<p>Exactly, Bojangles. Tie goes to the fraternity brother in most employment/advancement/ career situations.</p>
<p>my son joined his 1st semester at college, he's a soph now. It has been good for him I think. Aside from the party hardy thing- and there is definately some of that, his fraternity does a lot of community service stuff like collect food for the town food pantry, volunteer to walk dogs at the local ASPCA, swing hammers as needed for other local groups etc. He was given a leadership position 2nd semester and holds another position this year. I see a great deal of personal growth- the idea of reaching out to others is important to him. That was not the case when he started this journey as a 17 year old kid!</p>
<p>ns347, whether or not you join a fraternity, bojangles and opie are right that whom you know can be just as important as what you know.</p>
<p>I was the little sister in a fraternity when I was in college and my son joined a fraternity at his frist school before he transferred. </p>
<p>I am not a fan of fraternities. I don't like the how cliquey they can be within the fraternity, I don't like the drinking, the social pressure, the expectations of meetings and dress codes, don't like the lowly pledge thing, don't like the jockeying for alpha dog positions within the frat. The whole thing rubs me the wrong way.</p>
<p>Lily, you're generalizing. The stuff you describe happens at some chapters, not at others.</p>
<p>College kids drink- fraternities didn't invent that.</p>
<p>The Machiavellian stuff that you're describing is a worst-case scenario.</p>
<p>What is a "fraternity " and "sonority" or something like that? Is that the word for "clubs" in colleges? I heard people pay high costs to join these clubs, but why do people even join them? Can't we join clubs that don't require payments? >.></p>
<p>Son of Opie - It's possible that this is not what happens at all chapters, but from my own experience as a little sister to a frat, my son's description of his experience and stories I have heard from other students and parents, I'd say that what I described happens at many if not most fraternities.</p>
<p>Well, I guess that since we both have anecdotal stories (those of your son, and your own, several decades ago, when Animal House was more of a documentary than a humorous film) to prove our point, this argument is going nowhere. To the OP, I would reiterate that rush is free, and if you ever find that you're getting into something you don't like, you can always say, "I'm out." and wash your hands of the whole thing. But to reject it without even taking a look is myopic and possibly shortchanging you of a great experience, depending on how the chapters are like at your school. Do your own research- don't rely on second and third-hand accounts from people that have never gone to your specific school.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Can't we join clubs that don't require payments?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I hear that argument pretty frequently, but I have yet to meet a person that made a profit from a fraternity. Sure you pay to join a fraternity, but the money you spend goes to buy things for you: a house to live in, supplies for the house you live in, events that you attend, insurance for yourself and your stuff in the house, etc.</p>
<p>It's really no different than if you and a bunch of friends got together and bought a house. In fact, in my days, being in a fraternity was cheaper than living on campus.</p>
<p>As others have mentioned, some of the big advantages are a larger network of contacts, easy access to study material, and organizational structure that you don't find in many other places. I served as treasurer and managed a $200,000 per semester account. Of course, the social events were also fun. I met my wife that way.</p>
<p>Fraternity life isn't for everyone, but it's good option for many people. I would just spend some time with different houses at rush and see how it goes. You'll just know if it's right for you. If it's not, no big deal, just move on. Don't give up on them completely, though. You can still make friends with people in fraternities or sororities and gain access to their study material or to hang out at their parties. </p>
<p>I don't understand why people who've never been in a fraternity are so against them. If it's not for you, that doesn't make it an evil and horrible organization of soul-less alcoholics paying money in order to be liked. And if you meet one frat guy or even an entire fraternity that's "bad", that doesn't mean that they all are. Making a generalization like that says more about your character than it does about theirs.</p>
<p>How much are yearly dues at a frat, on average? Less the regular R&B?</p>
<p>I'm an adviser for two chapters now. One has dues of $550 per semester, with up to $200 off for fundraising (selling beer at a local pro sport team's games). With that, they maintain a house (TP, paper towels, electricity, water, cable, insurance, etc.), they throw two band parties, have a private party, a sorority mixer, and a retreat. They also buy jerseys for their intramural teams, BBQ on weekends, etc. </p>
<p>Their deal is that living in the house + paying dues is cheaper than just living in on-campus housing.</p>
<p>The other fraternity charges $1750 per semester. They do all the above, plus have an in-house chef that prepares meals 6 days a week and a slightly nicer house. They argue that living in the house + dues are cheaper than living on campus and paying for a meal plan. </p>
<p>There's also another fraternity that I used to work with that charged almost $3000 per semester. They had a very nice house, went on nicer retreats (instead of renting a cabin in the woods, they would book hotel rooms at a country club and go golfing, for example), would donate a lot of money to sorority charities, etc. They made no claims about being cheaper than anything.</p>
<p>Each house also has a different personality. That first group holds boxing matches (in the house) after their chapter meetings. The second group goes out to a local pub together after meetings. The third group required a blazer and tie at their weekly meetings. Most of the people at the first house smoke and they fined people for smoking at the last house.</p>
<p>It all depends...</p>
<p>Mine had dues of 300 a semester. Rent at the house was about 400 bucks less than a double room was on-campus.</p>
<p>That's not too bad.</p>
<p>Greek organizations vary for org to org. Greek systems vary from campus to campus. Chapters vary from group to group even on the same campus. An individual's experience as a member can vary from person to person.</p>
<p>As with all things in life, please do not automatically buy into media hype or stereotypes. Sure there may be some that live up to the hype and/or down to the stereotype, but not all. It's unfair to paint an entire system or group as evil based on bad press or one person's bad experience. Investigate first hand on your campus and the specific inter/national org to decide if it is something that might interest and benefit you.</p>
<p>Fraternity or sorority life isn't for everyone for numerous reasons, just as the debate club or football team isn't for everyone either. For those who are interested a lot of information about Greek life can be found at greekchat.com.</p>
<p>Son called last night all excited that his group (frat) was officially recognized as a Colony. He's a founding father. I assume that's a good thing-lol. The Greek system is literally Greek to me.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
There are none....
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>Someone's not a bitter GDI...</p>
<p>I'm in a sorority and I really enjoy the sisterly bond I share with the other members, networking, etc. It's worth it, if you find a sorority or fraternity that fits you!</p>
<p>
[quote]
Come to think of it, minus Mormons and Muslims, pretty much everybody in the world drinks.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The Muslims in my dorm will drink and party but not eat my pork wontons.</p>
<p>The irony I think is that they try to get me to drink every weekend and break my promise to my gf not to drink.</p>
<p>lol</p>
<p>Well Greek organizations vary heavily from campus to campus. Although it sounds ignorant of the guy who said you can't get anything out of the Greek system, maybe the system at their school is poorly organized and unpopular. Now, thats probably not the case, but what I'm trying to get at is that each chapter of XYZ Fraternity is going to be different than all of the others. </p>
<p>In terms of benefits, you get a great social network, a chance at many leadership opportunities, great memories, and friendships that will last long after your college years. I personally though frats were stupid, until I ignored the lame stereotypes and went out and joined one for myself. One word of advice, when rushing, choose the fraternity that you feel you will fit in best with, because potentially, these will be the people you call your brothers.</p>
<p>From the words of a fella on another forum:</p>
<p>"You get first dibs on the freshman girls."</p>
<p>That being said, I don't like the idea of a frat. Perhaps it's my mind being over saturated by 80s' movie stereotypes. I know some are academic and do charity work, but they're still not for me. I'm too introverted.</p>