joining a fraternity, then transferring??
 

Hi there,

I intend to pledge a fraternity this coming fall at my current school,but I am adamant about transferring schools for the spring semester. At the school i intend to transfer to there is a chapter of this same fraternity. Will I be able to be a member of the fraternity at the school I transfer to? or will I have to pledge all over again?

Assuming you are initiated into the fraternity at the school you're attending in the Fall, then you will be a member of that fraternity and would not have to pledge again.

That does not necessarily mean that you would automatically be able to join the chapter at your new school. Exactly how that would work would depend on the rules of that fraternity and, perhaps, of the chapter. In many if not most GLOs, you would need to apply to affiliate with the chapter at the new school. There would be no re-pledging, but the chapter would have to vote on whether to allow you to affiliate. There's always the chance they may not think you're a good fit for them, or you might think that they're not a good fit for you.

On the other hand, there may be some fraternities where you could automatically affiliate, but again, there's the chance you might realize you don't want to.

If you know you plan to transfer, why do you want to join a fraternity at the school you're going to leave? You say that you "intend" to pledge a specific fraternity. Do you know the guys in the fraternity you "intend" to pledge? Have you actually received a bid? If you do know them and have received a bid -- or have a good sense that you will -- do they know you'll be gone come Spring? If not, you owe it to them to tell them.

It sounds like you've already decided which fraternity you intend to pledge. Assuming you get a bid and initiate, you might be able to affiliate with another chapter, but nobody here can tell you that for sure...for all the reasons MysticCat gave you.

It's really in your best interest to be open to more than just one fraternity and not put all your hopes into receiving a bid from just one house.

i know the guys in the fraternity i am going to pledge, and i am almost certain I will get a bid. Also, I am almost certain I will be gone fall because my family is moving across country and I intend to transfer to a specific school in that state (which I am almost certain I will be accepted at). What if the fraternity chapter at the new school does not allow me to affiliate? am i pretty much screwed then?

When I was in college, since it was an large state school, transfer students came in all the time. Most fraternities there would invite the guy over a few times to get to know him. If it was a good fit, then he was invited to become an active member. If it was not a good fit, they considered him an alumnus and thus a relationship never developed. If you're a decent guy, with a good GPA and at least average social skills from what I witnessed in college, you should be fine. If you do decide to transfer, you should contact the chapter to which you're transferring and see what their policy is. No one can tell you for certain because we don't know you.

I found this in the national fraternity guidebook/constitution:

" A member of any chapter may, upon enrollment as a student at another institution, become an affiliate member of a chapter at that institution under conditions set forth in the bylaws of the latter chapter"

if that helps

The bylaws of the latter chapter could include a re-affiliation policy. The passage you quoted just states that the individual chapters get to decide how they want to deal with transfers. Again, you will need to check with the chapter to which you intend to transfer to see what its policy is.

Ah that makes me nervous. Do you think most brothers are re-affiliated? And if I am not re-affiliated, can i pledge a different fraternity?

Don't worry about something you can't control. :-) Once you have your bid in hand, work hard to be a good brother with a good GPA. If you can do those two things, the rest should take care of itself.

As far as the other questions in your post, I will leave them for a fraternity member to answer.

Since you're sure you'll be changing schools, why not wait to rush at your new school?

because if i wait to rush at my new school, ill be rushing as a spring semester sophomore which really isnt preferable

If you've completed pledgeship and become an initiated member of the fraternity, you won't be able to pledge a different group. You might be able to request through the national headquarters that you be released from membership, but it will be their decision.

Remember, too, there is always the chance you won't want to affiliate with the chapter at your new school. Greek chapters can vary so much from one campus to another -- your fraternity might be a great fit for you at one school, but not so much at another. I'm really not trying to be a downer; just being honest about what you could possibly run into so you'll have as much info as possible when making your decision.

If you're still a pledge when you transfer, I am not sure how that would work in regards to the chapter taking you and allowing you to complete pledging through them -- BUT if the chapter decided not to take you, you would be free to rush and pledge another group since you had not gone through initiation.

Something else to check out in regards to the fraternity you want to pledge this fall: when do they initiate their pledges? For some, pledgeship runs the entire fall semester and guys undergo initiation shortly after spring semester begins. For others, the pledge period is shorter and guys get initiated the same semester they pledge. Finding this out will help you to know what your actual status will be when you transfer.

If you're still a pledge when you transfer and the chapter accepts you, you might have join their spring class and go through the process again...just one possible scenario, but it will all depend on that chapter's policy for handling these cases.

Why not? Have you researched Greek Life at the school you plan to transfer to? Do second semester sophomores not receive bids? There's a good chance you will pledge at your current school, initiate and then not be allowed to affiliate at a transfer chapter. If you want a fraternity experience, why not give it a shot at the school you want to end up at instead of taking that chance?

Do they know you will be transferring? Some chapters aren't very keen on bidding someone who will be gone the next semester.

My guess is that if you do transfer and want to affiliate with the chapter at the new school, there will be some communication with the chapter at the old school. If they weren't happy that you didn't let them know you'd be transferring, they may not be willing to be too helpful. On the other hand, if they do know and are okay with it, they could be very helpful in trying to make the affiliation happen.

What happens depends on the fraternity. You may simply be moved to alumnus status.

We have little clue what happens outside our own chapters and GLOs.

No, unless you are released from membership in the first fraternity by the national office.

And even if the fraternity releases you from membership, some other fraternities/chapters may still not be willing to offer you a bid because you have already been initiated into a different fraternity.

Yes!

Paging LaneSig!

That's a lot of variables. A LOT. I mean, a meteor could fall out of the sky and hit you and then what? When I used to say things like you wrote, my dad would say "you want to know the outcome of the race before you place your bet, and Life is not like that." You can't control things. You really can't. You gotta place your bet and take your chances. And (dare I say it?) consider this: membership is for a LIFETIME, not just the college years.

I doubt the Sigma Chis at your school would be very happy to bid you if you were honest and told them about your transfer plans. That is just rude! What is the point of joining when you're just going to leave? How do you even know you'll fit in with the Sigma Chi chapter at the other school? You are really limiting your options at the new school.

Totally agree with all of this.

You are potentially offending both chapters: 1) the chapter at school 1 since you're going to immediately transfer (which I doubt you'll be able to keep your mouth shut about for a whole semester) and are basically just using them to get initiated and 2) the chapter at school 2 since you're going to come in and say "hey, I am already a brother, so you have to accept me."

It's better to be a second semester sophomore with a clean slate.

Out of curiousity, why did you not pledge as a freshman if this is something so important to you? You could have a year and a half of membership under your belt before you transferred. (Yes I know I am the biggest wait to pledge cheerleader here but this is a guy and Guys And Girls Are Different.)

because the school i am currently at does not allow pledging until sophomore fall.

i know i will fit in with the sigs at the new school, because my best friend is in a sorority at the new school and told me i would fit in well with these boys

Well THAT changes everything! Feel free to use your current friends to get a bid!

If I was in a group and knew someone would leave the next semester, I would not vote to give them a bid. Just sayin'.....

Oh goodness that is such a wonderful coincidence! She probably knows everything about their membership selection too! Why bother rushing now? She can just vouch for you and they will give you a bid right away because you are so awesome and she thinks you will fit in well with them! I bet you won't even have to rush or pledge!

Take care not to put too many carts before their horses. You're making a lot of strong assumptions -- that you'll get into the fraternity, that you'll be accepted at the other school and that you'll be a good fit for the chapter there. Nothing is a sure thing on any of those fronts -- and won't be until you have a bid in hand, an acceptance letter in hand and an invite to affiliate in hand. Nothing is a sure thing, and the worlds of fraternity rush and college applications just aren't always predictable. It might all work out just the way you envision, or it might not. Keep that mind.

My chapter has rejected affiliation requests from transfers from other schools. It's a possibility that your transfer chapter would do that to you. Just because you can get initiated at one school doesn't necessarily mean the other chapter will want to have anything to do with you and your friend likely has very little insight into how that chapter selects their members.

You'd be safest to just hang out with the chapter at your current school and be social with them, then rush when you transfer. I know my chapter has had some excellent one-year members. We've even bid and initiated international students who we knew would transfer back home and they turned out to be outstanding alumni.