Quote:
Originally Posted by baci
How much value is put on the city in which you reside for recruitment to a fraternity?
It seems to be spoken about quite alot in conjunction with monetary status. Is family income very important as well?
Does an upstanding young man coming into the system from a decent area with a fair amount of community service and such, solid grades, and recs stand a chance to pledge a solid fraternity? What is some advice you can give to a young man to make him more appealing compared to the next candidate? Is there anything that would make him stand out?
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It's good to ask these questions...here's my opinion (and people will contradict me, I'm sure..I'd like everyone to answer this.)
First, I go to the University of Arkansas so these answers apply to the SEC, but more specifically the general idea of the tiers (lower 2nd, in my opinion). Places like Miss St., Florida, FSU, etc.
1. Value of the City: I think the value of the city is sort of differently spoken about on the board then what it's worth. Yes, there are great cities who breed Fraternity men, but it's all about the connections your son has before hand. He could live in the middle of nowhere, where no ones heard his name before, but if he has a friend or two from the fraternity he may be better off than when people do know his name. Often the town is important because people from the same town want other people from that town. If it's a particularly wealthy town, he may be better off. My own town, nearly 1/5th of my graduating (Public school) class went Greek. Talk about connections, the grade under us could go to any University and be in any fraternity/sorority they wanted.
2.Family Income: Not nearly as important. It's a nice extra thing to have, but someone from a middle class background with the right friends/connections could have no problem getting into a very good fraternity.
3. Recs/Grades/Etc - I hate to say this, but at least in my fraternity we don't look to hard at Grades or Community Service. I do remember specifically pledging a guy because he was an Eagle Scout, but other than that, pretty sparse. We get Recs every year, but Recs aren't very important. In my school and others like it, few Recs are turned in (to my knowledge at least)
4. I guess if I would have to give advice it'd be:
Make as many friends/connections as you can before Rush. Don't act like a fool when school starts (but don't before hand either...we had a rushee get drunk and break a bottle at another house...we heard about it, he was cut everywhere to my knowledge). Go to as many Rush parties throughout the summer as you get invited to. Don't get too drunk at them. Make sure you're making the right friends at the Rush parties instead of bugging girls or being too drunk. Bring a girl along if it's appropriate. Be genuine. Don't curse if you can help it. Don't brag or be boastful. Honestly just general ettiquette that every person should know. That alone will put him far ahead of alot of people.