what are the benefits of joining a fraternity?
 

I'll be starting my freshman year at college very soon. I don't know much about fraternities but had people tell me I should join one. Why should I? It seems like a good way to make new friends so far away from home, but that's never been a problem for me before anyway. Are there any other benefits in getting involved in a fraternity? I've heard that the rush/pledging process is pretty time consuming...

Chad,
I just graduated college last year and I can honestly say joining a fraternity was the best thing I did when I was there, It not only a bond that make with a group of guys but also with guys all over the country if you join a large one such as Kappa Sigma. I've met brothers from all over and it never fails to amaze me the instant bond I get these guys that I had never met before. So the only thing you should worry about is not whether to join or not, but which one you best fit in with to join at your campus.

I can say joining a fraternity has been the
best thing I have ever done!I am a Pi Kappa
Phi fraternity member and have met brothers from states like Tennessee,Florida,North Dakota,Texas,Virginia and a whole lot more! I sleep, eat and party for FREE!!!! I love frat
life!!!!!

Joining a frat is a major thing to think about; don't do it just because. If you want to EXPLORE the idea, do a little research like look at some webpages and see if their principles match yours. It helps the rush and active membership go smoothly and fun. I like my frat, Alpha Phi Omega, but I don't like the people within due to mass corruption and favortism. We are the largest on campus, which can be a good thing but also bad in terms of control and order. But I still stick around because of the oaths I took and the foundations that the frat was built on. Think strongly before you decide to devote a lot, really a lot, of time to this...

The way that I see it is that you have to find the best place in which you fit in. It may take at least a semester to find that place, and it may not be a fraternity, but you need to give yourself time. If it happens to be with a fraternity make sure that it offers you 5 key things. Leadership, Scholarship, Growth, Graduation, and Investment. Yeah parties are great, but how does that prepare you for the real world. The purpose of fraternities are to build young men into men, men prepared to face the challenges of the outside world. Good luck in your search.

I am the Delta Zeta Sorority Rush Chair at Central Michigan University. I know that fraternities and sororities are two different boats, but I think I can give you some food for thought here. I pledged 2 weeks into my first semester at CMU. I can honestly say that I can't imagine college life without "my girls." And I am NOT NOT NOT the sorority stereotype. I have excelled in academics, with much thanks to my group...I have mastered time management, I have made the greatest friends of my life, and I have had job offers by alumna. For three years I have been involved with our sports teams- flag football is THE greatest game ever invented! LOL My point is, being greek is an experience that can't be put into words. It's not just limited to the group you chose to be a member of, either. Being "old school," I know about 96% of the Greek Community at CMU. We're like a family.
My dad was a Delt Sig 30 years ago. He is still the best of friends with his brothers. That shows how important your "brothers" can be.
I hope that this makes sense to you. And I hope that you make the decision that's right for YOU. Sometimes I do wonder what college would have been like without Delta Zeta, but I wouldn't change a thing.

What are you guys thinking? The idea of paying money out of the pocket and taking time out of your academics is beyond me. Who wants to pay, or I guess I should say pledge, to belong to a gang? People shoud be self confident enough to know that they can keep and make friends on their own. There are next to zero benefits to joining a frat!

For your information by joining a fraternity you up your chances of graduation by 10 percent. Fraternity men have higher avg. gpa's than independent men. 85 percent of Fortune 500 executives are greeks. Check your statistics before you open your mouth. Thanks.

Whoah, easy there Puertorican Princess!!! I have no idea how you classify the entire Greek system as a bunch of 'gangs'. The Greek system is actually the complete opposite of a gang... A gang is a group of group of people working together for ANTIsocial purposes. Greeks as most people know work together for social purposes. Whether the social event is the often generalized party or the always left out philanthropical event that all Greek chapters participate in... Careful with your generalizations.
Also... Yes, joining a Greek organization is not free, but last I checked basically every organization on my campus has a membership fee of some sort. Greek membership fees are going to be more because you are paying for more events and items that you will get back throughout the semester. Some things that are paid for in your dues are... Formal/Informal, Composites, Housing (in some chapters), T-Shirts, and Insurance. There are many other things you get back that money can not buy. Sorry I don not know where you get your information from Puertorican Princess, but there are many benefits to joining a Greek organization that have somehow been kept from you while you lived under that rock of yours. The best thing about joining a Greek organization is that it is a membership for life. That means that if you should happen to be in a place with know one you know and you need a hand you can usually find a member of your organization to help you out.

Of course you only get out what you put into the organization just like anything. You can not expect to learn calculus from just going to class every day.

Hope this can help you out Chad, and good luck in your decision, Greek or non-Greek. Sorry for any mispelt words, etc.

AKLTURNER

There a up sides and down sides to joing a Greek letter organization. My advice to you is do your research. I joined a Sorority and it was one of the best things i did, i am now the District Director for my region. I have made life long friends. If you don't join a Greekletter Org. don't trash the rest of us it is a personal thing.
One love tand that is just my $19.52 worth

Chad,
I am a Sophomore at Central Missouri State University. I joined Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority last year and I love greek life. I waited a semester before taking the plunge, but I am so glad I did! I have 70 sisters at my side to help me with anything I need. It is costly, but money and time management skills are neccesary in today's world. Greek life is about friendship, trust, loyalty, and service to your community. Puertorican Princess: Have you ever heard of PHILANTHROPY? Well, that is the social cause of every greek organization. AGD's is juvenile diabetes. We do highway clean up and educate the community on diabetes to name a few. But Chad, I encourage you to explore what your college's greek system has to offer you. I agree that you should search for the house in which you feel most comfortable... I did, and now I'm an Alpha Gam!

I can honestly say that by joing my house, Sigma Pi, was one of the best decisions that I have made so far during my college career. I could just go on and on about talking about meeting friends. But it is more than that...it is about brotherhood. Hear is an example: I was going through the university of champaign and out of no where my car broke down. I didn't have any of my friends numbers with me who went to that school, so I was completely ass out. I ended up walking to the gas station and starting looking through the college directory and some how I got to the fraternity index and realized that my fraternity had a chapter there. After minutes of debating whether or not to call, I did. I told them who I was and what had happened and no more than 15 mins. later some of the members were there to help me. Not only that but they paid my towing fee and also one of the guys from the house was a mechanic and he fixed my care for free. Another example: At the time, I was not legally able to drink alchol. I got caught by this officer and one of my frat bros. said something about Sigma Pi and then the officer started asking me questions about our house, etc. Then he said something to me that only a Sigma Pi would know. It turned out that he was a Sig Pi alumni. So I ended up not getting a drinking ticket. That is what brotherhood is about: helping brothers!

University and frats
 

as the phi gamma delta site says... it beats hanging out in rez!i met some amazing people in rez ut I met some who don't even not just not deserve being here, I'd hate for my alam mater's arch rival (my hs's arch rival hs) or york u to deal with them.

the guys in the fraternities and on this board I have either written to called, met, etc, have pretty much all been great. there are many benefits as i am finding out while I investigate fraternities. Hope you join one. Se the quote in my signature.

Bad experience
 

Am I the only one here that had a bad experience with Greek Life?

I joined up with Sigma Pi as a freshman and during the Rush period, it was the coolest thing. The guys seemed to be great, the philanthropy was appealing and to be honest, the idea of making connections was a major plus.

A week later it was a complete turn around. Every night, begining at 7:00, it was my pledge classes duty to shadow the brothers to make sure they had rides while they were drunk. This usually lasted until around 2:00 am. After that, they would usually have us do menial tasks until around 4:00am. This was a bad thing. When you have an 8:00 class and you're too tired after class to study, and the whole process repeats itself, things turn pretty grim.

They also talked up the brotherhood aspect, saying that "No matter what, we'll always be friends." I graduate in a week and to date, not one of them has spoken to me since I de-pledged in 1998. Not a one.

My advice to Chad, make sure you have all your bases covered. Hell, I'd wait until you were a sophomore until you took it seriously. At least then you'll have a steady GPA in case you have the experience from Hell that I had. It took me the better part of two semesters to recover from that.

I'd take into account that there are other organizations that do the exact same things that you want out of a fraternaty and the brotherhood is just as legit if not more, than the Greek system.

This was just my experience though. Take it as you will.

From my experince:

In rez i experienced theft, I was attacked, people berated me in front of my brothers and the girl i was dating, they tried to emabrass me in front of a friend of mine that i liked, ome kid broke into every common room except for one in my building and stole stuff I helped pay for.

In fraternities I have visited I have experinced: a warm weclome, very free beer, hospitality, help and encouragement, and a bunch of guys willing to help one another out. Fratnerity means brotherhood and while i;m not at present part of a fraternity i have grown into a supporter of the greek system as a whole.

it is hard to make and keep friends at my school. There are over 55k kids here we are the largest university in North America if you include Con Ed and have 3 campuses. Most kids here are commuters so you rarely see them outside of class. Even many kids in rez are from the GTA but go to rez just to meet people.

Oh and in case you weren't aware, it beats renting an apartment here for an arm and a leg. I guess there are no benefits to doing wrestling which is a potentially deadly sport every time you step on the mat. When i;m on the mat, unless i'm playing around with my friends, we aren;t friends we're opponents. i;m trying to hurt him and stop him from hurting me and he;s doing the same thing. But I have gotten tons of benefits from sports and fraternities are organizatiosnw hich provide friendship and brotherhood in an otherwise lonely and troubling world. Think before you speak.

Heads up
 

Dude, you're talking to people who haven't posted here in years.

I think being a part of the greek system can be one of the best expirences in your life. of course it is a life long commitment so you should seriously look at your choices and where you fit best. Please don't look at the best parties and girls ( I know several of my friends that did and regretted it)
:cool:
Also as far as the money issue goes- it goes to formals, philanthropies, community & campus events, date parties, etc etc. which of course aren't free;)
you'll meet some of your best friends in college and as an alum through your group.

I agree with some of the comments made by others. Research the national web site for the fraternity as well as the one for the local chapter (if they have one).

Things that you can gain from fraternities: teamwork, project experience, problem solving, etc.

I joined a professional fraternity and being a human resources major, I wanted experience in my field before doing an internship. By being president and pledge educator, I was able to work closely with people or people management which is important in my field.

As the VP of Fundraising, I also had the opportunity to plan our Golf Tournament.

When interviewing for a prestigious internship from a company that only recruits at 2 undergraduate universities in the country, I found that 6 out of 7 of my examples were related to my activities in my fraternity, like project management, problem solving, innovation, teamwork or team player, presentation, and the list goes on. (Just a note, I was one of 5 who got the internship!)

I was also able to learn from others regarding professional dress and behavior as well as practicing my interviewing skills on incoming pledges. (HR people are the ones who recruit and interview people in many cases) By the time I graduate, I will have interviewed over 60 people, more than some of my peers may have had.

Were it not for them, I don't think I would have the experience I have today. Not only was it great to make lasting friends, but I also got involved, and that is the key thing with any organization. You can't put nothing into it and expect to get something out of it.

This is all in addition to the networking opportunities you get just by joining a fraternity which I'm sure others have mentioned.

Its mayday. This thing is like three years old. What mayday? no, this thread. Oh.

The original post may be 3 years old, but there are still people out there who may be interested in the benefits of joining a fraternity or sorority.

It's not fair to make fun of those who would like to post anyways.

I thought this was a place to share ideas and thoughts, not make fun of others becuase they choose to ignore the dates rather than start a whole new thread on the same topic.

She just summed it all! Sorry for not clarifying.

Rez
 

I hada horrible time in residence and didn't eally like it but the fraternity feel is something I want to do.. It seems one of the benefits is bonding. You really get to bond with guys on road trips, doing work together (philanthropy and housework/ improvements) etc, sorta like a sports team but you live together. one guy is going to Vancouver this summer with one of his old roomates. There are good friends made here in rez but i don;t think any are that good!

Something to think about...
 

Although it's been said previously, that this is an old post, I still believe that the post itself has some virtue in us discussing it further.

It is obvious to all of us that Greek Life is not for all... we see people on the street who we think could really benefit from it, but Greek Life has never been about pushing something on someone else, but rather allowing people to express themselves freely in a supportive organization. So when someone asks about Greek Life, in addition to researching about the many organizations, we should encourage them to take the step into researching about themselves. For those who challenge themselves and allow themselves to be vulnerable to Greek Life, it may be the greatest or worse experience they've ever encountered - but amongst everything, it is probably an experience they won't soon forget.

Personally, I have run into people who have the same feelings as Puertorican Princess and The Icon, and although it is easy to argue the lack of reasoning in their arguments and the validity of ours, we can't account for the experiences they may have had. Instead, we as models of the Greek Organizations which we represent should stand for what Greek Life is all about, the acceptance of diversity and the freedom to express one's self openly and honestly.

Although some organizations have lost the sense of their mission within the years, we as a whole have been strengthened by the experiences of our brothers and sisters. So Chad, why should you join a fraternity... well look to yourself, can you stand to be strengthed by the experiences of others? can you stand to be pushed towards excellence in academics and collegiate life? can you stand to be a model to the larger community as well as an aide to those in need? If you can, then I urge you to stand and excel amongst the leaders of our nation - those in fraternities and sororities...


Brown Suga
alpha Kappa Delta Phi Sorority, Inc.

Brown Suga, your point is very well taken!

While it may be an old thread, It is still very important!

There are many reasons to Join a Greek Organization.

You learn to interact with all kinds of people not only in your Organizatiuon but many others!

You learn how to run an Office and Budget money for said Office.

You learn responseability ane accountability! Do you learn that in school!? No if you live in the Dorm.

The Greek is on many Committees for the School and learning there!

You learn how to continue the study habit so that when you ge4t in the real world you have the tools to keep learning and the knowledge of having run and budgeted certain functions and offices!

Greeks are more highly trained not only fro study habits but from the knowledge they have learned from being Greeks!

Advantages to Joining a Fraternity or Sorority
 

Advantage #1 - Academics

Fraternities and sororities recognize that your primary purpose for going to college is academics. If they ensure that you make good grades now, then you will get a good job, and send them money on down the line! So, they want you to be rich as much as you do. The average university student has only a 50% chance of graduating. When you join a greek organization, your chances for graduating climb to 70%.


Advantage #2 - Community Service

Each fraternity and sorority participates in many philanthropic events throughout the year. You need this type of volunteer experience on your resume. And believe me, volunteer work is a lot more fun when you have a large group of friends doing it with you.


Advantage #3 - Athletics

Fraternities and sororities participate in the champ league of intramurals which gives each member a chance to show off their athletic ability. Also, Greek Week enables fraternity and sorority members to compete against each other in many categories, one of which is different sorts of athletic competitions.


Advantage #4 - Leadership

History has proven that greeks are good leaders. Everyone gets a chance to be in charge of something in a fraternity or sorority if they want. Whether you are a committee head or the President, you will be able to use your leadership skills.

85% of the Fortune 500 Executive,
80% of the U.S. Presidents since 1900, &
100% of Apollo 11 Astronauts...
all joined a fraternity


Advantage #5 - Brotherhood/Sisterhood

Brotherhood and Sisterhood are the basis for the entire greek experience. You will form friendships that will last for the rest of your life. You will meet people of all different temperments, talents, and convictions (some of which you may never have crossed paths with). These are the people who will applaud your success and support you when you're down.


Advantage #6 - Networking

You know the old addage, "It's not what you know, it's who you know." Well, I know more than one person who has gotten a second look for a job because they were members of the same greek organization.


Advantage #7 - Travelling

Most national chapters have houses and chapters spread all throughout the U.S. Anytime you are a member of a fraternity/sorority, it means you are welcome at any chapter. Most chapters will set you up for a night or two, and the ones I have visited have definitely gotten an "A" in the hospitality department.