Fraternity rush question
 

I have read a lot about rushing sororities and not so much about fraternity rushing, (if that is what it is even called). I am curious, though. My brother is transferring in the fall to a small school (4 fraternities, 1 colonizing) and he is really shy. Super shy. He is so nice and sweet, good looking, dresses nice and looks like he would be totally outgoing but he is the opposite. I told him to look into joining a fraternity to meet people, both men and women. He went to a large school for 4 years and quit and is going back with a new major so he will be there for 2-3 years. He's 22. What are his chances of getting a bid, or is he too old? How do fraternities view this? Is 22 too old?

I've never known age to be a problem. Given on some campuses it could be a problem, but I've had kids (whatever) pledge that were 24 years old.

In fact, I find that when we have a few older guys in a pledge class along with all the freshman, the entire pledging process goes better.

I guess really the question I have is this- is fraternity rushing different than sorority rushing? Many of the posts have said that juniors don't get bids as much as freshmen (for the women). The older you are the harder it is. For the guys out there- could you tell me your experiences in your chapters?

I can't say whether juniors get bids or not in fraternity rush, but I do think that fraternity rush is quite different from sorority rush. The men would probably say that fraternity rush is more "real" and I would agree. But I also only know about men's recruitment by way of stories told to me about recruitment at schools up here so other areas of the country might be different.

A friend of mine was given a bid last year to one of our local fraternities...he was 28 yrs old, and "technically" a freshman. There were a bunch of older kids in that class, mostly Japanese exchange students that were about 23 or 24.

I know of a couple of juniors in my school that have rushed and gotten bids to fraternities. It all really comes down to what the campus atmosphere and attitude is like. Guys are a lot more laid-back than girls are about everything, so I don't think it would be a huge problem for him. I remember a year or two ago there was a thread on GC about a 59 year old pledging a Phi Kappa Sigma chapter somewhere.

Rush
 

I'm an older guy and I had no problem getting a bid. Being at a smaller school I'm sure he'll welcomed with open arms. Just encourage him to look at all five fraternities to find out which groups he best fits with.

I am sure the main problem with the girls is the limits that quota and total put on the membership. They don't want to "waste" a spot with someonw that will not be there long enough to contribute. Guys do not have these rules to worry about.

I have known several guys to join when they are older. Some spent time in the military others just did not get around to it. Good luck to your brother!

It really depends on the school; chances are that age will be a strike against him. Being a junior definitely won't work to his advantage, so he will probably be starting from a tougher position than the freshmen or sophomores.

It depends on the school, but his age may be a problem.

Re: Rush
 

I'm on a small campus as well, with 5 fraternities and 2 sororities. From what i can see, age hasn't been a problem for the guys rushing fraternities. One of my good friends joined sigma pi last semester, and he's a 23 year old junior.

It totally depends on the campus and the chapter. There are no rules that set age limits anywhere, just the institution's campus culture. In my chapter we have plenty of guys who were older, most coming to college after serving in the military. On the campus I advise, which is only 4 NIC fraternities, we have had plenty of guys who have joined in their mid -twenties. Hell, I have one NPHC fraternity that has a president that just turned 30!

Re: Fraternity rush question
 

Fraternities have a more diverse age range-- it's not like with the sororities where freshmen are more of a hot commodity.

Fraternity recruitment is more loosely structured-- typically a fraternity PNM can visit the houses he likes. I encourage your brother to stop by all of them and see which ones he likes the most. Usually someone will come up and chat with him or take him around to meet people once he gets to a party.

Let him do it for himself. He may enjoy the fraternities, and he may decide this isn't for him.

As I always say, there is more to college life than being Greek! Explore all the campus activities to find the right fit-- it could mean going Greek, joining SGA, a volunteer Greek Letter society, Pre-Professional Honorary, perhaps the school newspaper-- or even starting a new campus organization!

Re: Re: Fraternity rush question
 

That depends a lot on the school. At my school, the rushees were almost uniformly freshmen and sophomores, and anyone older than a sophomore would have a difficult time getting a bid. I can only think of a couple of examples were a junior got a bid (KSigRC may be able to correct me on that).

It's really a matter of him looking around and finding out whether his school was like mine, or whether it's like others mentioned here where juniors have more of a chance.

Re: Rush
 

I co-sign with Mike on that.