Who Joins Fraternities?
The answer, you've already guessed, is everyone. Over a quarter of Cornell students belong to a fraternity or sorority, placing us well in the mainstream of student life. The Greek system at Cornell includes people of diverse backgrounds, personalities, and interests—some who meet every “frat” stereotype from the movies, and some who defy every last one. But we are all are simply students who want more out of our time at Cornell.
You join a fraternity if you are intellectually curious. You join a fraternity if you want to grow as a leader and citizen. You join a fraternity to form deep, meaningful friendships that will last far beyond your years on the hill. You join a fraternity to belong to something impossibly bigger than you are, yet as warm and familiar as home.
Keep in Mind
As you go through the process, keep in mind what you want to get out of fraternity life, and whether your goals and values are compatible with the chapter's culture. Ask members what they are involved in besides school and partying, how they interact with their alumni, what they enjoy about being in the house. Observe how they talk about and treat each other, their house, and non-members, especially women.
Think about whether they take an actual interest in you, what you're about and how you think? Do you feel you can be yourself around them? Does this place feel like it could be home?
The Process at Cornell University
Cornell Interfraternity Council (IFC) fraternities have both formal and informal recruitment processes for potential new members (PNMs).
Informal Recruitment
At different times of the year, the IFC may host information sessions, “Meet the Greeks” tables, or other casual events that allow PNMs to get a sense of the different chapters and where they might want to rush.
Fraternity members themselves are always thinking about who in their circles might benefit from a good fraternity experience. You may become friends in class or activities, and through them start to form an idea of the Greek system and where you might fit in. All PNMs, including first-semester freshmen, are generally permitted to visit fraternities and interact with members (for instance, to have dinner or watch sports), provided that no alcohol or other drugs are present, and that no verbal or other promises of membership are made.
Formal Recruitment
Rush is the formal part of IFC recruitment. To participate in rush, you must be a second-semester freshman or older, in good academic and disciplinary standing with the university, register for rush with the IFC, complete the required webinars, and agree to observe the IFC and university recruitment rules.
Rush is a designated period at the beginning of the semester where all of Cornell's IFC fraternities are focused entirely on recruitment. Check the IFC website for announcements about rush dates for the following semester and registration dates. Fall rush (for sophomores and transfers) usually begins in early September, whereas spring rush (for all classes including freshmen) usually starts several days before classes start in January..
- Formal rush begins with an in-person orientation for potential new members (PNMs), followed by several rounds of open houses where any PNM can visit any house, even if they have no prior connection or contact in that house.
- At the end of each round, you will identify your preferences, i.e. the houses where you want to continue the process with. The houses are also deliberating on the candidates who have visited and making a preference list of their own.
- If you have mutually picked each other, you continue rush with invitation-only events. These are more focused activities with smaller groups, and you'll have much more time to meet more brothers and ask more questions.
- After the last round, the chapter will vote on membership, and issue a formal invitation to join, known as a bid. Chapters will often invite their top picks to dinner on bid night.
- After bidding, the IFC imposes a moratorium on recruitment events and contact, to give PNMs space to decide whether or not to accept a bid. You can accept electronically any time before the IFC deadline.
- Formal rush is often followed by an informal makeup period colloquially known as COB (“continuous open bidding”), in which PNMs who did not receive a bid can continue to visit chapters, who can extend a bid at any time. Not all chapters participate in COB, however.
- One you have signed your bid, a chapter officer will reach out to you for next steps, which may include an induction ceremony and the schedule for your new member process, and which will certainly include some paperwork and the payment of fees.