From their first glance down Rugby Road, first-year students can recognize houses with letters etched on roofs and walls that barely hold crowded nighttime functions. However, besides the stereotypical social presence of Greek life, certain Greek organizations are also a large part of the University’s academic culture..
For students interested in the McIntire School of Commerce, four commonly-known Greek fraternities — Alpha Kappa Psi, Delta Sigma Pi, Gamma Iota Sigma and Phi Chi Theta — hold a specific appeal.
Promising professional development, mentorship programs and a lifelong alumni network, these organizations “rush” potential inductees during the fall and spring semesters and, in mid- to late-September. Recruitment procedures include interest meetings, essay questions and coffee chats that begin even before preliminary applications are due. Throughout this process, potential members’ problem-solving skills, chemistry with active members and ultimate persistence are all taken into account.
As a result of all the intensity, these organizations’ rush process can dominate the first few weeks of a first-year student’s time on Grounds. First-year College student Tobias Suarez-Vasquez, who is interested in Commerce, detailed the time commitment that his preliminary applications have already claimed.
“In total, I'd say I’ve probably spent at least a full day on applications — 24 hours, probably a little more,” Suarez-Vasquez said.
Although Commerce changed from a two to a three-year program beginning in 2025, and prospective students now apply in the spring of their first year, demand for membership to business fraternities is far from experiencing a decline. In fact, Kennedy said that this past year, Delta Sigma Pi saw an increase in applicant numbers by 100.
According to Suarez-Vasquez, business fraternities stand out among other Commerce-affiliated business or consulting clubs — especially for first-year students — due to the diverse and extensive social benefits they offer. Fraternity formals, bar tabs and regular chapter meetings are all points of attraction, particularly in a pre-professional setting that unites like-minded students.
“As a first-year, the social aspect [of business fraternities] is primarily what I look for, because I'm still kind of getting settled in,” Suarez-Vasquez said. “I'd love to find a group of people that are both driven in business and yet are also open to meeting new people.”
Ivan Gupta, vice president of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for Alpha Kappa Psi and third-year Commerce student, echoed this sentiment. He added that business fraternities can especially help out-of-state students adjust to being in a social environment far from home.
“I came [here] from Connecticut, and I knew pretty much no one here, so rushing and joining AKPsi my first semester as a first-year, there were so many benefits for me,” Gupta said. “The main [benefit] was just having that community.”
Other members seek the network of business fraternity alumni, hoping to get ahead of the curve in making connections to land financial or business-related internships and jobs. Caraline Kennedy, a third-year College student majoring in Economics and member of Delta Sigma Pi, detailed the organization’s potential for networking and how indispensable it can be in articulating future career paths.
“When I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, [Delta Sigma Pi] was an amazing resource,” Kennedy said. “Given the nature of a career in finance, you have to network.”
Although networking dynamics vary between organizations, many boast young and involved alumni, eager to help current members navigate the ropes of the business industry.
“When I joined [AKPsi] first year, I knew people that were fourth-years, and now that I'm a third year, they're one or two years into the workforce,” Gupta said. “So [there are] alums at firms that a lot of people want to go to, but they're also my friends that I know from their time at U.Va.”
Gupta said that in joining AKPsi during her first year, she knew several fourth-year members. Now, as a third-year herself, those peers are now alumni who are a couple years into the workforce, and dually serve as both college friends and resources for networking in the business or finance industry.
Beyond equipping students with connections, business fraternities can help students find a focus within the range of careers available, including finance, investment banking, accounting and consulting pathways. With career options that vary significantly, sorting out which to pursue can feel overwhelming for a first year just beginning their college journey, particularly for minority groups and students without prior resources.
“A lot of people who might come to [the University], they have parents who worked in the [finance] industry, or they have some sort of connection to a company,” Suarez-Vasquez said. “At least for… minorities like me, the thing that I think social frats will help me out with is getting my foot in the door.”
The timeline change for Commerce has simply compressed the stress of building a Commerce-worthy resume into two semesters rather than four. Without the chance to include internships pursued after a students’ first year or longer-term involvements, the pressure to become a member of a business fraternity has continued to accrue.
“We now only have one year to differentiate ourselves from 1,500 other applicants,” Suarez-Vasquez said. “The most rigorous and selective stuff you can do are business [fraternities] ... so I think that's why their popularity has grown so much.”
Kennedy agreed that Commerce’s expedited application timeline is correlated to business fraternities’ swell in popularity and said that this increase was reflected in the number of Delta Sigma Pi’s prospective members during recruitment.
“I think [the lack of time to build a resume] was a big factor [in the increase in business fraternity membership], because people are just trying to get their hands on as much business stuff so that their application looks better.”
In tandem with the time frame, the structure of the Commerce application itself has also changed. During the Spring 2024 application cycle, applicants were able to list up to four activities completed during the academic year, including the organization title, hours spent per week and a description. Following the Fall 2024 semester and program change, applicants were instead asked to describe just one meaningful extracurricular involvement from the University or high school.
Despite this new open-endedness, the perceived weight of organizations like business fraternities persists, even if membership has mixed results relative to individual applications and acceptances to Commerce.
However, not all fraternity members see it as a necessary resume addition. Gupta, for one, believes that the primary benefits to his membership lie elsewhere.
“I didn't even put AKPsi on my McIntire application or mention it at all,” Gupta said. “Some people look at AKPsi as a way of getting into McIntire. But once you're in the organization … you realize that the values of AKPsi are much different.”
While the taxing process and uncertainty of rushing cause many students to question if membership to the University’s business fraternities is all it is cracked up to be, members confidently said that the chance of success is worth staying resilient through the slim odds of the recruitment process.
“It's 100% worth it, if it works out,” Suarez-Vasquez said.
Read More
‘Make lots of mistakes and learn from there’
By Mai Hukuoka | 5 days agoHaving once navigated their own beginnings, professors now guide current students in figuring out their paths.
Incorporating lessons in silence into the fall semester
By Elizabeth Adams | 6 days agoThe transitions from place to place formerly filled with easy, noisy distraction are now opportunities for peace or productivity.
Top 10 tips on how to start working out
By Xander Tilock | 6 days agoEveryone may have their own strategy, but here are some tips on how to get moving and feel fantastic while doing so.
