty much everyone in a leadership position at my school is Greek.</p>
<p>Leadership, brotherhood, fun.</p>
<p>There are none....</p>
<p>Wow sound a little bitter Icarus.</p>
<p>Though it is totally dependant both on the school and individual fraternity, I would recommend at least doing the rush process to determine for yourself whether it is for you or not. </p>
<p>I was both the vice-president and president of my fraternity, and have never regretted it. I learned a lot of very good leadership traits that have come in handy post-undergrad.
We also took advatage of the opportunities in the greek system to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charities and to better the community.</p>
<p>Do not allow yourself to be influenced into ignoring the greek system simply because someone says you are going to get hazed, or beaten, or any other story they can concoct. Does it happen? Yes, isolated cases do occur, to say otherwise would be lying. But do not live in fear of an anomoly.</p>
<p>Check them out and see if they are for you. I have a lot of good friends left from undergrad, and a few who joined the military before and after me who have maintained contact.</p>
<p>Always remember also that fraternities commingle with sororities, so if nothing else it is a good way to meet women.</p>
<p>Check them out.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
Leadership, brotherhood, fun.
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>Fraternities are like 1000 paraplegics coming together to try and walk- strength in numbers. They weren't good with women in high school and now are only confident because they are greek.</p>
<p>Well if you are getting recruited/drafted after the college it is in your best interests to join a fraternity. They will give you the gift of a bad liver ---->unfit for service.</p>
<p>Go to rush, see if you like the guys. If you're in to community service, find out what that house does. Drop in to see them outside of rush and see how they treat you when they're not prepared to be putting on their best face. The opportunity cost of checking it out is vanishingly small. Beware of blanket statements pointing you in either direction- note that all of the people that were in fraternities in college are telling you to make educated choices based on your own research, while those that weren't are belittling the entire system because of how a particular school's Greek life runs.</p>
<p>Also: Joining a fraternity means you will drink alcohol. However, going to college means you will most likely drink alcohol. Nothing unique to the Greek system about boozing it up. Come to think of it, minus Mormons and Muslims, pretty much everybody in the world drinks. Booze is almost as old as farming.</p>
<p>Good points Opie.
As you can see by some of the statements here, (LUKEJDAVIS), those who are just anti-fraternity will do their best to disparage everyone and everything related to the Greeks.
I don't think it is unreasonable to recommend you make your own decisions; if you don't like it then you don't like it, simple as that.
I sometimes wonder what makes people so bitter about the Greeks. Perhaps rejection, jealousy, etc.?
Also, LUKEJDAVIS, there are, in fact, plenty of young men who did not do to well with women in high school who join fraternities and grow exponentially as people, leading to boosted self-confidence and, consequently, increased social aptitude with women.
Those who go Greek then think they are god's gift to women just because they bonged a few 40s and are wearing a lettered hat, however, often do not do so well with women, or last that long as legitimate fraternity brothers.
Each fraternity offers unique social environments and personalities. Do the rush and find out what one, if any, interests you. Also the non-rush visit suggestion by Opie was brilliant, if only to find out if the house is a pig-sty during off-hours.</p>
<p>You can make friends in the tennis club, OP, but fraternities offer unique experiences with your new brothers:</p>
<p>-Community Service
-Greek Week (a week of Olympic type events between fraternities/sororities)
-Intramurals
-Socials and Formals
-Living in a house together (can be cheaper than on-campus dorms)
-Opportunity for developing leadership and character
-Getting the hook-up after college through fraternity connections for jobs/interviews</p>
<p>Yes, you probably will get wasted with your brothers if you join one, and pledging can be rigorous and time-consuming, but joining a fraternity is a decision most people don't regret. Rushing no one can regret because it's only one week and you get a lot of free food and meet new people. So I would say give it a shot if there's rush events coming up.</p>
<p>I shall give you an example why you should consider join a frat. </p>
<p>My current boss was in a frat at a top tier school way back in the 70s. </p>
<p>He got his start in business because one of his frat brother was a senior VP at Bank of America and agreed to gave him a substantial loan at very favorable conditions, a loan that he otherwise would have never gotten. </p>
<p>So after-school connections= very important.</p>
<p>or you could work hard rather than rely on connections?</p>
<p>Something I've learned...it's not the grades you make but the hands you shake.</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong...you still need to work hard and be competent. But you can be really freakin smart and work your ass off, but networking is just as crucial and jobs you take in the future may be to the thanks of a former co-worker or someone you know.</p>