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Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

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91–100 of 132 posts

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#91

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…

http://facebook.com

http://linkedin.com

Now that I'm done being flippant, there are other things like IVY which purport to be exclusive networks that give you access to events and networks that will help your career and social stature, but at their core any and all of these things will be businesses that will extract as much money as they can from all parts of their client base. Contrast that to a fraternity, which seems much less like a business, at least in the sense that the proprietors are separated from the consumers of the product.

All I'm saying is that SV's motivations in creating something like this may necessarily not provide folks with the same authentic experience that a fraternity would.

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

By joining a fraternity despite being from humble means I'm almost certain you're someone who would have sought social connections even without. And you'd likely end up into an academic or an athletic or an interest based group where you'd build similar connections. The difference would be that the arbiters of who joined your club would base their decisions on your skills/interests/passions as opposed to your drinkin…

Most schools have dry rushes and recruitment teams select members who have good grades, athletic ability, and leadership qualities, just FYI.

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#93
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…

>Those rejected by fraternities, even though they have higher GPAs, earn 36 percent less than those accepted by fraternities.

This is not a correct statement based on the abstract of the paper.

The group of people that did not join fraternities does not consist entirely of "those rejected by fraternities", but those who are rejected and those who didn't bother applying in the first place.

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#94

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…

Doesn't that already exist? It's not a technology problem. There's everything from Meetup.com to Facebook groups/events to private Slack channels to Tinder for dates to Reddit to so many other things. Silicon Valley already does have its version of frats: companies. Alumni networks are the equivalent of a frat; working at Google or Facebook or another big company all have their own culture and opens up a lot of doors…

> Silicon Valley already does have its version of frats: companies.

Ew, no. Work-life balance?

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#95
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Not to mention your brothers will often push you into situations out of your comfort zone. OF COURSE this means you sometimes get peer pressured into making mistakes, that's part of growing up. However, my social skills went through the roof by constantly being "forced" to socialize and my own self-confidence grew immensely. Net positive for sure

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#96

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…

[deleted]

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#97
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…

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…

Maybe you are not a "more effective team member" but only a "more team member."

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#98
post #65

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…

[deleted]

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#99

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…

I always thought a group based around the giving pledge would be great.

You filter yourself to high value people because they're more likely to be able to afford 10%. You have a sacrifice these people are making, and a reason to help others. If you help some random guy land a job where he's making good money it further your goal of increasing donations to charity.

Re: Economic and Academic Consequences of Fraternity Membership

#100

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…

Houses of worship often serve these purposes.
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