So you’re interested in joining an IFC fraternity. That’s awesome, you’re gonna love it. I’m a proud alumnus of a fraternity and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Let me provide you some quick tips for navigating the IFC fraternity joining process.
You’ll start by signing up somewhere, maybe with the main IFC as like a formal registration for recruitment. Or you might just have opportunities to share your name, contact information, maybe some other information directly with chapters. Either way make sure you sign up early and be really straightforward with the information you provide.
Give as many accurate details about yourself as you can. The chapters need to learn about you and really want to understand who you are. Remember you’ll be looking for the right chapter for you and the chapters will be looking for the right new members for them.
It’s a mutual selection process so be both curious and honest. Then there will be some sort of opportunities to connect with members and learn about the organizations. There might be some kind of formal sessions about all of the IFC chapters on campus. There might be house tours or not. By the way roughly
Most of the fraternity chapters across the country don’t have houses, so please don’t pick your chapter because of a house. You’re not shopping for real estate or roommates, you’re shopping for lifelong brothers. Anyway. There are also likely to be some events. Either in person or online. And maybe some small activities,
Interviews, or one-on-one meetings. All of this is so that you can learn about the chapter and the chapter can learn about you. Participate in all of these activities. Just try to relax and have fun and ask a ton of questions, be the real you. At some point toward the end of the
Recruitment process there’s typically some sort of special event. This is normally an invite-only situation and is an opportunity for the chapter, and for you, to kind of seal the deal. Make sure that at some point prior to this special moment you pull a member of the chapter aside, that
You trust, and have a real one-on-one conversation with them. Get all of your questions answered, share all of your concerns, be real. The chapter will respect you for being thoughtful about this huge decision. And then if everything works out, you’ll get a bid. Which is just a word that means formal invitation
For membership. You might get bids from multiple chapters, if you’ve really been shopping around. You might get a bid from some chapters but not others. And you might not get a bit at all. This can be a little anxiety inducing, I know, but listen
You want to make sure that this is truly a great fit. Joining a chapter is a lifelong thing. You can’t like send it back if it doesn’t fit. Just trust your gut and try to trust the process. Choosing a fraternity is partially about finding a group of members that you feel
Like you belong, like you can be friends together, but remember this isn’t a buddy club it’s a brotherhood. Look for a chapter that has a cause, a purpose, a mission that you believe in. Look for a group that you want to be connected to
Not only for this year or next year, but when you’re older and after you graduate too. Joining a fraternity was seriously one of the best decisions of my life. I wasn’t sure at first but I found a chapter that was right for me and it has truly made me a better man.
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