To me, most frat guys seem to be losers in disguise. In this case, a sheep in wolf's clothing. They literally USE the frat name to make people think they're "cool". And they depend on their frat brothers to back them up in any situation (a strength in numbers type thing).
So to be honest, I pretty much think frats are pretty lame. The last frat party I went to (which was also my first . . . it was that lame), you could tell that it was just a bunch of losers trying to pretend they were cool because, "WE HAVE BEER!"
I've never been able to see social status really applied in college. Just find a club or something that you enjoy, start out making friends in there, and work off of that (meet THEIR friends, friends of friends, and pretty soon you'll be fairly known, if that's what you're shooting for, and you'll have a good network of people to contact to hang out between classes and whatnot).
Another way to gain social status is to just join in random conversations if you know you can hold your own. You can't be afraid of what they'll think of a stranger chiming in, but if someone's talking about a topic that you know a lot about (be it cars, movies, politics) or even better one that you are strongly opinionated on, just bust in on it with confidence, and they'll allow you to debate. After they leave or you have to leave, introduce yourself. You'll feel better getting nods in the hallway and "wassups" whenever you're walking around because they recognize you.
But all in all, I haven't ever noticed anyone as "uber-cool" in college. Just recognized the complete losers. Usually associated with some sort of arts major (don't know why, but it often turns out that way.)
Alexi
