College fraternities

renboque · 2019-01-12T15:07:52+00:00

My schools frat life wasnt that sick, so I didn't join one. I also played a sport so I stuck with that.

At bigger schools though, I'd recommend joining a frat. Your grades wont tank unless you make them tank. You're still responsible for grades and shit.

Frat life allots you a lot of opportunities to hook up with the hotter population of girls at your school and gives you a good group of bros to kick it with

ChadBraddington · 2019-01-12T15:21:01+00:00

Sigma Chi. Grades took a hit but i know alot of guys that had perfect averages, so its possible. It does help with TRP principles and abundance mentality. You will get girls for no other reason than being in a frat.

What ive struggled with is after university. I relied too much on frat for identity and women so now i am back to square one and have to relearn everything. So be mindful of that.

Still though, it is an awesome experience.

RedRealer · 2019-01-12T17:33:59+00:00

I studied computer science and was in a frat for majority of my time in college within a very large city.

Freshman year is the easiest for any degree. It's mostly just gen eds and introductory classes that cover a large breadth of material without going in depth to the gritty details.

I would guess that sophomore year (maybe closer to the later half of it) is typically the most difficult for technical/engineering degrees. They usually will cover the fundamentals, core concepts, and the most rigorous of the material you need to study. I've also anecdotally heard that the professors are typically more strict in an attempt to preemptively weed out the students who just aren't going to cut it in their specific major. Sophomore year also sets the tone for your GPA. Each year that goes by, it becomes harder and harder for you to improve your GPA since each semester's # of credits is more and more insignificant in comparison to your total # of credits earned.

Junior (and especially senior year) seems to actually be easier. You've learned the bulk of the difficult theoretical/mathematic/rigorous concepts, and now your classes will typically just expand further on them and delve into more specialized topics. The professors will be more lax. You'll probably have figured out the best way that you personally learn/study, found a group of friends that are in all your classes that can help you.

Another thing to note is that it's a little harder to rush and get a bid if you're a junior vs. a sophomore/freshman. It's also typically harder to find parties and social opportunities when you're no longer a freshman living in the dorms on campus, as well as because you'll have finished most of your gen eds and won't have as many classes with students of other majors (you'll be stuck with the computer engineering nerds for the rest of your classes).

So with all of this in mind, this is what I'd recommend:

Rush, get a bid, join the frat during sophomore year (maybe push it off 'til the Spring rush and focus on your studies in Fall/Winter).
During sophomore year, only use the frat for access to parties on the weekends, and don't contribute much else otherwise aside from maintaining friendships. Don't go crazy with taking council positions, going to every single event, etc. Focus on your studies and don't go overboard with partying.
Junior and senior year, once your classes get a little more lax and you have a good GPA solidified, you can begin to devote more time with the frat. Start socializing like crazy, build reputation within the frat, shamelessly and relentlessly hit on chicks, be a bit of a douche, live the frat bro lifestyle and be their hero.
Around the end of junior/senior year, volunteer for frat/council/board positions that have a high profile without requiring too much time/effort commitment. Maybe organize some events, interact with the other higher-ups of some sororities and get cool with them. They'll basically feed you hot drunk freshman girls if you play your cards right. Maintain friendships and start networking and thinking about your career.

Also, don't join a local frat, join a big nation-wide one known for partying. A local frat will be useless for career/networking since there's so much fewer members. In a national frat, you might meet brothers from different states who could help you out with your career. That's a mistake that I made.

SenorSwole · 2019-01-12T18:01:15+00:00

I’m in a fraternity at a UC.

Hazing depends on the schools but it’s gonna be pretty bad at a big 10.

Don’t join for the wrong reason or you’ll drop.

Don’t be a goober and you’ll get a bid.

Have fun, don’t try to impress. We’re rushing some GDIs this winter and I can already tell who’s not going to get a bid because they’re too nervous to have fun and be themselves. Don’t front.

Also only go with who you vibe with. No point in joining a brotherhood you don’t fit in with.

rpsheepdog · 2019-01-12T15:30:38+00:00

So, I never rushed but went to a big SEC school where Greek life was pretty huge, and therefore had lots of interaction with Greeks. Also, I was in a professional fraternity (think academics and networking, co-ed, no house, no emphasis on service or anything, basically a club).

In my observation, most of the guys were academically oriented, and the frat provided good tutoring opportunities and the option to buy books cheaper and have access to the note taking type services. But a lot of the guys also socially kind of awkward, probably because to get in to the school you had to be pretty good scholastically. The Frats did provide a lot of social opportunities with sororities, they would rotate with what sorority the did events with, so you had an opportunity to meet people. I can see why they have the reputation of using alcohol and/or drugs to get girls because about half of the guys were just typical blue pill guys.

That being said, if you're doing it to meet chicks I would treat a sorority girl with a huge red flag. Hypergamy at its finest, find a nice BP frat guy who is connected and makes money, then go on a "social" for the chapter and bang out some college athlete at a bar or whatever, the girls cover for them, and you'd never know.

mrpthrowa · 2019-01-12T15:08:05+00:00

I have no clue so I'll let others comment, all I can say is you're an adult and you should be in no position where you parents "let you" or "not let you" do stuff. Doesn't mean you go doing stupid stuff though.

KeyboardTuba · 2019-01-12T15:21:47+00:00

I joined a fraternity, President for a year. It really depends on the school and the fraternity. Chapters even vary between schools. There'll always being the upstanding ones and the shit holes, but there are plenty that pride academics, community service, networking, all while maintaining a great social life. I still keep in frequent contact with over 40 of my brothers 10 years out of college. Are fraternities required? No, but at its best they are amazing. Find one that matches your ideals.

Rapp5601 · 2019-01-12T17:03:08+00:00

I rushed last semester and I found that it was a great opportunity to make friends, meet girls and give back. The only bad thing is that I got dropped because of some bullshit that almost killed me, and I still had to pay dues, so I'd be extremely picky when rushing

magenta_pill · 2019-01-12T17:38:17+00:00

Joining a fraternity in the 80s was the best and worst thing I've ever done. My frat buddies are still my best friends 30 years later. But pledging freshman year with an 8am calc class sent my grades to shit. I wasn't the only one: I was at the top of my pledge class with a 2.2. Don't do that. We were too focused on partying, not enough on why we were at college.

Things have changed a lot since then, and I'll encourage my sons to join, but only one of the ones that focus on making better men, not one that still has pledging and focuses on dumbassery.

Sigma Phi Epsilon looked at the frat experience around 2000 and the issues with alcohol, drugs, sexual assaults, groupthink, guys flunking out, and guys not doing shit after they're done pledging, and realized this not only sustainable, but not why the fraternity was founded. The goal is to build better men, not have alcohol-soaked parties and get everyone laid (although that was a fucking blast). So, they abolished pledging and instituted a 4-year development plan for members. Most houses are now dry, with alumni mentoring, although success varies from chapter to chapter. But the quality of guys now is an order of magnitude better than the Animal House guys of my era.

Other frats have since adopted similar brother development plans: Pi Kappa Epsilon is one, not sure about others.

I recommend joining a fraternity. I truly have lifelong friendships with about 100 guys I keep in touch with regularly. But don't go for the easy party one. Go for one that will challenge you and help you in your mission.

dkt2 · 2019-01-12T17:01:39+00:00

Graduated from large university a few years ago, in top frat, studied comp sci. Hazing isn't that bad anymore. I question anyone whose GPA would get ruined from 1 semester of pledging. If you have any work ethic you'll be good, especially now that you have a semester under your belt.

vverons · 2019-01-12T18:07:07+00:00

If you are a top school they are usually worried about getting caught for harsh hazing and getting kicked off. You will probably have more alcohol related hazing and forced to memorize bullshit facts about the frat and brothers.

My advice

Rush in the fall. You will have a larger pledge class
Take the minimum amount of classes that semester, easy classes, avoid late thurs or fri classes, stack classes mon-wed
Don't pledge a frat because a friend does
Go to each house
Public opinion of the frat reflects how you will be judged
Look at the quality of the girls that hang around them (no girls == big problem). If they hang with KD, ZTA thats good(usually the most attractive at all schools)
Frats are different at each school. Kappa Sig at NYU is vastly different than Kappa Sig at Alabama
Find out how many and which parties they have
Find out if they are probation
Fight non-brothers that try and steal your book. If another frat or other frat pledge is trying they are willing to hurt you.
Don't let them make you chug alcohol
You might have to be sober and drive drunk brothers around dont let them fuck with your car.
If they want you to do something sexual leave immediately, quit and get them shutdown. Although i only rarely hear about any frat actually trying this.
You may have to do some calisthenics. You will live and they should give you water. If its a ton and/or they arn't giving you water you should quit.
If you quit because you are a pussy you will be shunned from your pledge class, by the loyalist sisters, the frat and you will get shit if you run into them.
If you quit because you are a pussy and try to get the frat shutdown... don't.. you just made a ton of enemies who will probably try and fight you if they spot you at a bar or on the street.

KA and Sigma Nu take their class photos in Confederate uniforms.

Fuck KA

eatingaburritoatm · 2019-01-12T19:03:26+00:00

You’re an adult

NeuroBoss31 · 2019-01-13T07:45:49+00:00

Engineer here. Don't follow the herd unless you are absolutely convinced that a specific frat strongly resonates with your identity. Being friends with people in the Greek life is always a positive thing though.

But back to square 1: if your goal is to join a frat just to get laid, you are doing it wrong.

Join a club with a group of people who enjoy doing what you do (not just getting laid, though I understand it's college). Meeting women from there happens naturally -- and you will usually have the upper hand. Sometimes not being in a frat is a bonus as well.

pre-death · 2019-01-12T16:44:48+00:00

Why shack up with a bunch of dudes, or anyone for that matter? Whatever happened to being self-reliant.

cheetopapito · 2019-01-12T15:20:24+00:00

Wtf are fraternities lmfao. Dont join goofy groups, just go to parties to get pussy and have fun with your homies. Be more about your grades and chasing that bread 💰 Fuck that other bullshit

Title	College fraternities
Author	RedRealer
Upvotes	4
Comments	42
Date	January 12, 2019 3:01 PM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/askTRP
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/asktrp/comments/af83vn/college_fraternities/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/askTRP/college-fraternities.163835 https://theredarchive.com/post/163835

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