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Greek life is shrinking imo. Cost conscious millennials that grew up during the crisis coupled with all kinds of social media leaving kids these days busier with other things is decreasing the amount of kids that go rush. This is coming from someone at a 150 man fraternity at an SEC school.

At the end of the day, it all comes down to how comfortable you are socially and with your ability to network. For a school like Kelley, greeklife would give you a potentially massive alumni base to reach out to. The whole rush process in itself is such a great experience getting out of your comfort zone and shaking lots of hands. Its almost like a more fun, alcohol fueled job recruitment day. I personally credit my rush/recruiting during rush experiences for doing relatively well in IB interviews.

The cons of joining a fraternity could be the potential fuck-boy party culture that many kids (not necessarily saying you) just can't handle. I've seen so many top class brilliant kids annihilate their GPA/prospects of any kind of future by joining greeklife. Especially these days kids are messing around with all kinds of pills, drugs, & the sort. Some Millennials these days just don't give a flying fuck. Living this life for 3+ years can really fuck up your perceptions on how life really works out there.

My advise, definitely rush for the sake of free alcohol, parties, & networking for the sake of practice shaking some hands. If you feel like the life is something you can handle, go for it. If not, its a great week of fun.

Don't break yourself on the way to making yourself
 

yeah agree with this. rush is fun but greek life isn't what it used to be. unless you're at a top ivy and are in something like yale dke or penn theos, your bros probably aren't going to balling in good offers. also scientists and doctors aren't going to be wealthy? come on man. why are you talking like that as a freshmen?

depending on your school, you will already know if you can pledge a top fraternity based on what your last name is and what school you went to before college. the fact that you don't know and aren't dirty rushing probably already isn't the best sign. then again idk how indiana rolls. you don't really set goals like "i'm going to get into IB workshop and pledge top tier" lmao.

 

I also pledged a 150+ man SEC fraternity and would be happy to write a detailed post surrounding the costs and benefits of the experience. From the people I’ve spoken with IU isn’t that much different, though may be a bit easier on the pledge process.

To touch on a couple of things off the bat, joining a fraternity doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get to know ‘scientists and doctors,’ as mine had more than a few of both. Also, some bids will go to legacies, but most people don’t get in with ‘family names’ at a school like IU. Pretentious legacies may even avoid getting a bid if their actions indicate entitlement (we pissed a couple dads off).

I would definitely recommend rushing. You never really get another chance to experience the fraternity culture, and as long as you’re conscious about your grades the only major time commitment is during pledgeship.

 

I rushed, and I absolutely recommend it. Many great memories made, and being around a group of guys fosters competition and the "iron sharpens iron" thing. In my experience, I was never at a loss for things to do, met many good people, and grew personally quite a bit. The social aspect is obviously great, but there's more than that. You can get involved with leadership, intramurals, or whatever you like.

That being said, it's important you pick the right one. Maybe your school has the right one, maybe it doesn't. As mentioned in other comments, be sure to not go overboard with the partying and disregard school (judging by you having put thought into this, I doubt that'd be a problem for you). Although from what I observed dropouts/flunk outs were much more common among GDIs than Greeks.

You can have a great time in college as a GDI or Greek, but in my opinion rushing generally leads to a better and fuller experience.

 

It's really quite simple. Defintely rush, and only pledge a frat if you genuinely like the guys and see them as good friends.

There's nothing like living in a house full of goons shootin the shit. You can come back from classes to a place that really feels like home.

"Truth is like poetry. And most people fucking hate poetry."
 

Of course, one of my greatest collegiate experiences and almost everyone at my BB coverage group analyst class (if not everyone) is greek. It's an enjoyable experience and it pays off -- I don't see a reason why you wouldn't rush.

Good luck

"Well, you know, I was a human being before I became a businessman." -- George Soros
 

I come from a far left family where “toxic masculinity” is a common point of discussion. I was not equipped, by my parents, with the social tools needed to survive in a relationship-based industry like real estate finance. While not purposefully wanting me to be a pussy, they would’ve rather me grow up to become what most of you consider a “beta.” I assume my parents always figured I would be a teacher, social worker, or doctor when I grew up.

I ended up attending a right-leaning university, studying finance, and joining a fraternity. I consider the social skills I learned from my brothers to be just as valuable as what I learned in the classroom. The fraternity taught me to be confident, assertive, and social. I learned how to talk to girls, play golf, I started following sports, and I’ve taken up fishing. I certainly don’t consider myself to be as bro-ish as maybe some of the guys I hung out with in college but I can confidently hang out withthat group (which you’ll see a lot of in finance) and earn their respect.

Also keep in mind I went into banking and real estate. If you’re looking to double major in math and computer science with hopes of becoming a quant trader, this advice may not apply.

 

Great experience and I keep up with a good number of my pledge class/fraternity brothers on a regular basis. Some tangible benefits include the opportunity to assume leadership positions and gain some experience there. As a finance major, I was in charge of treasury and while it wasn't akin to managing deals, I usually got some credit during interviews with the quip that "I was able to convince 100+ rowdy guys to pay dues regularly."

The intangible aspect is that its a genuine support structure. From my experience, if you gave a damn, there was a brother to give you pointers on teachers, classes, clubs etc. that could benefit you in making the most out of your academics. The crux of it all is that a fraternity is what you make of it.

 

Coming from a fraternity myself, I would say that while there are definitely a lot of pro's (social aspect, leadership, etc.) If you do end up rushing and decide to join the fraternity, do not let it affect your grades, ability to network, and time used if you have the ability to do an internship mid school year. I know plenty of people, especially those that go into leadership roles, that dedicated a lot of time to the frat and suffered greatly in professional aspect of their life. Keep in mind that in order to be competitive for banking you will need a competitive GPA and a lot of time to network.

 

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