If he thinks that his workload will ramp up, now isn't a great time to join, because he'll have to spend a semester going through the pledge process.

I do highly recommend fraternities otherwise though - they're a great network and place to meet friends, a good place to practice and develop social skills when interacting with the rest of the Greek system, have a lot of people focused on self-improvement, and they often take care of a lot of the overhead in college (by providing meals, laundry machines, a gym).

This being a good decision is of course contingent upon you actually liking the people in the fraternity as well as the particular attitude of the house in general. And if you're not into the party scene or nights out on the town, it may not be a good cultural fit.