Three more years of college? Though you make us guess at your situation, if three years includes graduate school or a five-year professional program, keep your priorities straight. It is probably a safe assumption that you are transferring to harder and/or more prestigious school, so focus on your classes. Then see if you really have time for an active roll in any fraternity, especially since you are already in a good one now.

There is nothing stopping you from periodically going back to your old school for alumni fraternity events there. Also, there is likely nothing stopping you from focusing on your field of study by joining a professional fraternity in your field at your new college.

I don't know the politics of AEPi - but, if you want to pursue joining the chapter at your new college, this may be a rare situation where recommendation letters from alumni of the chapter at your new school may help. Also, letters from your old chapter recommending your affiliation could also help, assuming of course that you were a good member and someone they will be missing.

In general, I believe it is a very big mistake for an initiated member of any fraternity to even consider renouncing his membership. For most fraternities, the commitment made to the fraternity is for life.

I am an initiated member. My friends told me that the chapter gets a lot of transfers each year and the guys are frustrated because of it. They want people to go through the pledge process. I am considering re-pledging but their chapter has an extremely hard pledge process so I'm worried that my grades will suffer tremendously.

There's also the chance that you will get to your new school and not like the guys in the new chapter, or not like Greek life in general. It might be more of a change than you think going to a school-recognized chapter if the one you pledged is not.

I know that there are chapters who have issues with lots of transfers coming in, but if anyone told me I had to repeat pledging after I was a fully initiated member, I think I would tell them to go shit in their hat.

Making initiated members pledge again? I can see how this would make initiates upset.

So what you're saying is that this chapter hazes badly?

You could always begin the process, gather solid evidence, report those dbags to HQ and be part of the leadership team when HQ comes in to clean house. If you have a chapter which is hazing, it is not a question of if, but when someone gets hurt.

If no hazing is involved, repledging will be like going back to high school knowing all of the stuff you know now. The process may be difficult for those who haven't gone through it, but you have. I can also appreciate them wanting you to go through that process to join their chapter. It's part of their chapter's culture.

If re-pledging was just about learning the history of the fraternity then, of course, I would just do that and not make this post. Part of the reason I was considering renouncing my membership if can't transfer in, is so that I can pledge a fraternity with an easier pledge process. I barely got through pledging once and I know that this chapter I want to join has it a lot worse for pledges. I wouldn't want to report them because I feel like that would only make my situation worse and i'll make enemies.

If they're kicked out and you're in charge, what kind of enemies are they?

The national website says they have a "zero tolerance policy on hazing" and the policy is laid out in detail along with a hotline.

Based on the information in these posts, I must assume the chapter at the new school does not violate this policy. It is very possible that the re-pledging stuff has more to do with making sure the transfer becomes acquainted with every active in the chapter before approving the affiliation, which could become quite a task if the active membership is very large.

Unless the OP's friends at the transfer school chapter are chapter officers, it is very possible that the information the OP is getting may not be accurate. Suggest the OP get something in writing from the local chapter and the national organization stating exactly what he will be required to do to transfer active membership to the new school.

An initiated member of a fraternal organization SHOULD NOT have to re-pledge his/her org at a new school. I would imagine this would probably fall under the hazing heading. As an initiated brother, you have the rights and privileges of any other member BECAUSE YOU ARE INITIATED!!

CALL YOUR NATIONAL OFFICE. Find out from the powers that be what the AEPi transfer policy is. That way, you know where you actually stand with the potential membership transfer. Something like

" Hello. AEPi headquarters? I am (name). I was initiated this year at ( name of your chapter and college). I am thinking of transferring to ( name of prospective college) and would like to know AEPi's policy on transferring membership from one chapter to another."

Then you will know if transferring your membership is doable. If AEPi has a blanket policy that a chapter must accept any initiated transfer you will know and you will no longer have to discuss the possibilities with people who are not AEPis, and therefore do not have the answers for you.

CALL YOUR NATIONAL OFFICE. Their phone is 317-876-1913.

I would think the chapter at the new school has the choice as to whether to affiliate someone. I imagine they could attach whatever preconditions they want to. Don't like it? They'll just vote no. Calling HQ because you don't like the preconditions for affiliation is a sure way to get no voted.

That is not true of all orgs. Some orgs allow their chapters to vote on whether to accept the transfer into their chapter. Other orgs have rules where the chapter must accept any transfer. Others can vote not to accept any transfers-no exceptions. That's why he needs to call headquarters to find out what his org's national transfer policy is. Not to tattle on a chapter's policy that right now is just hearsay, and does not presently impact him. I think my preceding post explained what he should do and how he he should go about it.

"The new school has my chapter but I've heard from many people that the guys in that chapter do not like transfer students and vote most of them out because they feel it ruins the dynamic of the fraternity. "

"I checked the AEPi laws and it states that the chapter does have to vote me in for me to reaffiliate. "

From your OP.

First, the "heard from many people ..." may or may not be your best source of information. Have you contacted one of the officers or advisors for that chapter?

Second, if the by-laws say the chapter does have to vote - and you're certain of that - then contacting the chapter ahead of time to get to know them seems like a good idea.

I am planning to contact the new chapter this summer. Do you think I should get recommendations from the brothers at my old chapter and give it to the guys?

Perhaps have the president of your original chapter write the president of the new one? Also, my group requires a form stating that you are in good standing to be sent to the new chapter. You might ask if there is such in your group.

A chapter's reluctance to automatically accept transfers is understandable. It is also understandable how an initiated transfer student may be reluctant to transfer his active membership to another chapter.

New chapter's viewpoint: We don't know this guy. vs. He (and a bunch of other transfers) are wearing our letters all over campus and we can't do anything about it because they are in fact members. vs. He will pay dues.

Transferee viewpoint: I'm a member. vs. The dues are high and I don't really know anyone. It's just not the same as my old school.

I do recall one transfer member while I was an active. He was an active when I pledged. While pledging, I saw no difference in status because he was an active and I was a pledge. Though, after I became active, I once heard a comment about him being a transfer. This individual was WELL LIKED BY ALL. He was an active member when I joined and remained active after I graduated.

Transfers likely have a better experience if their new chapter is small. If the chapter has over 50 actives, it may be harder to break in to the group. This may be a rationale for requiring each transfer have at least some common experiences with a pledge class -- though I do not advocate for this approach.