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Is Phi Chi Theta at SMU worth it?

A fair answer has to include who should not join. Here is what the chapter gives, what it asks, and how to tell which side of the line you are on.

What you get

• A weekly room of people recruiting alongside you. Chapter meetings are typically at the Cox School of Business. Half the value is the meeting, half is the conversation on the way out.
• Speakers from Dallas firms. Companies come to chapter meetings through the semester. Holiner Holdings is one firm that has visited. Members hear about roles early and meet the people who fill them.
• Upperclassmen one step ahead. The junior who just finished the internship you want will tell you which recruiter answers email and what the first interview really asks. That advice is hard to buy and easy to get in a small chapter.
• Practice at things classes skip. Speaking to a room, running a committee, pitching a sponsor, organizing Pie Chi Theta. These are the stories interviewers ask for.
• A network with reach. Brothers have landed at Morgan Stanley, JLL, Visa, Texas Capital Bank, Hilltop Securities, Lockton, Jackson Walker and more. The full list is on the internships page. It is their record, not a guarantee, and it shows how many industries already have a Phi Chi Theta name in them.

What it asks

Dues each semester, a weekly chapter meeting, and a handful of required events such as recruitment, philanthropy and formal. The numbers change from year to year, so ask at the Info Session rather than trusting a figure written in advance. Most brothers describe the time as less than one course. During recruitment week it is more.

Who it is not for

Students who are already at capacity with a varsity sport, a heavy lab schedule or a job that runs nights will struggle to get value out of any organization that meets weekly. Students who want a purely social outlet should look at social Greek life, which is built for that. And students who expect the fraternity to hand them an internship will be disappointed. Phi Chi Theta gives you the introductions and the practice. The interview is still yours.

How the math usually works out

The honest way to think about it is one conversation. If a single introduction at a chapter meeting leads to one interview you would not otherwise have had, the semester's dues have paid for themselves many times over. Most members can point to that conversation by junior year. Some can point to several. A few never have it, usually because they stopped coming. Attendance is the variable you control.

Why we think it is the best value at SMU

In our opinion, and it is an opinion, Phi Chi Theta is the best value among business organizations at SMU because it is open to every major, because the meetings are at Cox, because firms come to us, and because officers know every member by name. We lay the whole case out on the why Phi Chi Theta page and we invite you to test it against any other chapter using the scorecard.

How to decide

Go to one Info Session. It costs half an hour. Talk to three brothers and ask what they are recruiting for and whether they would join again. If the answers sound like something you want, apply. If they do not, you have lost nothing and you know more about SMU than you did.