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Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

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Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#71

Post by SeeDave »

davidw wrote: post #69
dragonwriter wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Please start something (company or otherwise) that will make it easy for adults (young and old) to become part of a large, real world social network. Churches are real-world social networks that are generally easy to join (the degree to which they provide large or strong networls vary considerably, of course.) There are lots of other examples. I'm not sure what the opportunity for Silicon Valley is here.

"Silicon Valley disrupts religion" sounds like a gold mine for parodies.

Hey David,

It's actually a thing that I'm a part of!

Check out Vive Church [1], formerly known as C3 Silicon Valley [2]

[1] https://vivechurch.org/

[2] https://www.buzzfeed.com/nitashatiku/c3-silicon-valley-churc...

-David

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#72

Post by lenzm »

ComradeTaco wrote: post #49
danjoc wrote: post #26

All the frat guys I ever knew had well off parents. They were going to make more than everyone else due to that alone. Of course, being surrounded by privilege, parties, and sorority girls eager to score a rich boy hurt their grades. That doesn't really matter though. They graduated. Some even took an extra year or two to do that. It didn't matter. They did fine. Being a prince has advantages.

Some of the frats at my alma mater charge $5k a year. I would imagine being able to pay 20k or more might self select to some already well-off kids.

Did that cover room and board?

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#73

Post by nether »

waiseristy wrote: post #57
BoorishBears wrote: post #3

Unless you're already about to fail, few, if any, employers will care about your GPA, and joining a large network of college graduates who share camaraderie can't hurt when it comes to finding well paying positions and moving up in organizations

Boeing cares about GPA, so does Intel. Quite a few others do as well

Granted, Boeing’s cutoff is 2.7.

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#74

Post by coolaliasbro »

Steko wrote: post #38

Kevin Drum notes it's a weak result but if true, wonders if the authors draw the right conclusions: suppose it’s true. Here’s what the authors say: Our results indicate that college administrators face an important trade-off when they consider policies designed to limit fraternity life on campus: while such policies may significantly raise academic performance, these gains may come at a significant cost in terms of e…

You had me at "social elites".

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#75

Post by peteretep »

uptownfunk wrote: post #33

Wish I had joined a frat in Uni.. What no one told me in Uni is that: + You're either tech or not tech, and not tech is not sexy in the valley + You need experience, no one cares about all the extra coursework you do, experience is king + Don't wear a suit to an interview in the valley, ever. + Your connections are invaluable, form lasting relationships, it's one of those weird things where not studying pays off, a l…

I'm a recruiter who doesn't work with any companies in the Valley, and I'm curious about this:

    > Don't wear a suit to an interview
    > in the valley, ever.
Really? Almost everywhere else in the world, not wearing a suit to an interview is a weak negative signal, as it shows you're unlikely to be able to put up with even small amounts of the inherent corporate bullshit that occurs in companies. Even if you'll never wear a suit once employed.

I'm not disagreeing, I just want to know more.

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#76

Post by tdb7893 »

dragonwriter wrote: post #60
baron816 wrote: post #29

Dear Silicon Valley, Please start something (company or otherwise) that will make it easy for adults (young and old) to become part of a large, real world social network. One which will help them form good career connections, as well as platonic and romantic relationships. Fraternities create their own unique culture (traditions, handshakes, songs, idioms, etc) to tie people together, so keep that in mind. Please lea…

> Please start something (company or otherwise) that will make it easy for adults (young and old) to become part of a large, real world social network. Churches are real-world social networks that are generally easy to join (the degree to which they provide large or strong networls vary considerably, of course.) There are lots of other examples. I'm not sure what the opportunity for Silicon Valley is here.

I miss church but not religion, sometimes it's nice to just eat some donuts and chat with random people. Sadly I can't do a startup where people just eat donuts and chill

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#77

Post by JumpCrisscross »

cowpig wrote: post #65
gshulegaard wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just an anecdote, but joining a fraternity drastically improved my social skills...and I personally believe these skills are fundamental when it comes to being successful in the work force. Not because being in a fraternity made me a member of a elite alumni group that excludes others, but because it allows me to be a more effective team member. I have not doubt that I would be far less successful if I was as sociall…

I'm pretty sure most people develop social skills in university regardless of whether they join a fraternity. Having a group of adult friends, freedom, roommates, etc, all prepare you for the real world. Fraternities also prepare you for the ugly parts of the real world, though. The real world is full of elite clubs without meritocratic entrance criteria, and learning how to join one and function within one is certai…

> I'm pretty sure most people develop social skills in university regardless of whether they join a fraternity

Being in a frat isn’t the only way to develop these skills. But lots of people coast through college without any non-academic social extracurricular exposure.

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#78

Post by tytytytytytytyt »

Steko wrote: post #38

Kevin Drum notes it's a weak result but if true, wonders if the authors draw the right conclusions: suppose it’s true. Here’s what the authors say: Our results indicate that college administrators face an important trade-off when they consider policies designed to limit fraternity life on campus: while such policies may significantly raise academic performance, these gains may come at a significant cost in terms of e…

It sounds like you're suggesting that all fraternities are full of social elites. Aren't there plenty of fraternities that aren't full of 'elites'?

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#79

Post by [deleted] »

bkohlmann wrote: post #56
danjoc wrote: post #26

All the frat guys I ever knew had well off parents. They were going to make more than everyone else due to that alone. Of course, being surrounded by privilege, parties, and sorority girls eager to score a rich boy hurt their grades. That doesn't really matter though. They graduated. Some even took an extra year or two to do that. It didn't matter. They did fine. Being a prince has advantages.

Joining a fraternity was one of the most meaningful and impactful experiences of my life. I come from humble means - my parents couldnt and didnt pay for any of the (expensive) school I ended up attending. I ended up joining one of only two "wet" fraternities on campus (meaning we were allowed to have booze in our house), and the one considered the most social. I was (am) an introvert and didn't drink in high school…

[deleted]

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#80

Post by austenallred »

baron816 wrote: post #29

Dear Silicon Valley, Please start something (company or otherwise) that will make it easy for adults (young and old) to become part of a large, real world social network. One which will help them form good career connections, as well as platonic and romantic relationships. Fraternities create their own unique culture (traditions, handshakes, songs, idioms, etc) to tie people together, so keep that in mind. Please lea…

It's called Y Combinator ;)

I'm only somewhat kidding.

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