To any guys in a social fraternity...

[two thirty]

Do you/did you ever live in the house? I'm being pressured pretty hard to live in our house next year to help cover our lease and I know it would be a blast. However, priority number one is definitely getting into dental school. Studying in the house would be pretty difficult, but the library is a short drive away. I do party a good bit, but I still have a high GPA(3.8 midway through my sophomore year) and I'll have o-chem, gen chem, and bio completed by the time junior year rolls around. I feel like I'd be mature enough to know when to party and when not to, but I'd hate to hurt my application.

I'd still have physics and major classes that I'd be taking that year(I'm leaning towards a psych major now), but physics has the highest GPA's of any of the 4 main pre-reqs and I'm naturally good at stuff like that anyway. I also would have to study for the DAT, but I might try to knock that out this summer(I'm staying here to finish up bio 2 and will have a ton a free time.)

Anyone have experiences with this?

PS, please don't bother responding if you are just going to bash fraternities/sororities. I welcome everyones input, but make it constructive instead of saying it is a waste of time.

Thanks

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[xaznxcountx]

Do you/did you ever live in the house? I'm being pressured pretty hard to live in our house next year to help cover our lease and I know it would be a blast. However, priority number one is definitely getting into dental school. Studying in the house would be pretty difficult, but the library is a short drive away. I do party a good bit, but I still have a high GPA(3.8 midway through my sophomore year) and I'll have o-chem, gen chem, and bio completed by the time junior year rolls around. I feel like I'd be mature enough to know when to party and when not to, but I'd hate to hurt my application.

I'd still have physics and major classes that I'd be taking that year(I'm leaning towards a psych major now), but physics has the highest GPA's of any of the 4 main pre-reqs and I'm naturally good at stuff like that anyway. I also would have to study for the DAT, but I might try to knock that out this summer(I'm staying here to finish up bio 2 and will have a ton a free time.)

Anyone have experiences with this?

PS, please don't bother responding if you are just going to bash fraternities/sororities. I welcome everyones input, but make it constructive instead of saying it is a waste of time.

Thanks

Don't do it!

 

[amcmahon]

Don't do it bro trust me. I was in a frat and partied a lot and my grades plummeted. Its one thing to be in a fraternity but its another thing to live in a frat house. Girls will be over and tell you to take shots with them. Been there done that don't do it.

Agreed. I opted out of living in and it saved my grades. I would've been peer pressured too much too. If you have the will power to hide out at the lib on Thursday nights then you'll be fine--otherwise steer clear. If you have a 3.8 they want you to help the house GPA. Keep up the good work.

 

[CecilJacobson]

Agreed. I opted out of living in and it saved my grades.

I opted into living in the house junior year. If I'd continued being an RA or living in the honors dorms I'd have graduated with a 3.8GPA. Instead it dropped to a 3.6 or so. I was also studying for the MCAT while living in the house. On more than one occasion I finished a full-length practice test at 5:30 and chilled with drunk bros who'd just gotten back from downtown. It's just... not healthy.

Any chance you can afford a cheap room elsewhere AND a piece of the frat house. I bought out a double-room in my house, threw in 3 beds and a futon ...and used them all. It's... rough. I'd be in such a different position if I'd kept my FREE honors housing and split a double in the house. It'd have been cheaper, and I wouldn't have had to ***** to get a clean, quiet place to study and sleep.

-C.J.

N.B. I don't have any regrets about fraternity life. Awesome, character building, service, brotherhood, socially liberal girls. Just insulate your academic life from it.

 

[dantemac]

I have to agree as well that you should opt out of living there. Invest the extra time and solidarity of your own place to help you get great grades and study for the DAT etc etc.

But still use the resources, and parties, of your frat!

 

[Odontos2015]

I'm going to disagree with the previous posts. My initial response would be to advise you against living in a fraternity house. However, you have 2 years of college under your belt and seem to have done quite well. You know what it takes to do well in challenging science classes. You know what study habits work and don't work by now. So go ahead and live in the house. However, I'd recommend blocking off a set number of hours per week to spend at the library to avoid the inevitable distractions. Good luck to you!

 

[dwoo]

Only you know yourself and your organization, so no one else can answer this question for you.

I lived in a social fraternity for all but my first semester in college, and pulled a 3.97 in engineering.

 

[MNdental]

Eh, i dont know man. I lived in our house for about half of college and it was part of what made college such a wonderful experience. It was fun and enriching. It was tougher to balance everything in my schedule, not because the house was a problem, but because I had so much awesome stuff on my plate. College, in my opinion, is 41% academics. It's also about maturing, fun, and engaging unique experiences. You only have college once. Live a little. I got into dental school, had great grades throughout all of college.

Use your fraternity to add to your application. Take up a leadership position. I would recommend chairing the external vice president (or whatever position handles community service). Use that as an opportunity to organize the house, run some service programs like blood drives or fundraisers, and give yourself something to talk about in your application. Show them that you are an interesting, multidimensional, and driven person who excels in what they do, but is also interesing and plays well with others. Dental schools could fill their halls with 3.9 GPA, 23+ DAT scores if they wanted to . You're in college--live like a college student.

 

[ihopeigetintods]

If you have been able to have that GPA (3.8) so far, then I say do it and live in the house. You will now when you need to study and when you can go out... You have to enjoy college a bit. I lived in a frat house for 2 years and I got into dental school. Just set your priorities and you will be money.

 

[theheatles]

For sure live in the house. Best year of your life. Youll have plenty of time in dental school to worry about studying. Undergraduate is a joke u study for a few hours and youll be fine.

 

[tizom]

live there.. do your work at the library and dont come home till its done.. undergrad is a joke compared to dental school! if you are going to make it through 4 years of dental school, living in the frat house shouldnt bother you

best 2 years of my life

 

[7 Iron]

Do you/did you ever live in the house? I'm being pressured pretty hard to live in our house next year to help cover our lease and I know it would be a blast. However, priority number one is definitely getting into dental school. Studying in the house would be pretty difficult, but the library is a short drive away. I do party a good bit, but I still have a high GPA(3.8 midway through my sophomore year) and I'll have o-chem, gen chem, and bio completed by the time junior year rolls around. I feel like I'd be mature enough to know when to party and when not to, but I'd hate to hurt my application.

I'd still have physics and major classes that I'd be taking that year(I'm leaning towards a psych major now), but physics has the highest GPA's of any of the 4 main pre-reqs and I'm naturally good at stuff like that anyway. I also would have to study for the DAT, but I might try to knock that out this summer(I'm staying here to finish up bio 2 and will have a ton a free time.)

Anyone have experiences with this?

PS, please don't bother responding if you are just going to bash fraternities/sororities. I welcome everyones input, but make it constructive instead of saying it is a waste of time.

Thanks

I say don't live in the house. Sure, you have a 3.8 now, but you'll graduate with a 3.5 if you live in a frat house. I was in a fraternity and it wasn't good for my grades. You can easily attend all the functions that the fraternity hosts just by walking from your apt. to the house without having to live in the actual house.

 

[jazun2390]

It's really on you; I've lived in my frat house for the past two years and managed it. I've had a great college experience and now I'm going to Columbia Dental

 

[CADentGal]

I was in a sorority and lived in the house for 2 years, including my sr. yr. As long as you stay committed to going to the lib and studying, you should be fine! You know yourself better than any of us do. If you can stay focused in that atmosphere... enjoy living with friends!

Also, if you take a leadership role in the house, it could serve as a positive on your app. Shows not only responsibility, and leadership, but also commitment to strong academics. Not to mention, participate in the philanthropy. Everyone loves community service!

What I would do? Live in the house, take your classes, kick ass in them. Celebrate with your brothers when you are done. Then immediately start cracking down on the DAT and take it in the summer after studying hard for a solid month or two. All the info is fresh in your brain, so you are essentially studying for the DAT in your classes.

That was the philosophy I took, and I did pretty well on the DAT

Hope that helps!