Im a freshman at Florida State University and am debating whether or not to join a fraternity. I was wondering who has joined one and what they have to say about it.
My second question about it is how i go about researching and getting info about the fraternity in general. it seems like whenever i go on a website ranking fraternities, the comments are either “OMG they throw the best parties i love the guys in this fraternity” or “there’s more wood in this fraternity than home depot”
Does anyone know where i can get unbiased (or at least less biased than the above two comments) information about the frats here?
Enormous waste of time and money. There used to be some that were prestigious and worthwhile, and they would actually impress potential employers. Now, most of them are excuses to party endlessly. I know of three local employers that refuse to hire anyone associated with a fraternity.
i joined a fraternity at michigan state, sigma pi, and thought it was a great decision. as for fsu i do not really know if it is predominantly a greek school or not. either way you will have fun, but they are a great way to meet people and make connections.
I just went to different parties at different fraternities and during rush week go to as many as possible and just talk with the guys and see who you like the most and who you will get along fit in with. same interests etc.
Also talking to people you know on campus may have good input. Other than that just get out there and try to meet people and see what works for you. Good luck. I hope this helped.
[quote]Xab wrote:
Enormous waste of time and money. There used to be some that were prestigious and worthwhile, and they would actually impress potential employers. Now, most of them are excuses to party endlessly. I know of three local employers that refuse to hire anyone associated with a fraternity. [/quote]
Lol, someone had a bad experience.
Anyway, from what I’ve heard from all my friends around the country now, it really depends on your school. A lot of schools have most of the night life based around frats, a lot don’t.
You’ll always have people bad mouthing them because they couldn’t get in or just want to trash talk something they aren’t apart of. It is a lot of money but it can make your college experience that much more awesome.
The best advice your going to get is go hang out at the various fraternities on campus and see if it’s right for you. Join up if you think it is, you can always quit if it turns out not what you expected. And don’t believe all the stereotypes, or the hype, it’s an individual experience, and it seems A LOT of people love to shit talk something they’ve never been apart of.
[quote]fighting_fires wrote:
i joined a fraternity at michigan state, sigma pi, and thought it was a great decision. as for fsu i do not really know if it is predominantly a greek school or not. either way you will have fun, but they are a great way to meet people and make connections.
I just went to different parties at different fraternities and during rush week go to as many as possible and just talk with the guys and see who you like the most and who you will get along fit in with. same interests etc.
Also talking to people you know on campus may have good input. Other than that just get out there and try to meet people and see what works for you. Good luck. I hope this helped.[/quote]
yep, know what you want, get connected, get out and do your things with the people you chose.
[quote]fighting_fires wrote:
i joined a fraternity at michigan state, sigma pi, and thought it was a great decision. as for fsu i do not really know if it is predominantly a greek school or not. either way you will have fun, but they are a great way to meet people and make connections.
I just went to different parties at different fraternities and during rush week go to as many as possible and just talk with the guys and see who you like the most and who you will get along fit in with. same interests etc.
Also talking to people you know on campus may have good input. Other than that just get out there and try to meet people and see what works for you. Good luck. I hope this helped.[/quote]
Holy shit! I’m a Sigma Pi too, crazy!
As FF stated they’re a great way to meet people and life long friends. Sure you’re paying a membership fee but there is a lot more that goes with it. My chapter required a certain GPA to stay in, they provided study groups and tutors. There are also a ton of greek activities you can get into, from sports to dances.
IMO unless you have a group of friends going to school with you a fraternity makes college that much more fun. Go meet them and see which group you fit into.
I am an SAE and would say that overall it has been a great experience for me. I also played collegiate sports, so the hazing and everything was a little more lenient for me, but in general it’s nothing to worry about.
Joining a frat is a good way to meet good kids, party with hot woman, and get the most out of the “classic” college experience. If drinking a lot and partying isn’t something your into, I would probably suggest staying away from the normal frats.
Also, looking on the internet for what frats are best at your school is probably not a good way to go about it. Talk to people, see what the word on the street is, both from guys and girls, and I am sure you will be able to get a solid understanding of which house is the best fit for you.
If your interested, rush, start pledging, and if it’s not for you, you can always drop. It’s better to try something and dislike it than to never try it at all.
[quote]Xab wrote:
Enormous waste of time and money. There used to be some that were prestigious and worthwhile, and they would actually impress potential employers. Now, most of them are excuses to party endlessly. I know of three local employers that refuse to hire anyone associated with a fraternity. [/quote]
Agreed. I’m experienced with fraternities, and it was a waste of time, and took time from my studies. I can also say I since graduating 15 years ago, I associate with none of my “brothers”.
Fun, yes, but in the end game, means absolutely NOTHING.
Just because a few individuals had bad experiences doesn’t mean anything. Fraternities have been around for decades, and there are plenty of reasons why. I can understand that some find the experience ridiculous, but just as your experience isn’t the same as everyone elses, every frat isn’t a bunch of d-bags.
Maybe it is different out here or for SAE, but I still stay in contact with most of my brothers, was provided with great job opportunities through alumnus when I was looking for employment, and have a network of business connections throughout the country that is supported and updated by our organization.
The experience is going to be different for everyone, and for most it is going to be what you make of it.
[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
Just because a few individuals had bad experiences doesn’t mean anything. Fraternities have been around for decades, and there are plenty of reasons why. I can understand that some find the experience ridiculous, but just as your experience isn’t the same as everyone elses, every frat isn’t a bunch of d-bags.
Maybe it is different out here or for SAE, but I still stay in contact with most of my brothers, was provided with great job opportunities through alumnus when I was looking for employment, and have a network of business connections throughout the country that is supported and updated by our organization.
The experience is going to be different for everyone, and for most it is going to be what you make of it.[/quote]
Hahah it’s funny you mention SAE, at our campus they are the biggest group of douchebags, collectively.
[quote]Stuntman Mike wrote:
WestCoast7 wrote:
Just because a few individuals had bad experiences doesn’t mean anything. Fraternities have been around for decades, and there are plenty of reasons why. I can understand that some find the experience ridiculous, but just as your experience isn’t the same as everyone elses, every frat isn’t a bunch of d-bags.
Maybe it is different out here or for SAE, but I still stay in contact with most of my brothers, was provided with great job opportunities through alumnus when I was looking for employment, and have a network of business connections throughout the country that is supported and updated by our organization.
The experience is going to be different for everyone, and for most it is going to be what you make of it.
Hahah it’s funny you mention SAE, at our campus they are the biggest group of douchebags, collectively. [/quote]
No what’s funny is that you are ignorant enough to think that members of the same fraternity act the same across the country. I am in no way vouching for or against the members at your university, as I do not know them. At my school SAE was athletes only, and that is the mold of people that I like to surround myself with.
Just as with anything else, you can’t judge across the board from what you have simply seen in one instance. Almost anything you do in life is made up of what you put into it and how you handle it. If your interested in a frat, try it out, stick with it if you like it and leave it if you don’t. There are plenty of good organizations and groups at universities, but the only way your going to find one that you like/enjoy is to actually go out and interact with them. Go find the ones that suit you best.
[quote]DOHCrazy wrote:
A guy I know is in a frat here. They have a written dress code (literally) and also have to smoke cigarettes. [/quote]
I’ve met some cool frat guys, and there are quite a few who are awesome guys. But most of them are losers from high school who now think they are bad asses because they pay to have friends and meet girls.
All I see is mid thigh khakis, bow ties, polo’s, boat shoes, sunglasses with the croakies (sp? you know the sunglasses holder things) etc, and it just looks ridiculous.
And for the poor souls that are pledges, they have to wear a blazer, khaki pants, and oxford shirt every day for a semester. No thanks!
All you really need to do is try and find you a cute sorority girl to hit on and she will invite you to their parties if you succeed. That is of course if she doesn’t have a problem with you being a GDI (God Damn Independent). Fuckin skanks.
The ‘brothers’ at my uni are a bunch of twats and aren’t taken seriously by anyone who isn’t either a first-semester freshman looking for alcohol and a place to party or a sorority slag.
The general feeling at my school is that fraternities are a ‘rent-a-friend’ option for those who can’t do it any other way, or a means to boost the amount of ass you get (sorority girls put out like it’s for extra credit).
But, I can’t speak for EVERY frat across the country, so I’ll echo what others have said and suggest you go see for yourself. Most frats will have rush parties (or whatever term your school will use) where potential members get to hang around and meet the brothers/sororities that particular frat associates with. And get drunk a lot, too. Your frats might have better quality people than mine do, so it couldn’t hurt to investigate.
So, worst case scenario, you rush for a semester and get free booze and poon, then make up an excuse about partying too much and needing to focus on your scholarship or whatever (worked for me).
[quote]WestCoast7 wrote:
Stuntman Mike wrote:
WestCoast7 wrote:
Just because a few individuals had bad experiences doesn’t mean anything. Fraternities have been around for decades, and there are plenty of reasons why. I can understand that some find the experience ridiculous, but just as your experience isn’t the same as everyone elses, every frat isn’t a bunch of d-bags.
Maybe it is different out here or for SAE, but I still stay in contact with most of my brothers, was provided with great job opportunities through alumnus when I was looking for employment, and have a network of business connections throughout the country that is supported and updated by our organization.
The experience is going to be different for everyone, and for most it is going to be what you make of it.
Hahah it’s funny you mention SAE, at our campus they are the biggest group of douchebags, collectively.
No what’s funny is that you are ignorant enough to think that members of the same fraternity act the same across the country. I am in no way vouching for or against the members at your university, as I do not know them. At my school SAE was athletes only, and that is the mold of people that I like to surround myself with.
Just as with anything else, you can’t judge across the board from what you have simply seen in one instance. Almost anything you do in life is made up of what you put into it and how you handle it. If your interested in a frat, try it out, stick with it if you like it and leave it if you don’t. There are plenty of good organizations and groups at universities, but the only way your going to find one that you like/enjoy is to actually go out and interact with them. Go find the ones that suit you best.[/quote]
Wow dude, I was hoping “at our campus” would clear any of that up, but I guess it’s too sore of a subject. You misunderstood.
The first thing I’ll say is don’t judge a fraternity at one chapter like it’s another chapter. I grew up a block away from Carnegie Mellon U’s greek row. SAE guys were pretty nice, Pi Kappa Alpha guys were decent enough. Here at Delaware, PKA are thought of as rapist douchebags (mostly because they ARE douchebags, and the 5-6 members accused of rape in a 4 year window…), and SAE gets mixed reviews depending on who you talk to.
I joined Sigma Phi Delta, which is an engineering fraternity. All my friends in it are engineers, and as such it offered a certain amount of advantages. The first and foremost was the pledging process was designed to fit into an engineer’s schedule. Guys on my floor who pledged would disappear for a week at a time and come back at 3am more than a few nights a week. If you take an active role and REALLY try to improve yourself, you can get a lot out of a fraternity. Aside from contacts and networking, I went from being a semi-socially-awkward guy who couldn’t speak in public to save his life to the best public speaker in the fraternity. It all comes down to how much you’re willing to put yourself out there.
Go to a lot of rush events for different fraternities. See what they offer, do, what the guys are like. The guys who show up to the rush events are usually the people who you’ll interact with the most during pledging and when you’re in. If there’s 5-6 people who are rubbing you the wrong way, it probably isn’t a good fit. There’s no rules against going to multiple fraternities’ rush, you can only pledge one at a time though.