Are foreign students recruited into fraternities as well?
 

I'm Ugandan but studied in the UK all my life, so could be considered British. I love sports and i play ruby and tennis both under 18 A teams at my high school. I'm also really social and always interacting with others no matter who they are and parties are a plus for me. I'm not entirely sure what a GPA is but my predicted grades for A- Level Cambridge are AABB cause I take four A-Levels.

I'm 17 now and I'm looking to apply to US universities, particularly University of Texas Austin. I found out about the Greek system from the websites of some universities and I found it to be a really attractive activity for me, but I'm unsure whether I would be accepted into a fraternity for the following reasons:

-I'm totally new to it
-My mates here said that a lot of the fraternities in the US are very judgmental about family backgrounds, which may affect me cause my parents are wealthy politicians in my home country(Uganda) and receive a lot of media attention there.
-And I'm unsure whether international students are apart of the Greek system

I'd really like the opinion of anyone who knows more about the Greek system than myself(which is basically everyone) ('',) thanks in advance

It will depend on the chapters at each individual campus. On my campus, your background wouldn't be a big deal but I personally don't know enough about the University of Texas-Austin.

In the Big 10, it wouldn't be a problem. UT might be.

Do yu mean big 10 universities... or chapters?
And what chapters do you think i should look out for?

She means universities.

University of Kentucky? ;)

I went and looked up Big 10, I was absolutely clueless that its a group of states in the US. Thought she meant Harvard, Yale and the other lot of brainy universities lol
Is there any reason why UT might be different? from what i gathered, Greek life is pretty hectic there...

I wouldn't discount Big 10 schools as non-brainy. Yale and Harvard are Ivy League.

UT is in a very conservative area of the country. You will find this at many SEC schools, as well, where pledge classes are often pre-selected based on what high school you attended or what fraternity your father or grandfather were in.

lol no sorry, i meant to say United Kingdom.. lol

Really? wow its sounds a lot more selective than i thought it would be, but why the fuss over parents and relatives? It would be sad if my getting into a fraternity is based on my family who couldn't careless bout greek life..

I knew what you meant. :cool: I attended the University of Kentucky and have been chided a few times here for using UK when referring to my alma mater.

Although Texas is generall conservative, UT is a pretty liberal school and to say that Austin is liberal would be an understatement. UT has an extremely diverse student population and with the high number of fraternities, I wouldn't be surprised if most of them have at least a handful of international students. I know a few are more conservative in their views, but again, there are plenty of options.

I would check out all the fraternities that are recognized on campus and look over their national website and the UT chapters' websites. That will tell you a lot about what types of members they are looking for.

Good luck!

lol i think i'll have a go at my mates wit that one lol
Thanks for the luck gpb1874 and i think research is a good idea since I have no idea what fraternity I would want to join myself.

As long as the person in question fit our ethos and our attitudes, I'm pretty sure we would kill to have royalty of any country.

Royalty?

My son is in a fraternity at UT and he has a guy in his pledge class from England, so I don't think it matters a bit if you are from England or Uganda or wherever.

If you are a good guy, chances are you'll be fine. Just try to go to some of the summer rush events so you can meet people. The only problem for out of state/country kids is if they don't meet enough people to get a bid. The bigger fraternities usually are done handing out bids before school starts.

Good luck!

Thanks srmom that gave me little a confidence, but when are the summer rush events usually due? and if the big fraternities already decide before school starts does that mean i have little chance of getting in them?

Elephant Walk you came across as someone from UT in a fraternity? If so is it true that fraternities would only want or not want me cause of my family status? Instead of the other factors like personality, academic success and community contributions.

I read rich and politician and figured he was the son of some sort of King (or president Bush).

Carlos, the fraternities will want you for alot of different reasons. But family relations are an important part of it (as important as many other factors).

This is absolutely true about the school and city. And couldn't be farther from the truth with the vast majority of IFC fraternities (or NPC sororities for that matter).

If you're interested in pledging a fraternity start contacting people ASAP - you're at a HUGE disadvantage being from outside of the country not because of your background or family or anything but because you don't know anyone in the chapters here. A lot of the fraternity pledge classes will have 10 or 15 guys from the same high school every year. And yes, the majority of chapters will be done handing out bids by the week before classes. Summer and even spring rush events are a big, big, important deal at UT.

I agree. However, this situation is why a school like Texas has a Fall Rush. To meet quality men who can not make it to any Spring or Summer Rush events. Especially guys from out of the county. And remember there are no NIC rules (NIC = North-American Interfraternity Conference, the association of collegiate men's fraternities) regarding quota or total. So a chapter does not have a limit on the number of men they may pledge. So while the pledge class may be pretty much set come Fall Rush, there is always room for a man that is a fit with the chapter.

Tau Carolos - it might behoove you to contact the Texas IFC (IFC = Inter-Fraternity Council, the campus body that governs the fraternity chapters on a particular campus) regarding both Summer Rush events and Fall Rush. And it might not hurt to contact the chapters to a.) let them know your background and that you are interested; b.) that you will be arriving in Austin on such and such date and would like the opportunity to meet with members of the chapter.

Pretty much what LoveinZTA said. It's not so much about family backgrounds, it's just that the bigger fraternities tend to pledge the guys they already know from their hometowns so guys from other places really need to make themselves known (in a good way.) The best way to do that is to attend all the spring and summer rush events if you can. There are tons of fraternities on campus though, and just because you aren't able to get to know the guys in the larger groups doesn't mean you won't find a home in some of the other chapters. They really vary a lot and have a variety to offer. So it won't be about where you're from (or not from) but on how well you mesh with the guys you meet. You should be able to find a group where you're comfortable and they think enough of you to offer you a bid. Well, unless you're Idi Amin's son or something. In that case, you might not want to bring that up! :)

lol Idi Amin's son? thankful not, my situation is no where near as bad lol Thanks a lot guys basically from everything I've gathered I think ill be visiting UT and it's chapters this May after I visit other Universities like NYU, Lehigh and Miami.. I've already got an air ticket for Jan and my application forms are sorted. I guess I was just worried about being judged before anyone even saw me, thanks again for the confidence boost guys!!

If you end up going to UT, they have orientation sessions during the summer that last a week. The fraternities hold events during these sessions. They all hold "late nights", which are parties either at the house or at a place they've rented downtown, and during some sessions, big theme parties are held, this is where you can make yourself known (in a good way) to the houses. These are open events and if you're rushing, not just some random guy, you will be welcome (unless you make an a** of yourself;)).

As to fall rush, I don't think they really do it (at least my son's fraternity doesn't), bids are extended before school starts. I know they don't have a structured rush like Ole Miss where all the houses hold events on some schedule.

You won't be the only new guy from out of town going through rush. My son's roommate is from Indiana and didn't know a soul, and he pledged. He's just an awesome guy who came across very well during his orientation week, and he fit in with the house.

Like I said before, in my son's pledge class there is a guy from England, his roommate from Indiana, and also a guy from Chicago (and Indiana and Chicago might as well be from Uganda ;))

While it is true that some pledge classes (including my son's) will have 15 or more guys from the same highschool, there are other guys who pledge too. I think this year's pledge class at my son's fraternity had 50+ guys, so there is space for new people.

FYI - If you are planning on visiting in May, you will have made your choice already - May 1 is the deadline for accepting admission and paying your enrollment deposit at UT.

I can't speak for Miami or NYU, but Lehigh will be very open to you. Since it is not a "state" school (private), they get guys from all over. It's also a "brainy" school.

My cousin's son attends Lehigh and he is from Colorado. Even though he is a legacy to at least one chapter (both parents graduated from UT-Austin) and well connected, he decided not to pledge a fraternity. He felt that Lehigh was small enough that pledging was not necessary to meet people and he had many social and leadership oppertunities. Only about 30% of all male students are Greek at Lehigh, down from 42% about 10 years ago.

Fraternities hold their recruitment in January, but they begin their "meet the Greeks in the Fall". What is nice about deferred recruitment is you have 3 months to get to know the guys around campus. One bonus, the fraternity houses at Lehigh are magnificent.

Hey. Just so you're clear, the Big 10 is not a group of states. It's a group of universities, or more specifically, an athletic conference of universities.

Good luck!

I think it all depends on the school, but honestly I have personally seen some fraternities that might consider someone from Europe, but would more then likely never try to recruit people from countries in Africa or Asia. I personally would love to have foreign students, but the fact is that America isn't always the most foreign friendliest places.

So would I, but I think it would depend on the campus, and the student. At Radford, yeah that could probably happen. It just depends.

Good luck.

^^^It's sad because my ex was an Irish forign exchange student and that actually ended up giving her a leg up in social society, but the way I saw students treat many of the other foreign exchange students from non-Euro-American nations was a bit sad. I understand that sometimes there are some language barriers, but that wasn’t the only thing holding these students back. If it was a German or Spanish accent then it was the coolest thing in the world, but many students didn’t want to have anything to do with the Asian or African Students.

Also, we claim we don’t discriminate, but during rush I personally witnessed a friend of mine from another fraternity telling a few of my brothers that we shouldn’t consider one member because of his sexual orientation.

^^
Damn, I'd be a little ticked at that just on the principle that it isn't his fraternity's business.

Oh noes!

Fraternities should never discriminate!

Inclusiveness for ALL!!!!

We need to hand out bids to everyone!!!111shift+1




[yes, I'm secretly Earp's sockpuppet]

Geez.. but no worries there was always going to be a challenge plus i think I've got a sick British accent (if that counts for anything)... and if a fraternity doesn't take me cause of I'm Ugandan, then I doubt I would have enjoyed being there anyway lol thanks for the luck guys

You have the right attitude, i'm sure you'll do fine.

I know quite a few africans in fraternities...mostly in the NPHC frats...

I know it's quite a challenge for some frat chapters to break the cultural barrier and accept someone in...but hey, if u are a good guy, u bound to find a fraternity of good guys like u and have a ball in your college career, but let me give you a few words of advice.

-Dont jump into it real quick kid. Get a feel of the school, get a balance of the social life, academics and everything before you make that decision to join a frat.

-U play rugby? awesome I play rugby too...used to, I'm too fat and too lazy and too busy for it.

-Since u have a famous family in Uganda, u might want to be at ur best behavior at UT talk less of when u get into the frat life. UT is a really big school and word spreads quickly within the intl crowd at any school for that matter..u don't want to hurt ur family's reputation (if it is a good one)...you know? :)