Is it worth it to pledge senior year?

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by puma303

I am graduating next at the end of next year. Is it worth it to start in a fraternity next fall?

At my chapter we have had instances where a guy pledged in spring of junior year or fall of senior year. It is certainly rare, but it happens.

In every instance, the guy had an existing connection to the chapter. He would be at the house all the time and at social events because he had a friend or friend(s) in the chapter and eventually just became a part of us even though not a full member.

When someone becomes part of a chapter in this way- then it is only natural that they might want to pledge and become a full brother before they graduate. And in such cases, we are happy to welcome them.

In the real world, AI works pretty much the same by the way (ducking the flames now) except that a person's strong connection to a chapter starts or comes to a certain point after graduation.

That said, if you do not have a particular chapter in mind- just go through rush and see what happens.

Odds are against you in a big way for a variety of reasons which do not necessarily have anything to do with you personally- especially at schools with highly competitive Greek systems.

Many chapters have quotas- and they want to fill them with freshman who are going to be dues-paying members for a full four years. This is a practical, but vital, consideration.

Also, guys who are in 3-4 years will have time to grow and develop and give back to the organization by serving in office, living in the house, rushing etc. In an organization that gets all the freshman pledges it wants, you would be trying to take the spot of someone who could be there to do all that long after you graduate.

There is also the automatic assumption- which is generally true though there are individual exceptions- that pledging and being heavily involved in a fraternity is something a freshman wants to do, but not a senior.

Except for those serving as officers, you will find that most seniors in fraternities are winding down quite a bit in terms of their day-to-day involvement with the fraternity. Their attention is more focused on getting into graduate school or finding a job. Plus, by this point (hopefully) they are outgrowing the desire to come to every party and go crazy every weekend.

But take this with a grain of salt. Each of us is different. My pledgeship was a blast, but I was President of my class and at the house a good 40 hours a week. It was a full-time job, and I could not have done it as a senior preparing for grad school and taking some pretty tough final courses for my undergrad major.

Your mileage may vary depending on the school and chapter where you plan to pledge.

In the long run, if you find a fraternity that you like, and that fraternity sees value in your membership- then it doesn't matter if you are 18 or 75 years old. It will happen.

But just know the odds are tough once you get past sophomore year and you will need to be able to articulate very clearly why you want to join at a point in your life when very few people undertake this decision.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by EE-BO

In the real world, AI works pretty much the same by the way (ducking the flames now) except that a person's strong connection to a chapter starts or comes to a certain point after graduation.

I don't know what AI is like for Beta, but other groups (such as mine) do not grant AI status lightly. Absent very extraordinary circumstances, becoming an alumni initiate of many fraternities (including mine) is not a realistic expectation.

[REE1993]

Taking out of the equation that you are a senior, and traditional policies per chapter/nationals, what is it that you can offer the fraternity during the time you will be on campus?

It has to be something pretty spectacular. I would think that you need to show the Fraternity what you can do for them in that shorter amount of time, as opposed to what you can take from the experience (ie. letters, a sense of brotherhood, etc.).

Then ask yourself, how can you demonstrate you willing to continue your membership in practice, as an alumnus?

Those are the questions you need to ask and answer of yourself, and to make pretty darn clear to the brothers. No one here can do anything but speculate. Try and see what happens.

[AOII*Azra-elle]

Originally Posted by puma303

I am graduating next at the end of next year. Is it worth it to start in a fraternity next fall?

I would say it really depends on the university and how active you want to be. If you don't plan on being too active b/c of your senior year studies, then no. If you are looking at a Southern school, no again.

Now, my first little was a senior when she joined. She was busy her senior year, but was involved in every activity that we had as a chapter, and helped us to plan activities as well. She held an office and put her everything into it!

I know someone mentioned that a 22 year old shouldn't join...but I disagree. I was 21 when I joined, but I was a second semester transfer freshman as well. Now that I'm done, I'm still involved as an active alumna getting ready to help with a recolonization of another AOII chapter this fall.

If it something you want to do, and you know you'll be active, then I say go for it!