Texas A&M Rush as a Sophomore

[dnall]

Originally Posted by sigmadiva

But this is what makes GC GC. How else do you think most threads easily reach 20 pages.

That's pretty sad.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by dnall

That's pretty sad.

Not really, no.

[LadyLonghorn]

Originally Posted by dnall

That's pretty sad.

No sadder than someone trying to present himself as the authority on Greek life at a school which he doesn't attend.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by dnall

Oh my dear Lord...

This isn't t-ball where everyone gets a trophy. Greek life isn't perfectly equal everywhere you go. Like everything else in the world, it's better in some places than others. That doesn't mean if you aren't at the very top of that ranking that you or your chapter or your college or whatever we're talking about is terrible, it just is what it is. Most people accept that and make the very best they can of it.

I didn't go to a tier 1 university for my undergrad, and greek life there reflects that. Both the University and greek system there have grown and improved exponentially since I was there, but neither will ever be in the same universe as something that might be considered a pinnacle university/greek system/etc.

That doesn't mean that I, my chapter, my greek system, or my university are or were worthless. It just means we accept where we are on the totem pole & try to make it better.

I'm very familiar with the A&M greek system. VERY clearly my comments were directed at it. It is a VERY unusual place. If you can imagine sororities from a tier 1 university/greek system, the corps filling the role of fraternities from a tier 1 university, and the IFC fraternities being like the ultimate frisbee club... that's about what it's like. A lot of sororities there, both as orgs and individuals, do not associate at all with fraternities or anyone in them. There are notable exceptions, but on average that's how it is there.

Hence, when I tell this girl she might consider putting herself in some social situations where she can network with sorority girls and with guys that have pull with sorority girls, at A&M, most fraternity parties don't fit that bill.

Can we please quit dissecting every word of every sentence trying to find fault where none is intended or exists.

What the hell is this post about?

[sigmadiva]

^^^^^

I think it's about how some people took offense to the term "podunk state college" and how some of us (me included) went on this tirade about what podunk means.

[FleurGirl]

Honestly, as one who rushed as a sophomore, the best advice I can give is this: keep your head down and your grades up. Don't go around being a drunken fool in public (this means AT ALL not just at Greek events; you never know who's watching), and focus on your classes. Get involved in other orgs and try for leadership positions. When you go through recruitment, I suggest not even bringing up your previous recruitment. If someone asks, make sure you know how to handle it. How are you different now than a year ago? What makes you a better PNM/person/student now?

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by dnall

Are there 20 fraternities there over 100 members with giant legitimate houses where most sorority girls spend 3-4 days of every week at parties? Or is social life focused elsewhere, maybe 1-2 fraternities are over 100, 20 others mostly under 70, most are tiny. The total number of people in fraternities is lower than TxState; barely bigger than SFA, Sam, UNT, UTA, etc; less than half the size of Tech; and, dwarfed by Texas... while Sororities have about 250% more members than the guys, large chapters, solid houses, and a whole lot don't think fraternity guys are exactly the best people on campus.

Really? I had no idea that numbers for fraternities at A+M vs TxState vs UTA, et al were so close. Interesting.

[dnall]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

Really? I had no idea that numbers for fraternities at A+M vs TxState vs UTA, et al were so close. Interesting.

That's what I'm saying. The fraternity system at A&M is on par with those other schools. That doesn't make it a bad thing, it's just at a certain level which is well below average for a tier 1 school. While sororities are right where you would expect them to be (in size, quality, etc) at such a premier school. It's an unusual place where a lot of advice that works most other places may or may not apply very well.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by dnall

That's what I'm saying. The fraternity system at A&M is on par with those other schools. That doesn't make it a bad thing, it's just at a certain level which is well below average for a tier 1 school. While sororities are right where you would expect them to be (in size, quality, etc) at such a premier school. It's an unusual place where a lot of advice that works most other places may or may not apply very well.

Well, yeah -- A+M in general is an odd place. I knew that the Corps was a big deal, but every time I've visited, sororities and fraternities seemed miles ahead of the "Tier 2" universities in the state.

[dnall]

Almost all campuses there are fewer sororities with bigger chapters. A sorority with 120 members is I think pretty normal in most tier 2 schools. (I personally don't like organizations much bigger than that because it becomes infinitely harder to maintain brotherhood/sisterhood, focus on the purpose of the organization, and give people a legitimate chance to lead.)

Fraternities on the other hand tend to have 50-100% more orgs than the sororities & half the members on average. The majority of greek systems in tier 1 universities have 15-20+ fraternity chapters that are over 100 members, and all the financial and campus influence aspects that come with it.

A&M is a tier 1 research university. It is supposed to be a premier undergrad school with top grad programs fed by tier 2 state schools. A&M's greek system (the fraternities in particular) is significantly different than any other greek system because of the Corps. The weird thing about that one location is sororities are top tier, while fraternities are mid-2nd tier in size and nature. This is all very black and white information. I'm not sure what the issue is.

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by dnall

I'm not sure what the issue is.

I don't think most people in or out of Texas really "get" A&M.


Campus life operates with a different mind-set than most Universities because of the Corps. I don't think people realize how strongly influential the Corps is to the identity of A&M because for so long that was the strongest identity A&M had, and still does to a large extent.


Corps guys like to wear a t-shirt that says on the front: "Rent a friend", on the back: "...join a frat."

Even though the overall numbers of the Corps may be getting smaller, they still have a strong influence on the campus.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by dnall

Almost all campuses there are fewer sororities with bigger chapters. A sorority with 120 members is I think pretty normal in most tier 2 schools. (I personally don't like organizations much bigger than that because it becomes infinitely harder to maintain brotherhood/sisterhood, focus on the purpose of the organization, and give people a legitimate chance to lead.)

Fraternities on the other hand tend to have 50-100% more orgs than the sororities & half the members on average. The majority of greek systems in tier 1 universities have 15-20+ fraternity chapters that are over 100 members, and all the financial and campus influence aspects that come with it.

A&M is a tier 1 research university. It is supposed to be a premier undergrad school with top grad programs fed by tier 2 state schools. A&M's greek system (the fraternities in particular) is significantly different than any other greek system because of the Corps. The weird thing about that one location is sororities are top tier, while fraternities are mid-2nd tier in size and nature. This is all very black and white information. I'm not sure what the issue is.

No, not really.


As an aside: Hell, I don't even know what you'd rank the schools in Louisiana Tier-wise. There's LSU, then there's the private schools, but the University of Louisiana system just is what it is.

[SWTXBelle]

Oh, the Corps will always be an extremely important and influential group. My point is that it is no longer "running the school", and the fraternities with which I am familiar (admittedly, a small number) are in no way, shape or form lacking in quality (of course, that is a very subjective term).