Quote:
Originally Posted by weasuhl
Are my list of possible schools. It's a very broad list right now but I still have about a year to decide so in that time I'm sure it'll narrow. As of right now, I believe:
80%+ chance of admission at
University of Colorado at Boulder
Virginia Tech
University of Ohio
Washington State
West Virginia University
Western Oregon
Michigan State
Purdue University
Wake Forest University
With a decent chance at
California Berk (although i'm out of state)
Carnegie Mellon
Colgate University (possibly a bit more of a reach, not sure I want to attend)
I know some of you had great experiences in small organizations but since I will be transferring to a larger school there will be very nice greek organization houses, etc that I'll probably be attracted to. I'm just not sure if I want to commit to a social fraternity here to enjoy it for about 2 semesters and 3 weeks and then transfer several thousand miles away.
The catch here is that throughout my life i've done little service/philanthropy on my own time. The current calendar for the fraternity is, to me, overwhelming.
I've tried looking into colleges "without greek life" and there are some prospects there, Western Oregon, Michigan State, for example. I've also considered I could always join a service fraternity at my new school. I'm just not sure.
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Okay, I have a lot of thoughts. I chopped up your post so I could answer better.
Firstly, that's an extremely broad range of schools. Like 33girl said, you should narrow your focus. You're looking at schools around the country with completely different vibes.
Secondly, it concerns me as well that your concern is the nice big houses that you'll be attracted to. I went to a small private school, myself. I understand envying the large chapter houses other schools have, but that was in no way a deal breaker for me.
Thirdly, you're concerned about how busy your schedule is now that you're "in" a fraternity? Hi, welcome to Greek Life. You must realize that at a larger school, you'll be in organizations with a higher capacity to do more/larger events, right? You're going to be involved in philanthropy work, regardless.
And fourthly, I guess this is just for my own understanding, but how are you looking at schools with "no greek life?" You mentioned Michigan State, but MSU is a Big 10 school with a large Greek Life presence. There are Greeks on this site from MSU.
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So, just some final thoughts I'm having: if you're so interested in the fraternity you're pursuing (you like its motto, ideals, brotherhood, etc), why not check out one of the ~40 schools where the fraternity has a presence? In that case, the work you're doing for the colony won't be in vain. Plus, it'll
really stand out to the guys at the new school.
Also, I know you're having doubts about your small school. Like I said, I understand. I went to a school with
at most, 5,000 students, including graduate and nontraditional students, mostly commuters. They thing that really kept me there was my Fraternity and the Greek Life system. Greek Life was able to give me the social involvement I needed. Not to mention that being at a small school allowed me to make a lot of valuable connections and leave a deep, visible legacy in the organizations I was involved in.
So, while deciding if you're going to transfer or not (I see you said you're 99% sure, though), don't rule out everything that your small school has to offer.
Okay, I'm done.