pledging as a senior

[Little E]

Originally posted by shinerbock
I absolutely care about what others think. They're my FRATERNITY BROTHERS. We all have a say in this. I'm sure bidding an upperclassman would have advantages that could help the pledge class, however, we keep our pledges on the same plane. Praised together, punished together. Not to mention the incredibly huge difference in joining a sorority, and pledging a fraternity.

I wasn't clear. Yes we care about general reputation, but it seems slightly strange to me that someone's year in school would be an issue. Misogynistic alcoholics, I easily understand, but I'm suprised the you think people would infer that someone would only want the letters if they joined as a senior. It just doesn't seem like a serious enough thing to possibly deny a great brother. But I don't know your campus...

[Lady Pi Phi]

Most of us don't go to the school in question so we can't accurately judge the Greek life climate. At some schools it would be unthinkable to give a senior a bid, at other schools it happens all the time.

You don't need our approval to rush. If it's something you want to do, then for God's sake just do it! If you still really feel like you need advice, then GC is not the place to get it. Like OTW said, the best place to find information is on your campus. Ask your Greek Life office or ask some fraternity members.

[shinerbock]

Well, notice that I mentioned that I didn't necc think the motives were bad, but that would probably be a common thought in many fraternities. I mean, if he wants to do it, he should try it, but i'm telling you it might not work at a lot of places. In my experience, there is usually a reason somebody didn't pledge when they were freshmen, and it is usually one that most fraternities don't like. I'm sure there are plenty of cases of legitimate reasons, but most often in my experience, they either A) joined a fraternity and didnt make it through pledgeship (which is mostly an auto non-bid), B) have had trouble socially or C) want to give legitimacy to their already held connection to the fraternity(sometimes this is fine, like if they're good friends with a lot of brothers, but i've also seen it when they're friends with like 1 brother, and the rest really don't want much to do with them).

[g41965]

Rudey all of your points are well taken some Srs. may not be pledge class material too busy, senioritis etc.
I doubt those individuals would want to pledge.

I also think some freshman should not pledge IE guys who won't make grades people who drink too much etc.

Bottom line about this thread , everyone should be judged on their own merits as a potential member being a Sr. would not automatically get a blackball from me.

[Lady Pi Phi]

Originally posted by shinerbock
Well, notice that I mentioned that I didn't necc think the motives were bad, but that would probably be a common thought in many fraternities. I mean, if he wants to do it, he should try it, but i'm telling you it might not work at a lot of places. In my experience, there is usually a reason somebody didn't pledge when they were freshmen, and it is usually one that most fraternities don't like. I'm sure there are plenty of cases of legitimate reasons, but most often in my experience, they either A) joined a fraternity and didnt make it through pledgeship (which is mostly an auto non-bid), B) have had trouble socially or C) want to give legitimacy to their already held connection to the fraternity(sometimes this is fine, like if they're good friends with a lot of brothers, but i've also seen it when they're friends with like 1 brother, and the rest really don't want much to do with them).

All I am saying is that it doesn't matter what we think. It's up to the groups on his campus and if they don't want him, he'll find out soon enough.

Whatever his reasons, it's not up to us to tell him what he should do. Also, some of my comments were directed to him and others in his position. I don't know why they come here seeking approval from GCers when they are considering rushing? Every school is different, some groups won't take seniors, some will. My chapter took me in as a junior. But if I had rushed at another school, I might have been cut.

I'm not going to blow sunshine up his butt and tell him that he'll find a home, but I'm also not going to tell him not to rush because as a senior he won't get a bid. When it comes right down to it, I can't give a straight answer and neither can most of us. They only people that can truly answer his question are people from his school and even then they can't guarantee anything.

[Optimist Prime]

Just to point out:

the dude made one post, probably checked back here maybe once, and then went on his way.

He doesn't seem to care what people on GC seem to think, so keep that in mind when replying to this thread: the person who started it doesn't care.

[alum]

Not necessarily. The OP may be just gauging the reactions of the posters and doesn't want to get into some spat with shinerbock et al.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by g41965
Rudey all of your points are well taken some Srs. may not be pledge class material too busy, senioritis etc.
I doubt those individuals would want to pledge.

I also think some freshman should not pledge IE guys who won't make grades people who drink too much etc.

Bottom line about this thread , everyone should be judged on their own merits as a potential member being a Sr. would not automatically get a blackball from me.

Glen,
I don't know how you do your rush or how much resources you may dedicate to it. If a chapter wants to find 25 quality guys, they have to use those resources properly. Chances are pretty high that in a school with several thousand males, you can find 25 upstanding gentlemen that are Freshmen.

There are always outliers and circumstances that are different, but I would think this would hold on many campuses.

I can't imagine how a senior wouldn't have other concerns on his mind. And if he didn't I would be even more suspicious. But that's just me.

-Rudey

[KSigkid]

Originally posted by patCOFC
i'm a junior at the college of charleston and haven't really considered joining a fraternity seriously but recently thought i might want to rush next year and give it a shot. not sure which frat but i was wondering if trying to pledge as a senior would be a waste of time because my chances of getting a bid would be slim. any feedback?

It all depends on the school, but would you have time to commit to an organization? Honestly, when I was a senior I was worrying about my final GPA, getting a job, finding a place to live, etc. My classes were harder and I had less and less free time. I thought that was about normal, most people's senior years.

[Betarulz!]

Originally posted by g41965
I also think some freshman should not pledge IE guys who won't make grades people who drink too much etc.

What about guys who would be helped by joining a fraternity. Given that many fraternity chapters require study hours for their pledges, wouldn't it be adventageous for these individuals to pledge? There are a lot of other academic advantages that the academic liabilities can garner by being a part of a chapter.

At UIFI they told us that when a person joins a chapter with a GPA above the all-male (or respective all-female for sororities) campus gpa, they're grades are likely to be improved. The opposite is true if they join a chapter with a GPA below the averages for their gender, and they're grades are likely to fall.

[TPA4LIFE]

I pledged my junior year, I was married, and I was 22 at the time. Not your typical sorority girl. I graduate in December but am very involved in my chapter. I am PR chair and I most likely still be around when I graduate, it all depends on Grad school or what I want to do with my life. But I know that I pledged Theta Phi and I will be one til I die... an active one at that. So I say go for it! This past year has been one of the life and my husband is VERY supportive.

[OmegaPiSister]

Arent most older girls (21+) in sororities engaged or married though? Seems to be the case arounf her anyway

[Rudey]

Originally posted by OmegaPiSister
Arent most older girls (21+) in sororities engaged or married though? Seems to be the case arounf her anyway

Where do you live? Sub-Saharan Africa?

-Rudey

[OhioCentaur]

Originally posted by Rudey
Where do you live? Sub-Saharan Africa?

-Rudey

hahahhaha man you have one mean streak!

I say this... who care what year u are or even how old you are... if you want it get and dont let NOBODY stop you!

Forget the nonsense... if they fit the script then put them in the play dang!

[KSigkid]

Originally posted by OmegaPiSister
Arent most older girls (21+) in sororities engaged or married though? Seems to be the case arounf her anyway

That wasn't the case at all at my school; I could count on one hand the number of sorority women who were engaged or married by the time they graduated.