A Dilemma

[Mickelboy]

Hey everyone I have a dilemma that all of you might be able to help me with. I really want to pledge a certain fraternity at the school i am currently attending. The guys here are great and the org has a good solid reputation. However i am considering and in fact have decided to transfer to another school next fall. I have friends there that want me to join their fraternity but i want to pledge while i'm a sophomore and the school i am transferring to has a one semester wait policy for pledging. Here's the big dilemma though, the fraternity i want to pledge here is great but the same fraternity at the other campus isn't. The fraternity my friends want me to join at the other school has a great rep there but it's one of the worst at the school im attending now. AGH!! Would it be rude for me to pledge here and then transfer? Any help would be appreciated, and if this doesnt make any sense then i'll try it again. Thanks

[soror6]

It might help me to know why you have decided to transfer. If it is private, that's okay, but it would help me give you some advice if you can tell me Thanks!

[Mickelboy]

Oh it's nothing private the school I am attending doesn't have the major that i want to pursue, (they did when i came here, but they got rid of it this year so if you hadnt declared it you couldnt be it) Besides that the other school is much closer to home (60 as opposed to 250 miles from home)Thats about all, the food here sucks but thats to be expected. If they had the classes i wanted i'd stay.

[SoCalGirl]

I thought about this a lil bit and I think I came up w/ some decent suggestions.

First, make sure that the one semester wait period at the second school applies to transfer students. Some schools only make first years wait.

Second, take every opportunity possible to visit the fraternities at the second school and have your friends introduce you not only to their brothers but members of the first org you're considering and any others on campus! You could get there and find out that fraternity #3 is perfect for you.

Now make three lists. On the first list put all the reasons that YOU want to go Greek. Nobody else will see the list so be completely honest! On the second list put all the reasons you want to be AAA (fraternity #1). On the third list put all the reasons you want to be BBB.

Now take each list and mark each reason as either short term (during college) or long term (after college). Ex: The college is boring as heck and you want the extra social life...short term. You want all the networking contacts...long term.

If your reasons for going Greek are mostly short term, go with the house that gives you the most short term benefits. And vice versa.

Hopefully this helps some and I didn't just confuse you. Let us know what you decide!

[Mickelboy]

please if you have an opinion on this post then please express it. I'm going to be leaving for break next week and rush events are scheduled for the week after we come back. Should i just wait? Seriously this is a problem that could determine whether or not i go greek, thanks for all the help. Johnnie

[Mickelboy]

P.S. SoCalGirl the semester wait unfortunately applies to ALL students entering the school including transfers. Plus i'm a sophomore, if i don't join now and wait till i get to the transfer school and have to wait a semester it will be spring semester of my Junior year. That means another year and an even less likely chance i would get a bid from any house. Thanks for the advice it did help.

[Kymberleigh]

Personnaly a big reason I joined my org. was because I loved the ideals that they represented not only within my school's chapter, but as a national. I think that if you truly want to become a part of this particular organization because you believe in the values it upholds than go for it at your current school. Then when you transfer to your new school maybe you can bring some needed changes to the chapter there. However, if you are only joining to be with your friends then it might not be worth it. I hope this helps.

Kymberleigh
Delta Epsilon
Delta Delta Delta

[kmullini]

What schools are we talking about? If you want you can email me so I might give you some advice. I know its said a lot but really being Greek is not for everyone. I agree with Kymberleigh said. You have to look at the big picture in many respects and decide if you believe in what the organization's values are. I think SoCalGirl has a good suggestion too because its important to know why you want to go greek and what you want to get out of it. I noticed you talk about reputations, but really you should go and get to know the brothers personally of that chapter. Form your own opinion about them. You might find something you can contribute to the current chapter that you said has a bad rep and transfer to the school you are planning to go to. I must say though that there are a lot of what if's in that scenario. I wish you the best of luck.

Kevin
Beta Theta Pi Alum
Epsilon Mu

[This message has been edited by kmullini (edited December 18, 2000).]