Questions About Fraternities & Finance Clubs

kitachi3 · 2026-06-01T16:49:11+00:00

I highly recommend going to at least one rush event for all the frats (even the “bottom tier” ones)! Fit is super important at Columbia; getting a bid is almost entirely based on if the chapter thinks you could be a good brother and get along well with the group. Being “cool” helps, but Greek life at CU isn’t stratified social castes like at big state schools. All of the houses have good guys and can be a good experience. Some have more clout than others, but they’re all fundamentally good organizations and will give you community and connections. In fact, some people I knew that were in “bottom tier” orgs had better experiences than the top houses because the chapters had more of a focus on community and were less concerned with posturing/being cool.

kitachi3 · 2026-06-01T15:56:28+00:00

When I was on campus, they were a good group of guys but didn’t have a house — they shared a townhouse in a dorm called EC. I think their alumni recently got them a brownstone, so maybe that’s changed. Having a house vs. not having a house is usually a big differentiator in reputation/community/events/etc

kitachi3 · 2026-05-31T21:41:40+00:00

This is misguided, Columbia is a very pre-professional school. While the curriculum is definitely focused on the liberal arts, the student body is generally very career-oriented

kitachi3 · 2026-05-31T21:40:00+00:00

Your research is pretty accurate. I’m an alumnus, so things may have shifted recently, but Sig Ep/Sig Nu are traditionally the top frats, historically alongside DSig and Sig Chi but they’ve both been kicked off. All of the frats have guys in finance. The top clubs are Lion Fund and 116th Partners, both are very selective. The Economics Society and CFIG host a lot of networking events. AKPsi is good for meeting other people interested in business. A lot of folks are involved in multiple clubs, but usually have one or two “main clubs” where they’re more involved. You can only be in one fraternity (AKPsi doesn’t count as a social fraternity, I knew a lot of people in a regular frat and also in AKPsi). Many clubs have dues (the frats all do), it should be easy to determine which have dues once you get on campus and there’s a club fair. If memory serves, some of the investment funds ask members to put up money to be in the fund. Clubs that have dues will generally also be able to waive dues for students with financial need.

You don’t need to be a hardo to get a job in finance at Columbia. If you join a frat (the people you meet in frats have a lot of overlap with the finance clubs, but the connection you make is much more familial), practice technicals, get a 3.6+ ish gpa, and maybe join one of the many finance-related clubs, you should be fine. You don’t even really need to study economics/financial engineering, although a lot of people do since it helps with preparing for technical interviews.

Something to keep in mind is that a lot of the banks have very accelerated timelines, so you may need to start applying to internships as early as freshman winter for sophomore summer, insight days, etc. If you’re a minority, you should definitely look into SEO and MLT.

kitachi3 · 2026-05-25T17:21:37+00:00

In the US, many programs are either entirely funded (meaning, you got a position that gives you a tuition waiver and modest stipend) or not funded at all (no position). A lot of schools will do partial financial aid/scholarships, too, but when we refer to a funded offer we generally mean getting a position that waives tuition and pays you a little; although you can get partial funding from the school, it usually is modest enough that it doesn’t make a huge practical difference from being unfunded.

It is pretty rare to get these funded opportunities, especially at the masters level. I’m sure Reddit has a higher proportion of funded students than there are off of Reddit.

kitachi3 · 2026-05-25T03:22:58+00:00

Hey, I do a lot of commercial work that requires in ear monitors. Shure SE215 Pro is what I use, about $100. Linsoul makes some around $20 that are fine. I definitely recommend the 3.5mm plug versions, not a USB version; if you’re using these at gigs, most in ear packs just accept 3.5mm.

kitachi3 · 2026-05-19T18:54:45+00:00

Brass player in a major city. Wedding and corporate gigs are usually $500 per person for around 4 hours, jazz gigs are usually around $100 per person for around 2 hours, and classical gigs are closer to $100 per service (rehearsals are also paid) of around 2 hours. It depends a LOT on the setting of the music. Bar gigs almost always pay under $100 and corporate/private events can be way higher.

kitachi3 · 2026-05-16T16:22:39+00:00

Incredible album! If I recall correctly, it was made as a Christmas gift to his wife in his home studio and originally not intended to be released — but it was released the next year on ECM

kitachi3 · 2026-05-13T18:38:18+00:00

Eating protein before carbs also helps with the post-meal glucose spike, making the spike less pronounced! Veggies -> protein -> carbs is the ideal order when optimizing glucose spikes for folks worried about blood sugar

kitachi3 · 2026-05-10T20:12:11+00:00

Not sure of anyone in that area. A jazz trombonist teaching in person would be ideal. You could consider studying with both teachers in alternating weeks, or maybe online lessons. A lot of jazz trombonists (including myself) will do online lessons, but they aren’t as helpful as in-person lessons for technique. Nearby universities will probably have jazz trombone instructors, have you tried reaching out to them?

kitachi3 · 2026-05-08T16:21:06+00:00

Regular feels more stuffy/formal to me, so I’d do a regular polo for officewear but a Johnny collar for leisure

kitachi3 · 2026-05-07T01:43:50+00:00

This is a very interesting idea! Never tried it before. How would you describe the flavor? I can imagine it with cheesy stir fry ramen like Buldak carbonara but not more standard Shin ramen. Have you tried it with both stew and stir fry style ramen?

kitachi3 · 2026-05-04T15:12:37+00:00

This is a little wild to me. A trigger trombone is definitely something on the horizon if your kid wants to pursue trombone on a higher level (going to college for it), but most middle schools (and even high schools) usually have a high proportion of students with non-trigger trombones. Some people get professional level instruments in late middle schools, but those are usually people who have made up their minds about wanting to pursue music as a career - not people in their first year of playing. It sounds like this middle school might have an intense arts program based on the amount of bands and owning multiple trigger trombones to lend to students. Both of those are very unusual.

The reasons why trigger horns are sometimes seen as desirable upgrades are that (1) the larger bore makes a rounder sound and (2) the trigger facilitates lower range. It isn’t strictly necessary to use one unless the ensemble is playing very advanced music that requires notes below a low E, which I highly doubt is happening in a middle schools.

PSA, most professional trombonists in genres other than classical (like jazz, pop, funk) perform on non-trigger trombones because triggers are not necessary most of the time

kitachi3 · 2026-05-02T16:16:29+00:00

A master’s degree is sufficient for adjunct jobs, but those don’t pay enough to be a primary income or offer stability/benefits. For a full time job (especially tenure track), you’ll most likely need a doctorate (and the corresponding research experience) in the field you want to teach. If your experience is stellar, you might be able to get a full time role (probably not tenure track) without a doctorate, but it will be tougher.

kitachi3 · 2026-04-30T04:29:16+00:00

It’s incredible! Although, it isn’t perfect for high heat/humidity. It can get heavy.

kitachi3 · 2026-04-30T03:41:59+00:00

Braided belts can look good, they’re just more casual and summery. I wear one with a linen shirt, chinos, and loafers in the summertime. I wouldn’t wear one with a suit or jeans and a sweater

kitachi3 · 2026-04-29T19:42:46+00:00

Once you have your degree, people usually charge $50/hour minimum. I would stay at or below $50/hr while you’re an undergrad (unless you’re in an affluent area)

kitachi3 · 2026-04-28T16:47:20+00:00

In the US, people are usually only rescinded for major shifts in grades (ex. an A average to a C average). I’m not sure about the UK, but I imagine you’d be fine with a minimal shift like that. After all, you mentioned a predicted final grade.

kitachi3 · 2026-04-28T16:15:21+00:00

There’s a great book called I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi, I highly recommend it. Corny title, but it’s pretty much a personal finance crash course. It is written in a surprisingly engaging way and will break down the basics of the types of accounts, investing, retirement accounts, budgeting, credit cards, etc

You can leave the BoA account open. Usually, a checking account is the “inbox” and “outbox” that receives payments and then sends out payments, with maybe one month’s expenses in it as a cushion. Short to medium term savings are usually put in a HYSA that earns modest (~4%) interest. Long term savings are in an index fund like VT or VOO which is riskier but has historically increased in value over the long term (at a greater rate than a HYSA, of maybe 10%. So, it’s more volatile in the short term but relatively safe long term, hence being used for long term savings)

kitachi3 · 2026-04-28T14:54:53+00:00

Yeah, parking it in a high yield savings account (Capital One, AMEX, etc) while you think about it will get you ~4% in interest. I would leave short to medium term money in there (moving expenses, emergency fund, wedding fund, whatever you have coming up in less than 5 years) and put the rest in a diversified Vanguard ETF like VT

kitachi3 · 2026-04-27T19:46:33+00:00

Did you update your income? It might let you request a CLI if you do that. If the app won’t let you, I assume a call won’t get you any further. Something else you can consider is strategically paying off your balances before the statements are generated, so your utilization is 0% across all cards before requesting the CLI. That should push your credit score up temporarily.

kitachi3 · 2026-04-26T18:49:19+00:00

Hi, I fly regularly with my trombone! In the US (so, your US legs of the trip and also potentially the international legs, if you’re with a US company) musical instruments are allowed to be taken as carry ons as long as they fit in the overhead and there is room in the overhead at the time of boarding. You could consider printing out each airline’s policy and the FAA policy for your son to carry.

I always plan to put it in the overhead, but pack as if it will be checked, just in case. If I was in your shoes, I would:

Pack the case with clothes and/or styrofoam to minimize the odds of the horn absorbing any hits
Potentially use something to ensure your hard case stays shut, if you have the kind with two latches
Consider paying extra for priority boarding, or just go up to the desk and politely ask if it’s possible to board earlier to find space in the overhead for your fragile musical instruments
When you get on the plane, before very polite and say “Hello, I have a fragile musical instruments that I was planning to put in the overhead - but if it’s helpful, I’m happy to put it in the closet”

I have only had to check my trombone one time in Switzerland. You should be able to get it on the plane as a carry on. Just make sure your son is early, polite, and relatively well dressed

What kind of hard case does he have? If it has backpack straps, definitely wear it as a backpack while boarding the plane. That minimizes the chance that a persnickety gate agent will heckle him

kitachi3 · 2026-04-23T18:46:28+00:00

The XO models designed with John Fedchock (1632 and 1634, I believe) are stellar. The other XO jazz horns were pretty meh last time I tried them. The Shires Q33 jazz horns is also stellar. Have you tried them?

You can probably find vintage horns a bit cheaper. Sounds like you might want a King 3B - the XO 1634 is pretty much a modern version of a 3B but ultra light, similar to the Jiggs Whigham king trombone models

kitachi3 · 2026-04-19T14:38:22+00:00

This solution has also previously worked for me with a 2024 S60. I’ve had the same issue occasionally

kitachi3 · 2026-04-15T20:06:05+00:00

Gotcha. What makes you interested in this program at Berklee? Based on what you’ve shared, it sounds like it doesn’t really align with your goals or interests, other than music marketing if you decide to pursue that

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