Don't know anyone

[gator6288]

I'm going to be a freshman at UF this fall. I have a pretty good idea of the top 3 choices of fraternities that I want try and join. The problem is that the majority of the members come from the same couple of schools (private and the top public schools). My hs doesn't have a very good reputaion (on the poor side and a little violent, although my family is pretty well off and I wouldn't consider myself dangerous).

I don't personally know anyone in any of the fraternities (only 5 or 6 people from my hs get accepted to UF every year), but I do know who a couple people are through friends and co-workers, although they won't know me. One of the guys that I work with is the brother of the president of one of the fraternities that I am considering and I know a girl who knows a lot about the Greek system at UF and has helped me narrow down my choices. (she goes to one of the hs schools that a lot of people in the fraternities are from so she knows a lot of the members).

I was involved in a couple of sports in hs and an officer in several clubs, including class office. I also did a lot of volunteer work and was number 11 in my class. I would consider myself a social person who gets along with almost everyone.

Do I have a chance of getting in one of my top choices (they are also top tier)? Do they already know who they want to give bids to before rush starts? Should I wait until rush or contact them ahead of time?

[EE-BO]

Go ahead and talk to your co-worker and ask him for advice about going Greek at UF. If you start it off that way, then that leaves him room to offer to pass your name along if he wants to.

The lady who is helping you out has already helped you it appears, so you can be more direct in asking if she could pass your name along and get it to rush chairs.

With 1, maybe 2, people to help get your name passed along- that is all you need to get a good start. I have little familiarity with UF, but as a competitive Greek system there will most certainly be a lot of rush going on now and over the summer. Now is the time to get your name out there.

Also, go to the school website and see if you need to register to rush in the fall. If you do, go ahead and register now in case rush chairs are consulting that list for prospects (some chapters do, some don't- so can't hurt to have your name out there.)

Finally, since you do not know anyone in these chapters yet- while it is okay to do some research and pick out chapters you might like, be careful about getting too set in your mind where you want to end up. You will be surprised at how different they can be when you get there- both from each other and from your original impression from afar, and often it will just be a handful of guys you get along with that will make all the difference.

It is my experience guys are rarely "sold" on a chapter based on everyone there. It usually comes down to a couple of guys you really get along with who also like you and will actively push the chapter to give you a bid.

[gator6288]

I have talked to the guy I worked with about the Greek system several times. He was never interested in it so he doesn't seem know that much about it. He also was set on going to UF and didn't get in so he's not overly enthusiastic about anything to do with them. He has said that he would tell his brother about me and ask him some questions, but his brother is staying in Gainesville and he's in Jacksonville and I don't get the impression that they talk all the time.


I think that the girl is my best bet at getting my name passed along since she seems to be well integrated into UF's Greek system.

I can't find anywhere to register for Rush so I'm assuming that you register a couple days before rush begins. I'm going to be on campus next week for orientation so I can probably find out then.

Should I send my current top choice fraternities to rush(I'm going to keep an open mind about other fraternities once I get there) an email letting them know that I'm interested? If so, what kind of information should I include?

[Elephant Walk]

I'll be honest. I've always thought that two things are your best bets in any fraternity system in the south. The first is connections and the second is the high school you went to. Since you have neither of those going for you, it is certainly much harder.

I don't know about Florida's orientation, but at Arkansas orientation (was there last night actually), the fraternities have booths where people can sign up on lists to let the fraternities know they're interested. The fraternities usually take 'em out later that night to go boozing and so forth. Try to sign up on those lists, furthermore find out about summer rush parties. Most fraternities at UofA have parties in Dallas, Memphis and Little Rock. There may be one closer to your house.

[gator6288]

The connections and my high school are what I have been worried about. Hopefully the fraternities will have tables set up at orientation. Thanks for the info.

[CrackerBarrel]

If you're not up there Summer B (that's when a lot of houses will target guys for the fall) see if you can find out either by contacting their rush chairs or through friends who are there Summer B when their summer rush BBQs are and try to get to those.

And UFs top tier is basically SAE/KA as 1a and ATO/EX as 1b.

[ree-Xi]

[quote=gator6288;1667080]
I don't personally know anyone in any of the fraternities (only 5 or 6 people from my hs get accepted to UF every year), but I do know who a couple people are through friends and co-workers, although they won't know me. One of the guys that I work with is the brother of the president of one of the fraternities that I am considering and I know a girl who knows a lot about the Greek system at UF and has helped me narrow down my choices. (she goes to one of the hs schools that a lot of people in the fraternities are from so she knows a lot of the members).

I was involved in a couple of sports in hs and an officer in several clubs, including class office. I also did a lot of volunteer work and was number 11 in my class. I would consider myself a social person who gets along with almost everyone.

[quote]

Sometimes, barriers are stronger in our minds than they are in reality.

First, the fact that only a few kids from your HS go to UF may be in your favor. People may not be aware of the supposed "reputation". If they are, they may be impressed that you stood out academically and athletically.

Your class ranking is fabulous (unless it was out of 15, but that doesn't sound like the case), you were a member and officer of clubs (leadsership skills), you played sports (you are a team player) and you volunteered. For someone to be able to exist and excel in several areas of life, you would have to be a decent all-around, likeable person.

I suggest that you do everything that the guys above suggested, but try not to listen to the negatives - if only to put positive energy out there. Try to visit as many "booths" or events that might be happening. Wear something (a certain hat or belt) or tell them something memorable about yourself, kind of having a "thing" that people might be able to remember you by.

ALso during orientation, show interest in some clubs or other groups - you may meet brothers of the different fraternities in different settings. The more that you are "out there", the more likely it is that people will get to know that you exist.

Best of luck!!!

[gator6288]

Hopefully you are right. I'll visit all the booths for everything, not just fraternities and try to get my name out there that way as well.

[gator6288]

I finally found the rush application. It was on Facebook, which I thought was kind of weird. It wasn't even mentioned on Greekgator.com, UF's fraternity website. I had to call the IFC to find out where it was.

[nate2512]

Use this is an example of what NOT to do. http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ad.php?t=93669

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by gator6288

Should I send my current top choice fraternities to rush...an email letting them know that I'm interested? If so, what kind of information should I include?

Elephant Walk, CrackerBarrel (and TexasWSP if you see this), what do you guys think about this?

It is a question that comes up a lot, and I really don't know the answer since I came into the rush process back in my time without having to call anyone to get the ball rolling. It was known I was interested, and I was contacted. I figure it was the same for you guys too, but as active chapter members you have a better handle on current practice than I do.

My inclination is that it is bad form purely on the grounds that the "connections" angle we have been discussing is how names get passed around. I know in my chapter the rush captains get names from alumni and from actives who check around with their younger siblings or friends still in high school. We don't really get people contacting us first, and I assume it was like that when I was an active too.

I could see direct contact ("cold calling") to the chapters as okay for someone coming from out of state who is very unlikely to have existing contacts in the area, but from an in-state individual it seems like it would raise a red flag.

Gator6288- don't let any of this freak you out. You are asking the right questions and taking the right attitude. These little details are important and so that is why I want to get some consensus on this question of yours.

[Elephant Walk]

I hadn't thought about it.

It's rarely, if ever, done to my knowledge at our chapter or others (except obviously emails from alumni's telling us to "watch out for this guy") on campus.

A properly worded letter that says the right things (I'm not sure exactly what those right things are, however), could be beneficial.

I almost suggested using Facebook to do this because then the Rush chair could feel you out better based some on your profile, but I feel it might be to informal for something as serious.

Likewise, our rush chair doesn't check his email but once a week, but that's mainly cuz he's an irresponsible student.

[CrackerBarrel]

If you're a legacy or are good friends with an alum from the house, have those people send a letter. And then if you want to go to the summer stuff and aren't doing summer classes, maybe email the rush chair once summer classes start and say you're in and out of town and wanted to know if they were having a bbq over summer or anything, but I wouldn't just send them a letter saying you want to rush.

If you said you have some friends of friends in the house, maybe just casually try to talk to them about the house and say you're thinking about rushing so hopefully they get the picture and tell people to keep an eye out for you, but just writing to the rush chair to say "I want to rush!" would be a bit odd. I would at most just ask if they're having any bbqs over the summer because you wanted to get a feel for the house before rush or something of that nature.

[gator6288]

I'll send a facebook message to the rush chairs of some of my top choices. Since the rush seems to be pretty connected to facebook (the rush application), that sounds like it might be my best bet. Thanks

[nate2512]

Do keep in mind, anytime you facebook message someone this gives them access to parts of your profile.