<p>I know it is difficult to get into a frat at Michigan, but how hard is it really? And what kind of things can you do to help your bid? Also, if you don’t get into a frat, how will your party life be affected?</p>
<p>It’s not tough to get a bid if you aren’t looking for one of the upper tier frats. For example, I think newer frats like TKE and Kappa Sigma will take just about anyone. However, if you’re looking for places like Pike, Fiji, etc, it will be harder. Your party life will be affected depending on a few factors. If you go out and party every weekend, you might get tired of waiting in the line. It gets old after a while and some nights you may not get in at all. If you’re friends with girls you’ll have somewhat of an easier time getting in. You can still party without being in a frat, it’s just a little more difficult. Also, if you’re looking for that whole frat experience (i.e. mixers), you’ll probably want to rush more of the mid to upper tier frats as they will be the ones who mix with the better sororities. Again, the newer frats rarely mix or mix with the ugly sororities. IT really just depends what type of scene you’re looking for.</p>
<p>Yeah, that makes sense. What kind of things can be done to get into those better frats? And what exactly do frats look for with bids?</p>
<p>Guide to fraternity rush at Michigan:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You go to the mass meeting at the start of rush and meet a lot of different fraternities. You’ll be able to tell right away which ones you want to visit again and which ones you don’t, and this is important because you really only have time to rush probably three places really well, and that’s if you’re great at time management.</p></li>
<li><p>You pick out which fraternities you like and want to rush, then you go to all of their house events that you can make it to. The house rush events are usually in the evening over the last couple weeks of September and when you’re there it’s all about meeting as many brothers as you can and making a good impression on them.</p></li>
<li><p>After two or three house events, most fraternities will let you know if they want you back for usually just one private event that will be smaller and more intense.</p></li>
<li><p>After that they will give out bids to the kids they like and feel fit in, and you choose which house you want to join.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The following fraternities are all fairly selective (bid probably around 10% or less of the kids that rush): Phi Psi, Theta Chi, Pike, Fiji, AEPi, SigEp, Psi U, Sammy, and Chi Phi. These are also the “most desirable” fraternities on campus and consistently mix with the “most desirable” (read: most attractive) sororities on campus. The other 25 or so houses are less selective but don’t party nearly as much or as well as those 10 or so houses.</p>
<p>WARNING: There are also some “off-campus” fraternities that have been kicked out of the IFC for one reason or another. The ones that come to mind are SAE, ZBT, and Sig. I personally wouldn’t recommend rushing these places because it is becoming increasingly harder for them to hold mixers due to Panhel (the sorority council) cracking down on sororities that mix with off campus frats. SAE was kicked off campus last year. They were considered one of, if not the most exclusive house on campus, but word is now that they won’t even get a pregame partner next year because of new Panhel regulations. Just a word of advice, I wouldn’t recommend these places but I guess some people have had good experiences with them.</p>
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<p>For frats like Phi Psi or AEPi, you need to just be fratty. Be good looking, good with girls, and an *******. Fiji is more of a serious frat so they look for people who are going to be successful. Other than that just be sociable and having connections in the frat never hurt either.</p>
<p>Houses like Fiji, SigEp, and Chi Phi all take academics more seriously than the other “top” places, but they still won’t take you unless you’re charismatic and good looking. Any sort of myth that someone can get a bid at Fiji or SigEp just because they’re smart or on the verge of success is just that, a myth.</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to imply that. I was basically getting at the same point you were by saying they were more serious about academics. However, it stands to reason that people who take academics more seriously are on the verge to success, but yes, you still need to be a charismatic person.</p>
<p>Hey guys, I’ll be a sophomore transfer, will this hurt me during rush? Also I can get recs from TKE and Beta guys here, how are those frats at umich? Finally how does living in a frat house work, do you just move in the year after you rush?</p>
<p>Frats are generally more welcoming when it comes to sophomores rushing than sororities are. Just make sure you rush during fall. I don’t think recommendations will do much. TKE is a newer frat here. Don’t think they have a charter, but apparently they’re good guys and rage a lot. You won’t have a hard time getting a bid if you attend their rush events. Probably the same with Beta because they’re still trying to reestablish their reputation. I believe they used to be a top tier frat but now they’re basically nothing because they got kicked off for a while. And yeah you’d probably end up living in junior year if you rush sophomore year.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot! What are dues like when not living in a house?</p>
<p>^ They average about $400 per semester.</p>
<p>If offered a bid (whether it be a high tier fraternity or a lower one) what kind of things do they make freshmen do?</p>
<p>^Depends on the fraternity and no one knows for sure. The way I would approach it is, if you’ve heard they do bad things, they probably do or else the reputation wouldn’t exist in the first place. Only enter something you’re comfortable with.</p>
<p>@KyleTwentyEleven: is it really that hard to get into Sammy and Fiji? I’m looking for a frat that isn’t your typical group of fratty d**<em>**bags, but are kids that are nice, smart, party somewhat hard, care about UM sports, and get girls. I’m also Jewish, and from talking to the few kids I know that go to Michigan (I live in California) they’ve said that I’d like Fiji and Sammy the best. I’m no Abercrombie model either, but I think I come off as smart and likeable. I just haven’t heard from anyone that it’s really that impossible to get into those two. Also, what would be other good frats to consider that aren’t your typical a</em>*hole fratty kids (AEPi, ZBT) but have good parties and mix with good sororities? Pregames are also very important to me</p>
<p>Well of the frats on campus Fiji easily has the best reputation. When it comes to being a respectable fraternity, they’ve done everything right, with no major violations and a smart group of people. I would encourage you to expand your outlook beyond just the top 3 or 4. Check out the fraternity listings on the Maizepages and see which ones seem to fit your personality. Welcome week visit as many fraternities as you can and try to meet as many brothers as you can from the fraternity to get a good feel for the personalities. Remember to rush a fraternity not only for the reputation, which is very important, but also for the brothers. If you don’t get along well or don’t have common interests with any of the brothers, you won’t fit in at the fraternity, whether it be Fiji or the worst frat on campus.</p>
<p>I can tell you which fraternities I thought were awful (fit the “party hard and ignore school” stereotype) if you want to PM me, because I don’t want to list them in the public forum. </p>
<p>Now in regards to the competitiveness:
It’s not impossible to do anything on campus, anyone who says that is just resentful or bitter that they didn’t make the cut. Getting into the top fraternities, just like getting into top colleges, is cut-throat competitive. More than 100, sometimes 200 people rush Sammy and Fiji for a mere 15-25 spots. Sometimes these can be more competitive than the business fraternities (which is a whole different thing, if you want more info on professional fraternities on campus let me know because that’s the route I ended up taking). My advice would be to approach rushing any of these as a competition, because in reality that’s what it is. You need to single out the two or three you’re interested in rushing (Sammy, Fiji, SigEp, whatever) and sell yourself well. By this I mean go on their websites and identify who the leaders are, because they make the decisions. When you go to parties/rush events, make sure you talk to at least half of the leadership team (especially the rush/recruitment chairs), and try to make the conversations as memorable as possible. At parties, enjoy yourself but don’t make an ass of yourself, also realize that people may be significantly different drunk than sober, so be ready for, and careful, of that. </p>
<p>I don’t mean to make this sound like a scary process, because if you go to the lesser known frats it’s easy to get a bid by just attending a significant amount of the rush events. If you want to get into the best however, you need to beat out a lot of other people who are trying to do the same.</p>
<p>In regards to finding the best frats on campus, I’d recommend asking your RA or one of your orientation leaders (usually they have a Greek Life person). I didn’t end up going into social fraternities but I did rush both semesters so I’m familiar with the process.</p>
<p>If you have any other questions let me know.</p>
<p>If I want to party a lot and have a really good time would you say it’d be better to be in no fraternity or be in a fraternity that isn’t considered one of those “top tier” fraternities?</p>
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<p>I’m sorry but this is almost entirely incorrect. As someone who DID get and accept a bid from one of these “more desirable” fraternities, I’m just gonna refute a few of the points that kyle here made.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Fiji was on social probation first semester this year so it’s incorrect to say they’ve done nothing wrong, and it would be altogether ridiculous to say that any fraternity follows all of the rules set in place by the University and the IFC, some are just better at getting away with it than others. Fiji is a very good house but they’re not God’s gift to Greek Life either.</p></li>
<li><p>Any sort of online listing or whatever of fraternities is not representative of what they are really like at all. You’re really only going to get a taste of what they are like at the mass meeting and rush, but even that can be very misleading. The absolute best way to get information on what houses will suit you best is by asking older friends in your first two weeks and meeting brothers at welcome week parties that may be a tad more revealing when drunk than at rush.</p></li>
<li><p>Literally the WORST way to try and get a bid is to be one of those obvious kids that tries to make an impression on the President or VP of Recruitment or whatever at rush. Trust me, it’s very obvious and the entire chapter makes decisions, the people in leadership roles just have one vote like everyone else. It is imperative to meet as many of the brothers as you can and if they like you, you’ll get a bid, if they don’t you won’t. It’s really as simple as that. You need to be very outgoing but not weird and honestly, just be yourself because it sucks when people get bids and then obviously don’t fit in after rush.</p></li>
<li><p>And finally, in no way, shape, or form and under no circumstance should you go to your RA or Orientation Leader for advice on joining a fraternity. For one, RA’s are not in greek life and will know nothing about it, and two, Orientation Leaders are very restricted in what they can and can not tell you and are just not a great resource in general. Plus during orientation you still haven’t even been a student yet and really don’t fully know what college and freshman year entails. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Kyle, I appreciate the effort but it was painfully obvious that you aren’t in a social fraternity with the content of your post. </p>
<p>And to danipower0- if that’s what you’re looking for don’t rush Sammy. Not gonna bash them on the internet but lets just say they don’t fit your description.</p>
<p>@maizeandblue21 you obviously know what you’re talking about; any input on my previous question?</p>
<p>Define “a lot.” If by a lot you mean you’re ok with going to like 1 house party a week if you can find one and maybe get into an open frat party another night if you’re lucky then being a GDI is fine. If, however, you want to go out more than that, joining a fraternity will be beneficial. All fraternities try to party a lot, the difference is the quality. So, quite frankly, the top houses have hotter girls and more exclusive and extravagant parties. That’s just the reality of the situation. Any place that gives you a bid probably thinks that you’d fit in with them so no matter what house you end up in, you’re most likely going to make a lot of friends and like your brothers. If that’s what is important to you then I would say join greek life if you like a house, no matter where it “ranks.” If partying is more important than you will have to make a case-by-case decision.</p>
<p>Here’s a tip for you if you want to make a smart social partying raging fraternity decision. At the start of rush like 2 or 3 weeks into school, right before the big IFC mass meeting, there will be a “fraternities on the diag day.” This is a day where any fraternity has an option to set up a nice little stand on the diag and get people’s emails and spam them about rush events. All the fraternities that don’t have strong partying reputations will have stands on the diag on this day because they need to make an extra effort to get people to come out to rush. If you want to party a lot, I would suggest literally going to this thing and making mental notes not to rush any of the places that are out there. I’m sure they all have really great, nice guys in their house, and if that’s what you’re looking for overall then it’s totally fine to rush at these places, but otherwise just steer clear.</p>
<p>And just rely on the fact that you will learn a lot socially very quickly when you get to college and you will be able to make a much better decision for yourself a few weeks into September.</p>
<p>@maizeandblue, I mentioned that I wasn’t in a social fraternity, but was familiar with the rush process, and the aggressiveness of your post is laughable. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Half the fraternities are on social probation all the time, and I’m not in Fiji nor did I say I knew a lot about it. It sounds from your statement that you have something against Fiji for some reason (didn’t get a bid?). Fiji has the best reputation of any house on campus and you can’t dispute that. Being on social probation one semester doesn’t change that (though it does make them look stupid, but I don’t know a house that hasn’t been on social probation from time to time for the stupid IFC and SRC violations you metioned.</p></li>
<li><p>I’ve found that brothers are more revealing sober than drunk, so we possible have had different experiences. I thought online listings and websites were helpful but you obviously disagree, why didn’t you just state that? Also I do agree with you talking to the brothers and going to the mass meetings is essential, but there’s only so many mass meetings you can go to.</p></li>
<li><p>I find this criticism hilarious, because you took what I said and blew it way out of proportion. Good networking requires meeting and having memorable conversations with as many people as possible. Knowing the leadership and meeting them is essential in my opinion, especially the rush/recruitment chair, because they actually are supposed to be in charge of this process. Yes they make the decisions as a group, and yes it’s good to meet as many people as possible, didn’t I state that? If you can walk in and name drop the top people and have had conversations with them it makes you look more interested. I got bids to every house I rushed with this strategy, so I see nothing wrong with it. You’ll also notice I said not to be obnoxious, just as you did, in going after bids. Kissing up and meeting people are two very different things.</p></li>
<li><p>One of my orientation leaders was a president of a fraternity, so he was an excellent source for me when it came to learning about the process. He also let me know which houses are the best, and what other houses reputations were which assisted me greatly and all of his assessments were accurate. I said talk to your RAs because even though they can’t be in greek life, they do know about it (usually) and can again assist you with your search/tell you what to expect, just as my RA did. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I will agree that at orientation you don’t know what college is like at all, but getting a familiarity with the process and talking to an actual president helped me a lot, which is why I mentioned it. </p>
<p>You probably have another great perspective on the rush process maize, it would have been better if you stated it that way instead of going after my experiences with it. Notice I didn’t comment on Greek Life because I didn’t accept any of my bids (financial reasons), but I did comment on the rush process because I’ve gone through it TWICE now, so I feel I have a decent idea of what I’m talking about.</p>