Are you planning on joining a fraternity when you begin attending college? If so, you should know that it’s not going to be as simple as picking a frat and signing up for it. That’s not the way that fraternities work!
Instead, each new college student who is interested in joining a fraternity has to work their way through a very specific process. It’s why about 12% of college freshmen say that they want to join a fraternity or sorority upon entering college but only a small percentage of them actually end up doing it.
Today, we’re going to break down the process of joining a fraternity so that you can decide whether or not doing it is right for you. This article should help you take the necessary steps to join a fraternity if it’s something that intrigues you.
Continue reading to learn how to make joining a fraternity a real possibility for you.
Make a List of the Different Fraternities at Your College
According to the North American Interfraternity Conference, there are dozens of fraternities that college students can choose from scattered throughout the country. Each of these individual fraternities stands for something slightly different and takes their own unique approach to Greek Life.
Additionally, not all fraternities operate on all college campuses. It’s why you’re going to want to kick things off by seeing which specific fraternities will be available to you on your college campus.
Some colleges have a wide array of fraternities that students can choose from. Others only have a few options available. It’ll be your job to get to the bottom of which fraternities will be realistic options for you based on the college that you attend.
Do Your Research on the Different Fraternities Available to You
Once you know which fraternities have chapters set up through your school, you should do your homework on all of the available options to see what they bring to the table. You should be able to conduct a simple Google search on a particular fraternity to find out more as far as what they’re all about.
The last thing that you want to do is go through the process of joining a fraternity only to discover that they don’t hold the same values as you do. It’s what makes it so important for you to dig around to see what you can learn about different fraternities.
The best fraternity for you is going to be the one that believes in the same things that you do. You’ll be a natural fit for a fraternity like this.
And while you’re researching fraternities, you might also be interested in finding out more about the many honor societies that are out there. An honor society like Mu Alpha Theta might also be something that you want to consider joining now that you’re a new college student.
Attend Events Held by the Different Fraternities You’re Considering
At the start of a new school year, most fraternities will be very active on campus and will hold special events designed to drum up interest among new college students. You should make it a point to attend as many of these events as you can so that you can see what fraternities are all about for yourself.
While attending events sponsored by fraternities, you’ll be able to rub elbows with some of the guys that could eventually become brothers to you. You’ll also be able to get a general feel for what it’s like to spend time around current fraternity members.
Fraternities are going to be actively recruiting interested college students, so you should get a warm welcome from them. They should also ask you to provide them with some information about yourself so that they can begin considering you for a bid. A bid is an invitation to join a fraternity that a frat will give to you if they feel like you would be a good fit for them.
Meet as Many Brothers at the Different Fraternities at Your College as You Can
As soon as you join a fraternity, you’re going to be spending your fair share of time hanging out with your new brothers. As a result, you want to make sure that you pick a fraternity that has brothers that you enjoy spending time around.
You also want to see what the brothers from different fraternities can tell you about their Greek Life experiences. They might be able to shed some light on what it’s like to pledge for the various fraternities on your college campus.
It’s important that you take the time to pick these brothers’ brains so that you know what you’re getting yourself into from the start. They can serve as an invaluable resource for you as you consider whether or not you want to join a frat.
Start Accepting Bids From the Fraternities That Like You
If you’re lucky enough to make it to this point in the process, there should be at least a few fraternities banging down your front door and encouraging you to join their frat. You should begin to accept bids from as many fraternities as you can so that you have a whole host of options available to you.
Different fraternities will have different ways of letting you know that they’re extending a bid to you. You should be gracious when you receive a bid, but you also shouldn’t be quick to accept it. You should thank a frat for considering you but hold off on accepting a bid to join a frat until you’ve had some time to think things over.
Choose the Fraternity That You Like the Best
After you receive bids from the fraternities that would like for you to pledge with them, you’ll have an extremely important decision to make. You’ll have to sit down with the bids that you’ve been given and choose the fraternity that you like the best of the bunch.
As we alluded to earlier, this is not a decision that you should take lightly. Once you start pledging with a frat, there is really not going to be any turning back. So you’ll want to make sure that you’ve selected the right frat before letting them know that you want to accept their bid.
This is why you’re not just going to want to choose a frat based on something like which one holds the best frat party. You’re going to want to put some serious thought into selecting a fraternity that is going to become a big part of your life as you move forward.
Go Through the Pledging Process With Your Preferred Fraternity
Once you’ve narrowed down your fraternity options to only the one that you want to choose, you can let them know that you’re going to be accepting their bid. This should be one of the most exciting parts of this process.
But it’s also going to be far from the end of the process, as you’ll still have a whole pledging process to go through. Pledging is going to provide you with an opportunity to show how badly you want to be a part of a frat.
Each individual fraternity has a slightly different pledging process. Some of them are more in-depth than others. But during pledging, you’re going to have to work to build up bonds both with your fellow pledges and with the fraternity brothers who are going to be welcoming you in with open arms at the end of it all.
We aren’t going to lie to you: Pledging can be very difficult in some cases. It’s supposed to give you an opportunity to prove your worth to a fraternity.
But as long as you’re able to push through it, all of the hard work that you’ll put into pledging will be well worth it in the end.
Steer Clear of Fraternity Hazing at All Costs
In past years, fraternity hazing was a very real issue that many frat pledges had to deal with. Some of this hazing involved doing things like drinking a ridiculous amount of alcohol in a short period of time. It also landed some frats in the news for all the wrong reasons.
The good news for those interested in joining a fraternity is that many frats have started to distance themselves from hazing. They no longer force pledges to put themselves through potentially dangerous situations just to prove that they want to be members of a frat.
But there are, unfortunately, still a few frats out there that continue to engage in fraternity hazing. And you’re going to want to stay as far away from these frats as you can.
If you, at any time, feel as though you might be in danger because of fraternity hazing, you should reconsider your decision to join a certain fraternity. Joining a fraternity isn’t worth putting your safety at risk.
Accept a Formal Invitation to Join a Fraternity Once Pledging Is Over
At the end of the pledging process, a fraternity and all of its brothers will know that you’re serious about joining a fraternity. They’ll then seek to make things official by formally inviting you to become a member of their frat.
Most fraternities will have some kind of special ceremony that they’ll use to induct new members into their frat. As long as you still feel comfortable joining a fraternity at this point, you can go ahead and take part in this induction ceremony.
You should soak it all in since this will be one of the most important days of your life. You’ll be transitioning from someone who isn’t involved in Greek Life at all to someone who is now fully engulfed in Greek Life and all that it has to offer.
Set Out to Show a Fraternity That They Were Right to Pick You to Be a Member
When you make it to this part of the process, congratulations will be in order. You’ll be an official member of a fraternity, and you’ll get to enjoy all of the benefits of it right away.
But you’ll also quickly discover that joining a fraternity comes with lots of responsibilities. From the moment that you become a member of a frat, it’s going to be up to you to show your new brothers that they made the right decision by inviting you into the mix.
Most fraternities have strict grade requirements that they’ve put into place. You’ll have to work hard to maintain a high GPA to continue to be a part of a frat.
Most fraternities also do a lot of volunteer work within their communities to try and make a difference. You’ll have to be prepared to set aside time to fulfill your volunteering obligations.
Whatever you do, don’t think that just because you’re done joining a fraternity you can kick back and relax. You’ll need to get to work on proving that you deserve to be a part of such a prestigious fraternity.
Make Sure You Follow Each and Every Step Listed Here When Joining a Fraternity
As you’ve found out here, joining a fraternity isn’t something that you can do overnight. Even if the brothers who represent a fraternity absolutely love you when they meet you, you’re still going to have to take the right steps to become a full-fledged fraternity member.
You should work your way through each of the steps that we’ve laid out for you here when joining a fraternity. They should help you to move in the right direction as you set out to find the right frat so that you can join it.
Interested in finding out more about making the most of your upcoming college experience? Get some great tips by checking out the other articles posted on our blog.