You do not have the right idea at all.

And we don't do chapter reputations here at GC.

:eek:

Just for that I am taking all of the good sushi away from you. Take that, beyotch!

This is a better convo. I think we're the only ones having it. LOL.

Yup Jimmy they sure do pledge Asians!

I had a pledge brother named Phuk Hu Mon...

iChuckled :)

Whether or not this is funny depends on one thing: Are you Chris Rock?

I felt guilty. :(

When were these ever "high-ranked"?

Jimmy, if you don't already know these guys or have the right connections, you're not going to get a bid. Since you don't even know the real reputations, you're definitely in that clueless unconnected camp. They will smell your desperate social climbing the second you walk out of your room in Dobie.

This.

I was completely baffled when he didn't even mention any of the better three.

OP: you might want to reevaluate on whether or not you really want to join a fraternity. Personally speaking, just by how you described how you view the Greek system, you've already managed to deeply offend me.

Sure, fraternities can help with connections and fun, but that's not what it's all about. You join a fraternity for a group of brothers who support each other at all times, and as a result of this, you get all the other benefits.

Sorry- might have been a bit trigger happy with my reply to you. There are still lots of people who think only rich white kids are "allowed" to go Greek, and was not sure if you were making a joke along those lines. Bad on me for not gracefully taking as good as I give sometimes.

:confused:

The nonwhite Greeks on GC "went Greek" and we are not rich white kids.

If "go Greek" means "join an historically white sorority or fraternity" then that's an issue and that's what the OP is curious about.

Hi DrPhil- I mean society in general among those who have the money to send their children to UT and pay the bills for their children to be in a "top tier" fraternity.

Miriverite is quite correct that Austin is about as close as you get here to full integration- all the way down to high end neighborhoods having a more diverse mix of residents than one might experience elsewhere. Houston and Dallas are nowhere near that phase of enlightenment.

However, compared to the rest of the South, Texas is fairly open. It may make Texas more progressive, but I would be hard pressed to argue we have achieved an ideal state of existence.

I attribute it to a strong respect for entrepreneurship. If you make a success of yourself financially here- then assuming you are not a wholly disagreeable person, you will find your background far less of an obstacle to overcome when tackling those things in life that confer "respectability"- and this includes your children going Greek at UT.

There is a lot of money in Texas. In fact, it was not until I started my career with 2 years of travel around the US in public accounting that I fully realized just how much wealth there is here compared to other states. Even in small towns you will find families possessing staggering amounts of money with staggering frequency.

The real money here in Texas comes from oil- and the oil families here did not migrate with fortunes. They were poor farmers and wildcatters who worked hard and got lucky. Even today with all the natural gas finds in Teague- there are farmers once below the poverty line who are suddenly millionaires.

I think this is why here race takes second place to financial success when it comes to how people are judged- although it still only confers status on a very select few.

To the OP- what I have said above should paint the picture for you.

Here is the deal with Texas. It is an enormous school. There are a LOT of GLOs or groups with the same characteristics of traditional Greek groups. The latter outnumber the former.

If you are an eager and well-presented individual, you will find a group there that you can be proud to be a part of and that will give you an opportunity to contribute and be better prepared for the real world in the process.

However, if you set your sights on "top tier" chapters only- you might be setting your goal a bit wrong. I am especially concerned because- as I and others have noted- you have not exactly posted a roster of "top tier" chapters in your inquiries.

Let me pose a question to you- and to be fair this question could be posed to a lot of people, not just you. I am not singling you out since the questions you are asking are things many potential rushees think about but don't ever vocalize.

What do you want out of your fraternity membership?

Seriously. What do you want it to do for you? From your posts so far, you give the impression- rightly or wrongly- that you want to join a top tier chapter in the hopes it will confer a certain status on you.

This is not how it works. The demand is such that going into 10th grade, most future successful rushees for the most in-demand fraternities already have a very clear idea of the social pecking order at UT. And by the time of graduation, most have already made several visits and either know where they will end up, or at least are assured they will have a bid at one of those houses.

At other schools this is not necessarily the case, but here it is. And demand is such that the "top tier" chapters can be very selective and expect of their membership quite a financial obligation.

Let me give you an idea how that works because Texas is the MOST expensive school in the country to go Greek.

Dues- plan on anywhere from $4,000-6,000 per year just for the basic dues if you live in the house. OU weekend- plan on dropping $1,000 for doing your part to get there, have fun, and pay your date's way too. Plan on buying a very good tuxedo for all the formals, and having it cleaned or replaced frequently. Be prepared as well for all sorts of other miscellaneous expenses incidental to that life.

Good finger in the wind test- if you want to be in a "top tier" chapter at UT, plan on having $10,000 a year to spend on every single thing that you will need that you would not need otherwise. If you want to do all the side trips and such- double that figure. And plan on that coming from your parents. There are rare cases where guys work to put themselves through school and try to go Greek too- but it seldom works out. Fair? Maybe not. But it is reality.

The "lesser" chapters that have large houses and good parties are not that much cheaper. You are still looking at $5K+ to achieve the above.

My suggestion to you is to consider what you want from Greek Life at UT, and then also the cost. This will at least tell you what you could possibly manage and want to do.

Noone is going to discuss specific chapter reputations on this site. That you need to find out on your own- in no small part because your perception of reputation will determine that answer for you.

Oh damn- I should have read through all the replies before writing reams. LadyLonghorn said it all in 100 words or less.

Jimmy- going Greek at UT is not a job/internship opportunity. We can smell it a mile away...

I know it's not what you meant, but I don't like this.

Just to make sure the OP is aware -- the "other" GLOs are not "back up" organizations that you join if you don't get into the "real" ones.