To know do Frats take grad students….Read on this article…!
Introduction
One of the parts of college life is the idea of joining a fraternity or sorority group and becoming a part of them. Students look forward to this practice that has been on for ages. Movies may have depicted typical training and joining of freshmen to a frat. What about grad students? A lot of things change when it comes to graduation. A whole shift of priorities is seen among students and their college lives.
Overview
So what is a frat and why does one want or need to be in one? What is the whole concept and why is it glorified as a practice? This article answers all your questions. Read about what it takes for grad students to be a part of a frats. They can be a part of a group like any other student. However, their contribution and experience may be a lot different from a freshman!
What are frats
If you’ve watched Monsters Inc. or movies of the like, you sure know what a fraternity is. For those who don’t, a frat or fraternity is a group wherein like-minded students come together and form a club to participate and initiate events, social programs, and a lot more. It’s a space where you can practice your beliefs, ideas, and talents in union with others.
Fraternities can be of different kinds and be created on varied foundations. Some examples are Alpha Phi, Alpha Chi Alpha, Kappa Sigma, and more. It could be a group for those who like to cook, read, work out, and do various things. While this could lead to divisions, it also brings together people of various backgrounds with similar mindsets.
Characteristics of a fraternity
Here are common characteristics that every frat will have of its own:
- Single-sex – A fraternity will mostly always have the same sex in their group. Frats are meant for males and sororities for females and that is followed across all groups
- Live for an aim – Each frat will have an aim or mission they live by. No matter what, they never change or go beyond the motto. All activities, behavior, and a lot more are developed from the roots of their motto
- Serious identity – a frat refers to a brotherhood or family. When you join a frat, you’re officially part of that group. The ceremony, pledging and all of it. It’s like you’re a citizen of one country and cannot change your identity no matter what.
- Representation beyond college life – some serious relationships are built at the frat. Therefore, these relationships and certain traditions or practices of certain frats are carried beyond college. It’s often like a ‘til death does you part’ kind of commitment with most frats.
- Out-going and creating opportunities – A frat is meant to create new opportunities and help you grow. This growth is mainly for you as a human and mainly for the ideologies you follow. It shapes who you are and how you think and so it’s important to choose a decent frat
Do frats take grad students?
While some frats aren’t open to letting grads in, most groups do welcome graduate students as well. It depends on each group whether or not they’d like to get a new member in, especially when they know you can’t commit all of your time and will be leaving in a year.
However, it also depends on the number of people available. Sometimes, frats are very serious about the total number of people they want and to match that they may accept or reject grads accordingly. One can’t honestly say that freshmen will be better to choose instead of grad students but it is a point to consider that they have more time on campus and will be able to prioritize the frat compared to a grad student.
Grad students are more experienced and understand the whole concept of a frat. It is a lifelong commitment in most cases. Therefore, initiating a grad as a member wouldn’t be a problem.
Should grad students join a frat?
Should grads join a frat? Picture this, you’re going to graduate, a lot going on mentally and on campus for you. Your major focus is your degree and you’re going to leave in a year or so. Should you be making bonds right now? Should you commit to participating in a frat when you know you’re going to be tied up with more study-oriented stuff? Consider a few reasons to join a frat even though you’re a grad student:
- Acceptance and bonding
You’re getting out of college in a year. It’d probably be nice to make a few solid bonds before you leave. The best place to do that is to join a frat. Whether you’ve entered campus recently or you’ve been there as a freshman, you can always make life-lasting bonds in your last year!
- Cutting some slack
While the initial process will be tough and crack you to your bones perhaps, that’s just the way to go for most frats. However, the biggest advantage of joining a decent frat as a grad student is that they cut you slack. They understand that you need to commit to your studies and will let off a lot more than they do for freshmen.
- Development of skills
Apart from receiving a social identity which may help in the future, you also develop various skills with the frat activities. Starting with their tough initiation procedures to their traditions and annual practices, you develop leadership skills, communication skills, team spirit, and a lot more that can be of potential in the real world
Conclusion
There is more to a frat than just being a member and getting on-campus benefits. You learn a lot as well as get off-campus benefits. Decent frats that understand this would welcome grad students to avail of the same. Therefore, feel free to check with your favorite group if they accept grads and give it a shot!
FAQs
- Are there bad frats?
There could be frats whose ideas are not the same as yours. There may not be a bad frat as such but a few ideologies and practices may not be the best in the long run.
- Should you join a frat in freshman year or as a grad?
This is a decision you need to make for yourself. If you want the bonds and identity, joining as a freshman would be great. But if you want to slog less you can give it a try as a grad student
