[BORGUSX]

So, I was wondering what is your experience with joining a fraternity? What is your responibilities/tasks while you are in it? Do you commit your whole life to the fraternity? I mean if I transfer to a different college or finish college, is there anything that I'm accountable to my fraternity? Yes, I do know that fraternity are portray in the media in a stereotypical way!

[Kirgar]

The best way to find out about these things is to find a fraternity you're interested in and talk to the people. Each fraternity will have its own rules and requirements.

My experience is from a second-hand view to a cultural fraternity, and some of the things they have to do include attending events for other organizations on campus and volunteering in the community. I've heard that often times when people are rushing for any fraternity, their grades tend to drop, as it takes some dedication to be a member of a fraternity, but it's not like you're devoting every waking moment to it.

If you move to a new college with that same fraternity, then you'd most likely have a group of guys that would be there to help you get adjusted to the new college, as the fraternities in each college are chapters of the larger fraternity. Once you graduate or go somewhere without the fraternity, as far as I know, you have no major responsibilities, but through the fraternity you're likely to have made a lot of connections which will last beyond your college years. Brothers in your fraternity will be family of sorts for you no matter where you go and will be willing to give you a helping hand when you need it.


But, again, the best way to find out about fraternities is to go and meet people who are in fraternities. Sometime early in the semester in college, you're likely to see lots of fraternities and sororities trying to get people to join during rush week. They'll usually have lots of events going on that week, like bowling or games, which would be an excellent opportunity to learn about those fraternities.

[hyunsyng]

As a member of a fraternity myself, I would have to say that, yes, it is true that people's grades drop while pledging for a fraternity. However, that is NOT always the case. Why grades drop is mostly because while pledging for the fraternity, they try to keep their regular social lives -- which gives MUCH less time for school work. While pledging, you MUST sacrifice a lot of your social life OR your grades -- it'll be extremely hard to balance both (perhaps if you decide not to sleep much...).

But answering your initial question: I absolutely LOVE my fraternity. I am in an Asian-interest fraternity, and as such, my fraternity concentrates a lot on Asian-awareness events. But other than that, we do a lot of community service and what not. A lot of the responsibilities of as a member of a fraternity is attending these community service events as well as attending meetings that discuss upcoming events, whether the event is a social one or strictly business (i.e. pledging).

If you transfer to a different college and there is a chapter of your fraternity in that college, you may be added onto their list of active members as an "annex member." You're pretty much still a brother of the chapter, the only difference being that you crossed into the fraternity at a different chapter than the one you will then be working with. But once you graduate, you no longer have any official obligations to the fraternity. You will still be notified of various important events (e.g. how many new members your chapter crossed, or if your fraternity made the headlines of any newspaper or w/e), but you won't be asked to attend the events held (although you may certainly still attend them if you wish). But one of the great things about joining a fraternity is the alumni connections that you have. Depending on how large your fraternity is nationally, many alumni of your fraternity will be more than willing to help you in maybe getting a job somewhere or help you get started on a career with advice or anything else (given that they are in that particular career you're looking to get into).

But yes, fraternities ARE portrayed very stereotypically in the media. Everyone gets the image that most fraternity guys LOVE drinking and partying all the time and all that. I would probably say that this is true. HOWEVER, I think it would be safe to say that most fraternity guys do NOT like drinking and partying MORE than your average college kid. THAT'S where the media likes to bend things. We're just like any other person -- the only difference is that we're in a tight, close-knit group that do everything from community service to partying together.

[koneee]

Pledging will definitely drop your grades- unless you're know how to manage your time.
Manage your time wisely and you will still be able to get good grades while pledging! :]
GL

[mlin17]

While I was pledging for my sorority it took tons of time and was very stressful, but I managed to get good grades and it was worth it.

[sweetddalki]

My sorority pledge period was AMAZING. It was simple and the only comitment was going to meeting twice a week (the one for the whole sorority and the other for new members) and going to events. What you get out is what you put in, so the more time you spend with your brothers, the better it'll be for you.

But depending on which frat you plan on pledging keep in mind that some frats haze. Every frat on my campus hazes. It's no secret in the greek community. The only sorority on my campus that doesn't haze is mine.

Just make sure you have enough time to dedicate, don't half___ it.

Good luck