As the fall semester approaches Pi Kappa Phi, along with other campus fraternities will be conducting new member open house events.
Prospective new members will face the challenge of deciphering what chapter might be for them. Fraternities, unlike residence halls, are not as similar as you might think. Consider what you may be seeking in fraternity life. Find out what the various chapters prioritize. Do your research – everything from asking sorority members for their top five chapter recommendations to online searches about the organizations.
After you have learned about a chapter’s priorities, done your research and decided what you are seeking in a fraternity, meet the guys in the chapter – ask them why they joined, ask about academics, ask them how they chose to join that chapter and ask them how that organization made them a better person.
For Pi Kappa Phi, we seek three things from prospective new members:
• Academic Achievement
• Service
• Leadership
Pi Kappa Phi wants men who are committed to academic achievement. In the spring 2021 statistics, for example, 14 chapter members earned a 4.0 GPA. The chapter overall, had a 3.21 GPA in the spring and 71.1 percent earned a 3.0 or higher. We have a Purdue academic advisor who volunteers to assist members, too. First and foremost, we expect you to achieve academically.
Pi Kappa Phi is committed to various service projects alongside our national service project, The Ability Experience. We raise money and awareness for people with disabilities. We volunteer in special needs classes at a local high school and co-host a Halloween costume party for adults with disabilities. Year in and year out we lead fraternities in fund-raising oftentimes doubling the closest competitor. We expect you to serve others.
Pi Kappa Phi seeks proven leaders. If you held an elected position in high school, were active in extracurricular activities and/or were captains of sports teams prior to coming to Purdue you might be a good fit for us. We encourage members to be involved in campus organizations and hold leadership positions in them. If you are not already part of a campus group, we’ll help you select some. For example, we have had several members in the Interfraternity Council, oftentimes holding top leadership positions. Leaders make a difference in the chapter and on campus. We expect you to belong to campus organizations and rise to leadership positions in those organizations.
Because of our priorities – academics, service and leadership – we have been named the RB Stewart Award winner three of the last four years and 10 of the last 14. The Stewart Award is given to Purdue’s best fraternity. Accordingly, it’s very competitive to earn a bid (invitation to membership) with us. If you are a man of conviction to your academic prowess, possess leadership potential and desire to serve others let us know. You may become a Pi Kappa Phi.
Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house is located at 330 N. Grant St., across the street from Purdue’s Grissom Hall (which is located just north of the Purdue Memorial Union and just south of Knoy Hall of Technology). It is the most honored fraternity in Purdue history. You can see a list of recent awards elsewhere on this website.
Click here to see Fraternity, Sorority and Cooperative Life statistics compiled by the Office of the Dean of Students. Here’s where Pi Kappa Phi ranks among the 42 fraternities at Purdue in recent semesters:
Spring 2021 Statistics:
- No. 1 in philanthropic fund-raising at $31,600, nearly double the closest competitor.
- No. 3 in membership size with 141 members. The average fraternity size was 72 members.
- No. 8 community service hours at 249.
- No. 17 in grades with a 3.21 average GPA (No. 10 cumulative average of 3.30). The all-fraternity average was 3.18 semester GPA.
- 96 members had a 3.0 or higher, or 71.1 percent.
- 14 members had a 4.0, or 10.4 percent.
- Our chapter was the No. 2 fund-raiser among the nearly 200 Pi Kappa Phi chapters nationwide contributing $18,600 to our national philanthropy, The Ability Experience, in the spring semester.
- The chapter has two members riding in the Journey of Hope during 2021, Calvin Whetstone and Rohit Nadu.
Fall 2020 statistics:
- No. 1 in philanthropic dollars raised at $46,097, more than four times the second-place finisher of $10,058.
- No. 2 in size at 133 total members.
- No. 7 in cumulative GPA at 3.21
- No. 16 in semester grades with a 3.19 average GPA. The fraternity average was 3.17 and the all-men’s average was 3.13
- One of 8 chapters with a 100 percent reporting compliance with Purdue.
Individually, Pi Kappa Phi had 75 percent of its chapter members earn a 3.0 or higher in the fall 2020. Eleven had a 4.0 last semester and 60 members earned dean’s list and/or semester honors.
Among the nearly 200 Pi Kappa Phi chapters nationwide, Omega was No. 2 in Ability Experience fund-raising in 2020 with $18,452, which included on-campus programming/fund-raising and alumni support.
Spring 2020 statistics:
- No. 1 in philanthropic fund-raising with $73,563, almost double the closest competitor’s $40,708.
- No. 1 in service hours with 2,430, significantly more than the second highest chapter that had 1,534 hours.
- No. 2 in chapter size at 166 members. The largest chapter had one more member, 167. The average Interfraternity Council chapter size was 75 members.
No. 11 in average GPA at 3.14. The top chapter was Sigma Phi Epsilon had a 3.43 average GPA, but it had only 14 members. The all-male average was 3.03 and the all-IFC average was 3.02. Only 3 of the Top 15 chapters had 100 members or more, with Pi Kappa Phi having nearly 50 percent more members than either of the other 2. Six of the chapters that ranked above Pi Kappa Phi had fewer than 50 members averaged into their GPA.
Our fall recruitment schedule can be found here.
To sign up for fall recruitment, click this link.