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Background: transferred to BU as a junior in 2012...

I was the first in my family to go to college so just getting there I was a little unprepared coming from community college.

I tried to find my footing in clubs but couldn't form a close fit in the school...

A few friends and I decided to form a new fraternity. We ultimately competed against 5 other fraternities vying to come to the school. We won the spot and we started the group from the ground up (now has 70+ guys).

Would a PS on how this has shaped me, the energy and time put into this org be good for a statement or is this sort of lame?

BU2014 wrote:Background: transferred to BU as a junior in 2012...

I was the first in my family to go to college so just getting there I was a little unprepared coming from community college.

I tried to find my footing in clubs but couldn't form a close fit in the school...

A few friends and I decided to form a new fraternity. We ultimately competed against 5 other fraternities vying to come to the school. We won the spot and we started the group from the ground up (now has 70+ guys).

Would a PS on how this has shaped me, the energy and time put into this org be good for a statement or is this sort of lame?

I think this could be great, but I would really couch it in how this created a support system for you/others to work hard, stay in school, etc. I feel like this would come off as privileged/tone deaf if you don't talk up front about being first-gen how starting a frat solved some of the problems that come with being first-gen.

virginia_direwoolf wrote:

BU2014 wrote: I think this could be great, but I would really couch it in how this created a support system for you/others to work hard, stay in school, etc. I feel like this would come off as privileged/tone deaf if you don't talk up front about being first-gen how starting a frat solved some of the problems that come with being first-gen.

Yikes I didn't even think of the privilege aspect. I'll definitely mention the first generation part if I go with this idea. Thank you!

anyone else?

As a frat alum, I think it could be a good topic, but you do have to tread lightly. I think the fact that you started the frat gives you a lot of wiggle room to carve a narrative about merging the social aspect of college with responsibility. In the six years I've been out of school, the only time I mention I was in a fraternity to non-college people is when I talk about how great our relationship was with the local Boys and Girls club and how I loved the opportunities to volunteer that the frat's relationship provided me.

You have to be careful though, because many people don't like greek orgs, but especially frats. Some for completely understandable reasons (hearing bad stuff in the news, having known/experienced something bad to have happened at a frat when they were in school etc), and some dumb reasons (didn't get a bid when then rushed, bitter that they never got into parties etc.). It seems trivial, and feel free to take everything I say with a grain of salt because I'm not an admissions officer, but in my experience, talking about being in a fraternity can be SO polarizing that it's something you do want to be aware of.

Good luck! I bet you crush this cycle!

i'm a frat alum and i think it's a dumb topic. just talk about how you were the first in your family to go to college. it's cliche but safe.

pancakes3 wrote:i'm a frat alum and i think it's a dumb topic. just talk about how you were the first in your family to go to college. it's cliche but safe.

Ah ok. I just thought starting a fraternity would tie in nicely to being the first to go to college story but thanks for the feedback!

If you talk about it as building something from the ground up and as a way to form bonds & connect as a first-gen college goer I think it could be a really good PS.

As a proud GDI, I think hamshotfirst has the best angle on how to approach this PS

As a former frat star, I think hamshotfirst has the best angle on how to approach this PS

BU2014 wrote:Background: transferred to BU as a junior in 2012...

I was the first in my family to go to college so just getting there I was a little unprepared coming from community college.

I tried to find my footing in clubs but couldn't form a close fit in the school...

A few friends and I decided to form a new fraternity. We ultimately competed against 5 other fraternities vying to come to the school. We won the spot and we started the group from the ground up (now has 70+ guys).

Would a PS on how this has shaped me, the energy and time put into this org be good for a statement or is this sort of lame?

Am I correct in assuming this is IFC?

Chaimthegreat wrote:

BU2014 wrote:Background: transferred to BU as a junior in 2012...

I was the first in my family to go to college so just getting there I was a little unprepared coming from community college.

I tried to find my footing in clubs but couldn't form a close fit in the school...

A few friends and I decided to form a new fraternity. We ultimately competed against 5 other fraternities vying to come to the school. We won the spot and we started the group from the ground up (now has 70+ guys).

Would a PS on how this has shaped me, the energy and time put into this org be good for a statement or is this sort of lame?

Am I correct in assuming this is IFC?

Yes

BU2014 wrote:Background: transferred to BU as a junior in 2012...

I was the first in my family to go to college so just getting there I was a little unprepared coming from community college.

I tried to find my footing in clubs but couldn't form a close fit in the school...

A few friends and I decided to form a new fraternity. We ultimately competed against 5 other fraternities vying to come to the school. We won the spot and we started the group from the ground up (now has 70+ guys).

Would a PS on how this has shaped me, the energy and time put into this org be good for a statement or is this sort of lame?

As a former fratstar, something that really resonates with me is the mentor aspect of being in a fraternity. After one of the older guys (really smart) in my house sort of took me under his wing and showed me how to study and overall succeed in your classes, my grades improved dramatically. I went from getting As and Bs to getting a 4.0 almost every semester afterwards. In turn, I gave back to the fraternity by helping out some of the younger guys.

To this day I'm convinced that if my buddy hadn't helped me out, I would not be applying to law school with a GPA that's around the medians of most of the T14 schools.

So is the consensus that this topic isn't too polarizing? I would just hate for it to totally turn someone off viewing my app because of the fact greek life doesn't have the best reputation in general.

BU2014 wrote:So is the consensus that this topic isn't too polarizing? I would just hate for it to totally turn someone off viewing my app because of the fact greek life doesn't have the best reputation in general.

That's the consensus, if you handle it correctly. Also, we all need to remember who this is being read by: university administrations that, with only a few exceptions, continue to stand by fraternities for a number of reasons (they attract new students, and increase alumni participation). You'll want to tiptoe if you're applying to Harvard, but most schools aren't anti-greek.

Hstrat wrote:

BU2014 wrote:So is the consensus that this topic isn't too polarizing? I would just hate for it to totally turn someone off viewing my app because of the fact greek life doesn't have the best reputation in general.

That's the consensus, if you handle it correctly. Also, we all need to remember who this is being read by: university administrations that, with only a few exceptions, continue to stand by fraternities for a number of reasons (they attract new students, and increase alumni participation). You'll want to tiptoe if you're applying to Harvard, but most schools aren't anti-greek.

This isn't actually very applicable to law school, because law schools are separate entities. In general, university administrations leave law schools alone and vice versa. So while that may not have a huge impact on OP's topic choice, it would be a mistake to conflate a frat-friendly campus with a frat-friendly law school admissions department.