whats it like in a colony?

It sucks. You'll be a bottom tier fraternity in the eyes of everyone, including strats, no matter how decent you actually are. You might be bale to break into mid, or even upper, eventually -- but that won't be until you have at least 100 brothers. I'd highly suggest joining a larger fraternity if you don't want to waste time.

Colonial made a couple good points, but there are some benefits. I have a friend in one of the colonies and it's an incredibly different climate than the big houses. I assume the small sizes make the brotherhood much closer and intimate. They must know eachother on a better level than the other large houses. My friend likes it because he has the ability to shape a fraternity. He doesn't have to fit a mold that all the other fraternities want them to fit. He gets to make that mold. It seems really rewarding to him. It will obviously take a couple years to be prominent, if all goes well, but that process of building the fraternity sounds pretty cool to me. But I am getting a certificate in Entrepreneurship. Their alumni base sounds pretty dope anyways. If I had the opportunity to rush again, then I'd seriously consider it. I think it really depends on who you are OP.

Every fraternity on campus was colony at one time. Some of them even twice. It shouldn't really matter that they're colony. It should matter if you like the guys enough to make a commitment to the life long bond.