harmful?

[greatestpastime]

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Are fraternities harmful and intrusive to the point that they can make your track to med school harder? Do med schools look at them as a beneifical item in your resume?

thanks for any advice!

 

[Sanctuary]

They are primarily for *****s (no offense to those are are NOT *****s are live in one). You will find that the vast majority of them are the "sports science" majors. There are some that are academically supportive; however, that is definitely the exception, not the rule. If you are serious about learning, I would either get your own apartment/dorm, or find a suitable roommate. Besides, who'd want to live with 9 other dudes?? Sounds like a horrible gay porn movie.

 

[thinknofu3]

I wholeheartedly disagree. I'm a girl, so I was in a sorority, but I think that, especially if you're an officer, it's a chance to demonstrate leadership skills and show that you can work successfully as part of a team. If you're listing it as an EC, i would definitely make sure to say what your responsibilities were, and any positive changes you affected while in the position. Just like any resume, if you can demonstrate leadership ability and skills (in any arena, greek life included), it will certainly help you on your application.

 

[snobored18]

Are fraternities harmful and intrusive to the point that they can make your track to med school harder? Do med schools look at them as a beneifical item in your resume?

thanks for any advice!

For the life of me I don't understand why people think that being involved in the greek system will negatively influence their ability to get into medical school. If you are just in the fraternity and don't do much of anything except attend meetings/rituals/parties medical schools aren't gonna really care. However, if you are heavily involved in the house, especially in a leadership capacity then medical schools will take notice. Running a fraternity isn't for the faint of heart...behind all those parties and ridiculous stuff that the rest of campus sees you have guys who are making sure that the house doesn't fall apart...sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively. Trying to get members to agree is difficult, but when you throw in the fact you also need to answer to your alumni, university administration and the national fraternity there is a lot going on. My advice is if you are looking for a great way to have fun with some great friends and are also looking for the challenge that really is the equivalent of running a small business then you can get some great experience, make some great friends, have a good time and have something that will help you reach your career goals.

 

[Nasrudin]

Sanctuary.....your avatar scares the **** out of me.

But..yeah...uh...fraternities....not exactly the most studious group of lads...from what i can remember. proceed with caution my young friend.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Yeah, being an officer in a fraternity looks great on your resume:

Interviewer: So what did you do as the social chair for your fraternity?
You: I was responsible for making sure we didn't run out of beer, condoms or pot. I also helped teach freshmen to properly execute the keg stand. 👍

 

[MossPoh]

Granted the leadership for anything looks good.....I have a few friends that are involved. (Sororities and Frats) I attend some of their stuff...the ones that are in leadership positions that I'm friends with say it mainly looks nice. There always seem to be the people that act like some of it is REALLY hard to do....handling the idiots with any organization is the worst part. There are good frats and sororities with good guys..there are also the perfectly stereotyped ones. Generally Sororities seem to be a LITTLE more legit in their helping the town and stuff...If you do it just make sure it isnt a pay for a friend type one and you really like the people and beleive in what they do...which SHOULD be something besides drinking every now and then.

 

[Law2Doc]

Are fraternities harmful and intrusive to the point that they can make your track to med school harder? Do med schools look at them as a beneifical item in your resume?

thanks for any advice!

If you were president of your fraternity chapter, that shows leadership skills and that your peers like you. Otherwise I personally wouldn't (and didn't) list it as an EC. I don't think fraternities make your track to med school harder -- you can succomb to parties, alcohol, etc. anywhere. But lots of people blame their social scene as the reason they didn't do so great academically -- it's much easier than calling themselves F ups. 🙂

 

[rajad10]

without my fraternity, I would never be the person I am today. and yes, running a fraternity is ridiculously hard, especially when you have a 200,000 dollar budget for house upkeep, social scene, alumni connections, and philanthropy events. You can do things like service chair and really lead a group of 50 guys to make a change in your community. Keep your grades up along with your legs during keg stands and you'll see its one of the best decisions you ever made.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

I really shouldn't say anything....I'm the de facto social chair of the funeral services fraternity.....and the motto of our chapter is "Party like a Sigma Phi Sigma....drain a few cold ones".

 

[R.P. McMurphy]

it also depends what school you go to. Some schools make greek life become a very large, important part of the college.....some just let them sit there and drink

 

[Robizzle]

don't forget, it also depends on what frat u join. some party hard, some just meet every once in a while. some ACTUALLY do community service, even though most claim to.

 

[Vincir]

don't forget, it also depends on what frat u join. some party hard, some just meet every once in a while. some ACTUALLY do community service, even though most claim to.

And woe to us who had to use our leadership in the fraternity to actually get people to do community service 😱 ... but that being said, such leadership generally does work well on applications/interviews.

 

[jbrice1639]

Sanctuary.....your avatar scares the **** out of me.

But..yeah...uh...fraternities....not exactly the most studious group of lads...from what i can remember. proceed with caution my young friend.

funny how almost every school in the country has a higher greek gpa than the school's overall gpa...must be all that non-studious behavior that earns us the better grades 😎

 

[Depakote]

They are primarily for *****s (no offense to those are are NOT *****s are live in one). You will find that the vast majority of them are the "sports science" majors. There are some that are academically supportive; however, that is definitely the exception, not the rule. If you are serious about learning, I would either get your own apartment/dorm, or find a suitable roommate. Besides, who'd want to live with 9 other dudes?? Sounds like a horrible gay porn movie.

Hmm. So the fact that 6 of the 9 members of my pledge class are MD's now is co-incidence?

I was in a very academically supportive fraternity. It was a character building experience too. I served as risk manager for 5 semesters, this was definately a good EC to have on my app. I've discussed it a few times in interviews.

 

[ClosetNerd]

without my fraternity, I would never be the person I am today. and yes, running a fraternity is ridiculously hard, especially when you have a 200,000 dollar budget for house upkeep, social scene, alumni connections, and philanthropy events. You can do things like service chair and really lead a group of 50 guys to make a change in your community. Keep your grades up along with your legs during keg stands and you'll see its one of the best decisions you ever made.

I agree with Rajad. Being in the Greek system is what you make of it. I was by far one of the best experiences I had as an undergraduate. It taught me a lot about myself and about how to deal with other people. Any one who has ever been president of Greek chapter or of a Greek council knows how hard it can be. It is a fantastic leadership experience. It’s no surprise that many Greek people have gone on to great things.



http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~ifc/new/recruitment/go_greek.php

Studies show that 76% of our nation's senators, 71% of the men listed in Who's Who in America, and 85% of the Fortune 500 executives are fraternity members.

Of the nation's 50 largest corporations, 43 are headed by fraternity members.

All but two U.S. Presidents since 1825 have been fraternity men, 63% of the U.S. President's cabinet members since 1900 have been fraternity men.

85% (40 out of 47) of the U.S. Supreme Court Justices since 1910 have been fraternity men.

 

[notdeadyet]

OP- Just keep in mind that sororities/fraternities (right or wrong) will elicit some gut reactions from adcoms. Some folks will think it's great experience, but others will have a negative reaction to it through their past experience with or ignorance of the greek system.