Since DG is being spoken about, I'll throw in my two cents...

I do not know about specific chapters...but I do know that nationally, DG is pretty good about transfers. Now, if for some reason, a sister at one school just really doesn't fit in with the girls at another school, she does not have to affiliate, nor does the chapter have to "let her" (she can just go alumn). I have not heard of any chapters that just don't even look at the possibilities and frankly, if a chapter does that, it really turns me off. That's just not very sisterly at all and perhaps is something that we need to look at from the top down. I can see Jocelyn's thoughts about total/recruiting freshman though...so I don't know.

It shocks me to think that some girls would seriously look at pledging at one school, then transfering to a more competitive (Greek-wise) school just to affiliate with the chapter there...that just seems very egocentric and I think focusing on what is best for your education should come first...

In the 80s, there was a book about rushing and pledging - it was sort of the GC, full of information and misinformation! :) Anyhow, at competive SEC schools, women who did not get bid often went home and dropped out of school and this was before the first days of class! (they also drank Tab which, is making a comeback as an energy drink!)

Today, that does not happen nearly as much (even at UGA according to some inner circle people) - schools are way too competitive to get into in the first place and after applying to colleges and finally getting accepted, starting over at the application procees is a much more difficult endeavor not to mention the humilation of coming home after you've gone off to college and have nothint to do for at least a semester.

It was more common then for women to pledge at a less competive campuds and transfer later to a more competitive campus but today's women are much more career focused and even though they may have been "bred" for sorority life, they may have been coached to cast a wider net (instead of mom's legacy house and aunties's legacy house, they try for 5 of the campus' 15 groups.)

Whole thing still makes my head spin twenty years later!

Shocking or not, some girls do. But they ought to check to see if their original desired chapter WILL affiliate. Many don't...not because they're snooty, but because they just don't have enough spaces to fill. Some (and I can think of at least one at U of Ala.) don't because quite a few women were trying that "back door" way to get into a top group.
And there's the BIG chance that a girl will pledge at one school, transfer and then find out that the new chapter is not at all to her liking. I would always advise a transfer to wait a semester...visit the chapter, and see if she'd really be happy there. If she did affiliate, she might not be happy and then have to resign. But if she waits and checks out the situation and finds she wouldn't be happy, then she can stay an alum, or go back to her chapter of initiation.

can a sorority ever go over total? I feel like theres a couple chapters at ucf over total.. but idk, maybe im not paying close enough attn at panhellenic.. lol

Yes. There are quite a few at UCF who are over total. When I was in school, total was set at 110 and we had close to 200 members at one point. That's what happens when you don't have a lot of members graduate and you have a large fall recruitment with a large quota of 60+ members. When I was in school we had 7-8 chapters. Expansion has been one way to bring those numbers down to a manageable level by spreading out the PNM's over more chapters. I believe total hasn't changed and most chapters are at or have exceeded total.

ok, since I just transferred to a new school (as a senior, ack!) and am trying to affiliate, I brushed up on adpi/panhellenic rules about affiliation, and transfer members DO NOT count against total during the semester they affiliate, meaning a transfer would only help a chapter as far as total goes, and wouldn't "take the spot" of a potential new member.

going through this process I can kind of understand why chapters are required to vote on transfer members, because even though there are only 250 miles between my initiation chapter and this one, there are A LOT of differences. I'm more nervous now than when I went through rush, because I've already been a member for three years, and I keep thinking "oh gods, what if they don't like me?"



On a non-personal note, I think there are plenty of reasons chapters would not accept transfers, that have nothing to do with "maintaining reputation" or anything of the sort. I mean, there have to be large differences in dues and activities between some schools, and what if the potential-affiliate just can't meet those standards? And speaking of standards, what about if she's a standards issure or something of the sort?

I would think it is more acceptable for someone to transfer to get into ANY sorority, but often girls transfer because they want the prestige that comes with a PARTICULAR sorority. I don't think anyone would transfer twice, like attend Alabama, get rejected from XYZ, transfer to East Bufu U and pledge XYZ where they are struggling with numbers, and then go back to Alabama to be in XYZ. I think most of the time it's women who attend East Bufu U and pledge XYZ, knowing that they really want XYZ at Alabama.

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Ditto for SGR. As long as the member is in good standing then if she transfers to another school / chapter, she should be automatically accepted into the new chapter.

With SGR, and I'm sure with the other D9's as well, it is emphasized that you are part of the whole organization - not just one part of it. In SGR we stress that you are a member of the entire organization, not just a chapter.

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I want to throw out that I love Delta Gamma; it may be my second favorite group. Two of my cousins were Delta Gamma and several of my friends and favorite co-workers. I didn't want anyone to think I was being critical of Delta Gamma.

I suspect almost all NPC chapters vote on affiliate members. I don't have any problem with reviewing individuals in case there are "standards" issues. But in general, I personally think you ought to take sisters from your national group unless there is really a problem.

And since, as far as I know, affiliates don't "count" toward quota and chapters can exceed chapter total in accepting them them, they aren't really taking anyone else's spot. (Think this through with me. Imagine you do one big formal rush in the fall: your chapter gets quota every year, wouldn't it be at or over chapter total? You wouldn't be COBing. The only additional new members you would get would be would be through affiliation. How could it hurt? Additionally, imagine a chapter that doesn't make quota. They COB every year. Would they be harmed by an affiliate taking them one person closer to chapter total?)

Okay, I admit I think you'd have to be nuts to pick your college based the chances of pledging a particular group, but I also wonder how someone who loves the group that much could be a bad member. If you love ABC enough to spend a year at Backwater U, you probably aren't going to be a member in name only.

Liltrixx, sorry for highjacking your thread. You've always seemed pretty level-headed to me, and I never got the feeling that you wanted anything other than to join a nice group at your present college. Good luck and I hope things work out like you want them to.

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Not to sound grouchy or anything, but college is all about letting go and trying new things.

If you grew up in Gainesville, you probably lived there a good chuck of your life, especially if you have a ton of family there. Go live your life wherever that may take you, because getting out of your comfort zone is the only way you'll see all that is really out there.

I started college in a very small public university that was 30 miles from home. And although I met lots of new people, and joined lots of orgs, it was the same surrounding, the same people, the same everything. I could probably have driven home with my eyes closed.. that's how much of the same it was.

I transferred out half-way into my college career and in doing that I pretty much forced myself to dare to think that my life could be different. The new school was 7x the old one in student population (but is still considered a "smaller" Texas school), and I met some of the most amazing people, tried things I had never done before, and saw some of the coolest places I didn't think I'd ever see in my life.

Guess what?

All my friends who stayed in south texas are still there and they are completely AMAZED when I tell them stories of things I've done, places I've seen, even just where I work. Because they stayed with what was familar to them.

Grow out of your comfort zone and see what life is really like.

</end rant>

Although not a main reason, that sounds like something you should keep to yourself.

I doubt that's what she meant.
 

I'm editing my post because I think misread what I was responding to.

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