Lots of adrianchilders.com readers are university students, so this post is for you. One important decision university students make is whether or not to join a fraternity or sorority while in college. My suggestion is yes, but before selecting one do sufficient research.
There are several advantages in joining a fraternity or sorority, but if you are going to pledge with one, you want to make sure and take advantage of all the benefits it provides. Many prominent people in society in any industry are associated is some type of national organization, such as a fraternity or sorority. Make sure that the organization you are selecting has chapters around the country. The larger the network the better the networking opportunities will be.
When selecting an organization to pledge with you want to make sure that everyone in the organization has a close relationship and that they will be willing to help you with, homework, networking, finding an internship or job, etc. A good fraternity or sorority will go to great lengths to help a Brother or Sister in need and you have to make sure that you will be able to reciprocate.
The next question may now be whether to join a social fraternity/sorority of a professional fraternity/sorority that is specific to your industry. The answer to this question really can only be answered by you, since you are the one who knows what exactly you are trying to get out of joining a national organization. Advantages to joining an organization specific to your industry is that you can relate to practically everyone. You will also see these same people in all of your classes. All members have similar goals and can support each other for many of the same visions you all have.
The advantage to joining a social fraternity or sorority, in which members of the organization are involved in every college of the university are that you get many different points of view. After graduating, your career may often involve people outside of your area of study. If you are a business owner, you may need to have a network that consists of engineers, scientists, graphic designers, etc. So ultimately, you need to decide which is the best fit for you depending on what your vision is for you life five, ten or even twenty years down the road.
While fraternities and sororities do provide a great network and I recommend any student to at least consider joining one, there are also other great alternatives. fraternities and sororities can be expensive to join, so you may want to look into other organizations on campus that have a nation wide presence as well. Several students that join organization that aren’t a fraternity or sorority take much more advantage of these organizations.
As for anything make sure and do your research before joining any type of organization. Make sure and get involved in some type of organization while in college. These not only provide great networking opportunities, but I guarantee you will have fun being around like minded individuals.