Top Tier Fraternities?
 

I'm going to college next year, and want to rush. I've been looking at sites like Greek Rank to find which fraternities are considered top tier, but it seems like in each fraternity review there are people saying that that fraternity has weirdos and is bottom tier. In almost every one. It's not just at this school, but as other ones as well. I live in a State College town, which has a few fraternities. I've been to a few fraternity parties, and probably the top tier fraternity here is Pike. Pike seems pretty cool to me, but after reading a lot online it seems that many people hate Pike. Almost one of the most hated ones I've seen, with a lot of people saying they aren't top tier at any school, or at least shouldn't be. So I guess what I'm asking is how are you suppose to determine which fraternity is top tier at a school? What kinds of things should I look for in person, and where might I look online? Also, why do so many people hate Pi Kappa Alpha? And, is there a fraternity that is typically top tier all around?

"Tiers" are all in your perception. An organization that one person feels is top tier may be another person's bottom tier organization.

Rush is an intensely personal situation. Go in with open eyes and find the house where you mesh best with the brothers. THAT will be your top tier house.

Good luck!

PS Don't pay any attention to GreekRank. Most of the people who post on there have axes to grind against certain organizations so they will sit down for an entire afternoon writing nasty things about the organizations that didn't give them a bid or whatever.

No. Although there may be fraternities that are almost universally strong or weak in a particular region, and there certainly are some national fraternities that are larger than others (although all have "good" and "bad" chapters).

Ignore tiers as best you can. Online everybody will say chapters are "weird" and "creepy", but when you get to campus I think you'll be surprised...there will be many incredibly confident guys with excellent social skills in virtually every chapter, and awkward/shy guys in every chapter (including "top" houses). I think many freshmen read up on these things and then expect to breeze through recruitment at certain chapters, only to find that the guys are actually so socially confident to the point of intimidating and are shocked when they get cut. On the flip side, at other times rushees mentally psych themselves out expecting perfect "Frat Gods" at some chapters, and stumble over their words and blow it despite the fact the guys they talked to have average social skills at best and could have easily been won over if the rushee had been even moderately confident.

Also, although this site heavily favors the sorority side of things, using your full name and naming your intended school on a public message board was a decidedly bad choice. I don't care about non-Greeks asking "stupid" questions because we all had to start somewhere, but some people most certainly do.

Tiers are more in peoples mind.
There ties buy size:chapters, active members, alumni members, age of the groups, amount of money in the kitty, and on and on.

As DTDAlum said, wait till you get to the school of your choice and see what the organizations look like as at each school a fraternity/sorority will vary.

The most important thing is to find a place that you feel comforatable in.
While KS, LCA, and TKE are three of the largest, there are others while smaller have a strong history such as DKE, DTD, DU, and others.

All in their own right are great organizations.

And no one here is going to tell you something like this anyway. We all support all GLO's. They are all great organizations and we here on GC do not talk down in any way each other.

Funny story re: tiers:

Back in the day, fraternity intramurals were divided into a "blue" league for large chapters and an "orange" league for smaller chapters. There was a fraternity I know of that had an awesome rush one year that bumped them from orange up to blue. The seniors, who had been the orange league basketball champs for three years running, were pissed that their awesome rush was going to make them intramural also-rans.

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Please do not look to sites such as GreekRank for any reliable information!! These sites are nothing more than nasty, mean spirited posting boards. Sorority women are notorious for self-ranking and bashing of other campus sororities. Don't know if men are as mean and nasty. But, seriously, avoid these sites. They provided nothing worthwhile. Enjoy your recruitment and make an informed decision based on what you experience in the recruitment process! Good Luck!!

TEITY?

GreekRank isn't the best website to look at. I'd suggest doing what I did, visiting multiple houses and keeping an open-mind. Before I attended recruitment parties I also looked at the websites of each of the Fraternities at AU. It was a great way to see what their philanthropy was all about, and what they, as a Fraternity, stood for.

Before I found this website, I looked at GreekRank, and it became crystal clear (within the first minute of viewing comments) that it was a horrible site. The Fraternity that I am now a part of got mixed reviews on GreekRank, and was viewed as "slightly better than average." I didn't pay attention to these, and went into summer recruitment with an open mind. Those posters on GreekRank could not have been more wrong (at least the negative ones) about the Fraternity that I am apart of. I'm very happy and have made some great friends already, and I would not change a thing.

As some of the posters have mentioned above, do not feel that you have to be apart of a so-called "top-tier" Fraternity. You should go where you feel the most comfortable and join a Fraternity that has guys that you really hit if off with. Every Fraternity has great guys, so don't buy into the whole "tier" rubbish. Good luck!

I will blame you if those folks create accounts and start posting :mad:

too late, I fear...too late! :p the syntax/writing style and the mention of particular chapters was the tip off for me. Not you? Don't let the paucity of smilies fool you.

and besides, it's been a while.

Yeah the mention of one chapter is a tip off. I guess it is about time for a post.

:):):rolleyes::rolleyes: Had to bring them

Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit.... :)

Many of us have negative opinions of other GLOs. Whether we share those on GC (I sometimes do) is another story.

LOLTHISGUY.jpg

Unfortunately I don't have access to my images on my phone.

So is someone going to fill me in on this "kitty" thing? Lol

You never heard the phrase before?

Google it.

Or played poker, apparently.

Or heard this song.

Am I the only GCer who gets just a little suspicious when someone posts an OP like the one in this thread and then makes no further appearance?

I googled money + kitty and got the image I posted lol

I'm assuming it's the pot or pool? I have played poker but have never used that term.

Nope :o

That's my thought about the recruitment stories that are never finished.

Just to help you out a little, World Wide Words: Kitty. (Second hit on Google :p)

Thank you, sir.

I have always just said "pot" in that context.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OclttfJrUI...e_you_know.jpg

LOL.

But technically, the pot and the kitty are slightly different. The kitty is that portion of the pot (or a separate fund from the pot) that pays for joint expenses, like beers or whatever. By the same token, an office kitty is contributed to by everyone in the office to pay for things like birthday cakes or whatever.

See, now you know even more. :D