Greek Life in College

Hmmmm. I didn't join a frat, but here's my .02 cents: You'll get out of it what you put in. I've known guys that just sat back, enjoyed the party, and got nothing else out of it. Others milked the experience for all it was worth (community service, etc) and managed to fatten up their resume quite nicely.

...if you don't mind hanging out with some tools that you have to "respect" because they happen to be part of the same club.

Mike

 

Some friends of mine are members of DTD at University of Alabama. They really enjoy it, and would definitely have been my pick if I'd gone to UA.
I've got me opinions on your questions, but since I've stayed away from the Greek thing at my school, will wait for others with experience to answer.

 

Kappa Sigma, Epsilon-Lambda chapter -

Fraternities reflect a wide variety of approaches to college life. Some play the "animal house" game and some are very serious about academics and public service. One house may be completely out of control on one campus, but completely inert on another. Yes, partying is usually a large part of house life, but the real key is networking. Find a house with people you like, not one with a reputation (read SAE). Make sure to strive for house leadership, as it looks good on a resume.

I would recommend that you ignore anyone who wants to chip in with advice without fraternity experience (The first clue is that they call them "frats"). Experience it for yourself, and, if you don't like it, find another house or go back to the dorms. Just pick your house wisely.

 

Sorry, never had any interest in being a date rapist.

 

Greek people...

My friend Demetra... she is very very Greek. She even goes to Greek camp in the summer to hang out with other Greek kids.

And then she comes back and talks about Greek camp.


I mean... The Greeks were cool and all... but like... haven't really done jack for a llllllllooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggg time.

Seriously.

 

I like gyros...are they part of the plan? Might be a deal breaker....

 

I'm an alum of a professional fraternity (co-ed) - which is a little different, but has a lot of similarities. I would never have thought it was for me, but if you go into it with an open mind, you'll find out that there are a million aspects to greek life.

You should check out www.greekchat.com. It's a message board liek this one, but for greeks. Lots of good advice and friendly people over there.

 

Good point. Tplyons: ignore everything I said and follow Folmeister's advice...oh, wait....it's the same thing.

Mike

 

my ex-roommate is a theta xi, i just thought it was cool because if you move the space over, you get "the taxi"
and folmeister has a point...i remember while my roommate was just pledging, he'd have fraternity brothers come over, and they were very adament that it was to ba called a fraternity, and not a frat. Fraternities can be really cool or really bad, depending on which one you get into. The ones on UWS all do a lot of community service, and also host a lot of parties...they have a bit of a work hard play hard mentality. I didn't join just because you have to take a test to get in, and i guess i get a bit of social test anxiety!

 

The whole concept of the "frat" is so utterly stupid. I am amazed by the volume of people who really do want to be a part of something so pointless.

 

Perfect example of what to ignore.

 

all i really know about frats is that two of my three (current) roommates are in a frat, and right now they are extremely loud and playing beer pong.


so... try and join a frat that has a frathouse, unlike these guys. :scowl:

 

Now thats what I wanted to do in college. Pay a bunch of upper classman douchebags to abuse me for a year, so I could be their "brother" later. My friends and I made frequent fun of Greeks and their silly rituals.

Greek chicks on the other hand.... Yummy. Melina Kanakaredes and Marina Sirtis make little cheezie pay attention.

 

I have some friends that joined fraternities in college. One loved it, the others hated it. It was because of the fraternities that they picked it think.

So pick one where you like the people and especially if they are close friends with a really hot sorority. Unless you have a serious girlfriend, then hanging out withsorority girls could get you in trouble.

I also noticed that there is a severe class system between all the greeks. It varies campus to campus.

Sororities are a different story. Every girl I graduated high school with that joined one hated it and quit. Now, that may say more about my friends than sororities. Except for the really fat girl, she loves her sorority. Apparently she needed the friends.

 

Tim

Fraternity is a great thing just be careful who you get hooked up with , i would aviod gettting locked in the trunk of a car after consuming a large quantity of Adult Beverages . Be Safe.

 

One of my brothers was in a fraternity at New Hampshire College and made a lot of close friends whom he still keeps in touch with 20+ years later.

We're not Greek, but we are half Polish.

 

Depends on the frat and the school, I guess. In my experience, with some frats, you can get in, but usually you gotta know somebody who is in the frat to go in with no hassle. I've been to some frat parties with no problem, and I've been to some where the brothers tried to start fights with non-members or just give them a hard time.



Personally, I'd join a frat if it was like the delta house in Animal House. I've yet to see a frat like that in real life