CSULB -> USC
 

I am transferring to USC next semester in the spring. I am going greek, but should I rush here at CSULB or at USC?

One hand I know a ton of brothers very well in greek life at Long Beach and would have a great time rushing along side people I've know for years.

While one the other I dont wanna rush with brother I love at LB then go to SC and find out I dont like the people their or vise versa? Also its cheaper and less strenuous on my academics if I rush at Lb.

Thoughts? Advice?

Things are a little different for fraternities and so I hope that one of our GC men can chime in here. But, let me see if I can get things started a little.

I'm a CSULB alumna (Go Beach!). As you know, CSULB and USC have two very different campus cultures. If you're planning for sure to transfer to USC (do you have a letter of acceptance yet?) then you may just want to wait until you get to SC to rush. It may be something of a waste of time to only be a brother for a short time before transferring.

From what I can tell, only 7 fraternities at CSULB have a chapter at USC. You make a good observation that you may like the guys at LB and then go to SC and find out that you do not fit in with your fraternity chapter there. With very rare exceptions (special permission from both national offices), it is not ok to initiate into one fraternity at LB and then rush and initiate into a different fraternity at SC. That would be no bueno. So, if you do rush at LB, it would be helpful if you ended up in one that has a chapter at both universities. Also, I'm not sure if SC would be more picky about upperclassmen or seniors going through rush.

As for which one is more expensive, my guess is that SC would be more expensive due to the bigger houses, but I have no real inside information there. I'm not going to answer your question about which experience would be "more strenuous".

If you are for sure transferring to SC next semester, check with their Greek Life Office to see if the fraternities there typically hold rush events during the spring. If so, that's good because you can start right away. If there's still a decent chance that you will be staying put in LB for the duration of your college experience, you may just want to rush now and enjoy the time with your fraternity.

I agree with Navane, CSULB and USC are two very different campus cultures. Things to consider:
1. If you join at CSULB, will you be able to transfer membership at USC? Every fraternity has different transfer guidelines (if allowed). Will the USC brothers want you?
2. Separation anxiety from the CSULB brothers.
3. The USC chapter is not like the CSULB chapter in regards to brotherhood, social events, etc. Whats good at "X" doesn't necessarily mean good at "Y".
4. Membership costs. Big difference between the two institutions. All fraternities are housed at USC, except for 1 colony (housing coming soon).

My opinion: Wait till you transfer to USC. Though you run the risk of limited recruitment opportunities due to the fact you are an upperclassman.

Like Navane I am a CSULB alumna and I cannot stress how different the campus cultures are between these two schools. I suggest waiting until you are at USC before pledging because the chapter at LB could be very different than the chapter at USC.



Good luck to you!

Wait. These schools are night and day. The few fraternities that do overlap between the two schools share virtually nothing in common. If you rush at CSULB you'll either pledge a house that doesn't exist at USC or pledge a house that is guaranteed to be a complete 180 from the SC chapter in terms of personality (and fraternities at USC will be quick to deny a transfer if they don't fit the specific chapter, it's not automatic).

Given the strong spring admit/transfer culture USC has, it's not uncommon to see sophomores get bids. Keep in mind that as I understand it, you now need a semester's worth of USC credits before rushing though, which may mean your first chance to rush at USC is Fall 2019.

A member of my chapter transferred to USC while still an undergraduate. He was already a fully initiated member of the national fraternity. Even still, the chapter at USC refused to admit him as a transfer/affiliated member. I don't know the reason(s) for that, but you might really want to consider waiting until you get to USC and find out where you fit in there. One set of letters at CSULB is not necessarily the same set of personalities as the same set of letters at USC.