GatorHubris

My parents feel as if I should wait until spring semester to rush a fraternity. Yet, I feel as if fall is a better way to transition into the crazy lifestyle.

What would you guys do?

chris07

Wait till Spring to see what happens to the guys rushing now. I know some schools have some pretty cool frats and some great rush events, but at others its just not worth it.

Are you sure you want to make the decision to join a frat before you've even gotten on campus? Some actually do good things for the school or the city they're in. At my school they each basically try to convince the student population that they're better than the others, while the students don't give a damn as long as they all keep throwing parties.

And if you want to join because you want to be a major player in the party scene, I would reconsider. You can party on your own terms without joining a frat and committing your life to it.

GatorHubris

chris,

Thank you for the advice and your probably right I should wait. But my older brother was in this fraternity not too long ago so I kind of know what im heading into. At the same time, I don't because I have never done anything like this. As far as joining a fraternity that gives back to the community, my angel side says I should but my devil side says don't. Its just that ive worked from age 6 when I hit elementary school for the first time to h.s graduation. I deserve a good 2 years of partying and then I might balance it out with extra-curriculars or honor frats.

gprime

I see nothing wrong with rushing in fall, as in either semester, you'll encounter the same potential issue, which is time. Pledging is usually a very significant time commitment, and many people who do it take a GPA hit. From my own experience, I pledged a fraternity, but towards the end of the process, was having second thoughts. What pushed me over the edge into de-pledging was that, with zero notice, they told us all to complete AlcoholEdu (a six or so hour course) on a specific night at the house, no exceptions. Having a major exam the next day I was not yet prepared for, I chose grades of pledging. Frankly, I'm glad I made the call I did, as my flawless GPA let me escape from that crappy school, whereas my fellow pledges got crappy GPA's that will keep them there for another year.

Obviously, the specifics of my example may not be highly relevant. But what you need to realize, and which my example illustrates, is that the pledging period is usually a major time commitment, and might harm your GPA if you don't make smart choices. That is the case regardless of the semester you choose to rush and ultimately pledge.

In terms of timing, I'd agree with Chris and hold off until spring. My reasoning though is a bit different. Since pledging is such a time commitment, you'll find your social life is centered around that house. That means that if, for whatever reason you elect to not join the house, you may find youself somewhat socially isolated in the subsequent semester, as you'll not have spent adequate time developing outside friendships.

kelkyann

I agree with gprime. It doesn't really matter which semester your rush in terms of time, because no matter when you do it, you will have less time and your GPA will likely suffer (I know this because my boyfriend rushed this past spring). I would wait, however, because you can use the fall semester to decide if you actually want to join a frat. It just seems good to hold off for a bit so you can explore everything your college has to offer, without limiting yourself to one (huge) commitment right off the bat.

GatorHubris

My fall semester is going to be much easier than my spring semester...

Not to mention its not whether or not I want to join... Im going to. My brother did and he said he came out with some great experiences.

chris07

Don't forget your brother went to college with a whole different group of people; assuming he graduated already, every single one of those frats is completely changed from when he joined.

fabrizio

I agree with gprime.

My roommate and several of my hallmates from last year pledged the same fraternity during Fall semester. I rarely saw any of them. They were basically always at their house doing stuff. All were initiated, and guess what happened during Spring semester? I actually saw them in the hallways. Once you’re a brother, you don’t have to do all the pledge crap anymore.

It wasn’t just that particular fraternity. The treasurer for our hall council pledged a different frat during Spring semester. Before pledging, he returned reimbursement slips a week after you gave him the paperwork. After pledging, he returned the slips a month after you gave him the stuff. To my knowledge, he didn’t take any more classes his second semester.

Frats definitely mislead when they claim that it’s not that big of a time commitment. It is. If you want to be initiated, then you have to commit a very large chunk of your time.

erhswimming

Gator, it sounds like you're pretty set. I know one of my friends in the same situation as you with the older brother. We actually can't rush at our school until spring, and even after the wait the kid ended up joining the same fraternity as his brother. Unless the fraternity was dissolved for a year or two, or something else drastic happened, it shouldn't be that much different than when your brother was there. It can, but chances are it won't be, and even if it is you will notice. I'd say go for it when you have the easier schedule!

danny_125

frats in UF are disgusting.

kelkyann

Since you are so set on joining, I would say go for it in the fall. The only thing, in my opinion, is that joining in the fall would make your frat/the brothers the center of your social life. This is OF COURSE not at all a bad thing, and I'm not saying that the whole brotherhood aspect should be viewed negatively, but during my first year of college I realized that there were SO many people I could meet--it all depended on what choices I made. For example, I think that if I had joined a sorority in the fall semester, I definitely would not have made as many close friends in my dorm as I did, because I would not have been there as often. Or if my boyfriend had rushed in the fall, I probably would not have met him and he probably wouldn't have many of the good friends he has now.

You should take my advice with a grain of salt, though. I mean, I didn't personally go through anything like this so I can't say for sure that you will not be able to make friends in your dorm, etc., but I feel that if you hold off rushing for one semester, you can make friends outside of the frat and THEN pledge (I mean, the brothers aren't going anywhere, right?).

But I think no matter what decision you make, you probably won't regret it. So do what feels right! Haha..yeah, I'm done now.

Easy

If you're going to rush, do it in the fall.

Motherdear

You want to rush whenever formal recruitment is held. Some schools hold it in the fall, some in the spring. During formal recruitment, ALL the houses are open for membership. During the off-semester informal recruitment, only the houses that don't have enough members will host rush events.

erhswimming

Not all the frats at UF are disgusting. At least the one I visited (Kappa Sig) just got a new house and it is so frickin' nice. And everyone I know in it are really great people.

But yea, sororities have the nicer houses overall.

California-Bolt

Its hard to say. I rushed Spring and don't regret it at all. The thing is, even if you do attend all the open houses and what not, you get a much better grasp of the fraternities and their reputations if you wait a semester. Afterall, what frat is going to talk down about themselves?

However, if you rush first semester you can jump into greek life faster.