5 ms·

All the frat guys I ever knew had well off parents. They were going to make more than everyone else due to that alone. Of course, being surrounded by privilege,

by danjoc 9y ago

All the frat guys I ever knew had well off parents. They were going to make more than everyone else due to that alone. Of course, being surrounded by privilege, parties, and sorority girls eager to score a rich boy hurt their grades. That doesn't really matter though. They graduated. Some even took an extra year or two to do that. It didn't matter. They did fine. Being a prince has advantages.

ComradeTaco 9y ago
Some of the frats at my alma mater charge $5k a year. I would imagine being able to pay 20k or more might self select to some already well-off kids.
- lenzm 9y ago
  Did that cover room and board?
- stephengillie 9y ago
  The fraternity I was in charged about $175 a quarter. We didn't have a house yet, as a newer fraternity, so several of us rented a house together. Usually, 5 of us lived in the house, so we split rent 6 ways, and fraternity dues paid a 6th person's share of the rent. We ran college parties as fundraisers, charging $5 for unlimited beer and "jungle juice". (We started at $5, then shrewd bros would raise the price near $30 by midnight.) I learned how to read a room, operate a night club, talk to (and avoid) police, be drunk without causing a scene, run meetings, talk to people to get stuff done, manage projects, and act normally in awkward situations.
bkohlmann 9y ago
Joining a fraternity was one of the most meaningful and impactful experiences of my life. I come from humble means - my parents couldnt and didnt pay for any of the (expensive) school I ended up attending. I ended up joining one of only two "wet" fraternities on campus (meaning we were allowed to have booze in our house), and the one considered the most social. I was (am) an introvert and didn't drink in high school or college until I was 21. I loved nearly every moment. Not once did wealth, influence or ability to pay impact our recruitment decisions (and I was deeply involved in the process all three years). In fact, we did more due diligence on "legacies" than any other candidate. My fraternity brothers were some of the most dynamic and interesting people I've had the honor of knowing. It was the first chance I ever had to delve into real politics...as a member of the executive board, we dealt with some challenging interpersonal issues that I wouldnt have been able to wrestle with until much later in my life. While my brothers were very different than me, I grew more and learned more while living in my house than I did in the rest of college. Stereotypes exist for a reason. But there are also virtuous, powerful reasons why fraternities endure.
- addicted 9y ago
  By joining a fraternity despite being from humble means I'm almost certain you're someone who would have sought social connections even without. And you'd likely end up into an academic or an athletic or an interest based group where you'd build similar connections. The difference would be that the arbiters of who joined your club would base their decisions on your skills/interests/passions as opposed to your drinking skills during rush. Would that be a better situation? I don't know but I personally doubt you would not have had the same meaningful growth if you lived in a hypothetical world where the social Greek system did not exist.
  - ghostlygpa 9y ago
    Most schools have dry rushes and recruitment teams select members who have good grades, athletic ability, and leadership qualities, just FYI.
  - bkohlmann 9y ago
    Perhaps, although in my particular case, I joined because I applied for a scholarship the house sponsored - and it was the only house I rushed. I spent most of my time holed up in my room the first quarter except for rush events I was explicitly invited to. And that chosen preference for isolation continued in the house as well. But simply being there forced me / gave me the opportunity to walk downstairs and be immersed in a sea of fascinating people. It really was the thing that taught me how to build relationships across differences.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
  - gbacon 9y ago
    Philanthropic fund raisers. Supporting university life and other on-campus events. Risk reduction at parties. Being dependable and loyal. Learning to navigate and manage a small business by managing chapter affairs. Learning to separate the talkers from the doers. Being there for your buddies through deaths, divorces, cancer, and other hard times. Positive peer pressure to make the chapter look good. No, these positives aren't unique to Greek life, and yes, there are shenanigans too, sometimes worse. Sorry to hear about your negative experience. I hope it was only a vocal minority who were acting so terribly. To the suggestion in the title of this post, there's more to a product than the technology, and I say that as a technical person. Education is important, but most of it takes place outside the classroom. None of us does it alone.
davidw 9y ago
> They were going to make more than everyone else due to that alone. Good research controls for stuff like that.

by danjoc 9y ago

ComradeTaco 9y ago

Some of the frats at my alma mater charge $5k a year. I would imagine being able to pay 20k or more might self select to some already well-off kids.

lenzm 9y ago
Did that cover room and board?
stephengillie 9y ago
The fraternity I was in charged about $175 a quarter. We didn't have a house yet, as a newer fraternity, so several of us rented a house together. Usually, 5 of us lived in the house, so we split rent 6 ways, and fraternity dues paid a 6th person's share of the rent. We ran college parties as fundraisers, charging $5 for unlimited beer and "jungle juice". (We started at $5, then shrewd bros would raise the price near $30 by midnight.) I learned how to read a room, operate a night club, talk to (and avoid) police, be drunk without causing a scene, run meetings, talk to people to get stuff done, manage projects, and act normally in awkward situations.

bkohlmann 9y ago

Joining a fraternity was one of the most meaningful and impactful experiences of my life. I come from humble means - my parents couldnt and didnt pay for any of the (expensive) school I ended up attending. I ended up joining one of only two "wet" fraternities on campus (meaning we were allowed to have booze in our house), and the one considered the most social. I was (am) an introvert and didn't drink in high school or college until I was 21. I loved nearly every moment. Not once did wealth, influence or ability to pay impact our recruitment decisions (and I was deeply involved in the process all three years). In fact, we did more due diligence on "legacies" than any other candidate. My fraternity brothers were some of the most dynamic and interesting people I've had the honor of knowing. It was the first chance I ever had to delve into real politics...as a member of the executive board, we dealt with some challenging interpersonal issues that I wouldnt have been able to wrestle with until much later in my life. While my brothers were very different than me, I grew more and learned more while living in my house than I did in the rest of college. Stereotypes exist for a reason. But there are also virtuous, powerful reasons why fraternities endure.

addicted 9y ago
By joining a fraternity despite being from humble means I'm almost certain you're someone who would have sought social connections even without. And you'd likely end up into an academic or an athletic or an interest based group where you'd build similar connections. The difference would be that the arbiters of who joined your club would base their decisions on your skills/interests/passions as opposed to your drinking skills during rush. Would that be a better situation? I don't know but I personally doubt you would not have had the same meaningful growth if you lived in a hypothetical world where the social Greek system did not exist.
- ghostlygpa 9y ago
  Most schools have dry rushes and recruitment teams select members who have good grades, athletic ability, and leadership qualities, just FYI.
- bkohlmann 9y ago
  Perhaps, although in my particular case, I joined because I applied for a scholarship the house sponsored - and it was the only house I rushed. I spent most of my time holed up in my room the first quarter except for rush events I was explicitly invited to. And that chosen preference for isolation continued in the house as well. But simply being there forced me / gave me the opportunity to walk downstairs and be immersed in a sea of fascinating people. It really was the thing that taught me how to build relationships across differences.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
- gbacon 9y ago
  Philanthropic fund raisers. Supporting university life and other on-campus events. Risk reduction at parties. Being dependable and loyal. Learning to navigate and manage a small business by managing chapter affairs. Learning to separate the talkers from the doers. Being there for your buddies through deaths, divorces, cancer, and other hard times. Positive peer pressure to make the chapter look good. No, these positives aren't unique to Greek life, and yes, there are shenanigans too, sometimes worse. Sorry to hear about your negative experience. I hope it was only a vocal minority who were acting so terribly. To the suggestion in the title of this post, there's more to a product than the technology, and I say that as a technical person. Education is important, but most of it takes place outside the classroom. None of us does it alone.

davidw 9y ago

> They were going to make more than everyone else due to that alone. Good research controls for stuff like that.