Hey, just wondering is anyone joining Lambda Kappa Sigma? The pharmacy frat? What is the difference between joining a regular frat and a specialized frat, besides the frat being specialized? Thanks.
Pharmacy Frats?
- Thread starter siltears
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Typically pharmacy fraternities are more focused on the professional aspect. They give the students a chance to network with the alumni (who are already pharmacists) and a chance to get more involved in the school. The LKS chapter at my school hosts several health-related events throughout the year. They hosted a "Women's Health Week" earlier this year that included several speakers coming to talk about various issues in women's health.
Plus, the added benefit of joining a pharmacy fraternity is that you will be getting to know a lot of people who will be entering the same profession as you. You'll find out during the course of your schooling that sometimes it isn't what you know, but who you know, that will help you. 🙂
Plus, the added benefit of joining a pharmacy fraternity is that you will be getting to know a lot of people who will be entering the same profession as you. You'll find out during the course of your schooling that sometimes it isn't what you know, but who you know, that will help you. 🙂
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The majority of the well-established schools do. The newer ones might not at this point, depending on faculty membership and student interest.
If you join a pharmacy frat, does this mean that you can't join a regular social frat? I think I heard somewhere that you can only join one frat, because they are suppose to be like...'life-time memberships', or something.
I am pretty sure you're welcome to join a social frat in addition to a professional frat, because they are different. But I could be wrong....
Why would you want to join a social frat though? They are more expensive and a lot more time consuming..... being a pharmacy student, I'm sure you'll need all the time you can to study. Also from what I hear, the pharmacy frats aren't all about professional development either, so I don't think social frats are for me.
Why would you want to join a social frat though? They are more expensive and a lot more time consuming..... being a pharmacy student, I'm sure you'll need all the time you can to study. Also from what I hear, the pharmacy frats aren't all about professional development either, so I don't think social frats are for me.
I wanted to join a social frat, cause it seems pretty cool to me, because last year some of the people in our dorm were from social frats, and they seemed to really enjoy it. LOL. Will it really take that much time out of my study schedule?
Well, one of my younger friends rushed for Sigma Pi last semester and it really took a toll on his life. He would be at social events a lot of the weekends and the next following day to clean up etc etc. I am not in a social frat myself, so I do not know all the specifics, but from what I observed from my undergrad friends, it is definitely time consuming. However, there are positives that come from social frats as well. You'll always have stuff to do on the weekends and you'll meet a lot more people.
Overall, if I had to do college all over again, I would definitely join a social frat, but as a pharmacy student... I think you'll have better things to do than drinking with underage freshmen girls.... which is what always happens with the social frats on campus.
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o yea it will...i have a lot of friends in frats and it is very time consuming, especially when it comes to pledging.
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are you saying a social frat will take a lot of time or a social as well as a pharmacy frat?
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Would you be joining the Pharmacy frat as an undergrad or in the first 2 years of a 0-6 program? I only ask because at USC, because the pharm school is not on the same campus as the UG campus, you wouldn't really be able to join both at the same time. Now if you joined a "non-competing" frat in undergrad you'd still be able to join a pharm frat, you just couldn't join 2 separate pharm frats. Right now, it seems both of the other frats are trying to beef up their professional events so that they aren't seen as purely social. LKS seems to be more pharm-focused (Women's health specifically), PDC is the party chapter, and AIP is somewhere to the party side of the middle. I joined LKS because of it's more professional appearance, both in rush procedures and event line-up. I was never much of the social butterfly though, so a social frat never had any appeal for me.
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I don't know anyone in a pharmacy frat but I know quite a few people in social frats and those are very time consuming...a buddy of mine told me that he had to do most of his first semester courses that summer because it was hard to take classes and pledge...he said that sometimes they would have him up until 3 in the morning doing "errands" for the big brothers.
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Yeah don't do a social frat. That was what your time in undergrad was for. Therefore pharmacy frats are better since they are more understanding of the rigors of pharm school.
But the thing is, I'm going into second year of my undergrad, because pharmacy schools in Canada only require you to take one year of undergrad courses before applying for pharmacy. So that is sort of why I was thinking social frat, since undergrad isn't really undergrad without the partying right? LOL.
Do you guys know how much, roughly, it is for membership fee in LSK, and other social frats?
Do you guys know how much, roughly, it is for membership fee in LSK, and other social frats?
Down at ASU, any social frat dues can be anywhere from $700 to over $1000 per semester. If you haven't been admitted to a pharmacy school, you can join a social frat now and join a professional frat once you get to pharmacy school.
BTW Isn't LSK for women?
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theres a sister chapter which is for guys, some people just lump it into LSK too
I never heard about the being for girls only part. The picture of their members that's posted on the UBC site has both guys and girls in it, so I guess its co-ed? But that sort of defeats the point of calling it a frat. I don't know...but I am going to guess co-ed at this point.
$700-$1000. 😱 Thats so expensive, especially per semester. 🙁. Do not have that kind of cash. LMAO.
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Most social frats are going to be very costly, like was previously mentioned. I don't know about other pharmacy frats and it could be chapter to chapter but for Kappa Psi at my campus you can't join unless you are an accepted pharmacy student. We aren't expensive either, $50 a semester, and the time commitment is completely up to you. Professional frats do focus you in to your profession and give you the opportunity to meet contemporaries from across the country, but they do have a social side to them (at least I know Kappa Psi does). The major ones are Kappa Psi and Phi Delta Chi. LKS is around but they from what I've seen they aren't huge. I look at the booths all the pharmacy frats have at APhA and KY (before the jokes come it's the only abbreviation for Kappa Psi) and PDX are like busy bee's nests with all the activity and the others aren't nearly as busy. I was never much for spending a grand a semester just to have friends. I made enough on my own for free 😀
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Kappa Psi and Phi Delta Chi are the two major pharmacy frats, from what I've seen in asking people from lots of different schools. Kappa Psi here is not very much either (around $100/year)
Hear, hear.
Do you feel the need to have an exclusive group of friends?
Do you want a way to meet sorority girls?
Is your liver ready?
Then a social frat may be for you!
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Pharmacy fraternities are definitely a good opportunity to get involved, meet people and have future connections. The involvement is not much and both Kappa Psi and Phi Delta Chi have around $100 fees (may be different school to school). Also check them out at your school. A Phi Delta Chi and Kappa Psi are different from University to University. For example some chapters are sober some are more social and could be both Kappa Psi or PDX. Take a look when you get to school and see what is right for you. About 1/2 of our class seems to be in some kind of pharmacy fraternity.
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Something I forgot to mention is being in a social frat can possibly hurt your chances of getting into a pharmacy school. I'm not saying it will, but due to some of the activities that social frats get involved in, you might tarnish your record. I know of at least one person that was skipped over a year because of things that happened while doing things with his frat (two MIP's in a year). Just something to think about.
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I think they may be confusing LSK and LKS. I'm not sure what LSK is, but it sounds like it may be an undergrad social frat. The UBC chapter of LKS is coed. LKS went Coed in early 70s. Before that LKS and PDC were brother/sister orgs (at least on our campus). Had mixers, etc. Now on our campus they're both co-ed. LKS may not be as big as PDC or KY but we've got over 40 chapters, so we're represented at many pharm schools across the country. As for dues, I know our chapter dues last year were 200/yr, PDC was 235, and I think AIP was $130/semester or some such. So yeah, it does vary widely across the country.
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I think they may be confusing LSK and LKS. I'm not sure what LSK is, but it sounds like it may be an undergrad social frat. The UBC chapter of LKS is coed. LKS went Coed in early 70s. Before that LKS and PDC were brother/sister orgs (at least on our campus). Had mixers, etc. Now on our campus they're both co-ed. LKS may not be as big as PDC or KY but we've got over 40 chapters, so we're represented at many pharm schools across the country. As for dues, I know our chapter dues last year were 200/yr, PDC was 235, and I think AIP was $130/semester or some such. So yeah, it does vary widely across the country.
Not really. He got skipped over for getting 2 MIPs, NOT for being in a fraternity. I have found that belonging to a sorority has made me a MORE desirable candidate due to my leadership roles and volunteering through it.
It's all what you make of it. If he got 2 MIPs in a fraternity, he would have gotten them out of it.
Now, as to other things in this thread...
Once you graduate, your chances of joining a social fraternity go to about 0. Most don't even allow grad students to pledge. If you want to join, now is the time...but here's a hint; if you call it a frat instead of a fraternity, it's going to be a serious black mark on your record. They don't like that at all.
Dues can be as much as was previously stated, but at my campus it's about 250/semester; not bad. It all depends on where you go. Call your Office of Greek Life and ask how much average dues are.
Greek life IS time consuming, but it's all about how much time you want to put into it. If your friends are spending 24/7 with their fraternities, it's because they want to, not because they have to. You meet a lot more people and get a lot of opportunities.
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Being on your knees and spanked with a paddle to gain entry vs not being on your knees and spanked with a paddle to gain entry.
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No paddles at our chapter.
Thats just a myth.....right?
Yes, it's a myth for all general purposes. While I'm sure it HAS happened, I've never heard a first or second-hand account of it...just hearsay.
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Our PDC chapter makes paddles every year, some pretty decorative. I have no idea what they do with them.
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I had an awesome time doing my paddle. Actually we all did, we had a paddle party. (KY). It's basically a gift to your big.
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My PDC chapter doesn't haze and our fees are $65 like the rest of the chapters. We don't booze it up very often, which is okay with me since I was never into the whole drinking scene, but we're all pretty good friends.
It's not paying for friends either since the money is really going towards networking and such.
It's not paying for friends either since the money is really going towards networking and such.
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From my understanding, in the U.S., according to the national panhellenic council which governs sororities (and for fraternities its called the IFC), you can do only 1 social greek organization, but are not limited to the number of professional fraternities. So, you can do a social this year if you aren't too stumped with classes and have a lot of time and money. Then you can pledge the pharmacy fraternity later down the line. If I could go back, I would have done a social in undergrad just because i love having an excuse to dress up as something and meeting new people all the time. But i'm pretty far into my undergrad now, and they want their new members young so that they can take more of your money since you'll in college for longer than the upperclassmen.
So I joined a professional chemistry fraternity last year...and I love it. 😍 We're still very social (sounds weird since you would think a chem frat is pretty nerdy 😎 ), we throw parties and go out at least every other weekend. There's still a fun/long pledging process, and you still meet new people since there's a new pledge class every semester/year. But the one up that professional ones have....is the advice on classes/teachers to take and the koofers! It's not too time consuming since we meet for about an hour once a week, and i spend maybe 30 mins working on anything they need (since i'm also an officer). You don't have to go to all the social events, but I do like that there is always one to go to just in case I do feel like going out!
I would say go and rush both since there's no obligation in rushing one. See if any frat (social or professional) is for you, and then pledge for the one you feel more comfortable in!...or maybe even both! I've heard of tons of people in 1 social and 1 professional....but not too many with more than professional while they're also in a social frat (it's just way too crazy to put up with being pushed around as a pledge 3 times, and the meetings would probably overlap).
good luck and have fun!
So I joined a professional chemistry fraternity last year...and I love it. 😍 We're still very social (sounds weird since you would think a chem frat is pretty nerdy 😎 ), we throw parties and go out at least every other weekend. There's still a fun/long pledging process, and you still meet new people since there's a new pledge class every semester/year. But the one up that professional ones have....is the advice on classes/teachers to take and the koofers! It's not too time consuming since we meet for about an hour once a week, and i spend maybe 30 mins working on anything they need (since i'm also an officer). You don't have to go to all the social events, but I do like that there is always one to go to just in case I do feel like going out!
I would say go and rush both since there's no obligation in rushing one. See if any frat (social or professional) is for you, and then pledge for the one you feel more comfortable in!...or maybe even both! I've heard of tons of people in 1 social and 1 professional....but not too many with more than professional while they're also in a social frat (it's just way too crazy to put up with being pushed around as a pledge 3 times, and the meetings would probably overlap).
good luck and have fun!
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Some professional fraternities may have bylaws which prohibit you from joining other professional fraternities though. With Kappa Psi my originating chapter had a chapter specific bylaw to that effect. The chapter I am active with now does not.
We put a blurb on different pharmacy organizations, including fraternities in the FAQ in the pharmacy forum (not the pre-pharm one). If you want to know about different professional frats, there is a little bit of info there.
We put a blurb on different pharmacy organizations, including fraternities in the FAQ in the pharmacy forum (not the pre-pharm one). If you want to know about different professional frats, there is a little bit of info there.
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Phi Delta Chi has it in their bylaws that you can only join another professional pharmacy fraternity as long as you aren't a member in PDC, so in other words if you're in PDC then no Kappa Psi or any other pharmacy fraternity. The only exception is Rho Chi I believe (or is that even a fraternity, I know it's an honor society for sure)
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Yep, Rho Chi is an honor society. My restricted chapter had people who were in both.
