Old pledges
 

Good day to all,

I am a 38 year old male who served in the Army and now I am ready to go to college. I would really like to be apart of a brotherhood like I have been for the last 15 years so I was wondering if there was any house out their that would be willing to accept me. I live in champaign, IL so it would be nice to go to the
U of I. I am willing to put in the work and I do not need to want to be anyone's dad or guardian I know that is what some people might think with my age but trust me I am happy to just be one of the guys. So who out their is willing to accept me even thought I am old. Oh and I never got to be young so I figure now is my chance. Look forward to all the colorful responses!!

First, thank you for your service from one veteran to another. Because you are a bit older than the average fraternity man joining at a school like U of I, perhaps you should consider starting a chapter of Omega Delta Sigma, National Veterans Fraternity, Inc. Here's the link:

http://www.omegadeltasigma.com/

That ship has sailed. You aren't going to be "just one of the guys" when you are old enough to be their dad.

Yeah, if he got Letourneau'd in junior high or something.

Thank you for removing the exceptionally unkind and judgemental remark from your post.

He's 38. College age students are 18-22. Getting pregnant at 16-20 yo =/= jr high.

Has he enrolled? If no he will be 39 or 40 by the time he starts.

Desire to "relive youth" aka drink & hook up w/ 18-22 yr olds is weird at that age. One dude on my campus is 30 & in a frat & is seen as weird for it.

~21 year old at a campus similar to U of I

I seen double standards on the forum. Mid-late 20s women are told they are too old to fit in but this guy is not? Come on.

There are different cultures of GLOs. Some of our GLOs will accept a 38 year old college student partly because the premise of our chapters is not based on age; and many or most of our college chapters aren't centered around 17-20 year olds.

People are only told they are too old at the college-level if they are interested in particular types of GLOs. Either way, people come to Greekchat for advice but there is nothing stopping them from pursuing membership regardless of age.

WAT?

Well, so much for removing the unkindness...

FWIW, I agree that the people who tell 24 year old women they're too old are being ridiculous. Every school is different. The fact though is that sororities are more homogenous simply because of the way they rush. Whereas there can be an engineering fraternity, an ag fraternity, etc etc. It's easier for a man outside the typical rushee to find a group.

Which sororities?

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To the OP, gauge the campus climate and the climate of the fraternities. Nothing is stopping you from trying. Don't go in there trying to act young and don't go in there trying to act old and "back in my day". Be yourself and highlight the good things about your personality. Highlight your (unpaid) volunteerism and value to the fraternity. Being social with them is good but they already have enough men who portray themselves as inebriated sex machines. Find something else you can offer at the social level.

I went to U of I, and I remember several fraternities having creepy old dudes around hitting on freshmen at parties. In retrospect, those guys were probably like 25, though.

NPC. Sorry ;)

Lemme take a time out to say I respect his service and sacrifice for our country.

On to my point...

This is it. Most college students think mid 20s-late 20s is old. Ive seen early 30s but maybe I am just feeling particularly bitchy today but I don't understand the, "I am going back to school at 35-40... and I never got to be young so I really want to be just one of the guys in a frat."

I am seeing this inquiry from a slightly different angle. My sense is that he is seeking the kind of bonding that occurs in a deployment (where troops have each others' backs). I am afraid that he will be disappointed that a lot of college-age fraternity bonding doesn"t meet that expectation. I haven't jumped to the conclusion that he is trying to relive youth, as much as someone unfamiliar with fraternities trying to recreate a military bond. For this reason, I find als' response considerate, thoughtful and on-point. As for robinsegg, the lack of tact and sound reasoning skills suggests she might take some pointers from als' post.

I don't disagree with your overall point about fraternity bonding /military bonding, but I don't think it's jumping to conclusions to think the OP does, in fact, want to experience things he missed out on when he was younger. He pretty much says it.

You need to remember that most men in collegiate fraternities are 18-22/23 years old. These men will probably have much different priorities than you do at your age. I don't think that you're going to be interested in parties, formals, and hanging out with 18-22 year old girls. If you are interested in those things at your age.. well, then that's another issue in itself.