What should I do?

[weasuhl]

I also posted: http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...d.php?t=140659

I'm now 99% sure I want to transfer out.

https://talk.collegeconfidential.com...prospects.html

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)

Other colleges I'm not sure of.

Here's where greek life comes in..once again I'm not sure about joining the fraternity I received a bid and am currently pledging for. They just started this semester so obviously there are some kinks that need to be worked out, but nonetheless incidents that make me hesitant to join. 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'm sure all of these things would look superb on a transfer application or resume. What I'm trying to say is, I'm not even sure if i'll be able to transfer without the fraternity's help. I definitely don't wish to "use" the fraternity for a resume builder, that's just immoral. I'm just really not sure.

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.

As I said before, I really think joining the fraternity would make my experience at my current university better but i'm 99% sure I plan to transfer. I'm just not sure what to do. I'm about three weeks away from initiation, with a lot of doubts about how to spend the next three years of my life. Please, post away.

Also, although I'm sure the majority of you here are involved in Greek life, have any of you been in the situation where you transferred and there was not a chapter of your frat/sor there? More specifically, did you feel excluded from any social aspects or service aspects, any feelings of longing to want to be included, any feelings of regret?

Thanks. & if you actually look at the link feel free to chance me at the various schools, much appreciated!

[weasuhl]

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandre...niversity-3242

Carnegie was like a "dream school" for me and is regarded as extremely prestigious by all those around me..the link above describes it as a university where 20% of students are affiliated with greek life..not sure how many of those 20% are social vs service but yeah..I feel as if I might get an "excluded" feeling attending CMU.

[DGTess]

Originally Posted by weasuhl

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandre...niversity-3242

Carnegie was like a "dream school" for me and is regarded as extremely prestigious by all those around me..the link above describes it as a university where 20% of students are affiliated with greek life..not sure how many of those 20% are social vs service but yeah..I feel as if I might get an "excluded" feeling attending CMU.

CMU has a strong Greek system, but I never met anyone who felt excluded by not being Greek (I left many years ago, but stay in touch). In fact, there are a few organizations that are not greek, but exist to give students much the same collegiate experience.

Today started their BIG spring Greek event - Carnival. See the web cam at http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~sc0v//webcam. In addition to Midway, there are reunions, socials, plays, concerts, etc.

[33girl]

I just have to say this: it's either "Carnegie Mellon" or "CMU." Calling it just Carnegie is nails on a chalkboard. You are going to be pretty much in the middle of Pittsburgh (well, east middle) and near many other colleges with many more women, so if that's going to be too much of a distraction for you, I'd think twice.

I say this with love. You have to go a LOOOONG way to feel excluded or freakish at CMU. :-)

[andthen]

Originally Posted by weasuhl

I also posted: http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...d.php?t=140659

I'm now 99% sure I want to transfer out.

https://talk.collegeconfidential.com...prospects.html

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)

Other colleges I'm not sure of.

Here's where greek life comes in..once again I'm not sure about joining the fraternity I received a bid and am currently pledging for. They just started this semester so obviously there are some kinks that need to be worked out, but nonetheless incidents that make me hesitant to join. 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'm sure all of these things would look superb on a transfer application or resume. What I'm trying to say is, I'm not even sure if i'll be able to transfer without the fraternity's help. I definitely don't wish to "use" the fraternity for a resume builder, that's just immoral. I'm just really not sure.

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.

As I said before, I really think joining the fraternity would make my experience at my current university better but i'm 99% sure I plan to transfer. I'm just not sure what to do. I'm about three weeks away from initiation, with a lot of doubts about how to spend the next three years of my life. Please, post away.

Also, although I'm sure the majority of you here are involved in Greek life, have any of you been in the situation where you transferred and there was not a chapter of your frat/sor there? More specifically, did you feel excluded from any social aspects or service aspects, any feelings of longing to want to be included, any feelings of regret?

Thanks. & if you actually look at the link feel free to chance me at the various schools, much appreciated!

Ok I'm going to provide a response with the assumption that you are 100% going to leave although I have no way of predicting the future. I did transfer from a small school with greek life to another small school without greek life. For me the decision was in part due to the major I wanted to pursue that wasn't offered at the college I started off with. As far as missing out on the social or service aspects with going to a school without greek life. I will be honest my course of study kept me plenty busy, and there was an abundance to get involved according to my schedule. That's the one great thing about college you have a variety of opportunities to pursue activities. I don't feel like I missed out on anything.

With regard to prospects and building up your resume in order to transfer to another school, at least in my case which was a while ago, the primary thing the school I pursued cared about were my grades. The secondary thing they looked at were the types of classes I was taking that contributed to my grades. For example if you have a 4.0 and taking a heavy science and math concentration its a lot different than having a 4.0 and taking heavy basket weaving concentration (unless of course you're pursuing the arts).

Secondly I am a bit concerned about your statement about nice greek houses at a larger campus that you might be drawn to. This is sort of like the analogy a person is focused on one thing at a moment in time, and then "oooh bright shiny object" With those "nice" houses may have various caveats, like higher dues, or requirements that you live in the house etc. So just because a house is "nice" be prepared for a potential trade-off.

In closing, really the decision to continue with the fraternity you're involved with while you remain at your current school is ultimately your decision. As is determining whether or not you want to transfer. Although I would encourage you to base your decision to transfer on what is best for you in pursuit of your educational and future career path. I wish you success on whatever you end up deciding on.

[33girl]

I don't think you could pick two schools farther apart in general campus culture than CMU and WVU. You really need to narrow your focus.

[weasuhl]

Originally Posted by andthen

Ok I'm going to provide a response with the assumption that you are 100% going to leave although I have no way of predicting the future. I did transfer from a small school with greek life to another small school without greek life. For me the decision was in part due to the major I wanted to pursue that wasn't offered at the college I started off with. As far as missing out on the social or service aspects with going to a school without greek life. I will be honest my course of study kept me plenty busy, and there was an abundance to get involved according to my schedule. That's the one great thing about college you have a variety of opportunities to pursue activities. I don't feel like I missed out on anything.

With regard to prospects and building up your resume in order to transfer to another school, at least in my case which was a while ago, the primary thing the school I pursued cared about were my grades. The secondary thing they looked at were the types of classes I was taking that contributed to my grades. For example if you have a 4.0 and taking a heavy science and math concentration its a lot different than having a 4.0 and taking heavy basket weaving concentration (unless of course you're pursuing the arts).

Secondly I am a bit concerned about your statement about nice greek houses at a larger campus that you might be drawn to. This is sort of like the analogy a person is focused on one thing at a moment in time, and then "oooh bright shiny object" With those "nice" houses may have various caveats, like higher dues, or requirements that you live in the house etc. So just because a house is "nice" be prepared for a potential trade-off.

In closing, really the decision to continue with the fraternity you're involved with while you remain at your current school is ultimately your decision. As is determining whether or not you want to transfer. Although I would encourage you to base your decision to transfer on what is best for you in pursuit of your educational and future career path. I wish you success on whatever you end up deciding on.

I see what you're saying. It was in the back of my head but hearing someone else bring it up..I'll definitely think more about it.

I'm very happy you shared your story. Would you mind sharing what else you got involved in? I was thinking if I actually got into Carnegie for Computer Science my academics would keep me so busy and I'd be very interested in graduating with honors. My current small university mandates so many events..mandated things at carnegie subtracting from my study time might be too much for me to handle.

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Wait, does the fraternity you're pledging now not have a chapter at any of the schools you are considering? Or is it not a national group?

Also, you are pretty clearly some type of engineering student. Nobody looking at your application at the bigger schools is going to give a rat's ass about your philanthropy work.

It is a national group however my University only has a group of intent. I can almost guarantee we'll reach provisional chapter by next semester and have high hopes for becoming an official chapter by the end of next year. I understand that if it was local the story would be different.

If anyone can clarify this: the national advisor is getting an official chapter to come down and perform an initiation ceremony..but we're only a group of intent. What exactly does getting pinned whilst in a group of intent mean? Is that a nationally recognized lifetime commitment or..?

MOST IMPORTANTLY, for transferring from a probably considered low-mid tier school to the likes of Mellon for Comp Sci you really don't think philanthropy matters that much? Of course I agree that grades are much more important but at the same time "not giving a rat's ass"..do you really believe that?

Originally Posted by 33girl

I don't think you could pick two schools farther apart in general campus culture than CMU and WVU. You really need to narrow your focus.

I understand the differences. Different doesn't always mean happy in one place and unhappy in other. To be perfectly honest, I know many people at WVU and the party culture there is superb while still maintaining solid academics. It'd have the opportunity for a balanced life while also being a school relatively easy for someone of my credentials to get into.

CMU has been regarded as highly prestigious to everyone I know for such a long time. I've heard it's name repeated since I was a kid. Not to mention US Newsweek or whatever that website is ranked it as #1 for computer science. No matter who does the list, it's consistently in top 10. It's location suits me best actually. While I like to think I'd really enjoy WVU culture I know that personally I'd prefer to be in a more secluded, dreary kind of area.

(as I understand CMU is stationed in a very windy, rainy, mellow-type place but still has a good bit of industrialization (aka businesses to keep locals/students busy/entertained))

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by weasuhl

MOST IMPORTANTLY, for transferring from a probably considered low-mid tier school to the likes of Mellon for Comp Sci you really don't think philanthropy matters that much? Of course I agree that grades are much more important but at the same time "not giving a rat's ass"..do you really believe that?

Yes, I do believe that. The number one thing that admissions committees are concerned about is whether you can do the work and become a successful graduate. I know you're really busy looking at all the rankings...do you ever see a tech school publish the number of community service hours done by their students? No. They publish quartiles for SAT/ACT scores and GPA's. If you are a borderline acceptance, recommendations from your professors, activities related to your major, etc. may be helpful, and in fact, a major leadership position with quantifiable accomplishment may even get a second look, but nobody cares that you volunteered at the homeless shelter once/week.

[pshsx1]

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.

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.

---

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.