How to choose a fraternity

[Cyclone711]

So I'm an incoming freshman and am strongly looking at greek life (dad was a greek at ISU and my brother currently is at Minnesota). I know the biggest thing is if you get along with the guys in the frat, but what are some other good things to look at (am currently looking at four and really have no idea how to narrow it down). I am planning another trip to ames to do some frat tours but would appreciate any advice.

 

[clones_jer]

I would advise a year in the dorms and then get an apartment with some friends (you know, the kind you don't have to buy)

 

[HILLCYD]

I can't wait for all the "clever" posts that will soon be in this thread.

The key is obviously the people. I rushed several places and once I hit the house I ended up joining it was a no-brainer. The guys there were great and I hit it off with several of them right off the bat. If you feel nervous or uneasy during the process, it isn't the right house for you.

Good luck.

 

[bigB]

So I'm an incoming freshman and am strongly looking at greek life (dad was a greek at ISU and my brother currently is at Minnesota). I know the biggest thing is if you get along with the guys in the frat, but what are some other good things to look at (am currently looking at four and really have no idea how to narrow it down). I am planning another trip to ames to do some frat tours but would appreciate any advice.

Depends...does your father's house still exist? If so, it can't hurt to give it a look...kinda nice to be a legacy. Is there a chapter of your bro's frat at ISU...might be a good place to look as well.

 

[Cyclone711]

I would advise a year in the dorms and then get an apartment with some friends (you know, the kind you don't have to buy)

I already found out who my roomate would be in the dorms and let's just say he's "special".

 

[BryceC]

I joined a frat before my freshman year, and I was lucky enough to live close to Ames so I got to visit frequently. My best advice would be to spend as much time as possible with as many of the guys as you can in the house.

As for "buying" my friends the house I lived in my Frosh year was cheaper than the dorms so take that for what it's worth.

 

[isufbcurt]

i agree with clones_jer make real friends not the ones you have to buy!!

 

[clones_jer]

I already found out who my roomate would be in the dorms and let's just say he's "special".

good luck to you then, just don't get stuck with the cracker.

 

[Cyclone711]

i agree with clones_jer make real friends not the ones you have to buy!!

From spending alot of time at my brothers frat I really doubt it is like that.

Also my brothers Chi Psi and dad was Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

 

[BryceC]

It's not like when you live in a house you're going to be buddies with everybody. Just because you paid to live in the dorms doesn't mean you loved everybody on your floor. There will be people you are friends with in the house and people who you won't hang out with. I honestly don't think there is really all that much of a difference.

 

[HILLCYD]

i agree with clones_jer make real friends not the ones you have to buy!!

I agree with Cyclone711, make your own posts, not ones that 1000 other people have made on the same subject in the past.

 

[cycloneG]

This whole buying friends thing is the biggest myth ever.

My fraternity room and board was less than living in a dorm plus I already knew like 30 people when I got to campus.

My advice: find a place where you feel comfortable.

 

[bpmdu]

I'd recommend joining based not only on the ppl in the house. But also finding a house with a good recruiting system in place. That way you won't join a house that will be non-existant 10 years down the road.
What houses have you looked at?

 

[Cy Heavy]

i agree with clones_jer make real friends not the ones you have to buy!!

Actually the room and board at the fraternity I was in cost less than room and board at the dorms.

Advice from an old frat boy: find a group of guys you like and go with it. I transferred to ISU after my freshman year and joined the fraternity of my high school buddy after spending a few weekends there my freshman year. I got along great with most of the guys there including those not from my hometown (most were from smaller, rural towns like me) and I still keep in contact with many of them now.

Will you like everyone in your fraternity? No. Will you always be enamored with your fraternity? No. There were a handful of guys that I didn't care for much in my house and there were times my house pissed me off. Looking back now, I wouldn't change a thing. I lived in a dorm my freshman year and it flat sucked. Way too many rules and RA's for me not to mention there were zero opportunities to broaden yourself beyond your horizon beyond what you know as an 18 year old. My fraternity was a heluva lot more fun than any dorm and got me involved in a good amount of charity and community work (insert community service joke here) that I wouldn't have gotten had I stayed in the dorm or lived off campus not to mention the 'bought friends' that I travel across the country to visit with.

I was fortunate in that I found the right place for me before I had to worry about rush, so I never went through the real rush process. Check out the places you feel comfortable with and good luck pinning one down.

 

[Brentwood]

It depends on what else is important to you... and ask about that.

Academics: House GPA, scholarship programs, other guys in your major, new memebr retention.

Social events: What does the house do for fun?

Community service events?

I was a former recruitment chair for a house. Finding a guy like you that is so interested is becoming more and more rare. Find the house that you feel like you fit in with. Each house on campus has a different make-up of guys.

Don't listen to the "I didn't buy my friends crowd" I lived in the dorms for a year, then joined a house my soph. year. You are making the right decision.

 

[soccercy]

Is ISU still trying to do formal rush? They tried to implement it for the guys when I was in school.
I lived in the dorms my first year, didn't intend to join a house, but hung out with some of the guys, got recruited, and ended up joining. Lived in the house for a couple years and then ended up moving out before I graduated. Very good experience for me.
If you like being involved in things it is the way to go as there will be many opportunities. Those opportunities are there for everyone in a house or not, just a matter of taking advantage of them.
You want other ways to pick, but meeting the guys in the house is really the way you need to go.

 

[Cyclone711]

It depends on what else is important to you... and ask about that.

Academics: House GPA, scholarship programs, other guys in your major, new memebr retention.

Social events: What does the house do for fun?

Community service events?

I was a former recruitment chair for a house. Finding a guy like you that is so interested is becoming more and more rare. Find the house that you feel like you fit in with. Each house on campus has a different make-up of guys.

Don't listen to the "I didn't buy my friends crowd" I lived in the dorms for a year, then joined a house my soph. year. You are making the right decision.

Well I'd for sure want one that had alot of people going to sporting events and doing intermurals. Academics would be a plus just to make my mom happy (she still has the animal house frat stereotype stuck in her mind). Social events would be a plus but not something that would make or break my decision.

 

[Brentwood]

Well I'd for sure want one that had alot of people going to sporting events and doing intermurals. Academics would be a plus just to make my mom happy (she still has the animal house frat stereotype stuck in her mind). Social events would be a plus but not something that would make or break my decision.

Talk to the 4 houses you are looking at about what you want to get out of it. And from there you should be able to make the right choice.

 

[sodakjoe]

Is ISU still trying to do formal rush? They tried to implement it for the guys when I was in school.
I lived in the dorms my first year, didn't intend to join a house, but hung out with some of the guys, got recruited, and ended up joining. Lived in the house for a couple years and then ended up moving out before I graduated. Very good experience for me.
If you like being involved in things it is the way to go as there will be many opportunities. Those opportunities are there for everyone in a house or not, just a matter of taking advantage of them.
You want other ways to pick, but meeting the guys in the house is really the way you need to go.

Formal rush, last I heard, was still just a pipe dream. I (and a lot of other greeks and former greeks) think it's a bunch of crap. IMO, formal rush perpetuates the stereotypes of a vain, holier-than-thou attitude of a frat boy. I can't believe the girls still do it. I was recruited by a contact I knew before college. I moved out after a year and a half, mostly because I was having some personal issues, but I liked living there, and I'm very glad I decided to do it. Definitely worth a try, at the very least.

 

[Bader]

Alright so I wouldn't touch the greek system with a ten foot clown pole, but that's just my opinion. I know greeks that are cool guys/girls and more power to ya if that's what you want to do.

If you are greek, the rest of the student body is going to stereotype you, just a fact of life because sadly there are always going to be plenty of guys that live the stereotype and they are always the most prominent greeks around.

However like others have said the most important thing is to feel comfortable where you live because, well, you are going to spend a lot of time there. I'd recommend living in the dorms for at least a semester if not your first year just to see what its like before moving in to the house.

I was recruited by a contact I knew before college. I moved out after a year and a half, mostly because I was having some personal issues, but I liked living there, and I'm very glad I decided to do it. Definitely worth a try, at the very least.

Yea this happened to me by a friend of my sister's and he kept me on the phone for nearly an hour and a half before I got really pissed, we don't really speak anymore.

BTW if you ever meet someone in Sigma Chi, be sure to pronounce it Chai as in Chai Tea, they love it