GreekChat.com Forums  

Go Back   GreekChat.com Forums > Greek Life

Greek Life This forum is for various discussion topics regarding greek life. If you are posting a non-greek related message, please do so in one of the General Chat Topic forums.


Register Now for FREE!
Join GreekChat.com, The Fraternity & Sorority Greek Chat Network. To sign up for your FREE account INSTANTLY fill out the form below!

Username: Password: Confirm Password: E-Mail: Confirm E-Mail:
 
Image Verification
Please enter the six letters or digits that appear in the image opposite.

  I agree to forum rules 

» GC Stats
Members: 325,124
Threads: 115,503
Posts: 2,196,044
Welcome to our newest member, znathanhulzeo24
» Online Users: 1,393
3 members and 1,390 guests
Cookiez17, g41965, JayhawkAOII
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 02-15-2013, 07:49 AM
anton164 anton164 is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Posts: 1
Greek Life for an International Student at UIUC

Hey guys,

The admission decisions are released today and depending on whether I come in, I think it's highly probable that I will be choosing to attend UIUC this fall.

I am quite excited about it, but as I'm from Norway, there is also a lot to take in as I'm not very familiar with how things work, especially greek life which seems to be a big part of UIUC. Norwegian culture is quite like American culture, I guess, but at the same time it's also very different. We do however have something similar to fraternities during high school, so even though I'll be doing an engineering major, I would want to join a 'social' or partying fraternity. Bear in mind though, I'm going to the US to get an education and will prioritize this (doesn't mean I can't go out .

Anyway, hope the post is not a mess, I basically just want to know as much as possible about how things work and if possible, from an international perspective. Pleding, rushing a fraternity, bids and 'Hell Week', I've read about it, but I don't really know how it works yet.

If you have links to any good artivcles too, I would appreciate it! I've tried searching some already.

Cheers,
Anton
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 02-15-2013, 09:46 AM
adpiucf adpiucf is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: I can't seem to keep track!
Posts: 5,803
Anton, if you're going to be a full time student at an American university, then, yes, you are eligible for fraternity membership at that university. Go through fraternity rush at your school. Please be advised that membership obligations include paying dues, attending meetings, etc. Contact the office of Greek Life at your school for information about rush, pledging, etc.
__________________
Click here for some helpful information about sorority recruitment and recommendations.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 02-15-2013, 11:26 AM
DeltaBetaBaby DeltaBetaBaby is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: ILL-INI
Posts: 7,208
Send a message via AIM to DeltaBetaBaby
I'm obviously a woman, but I was also a UIUC engineering major back in the day. Greeks are a little less common in engineering than they are in the general UIUC population, but there's still a handful, and you can certainly balance the two (it also depends on which major within engineering; some are more populated with Greeks than others). One challenge, which is really just more of an annoyance, is that, as an engineering major, you will probably never have Fridays off, and a lot of Greek events happen on Thursday nights.

I'm assuming that if you attend UIUC, you'll be living in the dorms? There will be fraternities storming every dorm during rush week. Obviously, you won't know people from advance the way a lot of the other men will, but that shouldn't be a huge problem at UIUC. There are TONS of fraternities, and many, many men get to campus with no idea about the greek system, no intention of rushing, etc. There are two social fraternities specifically for engineering majors, so that's also an option.

The fact that you are from another country will likely be novel and memorable for most groups (as long as you are otherwise cool), so I wouldn't worry about that. As adpiucf points out, though, you should be sure that you understand the obligations that come with joining a fraternity. Obviously, you are researching now, so you probably know them as well as plenty of men who will be rushing, and it's good that the fraternities know you take it seriously. One lovely thing about Chambana is that the cost of living is quite low, and living in a fraternity house, even with social dues, is often comparable to living in the dorms and/or a campus apartment.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 02-15-2013, 11:34 AM
lovespink88 lovespink88 is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Chicagorado
Posts: 4,008
Send a message via AIM to lovespink88
My husband's fraternity at UIUC had an international student (I want to say from Australia?)

That's really all I can contribute to this thread, lol
__________________
I L L
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 02-15-2013, 11:42 AM
DeltaBetaBaby DeltaBetaBaby is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: ILL-INI
Posts: 7,208
Send a message via AIM to DeltaBetaBaby
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovespink88 View Post
My husband's fraternity at UIUC had an international student (I want to say from Australia?)

That's really all I can contribute to this thread, lol
Oh, c'mon, you were there more recently than I! When I went to mention my major, I realized it doesn't even exist there anymore.

Anton, obviously lovespink88 and I are alumnae, though we're women and we've been out of school a few minutes, so if you have any specific questions, we will do our best.

Last edited by DeltaBetaBaby; 02-15-2013 at 11:47 AM.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
I want to be a Greek Advisor or Student Life Administrator! James Careers & Employment 82 05-09-2014 08:57 AM
International student mation Fraternity Recruitment 6 11-13-2009 05:52 PM
Greek/Student Life Employment Opportunities! pinksirfidel Careers & Employment 0 08-12-2008 06:06 PM
International student queequek Greek Life 13 03-17-2003 12:27 PM



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:19 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.