<p>i really don’t mean to talk down upon sig phi at all, and its not my intention to do so. but where in the world are you getting this information? a kid at sig phi? first of all, alumni mean pretty much nothing, except for networking opportunities etc. alumni have absolutely no bearing on the house’s reputation at all. also, keeping a pledge class below 14 isn’t a good thing at all. you want to have as many pledges as possible. the more pledges, the more money the frat gets, the more parties and social events it can have, the better the reputation. thats exactly how it works and if you think its because they want to keep it “elite”, you’re completely wrong. obviously they just couldn’t get the 20+ member pledge class like the Chi Phi’s and SAE’s of the world. on a side note, that doesn’t make a frat any more appealing that they have kids from rich successful families. i dont see how much fun it would be to hang out with a bunch of yuppies all day. maybe you like sitting around sipping wine around a nice table…but thats not what frat life at Cornell is all about, unless of course you are truly into that sort of garbage.</p>
<p>on to the Kappa DG mixer situation, i know for a fact that Kappa and DG are more affiliated with other frats than sig phi. yes, i’m sure they’ve had a mixer or 2 together, but a mixer can be established by one kid in the frat knowing the sorority’s social chair and boom there you go, we have a mixer. also, mixers that have 10-15 DG girls show up to a house of 30+ guys isn’t fun at all. if the girls don’t really know too many guys in the frat or they don’t think they are going to have a stellar time, they aren’t going to show up. thats what girls do.</p>
<p>i didnt go off on this rant to single out sig phi. my main motivation was to show that people are fed misinformation daily whether on this board or in person. i also wanted to show how superficial some people are to think that because its AD White’s house and there are rich kids…thats its gotta be good. go through rush week and see for yourselves.</p>
<p>First of all, I’m not in Sigma Phi and although I may know two people in the house doesn’t mean that I’m good friends with them nor am I trying to hype up their house. The guy asked about Sig Phi so I gave him everything that I know. I really don’t think I gave any false information and if I did then please tell me what it was. I tried to give an unbiased view based on what I know and what I’ve heard from other people in the Greek system who are not in Sigma Phi. Second of all I didn’t say they keep their pledge classes at 14 to be elite; they do so because that is what the alumni request. And having big parties doesn’t necessarily boost your reputation. Psi U for example, considered by some to be one of the top houses does probably one or two open parties a year. Other houses, which I will not name, do eight parties per semester and still end up with horrible and small pledge classes. I DID NOT say that because Sigma Phi was founded by AD White and because they are wealthy brothers automatically makes them a good house. I hate talking bad about other houses and dirty rushing so I won’t. I encourage every freshmen to go into rush week with an open mind and check out as many houses as possible before settling down on one. I hate elitism as well and I think that there is a fraternity out there for everyone to join.</p>
<p>i apologize, i don’t think you’re giving wrong info, you are just telling it from your perspective which is fine. </p>
<p>however i do want to make one point about parties. i can’t see how a frat can sustain an excellent reputation while year after year they have 1 or 2 big parties. yes, there are rush events etc. that show what the house is all about. but students are only in college for 4 years. after a while, if a frat has little to no parties and freshman don’t really know about the house, it can’t be top tier and the reputation cannot be sustained. cornell greek life is extremely party oriented, and from experience people join houses based on where they have the best time. this CAN come from rush and little events here and there, but the majority of freshman equate good parties/good mixers with a top tier house. i really don’t see the fun in joining a house that has the illusion that its top tier, but in reality they have 2 big parties a year and most of the brothers go to other frat parties on weekends. the best part of being in a frat is seeing how your parties go, how many people show up, and hearing the next day from people if they had a good time. parties are almost like your baby in a lot of ways. i’m not saying a frat cant be good if they dont have a lot of good parties, but as the years go by, the frat is going to fizzle out if its socially inept.</p>
<p>I agree. However, there are houses such as Psi U for example that knows which kids they want to rush before rush week even comes around. These houses will hand out 16 bids knowing they will get probably get all 16 pledges into their house. Other houses will hand out 40 bids hoping to even get 15 kids in their pledge class. Houses like these enjoy having closed intimate parties and mixers rather than big events with a lot of random freshmen. The guys in these houses will never visit another fraternity for a party past their freshman year. My fraternity isn’t the type of house to throw one party a year but I can tell you that some houses are. Additionally, parties aren’t always a good indicator of a house’s reputation. However, without a doubt parties are a great way to help with rush.</p>
<p>Big open parties aren’t necessarily fun for the guys in a house or a good indicator of how good a house is or how much fun it is to be in a house. To many guys in frats, the novelty of big parties is gone shortly into sophomore year, and it actually is kind of lame to have a bunch of random people you dont know messing up your house. It is really fun to have mixers where you party with 60-80 of your friends rather than a big party where you dont know anyone. </p>
<p>Also, the size of a pledge class doesn’t really matter that much unless its getting closer to 10 or 13 and under, because then you wont have enough guys at mixers. Ajp compared sig phi to the “chi phis and sae’s of the world” who seemingly get everyone they please, but I can assure you that SAE has a vastly different set of guys than chi phi, and are pretty generally considered very different in the “tier system” despite having similar pledge class sizes. Often by taking larger pledge classes you are giving bids to kids who aren’t as good of a fit, just to entice one kid they really like to join, and this can be a bad thing. Also, while some houses have some kids who they know they want to join, I can assure you that for the houses talked about and others, half or more of the kids who end up joining knew none of the brothers before rush week. </p>
<p>That’s a little bit more neutral. Ask around campus, and youll figure it out during rush. I started going to like 8 or 9 houses and by the second day you know where you like more and more and can limit it. Make sure as weds/thurs approach you spend more time at places you like. I think the first contacts, where some houses tell you to look elsewhere is weds.</p>
<p>ajp, you make little, if any sense at all. alumni = donations = large budgets…
i would venture to say only lower regarded houses are the ones that throw many many parties. “top tier” houses throw a couple really good parties… Basically practically everything you’re saying is incorrect.</p>
<p>adp is right, the majority of top houses on campus only throw 2-3 big open parties per semester. and alumni donations help keep the house in good shape with donations for furniture and trips and cleaning services etc.</p>
<p>i know this is a thread about frats, but can some of you guys who are in the greek system explain in detail the difference between theta kappa dg and alpha-phi? i went through rush last year, and im going to do it again but it would be helpful to get guy’s opinions of the different houses</p>