Can a graduate student join a fraternity?
 

Hello all, I'm new here so sorry if this is in the wrong place. I have a question about fraternities though.

I am wondering if it is possible for a graduate student to join one? I am coming to the end of my undergraduate at a university in the UK (I am English) and one of my regrets is that I didn't think about going to college in the US and joining a fraternity.

I am looking to study an MS in something along the lines of biology/biotechnology/biochemical engineering. I have found a good looking one at John Hopkins, and the university also has Greek Life; however, I would feel silly applying and going there to find out that I can't rush (do frats rush or is it just sororities?)

I am gathering that whether a graduate student can rush or not is based a lot on the individual universities and Greek Life organisations, but how can I find this out for each and every fraternity at each and every university etc? Is there a general rule?

Thank you in advance.

Why would you spend so many thousands of dollars to travel here, live here, and get a degree simply because you want to be in a fraternity?

Also, if you are a MS student at a university like Johns Hopkins, just finding time to breath will be an issue I would think.

University life in the UK is substantially different from that in the US. Most degrees in England are awarded after three years of more narrowly focused study as compared to the four year broadly based model used in the States. I suspect that the questions posed are from one who would like to experience American university life while investing in cultural broadening and further academic pursuits. Many Brits take a "gap year" after Uni to travel, decompress, or just bum around. This sounds like an arguably productive gap year (or two or three) leading to advanced degree/s and experiencing American fraternity life. If time and funding are available this could be a very life enriching experience.
I did the opposite by getting an MA in England after a US AB degree and Army service. It was very life enriching and very worthwhile to me at least.

Good Afternoon Orca,

My suggestion would be to pick several American Unis that offer the degree concentrations you wish to pursue and have active Fraternity systems. Do some basic Google research to see if these unis have chapters of fraternities in which you might be interested. Check chapter webpages to get a feel for the organizations. Then, email or write to ask if they accept grad students as prospectives. I do not believe there is a general rule but it should not be too difficult to find fraternities that do so. I think an email to the Office of Greek Life at each of the Unis concerned would be informative and I would follow up with emails to the individual chapters on each campus. There are many excellent universities and several excellent fraternities. Do some research and I think you will find what you are seeking. Good luck!

I got a MA in the UK myself. I'm also aware of what a gap year is. However, a gap year is a year to travel, "find yourself", etc. Not to study for 2 years for a ridiculous amount of money at a school that OP would feel silly about applying to if he couldn't pledge.

But even if he finds chapters that are willing in theory to offer bids to grad student, or have a history of doing so, that doesn't mean they'll offer him a bid. He may find a campus where it's a theoretical possibility, but also find it's not in the cards for him.

I think Vito is right -- I've known very people who could juggle a grad school load and active participation in a collegiate fraternity or sorority chapter, or who even felt inclined to try to be active. I have to wonder, too, what he expects fraternity life to be like. Are his ideas influenced mainly by TV and movies? He may find the reality very different.

As for the gap year idea (and lots of American students take them as well), that could work against him if there's a perception that he will only be around a year or two.

All in all, I've got to side with AnotherKD: The mere possibility of joining a fraternity is not a reason to pick a grad school, especially an out-of-country one. It's garnish, not real food.

In regards to a "General Rule".

Every time that I've read of a housed national fraternity or sorority accepting someone working on a graduate degree it tends to be a "one off" situation, where just because this chapter did it doesn't mean that other fraternities/sororities on that campus *or* other chapters of the same fraternity/sororities would be likely to.

See http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ad.php?t=67042 for a discussion of this in regards to pleding a sorority. I have *no* idea if the fraternities would be similar.

As noted in the other thread, a high number of Alpha Phi Omega (co-ed service fraternity/non-housed) chapters allow graduate students.

Aren't there also fraternities in England? I remember seeing that ZBT had chartered a group there or something to that effect. Granted their system might be completely different and it could be more of an American fraternity in name only but it's still worth looking in to.

There isn't a British fraternity system comparable to the North American system. I think there are only a handful of chapters or colonies of American fraternities in the UK, and they find themselves in an environment very different from that of an American college campus.