[BTM]

Originally Posted by SchlauCow

Could you describe the prevailing personality?

It's a lot easier to hone in on the incompatibilities, but from the negative perspective I found the culture to be brash, confrontational, drunk, cliquey, and inconsiderate. Throughout school I did make friends with frat members who were exceptions to this observation, but during the periods of time to which the frat was supposedly "displaying" itself, these seemed to be pretty common across the board.

Like I said, people are free to spend their time and money as they wish. But, organizations that purposely create an environment that is hostile to non-members are not ones I like to support.

It's one thing if they're having a party, where I know I'm not invited and don't expect to be. On some slower nights, I would try to follow the unwritten rule that for late night get togethers, know someone in the frat and bring some girls and it should all be good. Unfortunately, the reality is that you spend the entire time having drunk assholes approach you demanding you tell them "who you know" and try to kick you out and fight you and keep the girls there. Luckily these girls weren't totally into the scene either, and after a few times would just leave anyway.

If I'm going to be a part of an organization, I would want to be one that keeps it's interactions with "outsiders" positive. Unfortunately, for the most part, my experience was that the general perception was that these members were in general total assclowns, and, I really had nothing to gain from joining their fraternity.

[immiketoo]

Immaturity, male egos and beer = bad experiences for the uninitiate. Never saw the point of those either. I like to think for myself.

[vioaltec]

honestly i was about to join a frat at my school (Delta Sigma Phi, for those who goes to SJSU you know who they are lol), ended up not joining because everyone said that its stupid and that your basically paying for friends. When i say paying for friends i mean that Fraternities makes all of its brothers pay a "BRO-FEE" of between $80-$100 towards the fraternity every month. Another downside is that you usually would isolate yourself from your old friends because your constanly with your frat brothers. But its just people's opinion and i think that i will end up doing it next semester, as it is part of the college experience.

[aut0sh0cker]

Originally Posted by vioaltec

honestly i was about to join a frat at my school, ended up not joining because everyone said that its stupid and that your basically paying for friends. When i say paying for friends i mean that Fraternities makes all of its brothers pay a "BRO-FEE" of between $80-$100 towards the fraternity every month. Another downside is that you usually would isolate yourself from your old friends because your constanly with your frat brothers. But its just people's opinion and i think that i will end up doing it next semester, as it is part of the college experience.

Biggest misconception among the non-Greek community. You don't pay for your friends. You and your friends put money into a collective that enables you to do things that you would otherwise be unable to do alone (throw massive parties in circus tents on the quad, trips to vegas, have a ridiculous formal, etc). Also, you are entering into a huge social network (depends on the frat) that can land you jobs/internships/friendships that may otherwise be unattainable.

The fact remains that aside from the incredible social benefits and the lifelong friendships you WILL make, there are huge post-college benefits to joining:

Facts:

1. Fraternity men make up only 2% of the population!
2. Approximately 80% of the top executives in Fortune 500 are fraternity men.
4. 76% of the current United States Senators and Congressmen are fraternity men.
5. 40 of the 47 Supreme Court Justices since 1910 have been fraternity men.
6. 100 of the 158 cabinet members since 1900 have been fraternity men.
7. All but 3 United States Presidents since 1825 have been fraternity men.

-Fratty McFrat, Frat Brother, Brown University

[Feyd]

Originally Posted by aut0sh0cker

Facts:
.....

4. 76% of the current United States Senators and Congressmen are fraternity men.
5. 40 of the 47 Supreme Court Justices since 1910 have been fraternity men.
6. 100 of the 158 cabinet members since 1900 have been fraternity men.
7. All but 3 United States Presidents since 1825 have been fraternity men.

So that's what's wrong with politics in America. I gotta call CNN stat.

[fdsasdasdf]

I prefer to mooch off of the frat parties, hang with some friends in the frat, and get free beer.

All the benefits of a frat, none of the bullshit, all for free

[lopealle]

I always wanted to join a college frat. Never made it to college yet.

[JayKay335i]

Fraternities of older men tend to be a bunch of miserable drunk old men whos wives have left them or who hate their wives.

[lopealle]

Originally Posted by JayKay335i

Fraternities of older men tend to be a bunch of miserable drunk old men whos wives have left them or who hate their wives.

What kind fraternities do old men join?

[BMW2006]

I think it has a lot to do with which college you are going to. My brother and I are perfect examples of this. I went to Ohio State, it's a *huge* school. I don't know the exact numbers but I'm pretty sure that most people (like 95% or more) are not in fraternities (or at least they weren't, I don't know much about the post-Holbrook era, I last went there in 1998). But if you wanted to join a fraternity just to make friends and have access to parties and drunk women you were wasting your time. You could be the most introverted, socially awkward, nerdy, smell like goat cheese, and probably a virgin and go to Ohio State and still find ample amounts of 1. friends to drink with, 2. Parties to go to, and 3. Drunk Women, or sober Women who are looking to hook up with basically anyone who isn't drunk, and if you didn't find these things then you must have never left your dorm room.

Because of this frats there are exclusive, they almost have to be just because there are so many people mulling about. If you throw a party and have it open to everyone your party will be quickly overrun with a bunch of dickheads who are only there to try to hit on your sorority friends, drink your beer and not contribute or pay for it, most of whom aren't even students, steal your CD's, break your stuff, and probably end up with the cops showing up at your place because they ratted on you since your friends who are women didn't want to sleep with them.

I had a very enjoyable college experience, where I was able to meet many people and forge lifetime friendships with many others who I had nothing in common with other than we happened to have spent freshman year in the same dormitory. Who needs frats when you have access to everything they are known best for, camaraderie, social networking, friendships, access to meeting women, etc...

In contrast my brother went to Miami of Ohio, it's a smaller school with a strong Greek community. From what he tells me there is a very limited social life outside the frats, it's a smaller student body, and most people end up joining frats/sororities just to meet people. When I would go to visit him there I had all these pre-conceived notions about what frat life was like based on my experience at OSU, and they consistently broke those assumptions. His frat brothers were just a bunch of guys like my brother. Easy to speak to, accepting of non-Greek people at their place and at their parties, intelligent, funny, and they still could thrown down a bunch of beer at the drop of a hat.

I won't mention which frat my brother belonged to but they also had a chapter at OSU. One of their traditions was to take all of their pledges to their fraternity at another school and meet all of the brothers there and maybe spend a night partying with them. They went to OSU once, and swore they would never go back. When I asked them about it they just said "Those guys are a bunch of dicks, we'll never go there again", instead they head to other schools, some much further away, for this tradition. Most likely because the guys at OSU showed them about the same courtesy that they showed everyone else. Which is "We're cool, We're part of this group, You are not, You are allowed here only on our terms, etc..." stuff that you just don't have to deal with if you don't want to.

So I think it just depends on where you go, in many places it makes a lot of sense, but by no means should you join one or feel obligated to join one. There is life outside them, but how much, and what it's like, probably depends a lot on where you are.

-BMW2006

[BMWinNorthdakota]

Pledged SAE last fall. Dropped out 2 weeks before initiation.

[BTM]

Originally Posted by aut0sh0cker

Facts:

1. Fraternity men make up only 2% of the population!
2. Approximately 80% of the top executives in Fortune 500 are fraternity men.
4. 76% of the current United States Senators and Congressmen are fraternity men.
5. 40 of the 47 Supreme Court Justices since 1910 have been fraternity men.
6. 100 of the 158 cabinet members since 1900 have been fraternity men.
7. All but 3 United States Presidents since 1825 have been fraternity men.

Assuming this is accurate (despite lack of citations), be careful you or your sources are not mistaking correlation with causation.

[bosstones]

Personally, I never saw the draw. I had friends in frats and sororities, but I usually had a distaste for them. Probably because there were a lot of db's that I'd see around campus that thought they were the sh*t because they went Greek. I know that's not representative of the Greek community as a whole, but I saw enough of it or general dumb@$$-ness (I created a word!) to keep me away.

It was coincidental, though, how after every UFC or local amateur kickboxing event, there would be someone from a frat signing up where I trained. Curiously, they always showed up in groups of 2 or 3 and never made it beyond 1 week before dropping out. What I found annoying was the occassional overhearing of how <insert name here> was an "ultimate fighter" or something along those lines or used to train to be one.

[just4kickz]

triple D's lmao

[aut0sh0cker]

Originally Posted by BTM

Assuming this is accurate (despite lack of citations), be careful you or your sources are not mistaking correlation with causation.

You are correct, but the correlation does indicate something about the types of people who choose to join fraternities. Joining a fraternity will not make you a more successful individual. However, it will likely put you in a place to form connections with other like-minded, driven individuals.

That being said, it's definitely not for everyone. I hung around a bunch of the frats during freshman year and made a lot of friends at one in particular. I made the decision to pledge in the Spring after I had already got established in college. It was the best decision that I can remember offhand and that is why I encourage everyone to at least give them a shot.

[chungdae]

It's not for everybody. Many people do not have the mental preparation to join one.

[Schm]

Originally Posted by BTM

I'm not really fond of over-stereotyping people, but my college experience pretty much reinforced about every "frat bro" stereotype I've heard

I understand why people join and what they do with their time/money is none of my business. A lot of frats were trying to get people to rush them and I was open to talking to them or hanging or whatever, but I didn't really consider myself to be "compatible" with the prevailing personality which overall did seem consistent across the frats

University of Arizona = Frat Bro and Dumb (but really really hot) Sorority Bitches paradise. I am kinda in a frat, but I basically just go there to drink/bring girls there on the weekend, other than that I live too far off campus, and I'm just over all that Greek bullshit. It's just so, so stupid.

[Hawkeye]

I don't know if I would brag about the government being run by frat bros... have you seen the state of everything lately?!?

At my college the frat bois were just a bunch of idiots. Their motto was "We enjoy doing nothing, and doing nothing well."

[ghosthi32]

it all depends on the school and the frat.

[Cyrax91]

I was part of a frat... Beta Alpha Psi accounting fraternity haha.

BTW I actually am Greek. Like from the country Greece. And one thing I hate is when all those idiots walk around asking "hey wanna be greek?" or yelling "greek life is the best!" And then they say the alphabet in Greek and it sounds terrible, but they think they're cool because they think they know it. Dumb asses. Sorry had to vent.

[UltimateBMW]

The general message I am reading here is that Fraternity/Sorority = 'paying for friends'.

However, isn't any type of organization that you join, be it for sporting, hobby, or any other activity all the same thing? It can all be reduced to paying for friends.

In reality most of the dues you pay go towards food, beer, and house maintenance. There is a small percentage that goes to the National branch that basically lets you use their name. And thats about it.

Are you still paying for friends if you host a party at your own house with your random friends you invite over? The answer is yes, its all just a matter of semantics.

But it really doesn't matter in the end. People who don't like them don't join them. And vice versa. There are idiots everywhere regardless of affiliation.

[Oregano123]

Originally Posted by dpavlakos91

I was part of a frat... Beta Alpha Psi accounting fraternity haha.

BTW I actually am Greek. Like from the country Greece. And one thing I hate is when all those idiots walk around asking "hey wanna be greek?" or yelling "greek life is the best!" And then they say the alphabet in Greek and it sounds terrible, but they think they're cool because they think they know it. Dumb asses. Sorry had to vent.

oh werd? i'm in that too. does Beta Gamma Sigma count as a fraternity?