As an incoming Freshman, it can be a real struggle to find people similar to you to spend time with. Fraternities at Ball State are looking for the next wave of people to join their chapter! Fraternities are an way to meet a lot of people. And, according to those involved, it doesn’t end after graduation — many form friendships that last a lifetime.
How to Join
During Welcome Week, aka the first week on campus, all of the fraternities will have their doors open for anyone that wants to explore and meet everyone. There are 11 fraternities that will be having events that you can attend to get to meet and know the members further. During this time, the best advice is to be yourself. Recruitment isn’t about trying to be something you’re not, or to impress them. It’s about finding the best fit for you!
Involvement
Each fraternity has its own individual philanthropy that they have decided on to support, whether that be cancer, type 1 diabetes, etc. They all work to provide something good to the world above themselves to make an impact.
With joining any fraternity, there will be some costs associated. However, the cost of fraternity life at Ball State is known for being more affordable than other schools in Indiana. Fraternity costs average $700 per semester at Ball State, but the price does fluctuate if you choose to live in the house or not.
The time commitment bulk is during recruitment. Recruitment and initiation typically last 5-8 weeks, depending on the fraternity you choose. After that, the time commitment is quite a bit less and it is up to you how much you want to be involved.
There are many leadership opportunities within a fraternity. You can run for different positions within your fraternity, such as executive boards. Along with that, there is also the IFC, which is the Interfraternity Council. The IFC is a group of 7 members that are from different fraternities that represent the 11 fraternities on campus.
There are many philanthropies that fraternities participate in. Each fraternity typically has one main cause they contribute to, including:
- Adopt-a-School
- Big Brothers/Big Sisters
- Boys and Girls Club of America
- Feeding America
- Huntsman Cancer Research
- Lou Gehrig’s Disease
- Make-A-Wish Foundation
- Riley Children’s Hospital
- Sexual Assault Awareness
- Special Olympics
- The United Services Organizations
- Type 1 Diabetes
Fraternities:
- Alpha Tau Omega
- Delta Tau Delta
- Lambda Chi Alpha
- Phi Delta Theta
- Phi Kappa Psi
- Phi Sigma Kappa
- Sigma Alpha Epsilon
- Sigma Phi Epsilon
- Sigma Chi
- Sigma Nu
- Theta Chi
