Quote:
Originally Posted by EE-BO
Generally good advice. For the most part, listing your legacies is a good thing. Fraternity rushees do not undergo anywhere near the scrutiny of sorority rushees in advance of formal rush, and so for the majority of chapters the ability of a rushee to show the fraternity and the degree of family acceptance of a rushee pledging are very important considerations. Being a legacy goes a long way toward showing you come into the process with supportive parents who understand the costs involved.
For top tier schools at very competitive campuses, this is not a worry since they know all about the guys they plan to pledge well before rush starts- but for 99% of rushees, it is usually helpful to list your legacies.
Here is where it is not a good idea- when the general social level of the chapters you want to rush and feel you could be a part of is significantly above the chapters where you have legacies. If you are a legacy for a low-tier chapter at Kentucky, for example, best to not list it in my view. If you are a legacy for one of the handful of fraternities that is considered weak nationally, best not to list it.
However, do list legacies for respectable chapters. Those chapters may try to rush you extra hard if they like you, and other good chapters on campus will see that you are a legacy from a good chapter and consider that a plus. They will not automatically assume you are going to go to your legacy chapter either.
Look at listing your legacies as saying something about you as a rush candidate to ANY fraternity. It can only hurt you if you list legacies that could make you look bad even before chapters meet you.
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This is for your son right? In any case, I graduated from The University of Kentucky (
GO CATS!) over twenty-five years ago. Unless things have drastically changed since then, for the most part, being a legacy (I am a double legacy) was considered an assist.
Fraternities want men who have an understanding of what it means to be a member. Both financial and with the time commitment. However, as has been noted (and bolded), certain chapters might not be held in high regard by other chapters. So discretion might be necessary depending on the legacy and which chapters are being rushed.
And at UK, a rusheee should never flaunt his legacy. Even if it is to a top tier chapter.
Please feel free to PM regarding UK's rush and the various chapters. While I may not be unbiased, I am fair with my assessment.