age question

[Firehouse]

I'd add: don't spend time explaining your circumstances. If anyone asks, just say you worked for a few years after high school. Don't lie, but if you start out explaining your "journey", the undergrads' antenna go up and they tend to get spooked. You're obviously older; all you have to say is I worked after high school then went to junior college. That makes you a normal guy and not something they don't understand or identify with.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Firehouse

I'd add: don't spend time explaining your circumstances. If anyone asks, just say you worked for a few years after high school. Don't lie, but if you start out explaining your "journey", the undergrads' antenna go up and they tend to get spooked. You're obviously older; all you have to say is I worked after high school then went to junior college. That makes you a normal guy and not something they don't understand or identify with.

I don't know anything really about age and IFC, but what Firehouse says seems really important.

You don't want to seem like bitter-I-wasted-my-youth-guy. So the less you call attention to how you feel about what you did instead or getting into having an ex-wife, the better I think.

Is it possible to talk to some of the guys you met already informally before hand rush?

[GrayTiger]

Originally Posted by AlphaGamUGAAlum

I don't know anything really about age and IFC, but what Firehouse says seems really important.

You don't want to seem like bitter-I-wasted-my-youth-guy. So the less you call attention to how you feel about what you did instead or getting into having an ex-wife, the better I think.

Is it possible to talk to some of the guys you met already informally before hand rush?

maybe, if not the ones i have met before i know i can talk to some members of other fraternities - my roomate for this semester (wasnt last semester) was a member of a fraternity when he was there (he took a semester off) and he knows some guys...

i agree about the whole "life story" bit ----

[sigtau305]

Originally Posted by Firehouse

I'd add: don't spend time explaining your circumstances. If anyone asks, just say you worked for a few years after high school. Don't lie, but if you start out explaining your "journey", the undergrads' antenna go up and they tend to get spooked. You're obviously older; all you have to say is I worked after high school then went to junior college. That makes you a normal guy and not something they don't understand or identify with.

Good Point.

[Tom Earp]

Gray Tiger, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Introduce yourself to some members and just ask questions.

Let them get to know you and vise versa.

[SnuKnight172]

Within my chapter it seems as if every few years a guy that is significantly older than a normal college student rushes.

When I rushed I was 22 and one of my Candidate Brothers was 24 in my class of 11 there were only 4 guys fresh out of high school and 18 years old the remainder were 20 or older. I transferred to the University changed my major and was an undergrad for 5 years giving me plenty of time to be a productive member of my chapter.

The year after my Candidacy we gave a bid to a guy who was 32, just out of the Army and owned his own business. The problems he ran across were a little different he could not understand that the guys in chapter who were 18-21 years old were his superiors and he refused to listen to them when it came to drinking rules and such. He was a friend of some of the Alumni prior to rushing and he had a hard time differentiating between the relationship he had with the Alumni as friends and the relationship he had with the Actives as his guidance to be a good Greek.

A little advice: If you do decide to rush make sure you follow the rules as they are written. Don't consider age when making your decisions. If you are a natural leader don't be afraid to be a leader. Don’t just lead because you are older and the younger pledge/candidate brothers look up to you (this always lead to problems).

As a side note I am 2 years older than my Big Bro and 1 year older than my Grand Bro. It is weird sometimes to think about I always feel they are older than me.

[tchi252]

Age really has nothing to do with it as long as your not in the 30s or 40s. WE still have two or three active brothers who are in theyre 7 year or so in schoold and are around 27. The girls still love them and they are a great addition to the chapter. So go for it and dont worry about it

[macallan25]

^Age has nothing to do with it as long as you aren't in your 30's or 40's? Haha. Hope you aren't trying to rush at down here in Austin or in the South (read: SEC).