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Guide
A freshman's guide to business fraternities at SMU
You just got here. Here is how to think about professional fraternities in your first year without overcommitting or missing the window.
Freshmen at SMU can attend Phi Chi Theta Info Sessions in their first semester and apply whenever they are eligible; eligibility by class year is covered on the current application and at the Info Session. Recruitment runs each fall and spring, so a freshman who waits until spring loses nothing. Come to the fall Info Session to learn the chapter, then decide whether to apply now or in January. No resume experience is expected.
First: you are not late
Fall recruitment for Phi Chi Theta usually lands in the first weeks of September, which is the third or fourth week of a freshman's first semester. That is early. Plenty of freshmen find out about the chapter after the deadline and join in spring. Recruitment runs both semesters, and spring pledge classes are full of first year students. Missing September costs you nothing except a few months.
Should you rush in the fall or wait
Rush in the fall if you already know you want business exposure, you have the time, and you can get to the Info Session and the social night. Wait until spring if you are still finding your footing, if you are also going through social Greek recruitment, or if the schedule is already full. Either way, go to the fall Info Session. It is free, it takes half an hour, and it tells you what you would be applying to. Eligibility by class year can change from semester to semester, so check the current application or ask at the session.
What freshmen worry about, and the real answer
- "I don't have a resume." Make a one page one with your high school activities and jobs. Nobody expects more. The application asks for a reason, not a track record.
- "I'm not in Cox yet." You do not need to be. Phi Chi Theta is open to all majors and to students who have not declared one.
- "I don't know what I want to do." Good. The chapter is one of the better places at SMU to find out, because it has people in banking, real estate, law, media, government and construction who will tell you what those jobs are actually like.
- "Will it hurt my grades?" Weekly meetings and some events. Ask at the Info Session what this semester's commitment is. Most brothers find it takes less time than a single course.
What to do in your first semester
- Follow @pct.smu so you see the dates.
- Go to an Info Session, even if you plan to wait.
- Go to Meet the Brothers if you can. Talk to three people. Ask what they are recruiting for.
- Decide. Apply now or put the spring dates in your calendar.
- If you apply, write it yourself and be specific about why. The recruitment guide shows what a strong application looks like.
Professional and social Greek life together
Many Phi Chi Theta brothers are also in a social fraternity or sorority. The two do not conflict. Social recruitment at SMU has its own calendar managed by the university; professional recruitment is run by each chapter in the first weeks of a semester. If both land at once and you cannot do both well, do the social one first and rush Phi Chi Theta in spring. The professional fraternities guide explains the difference in more detail.
What you get from joining early
Time. A freshman who joins in fall or spring has three years of chapter meetings at Cox, three rounds of speakers from Dallas firms, three chances to run something, and three years of upperclassmen to learn from before the last recruiting cycle. The brothers on the placement list were, at some point, freshmen at an Info Session wondering whether to bother. Bother.
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