Joining fraternities in college (skill, degree, school, career)

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by sponger42

I would strongly suggest avoiding them. I have several classmates who joined fraternities and subsequently dropped out of college. They suggest that the fraternity was one of the reasons they dropped out.

That's a shame, because all of these SUCCESSFUL people were members of Greek organizations in college and managed to balance the partying and studying enough to graudate- and make connections that no doubt helped them later in life. It's hard to ignore 7 former CEO's of General Motors that were fraternity men, 3 each @ Daimler-Chrysler and ABC News, etc.

Here is a list of successful fraternity & sorority alumnae. I didn't look up every chapter and I didn't list every person listed as "noteable."

Impressive, no?

Current/former CEO's of US companies:
3M (Kappa Sig)
ABC News (Phi Delt), former
ABC News (ATO), former
ABC News (Fiji), former
AFLAC (SN)
Alltel Wireless (SAE)
American Airlines (Kappa Sig), former
American Cancer Society (A Phi A)
AT&T (Kappa Sig)
Barclays (Phi Delt)
Baush & Lomb (Phi Kap)
Baush & Lomb (DKE), former
Best Western Hotels (TKE), former
Bethelem Steel (Beta)
Blue Cross Blue Shield (Phi Delt), former
Burlington Northern (Kappa Sig), former
Campbell Soup (TKE), former
Caterpillar (LXA)
CBS (Phi Delt), former
Citigroup (LXA), former
CVS (Fiji)
Chrysler (LXA)
Daimler-Chrysler (TKE), former
Daimler-Chrysler (Pike), former
Dillard's (LXA)
ESPN (SAE)
Fed-Ex Kinkos (KA)
Fed-Ex Kinkos (KA), former
Forbes, Inc (TKE)
Ford (Kappa Sig)
Ford (Beta), former
Fox Television (SAE), former
Hasbro (Fiji)
Hewlett-Packard (ATO)former
Hewlett-Packard (Phi Delt), former
Home Depot (TKE), former
Hotjobs.com (Kappas Sig), founder & former CEO
General Motors (DTD)
General Motors (DTD), former
General Motors (Phi Delt), former
General Motors (Kappa Sig), former
General Motors (Pike), former
General Motors (Fiji), former
General Motors America (Phi Kap), former
IBM (Beta)
IBM (DKE), former
Jenny Craig (TKE)
La-Z-Boy (SAE)
La-Z-Boy (Pike), former
Macy's (Sig Ep)
Maker's Mark Whiskey (SN)
Mariott International (SAE)
Mary Kay Cosmetics (Beta)
Merk (LXA)
MySpace.com (Beta), creator & former CEO
NASDAQ (DKE), former
NBC Enterprises (SAE), former
Netjets (LXA)
New York Stock Exhange (Kappa Sig), former
Nordstrom (Beta), former
Nordstrom (Beta), former
Nordstrom (Beta), former
On Star (SN)
Pepsi (Fiji)
Saks Fifth Avenue (KA), former
SeaWorld (Pike), former
Sprint Nextel (Kappa Sig)
Starbucks (TKE), founder & CEO
Steak & Shake (DKE)
The Gap (DKE), founder & CEO
Tribune Broadcasting (SAE)
Twitter (Fiji)
Tysons Food (Phi Delt)
United Health Group (LXA)
United Health Care (Fiji), former
UPS (Kappa Sig)
Valero Energy (Fiji)
Verizon Wireless (TKE)
Waffle House (ATO)

Current/ former CFO's of US companies:
Coca-Cola (SN)
Oracle (XO)

Current/ former Chairmen of the Board of US companies:
Abbott Laboratories (TKE)
Alltel (Pike)
Avis Rent a Car (Pike), former
American Airlines (KA), former
AT&T (Phi Delt), former
AT&T (Beta), former
Bausch & Lomb (ATO)
C-SPAN (SAE)
Chevron (Sig Ep)
Coca-Cola (Pike), former
Daimer-Chrysler (Kappa Sig), former
Dow Chemical (Kappa Sig)
Dow Chemical (TKE)
Dow Jones (Farmhouse)
DuPont (Pike)
Enterprise Rent-A-Car (TKE)
ESPN (Fiji), former
Ford (Sig Ep), former
Gillette (TKE)
Goodyear Tire (Sig Ep)
Hunt Oil (Phi Delt)
Intel (Kappa Sig), former
Merril Lynch (Sig Ep), former
McDonald's Corporation (Sig Ep)
McDonald's, North America (A Phi A)
Nabisco (Kappa Sig)
Oracle (Sig Ep)
O'Rielly Auto Parts (SN)
Southwest Airlines (DKE), founder & past Chairman
Time Warner (Fiji), former
Wal-Mart (LXA), former
US Steel (Kappa Sig)
Walgreens (TKE)
UPS (Sig Ep), former

Current/ former College Administrators:
Chancellor of University of Maryland System (DTD)
Chancellor of Texas Tech (DTD)
Chancellor of University of Arkansas System (SN)
President, University of Missouri System (Kappa Sig)

Dean of Medical School @ Johns Hopkins Univeristy (TKE)
Dean at Wharton School of Business (UPENN) (Beta)

President of Butler University (Kappa Sig)
President of BYU (Pike)
President of Davidson College (Pike)
President of DePau (KA)
President of Duke Univeristy (ATO)
President of Louisiana Tech University (SN)
President of Miami University (Phi Delt)
President of Ohio State University (Pike)
President of Oklahoma State University (SN)
President of Purdue University (DTD)
President of Rhodes College (LXA)
President of Southern Methodist University (LXA)
President of Tufts University (Pike)
President of Tulane University (TKE)
President of University of North Dakota (Kappa Sig)
President of University of Colorado (DTD)

Former Chancellor of Syracuse University (Pike)
Former Chancellor of University of Alabama System (Beta)

Former President of Amherst College (DKE)
Former President of Georgia Tech (Beta)
Former President of Indiana University (SN)
Former President of Iowa State University (Farmhouse)
Former President of Michigan State University (Farmhouse)
Former President of Mississippi State (Farmhouse)
Former President of Purdue University (Kappa Sig)
Former President of University of Arizona (DTD)
Former President of Univeristy of Florida (SN)
Former President of University of Georgia (Phi Delt)
Former President of University of North Carolina (LXA)
Former President of University of North Carolina (KAT)
Former President of University of Southern California (Beta)
Former President of University of Tennessee (Pike)
Former President of University of Virginia (ATO)
Former President of University of Virginia (Pike)
Former President of Vassar College (KKT)


Elected & Appointed Officials:
10 Former President of the United States (5 DKE, Phi Delt, DX, SAE, Phi Kap, Fiji)

10 Former United States Vice-Presidents (4 DKE, 2 DTD, Phi Delt, Beta, 2 Fiji)

5 Former United States Secretary of States (2 KA, Phi Delt, AXO, DKE)
Former United States Secretary of Defense (KA)
Former United States Secretary of Labor (LXA)
Former United States Secretary of Health & Human Services (A Phi A)
Former United States Secretary of Education (XO)
Former White House Chief of Staff (Pike)
Current United States SEC Chairman (DTD)
Former United States SEC Chairman (KA)

1 Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (Phi Delt)

9 Former Justices on the United States Surpreme Court (3 DKE, 2 DTD, 1 LXA, 1 SAE, A Phi A, Fiji)

Current Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court (LXA)
Current Chief Justice of the Washington Supreme Court (SN)
2 Former Chief Justices of the Florida Supreme Court (both ATO)
Former Chief Justice of the George Supreme Court (A Phi A)
Former Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court (ATO)
Former Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court (A Phi A)

Current Governors of the following states:
Kentucky (DTD)
Mississippi (SAE)
New Jersey (Phi Delt)
New Mexico (DTD)Nevada (SN)
Oklahoma (DTD)
Washington (KD)
**well over 100 former State Governors

**this does not even touch the list of hundreds of current & former Congressmen and Representatives, both state & national.

Other misc successful people:
First woman astronaut to land on the International Space Station (XO)

Founders of the following comanies:
Atari video game (Pike)
Bass Pro Shops (SN)
Burger King (Phi Delt)
Calloway Golf (KA)
Charter Communications (SAE)
Chick-Fil-A (Pike)
Chuck-E-Cheese (Pike)
Dillard's (LXA)
Hewlett-Packard (Kappa Sig)
HBO (Fiji)
Hilton Hotels (TKE)
Hotjobs.com (Kappa Sig)
Kentucky Fried Chicken (Phi Delt)
Kendall-Jackson Wines (Fiji)
Kinko's (Pike)
Listerine (KA)
Marriot Hotels (Phi Delt)
Microsoft (Phi Kap)
Monster.com (Pike)
Nike (Beta)- cofounder
Nike (Fiji)- cofounder
Motorola (Phi Kap)
Outback Steakhouse (SAE)
Starbucks (TKE)
Southwest Airlines (DKE)
Texas Instruments (ATO)
The Gap (DKE)
The Weather Channel (DKE)
Xerox (DKE)

Developer of Halo Video Games (Phi Delt)

Inventor of the Computer Mouse (Sig Ep)

Inventor of the Dewey Decemil System (DKE)

Creator of The Gallup Poll (SAE)

Surgeon to perform the first heart transplant (Kappa Sig)

Associate Managing Editor of the New York Times (SAE)

Namesakes of two Top US Business Schools:
University of Texas (Red McCombs- ATO)
Duke University (Fuqua- SAE)

Current President of the American Bar Association (Phi Mu)

Former Presidents of the Boy Scouts of America (3- all Fijis)

Other "noteable" alumni:
Neil Armstrong, First Astronaut to Walk on Moon (Phi Delt)
Eugene Cernan, Astronaut & last man to walk on the mon (Fiji)
Ted Turner, media mogul (Kappa Sig)
Edward R Murrow, legendary journalist (Kappa Sig)
Roone Arledge- winner of 37 Emmy Awards and creator of Monday Night Football, 20/20, Nightline, ABC News Tonight, etc.

Authors Anita Shreve (Time Traveler's Wife- KAT), Harper Lee (To Kill A Mockingbird - KAT), Ann Coulter (DG), etc.


This list doesn't even begin to touch the thousands of "famous" people- actors, athletes, etc and the lesser known distinguished alumni who have won Nobel Prizes, Pultizer Prizes, Rhodes Scholarships, etc.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by Westerner92

If you don't mind my asking, TurtleCreek, where did you go to school? Was it here in Texas?

I'm curious about fraternities too because I've heard about the great networking opportunities, but I'm almost the opposite of the stereotypical frat guy. As in, my idea of a party wakeboarding with a few friends while discussing a novel. Growing up in a city with a large school known for its partying/stereotypical Greek life, I tend to have a negative opinion of them, but I've heard mostly positives from those that were a part of them at other universities.

I was in a sorority at a large state school in Texas. Even at campuses that look overwhelmingly Greek, the majority of students are not in a fraternity/sorority:
UT-Austin: only 11% of students are in Fraternities/ Sororities.
Texas A&M: about 5% of men & 10% of women.
SMU- 50% of women and 33% of men.
TCU - 40% of students.

Yes, they party, but even in Texas there are all types of houses. Some are know for being "nice" guys, some are "wild", some are "nerds", etc. Some houses are small, maybe 50 guys, Some are huge, maybe 200 guys.

If you are interested in Greek life and you look around once you get to college, I bet you'll find 1-2 chapters you feel comfortable in, too.

On the other hand, I have a lot of friends from when I lived in NYC and even though they were members of fraternities at UPENN and other Northern schools, it wasn't a big deal at all. Just a place to live on campus and go to a few meetings and parties.

[TurtleCreek80]

FYI, for reference, and to understand the power of being Greek and using your network (because I am not only more likely to hire someone from my sorority, but from ANY fraternity & sorority in general- and double bonus points if they were Chapter President or Treasurer), here is a similar list of "influencial" graduates from HARVARD, arguably the ultimate college "fraternity"-->

President/CEO/ Chairman/ CFO:
Aetna, Former
American Express, former
Barclays, Former
Blackstone Group
Boeing
Chase Manhattan, former
Enron, former
Goldman Sachs
Lamar Advertising, former
Li & Fung
Microsoft
Neiman Marcus, former
Pfizer
Morgan Stanley, former
Union Pacific Railroad, Former
Viacom, former

Current/ former College Administrators:
Chancellor of University of Michigan System
Chanellor of the University of Michigan- Dearborn
President of The University of Texas at Austin
President of Loyola Marymount College

Former President of The American University
Former President of Bates College x 2
Former President of Bowdin College
Former President of Ithica College
Former President of West Virginia University

Elected/Appointed Offices:
9 Presidents of the United States of America
2 Vice-Presidents of the United States of America
11 Presidents of foreign countries
8 Prime Ministers of foreign countries

2 Chief Justices of the United States Supreme Court

Current Governor of the following states:
New Hampshire
Massachusetts
16 Justices on the United States Surpeme Court

Founder of the following companies:
Facebook
Sun-Microsystems

Of course, there are scads of professors, writers, politicians, etc who also graduated from Harvard, but considering how well-regarded HBS is, it's suprising that the "fraternity" list had a much stronger showing than Harvard's alumni in the CEO/Chairman category. Guess it backs up the old adage that only about 1/3 of Fortune 500 CEOs attended Top 10 schools.

[gardener34]

There are also business fraternities which are co-ed. Obviously these fraternities do not have residences.
Also greeks are also heavily involved in charitable causes. We had to do several projects each year. I should also mention it can be very regimented, and you have to make meetings, events, etc. Or get demerits. This can be difficult in your last year or two when you have a lot going on trying to graduate. A lot to juggle around.
I was in a sorority for one year. It is NOT for everyone, I liked the sisters I was in with. Not so much the meetings, etc.

[Ceece]

The Greek system is one way to meet a lot of people in a short amount of time and have a built in social life, even though it might be too much of a time comittment for some people. You will make some friends and because there is a 'forever bond' many of those people turn into business contacts later in life.

[hoffdano]

Turtlecreek - your list is honestly meaningless. You could produce the exact same list if the criteria was "didn't graduate from college."

Fraternities and sororities are for people who want to be with like-minded people and are willing to pay for the privilege. They are exclusive organizations, not inclusive.

To be avoided by people who have a bit of self esteem and don't need the ego boost of their similar friends.

[TabulaRasa]

Originally Posted by Ceece

The Greek system is one way to meet a lot of people in a short amount of time and have a built in social life, even though it might be too much of a time comittment for some people. You will make some friends and because there is a 'forever bond' many of those people turn into business contacts later in life.

In my experience, there were also lots of ways to do this with non-Greek extracurriculars, as well, but it could have been something particular to my alma mater.

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

Turtlecreek - your list is honestly meaningless. You could produce the exact same list if the criteria was "didn't graduate from college."

Fraternities and sororities are for people who want to be with like-minded people and are willing to pay for the privilege. They are exclusive organizations, not inclusive.

To be avoided by people who have a bit of self esteem and don't need the ego boost of their similar friends.

1. Challenge on: please find me a list of all current and former CEO's & Chairman of publicly-traded companies, of all current and former governors/ presidents/ vp's/ cabinet members, and of all current and former University Presidents/Chancellors who DIDN'T go to college. Good luck.

2. It's not the 1950's anymore and outside of a few select Southern powerhouse Greek campuses (Old Miss, Bama, Auburn, SMU), you will find the Greek system pretty inclusive and accepting. Not every house fits every person, but there is usually a house for neaely everyone who is interested in "going Greek." My public Texas university's chapter had a few Jewish women and a few non-white women on a campus that is largely thought of as conservative, Christian, and white. While I was in NYC, I had the chance to meet and get to know fellow alumni of my sorority who went to school all over the country (literally from California to Minnesota to Maine to Florida) and they were of every shape, color, and background you could imagine. I learned on some campuses we're the sluts and on others we're the brainy chapter. Some places, we're nearly all Jewish and other places we're nearly all Asian. Or cheerleaders. Or jocks. Every campus is different- but we had the common experience of working on similar fundraisers and philanthropic projects, singing the same songs and doing the same silly skits during rush and though it sounds trivial, it is an instant bond that gives you a starting place when you can't see anything else about the other person you could possibly have in common.

3. Being in a fraternity or sorority doesn't make you a clone at all. We had some big arguments when I was in college- you are in a room of 200 women- they're not always going to agree! But I learned how to work effectively as a group for a common cause, which has served me well in the workplace, and is a talent I didn't develop through any of the other college organizations I participated in. It's not "paying for friends"- most of your dues go towards the house and meals (and is fairly comprable or less expense than living on campus at most schools) and towards social events (which, whether you're throwing a party with a loose group of friends or a defined sorority, still costs money). IIRC, 10 years ago my room + board at the sorority house was a little under $300/mo or $2,700 per school year. Where else can you rent a room, pay all your bills, and eat about 15- 17 meals a week for under $300/mo??

[TurtleCreek80]

Originally Posted by TabulaRasa

In my experience, there were also lots of ways to do this with non-Greek extracurriculars, as well, but it could have been something particular to my alma mater.

There ABSOLUTELY are tons of other ways to get plugged in on campus and meet friends than through the Greek system.

What I found in my own experience though- and remember, I moved 1,600 miles away for 5 years after college before moving back to TX- was that I kept in touch the most with my sorority sisters. Someone emails out an updated contact list with new addresses, jobs, marriage & baby updates a few times a year and so I've never been able to "lose touch" with those friends. There are people I had classes and study groups with in college that I adored, but I have no clue where they are or how to find them, even after checking Facebook and LinkedIn. Plus, I lived in the house for 2.5 years with a core group of about 20 girls from my year, so you just have a much stronger connection with someone you lived with vs someone you randomly hung out with once every week or two, you know?

[TabulaRasa]

I sang in my college's international touring choir for four years, each season with a roster of nearly 100 singers. Given that I performed all over the continent and several others with them during this time, we became quite the family. I've been out of college for a decade and still keep in regular contact with many of them, even though I live far from where I went to school as an adult. It wasn't really just a "we hang out occasionally" thing during school...it was up to three hours of rehearsal every night for four years and traveling all over the country and the world together. The depth of bonding in even one semester with this group made my experience with the Greek scene more or less pale in comparison.

My brother is a collegiate athletic coach, and his guys have a similar kinship...deep and lasting bonds certainly aren't exclusive to fraternities and sororities. Sometimes, I think there's a mistaken notion that that's the only way social bonds can be formed on a given campus, and everything else is study groups, or something. Not true, in my experience. It's just one option of many.