If you were at a non-SEC school where Greek life isn't as prevalent on campus, you might have a chance. The time commitment would be less and with no requirement to live in the house - if there even is a house - you could be at home with your kids without needing an exception. A smaller chapter with some other non-traditional students would potentially welcome you with open arms.

But SEC? That's a different animal. If you go through recruitment, I wish you luck, but I would be shocked if you received a bid. I'd be even more surprised if you could juggle your personal life, professional life, student life, and sorority life all at the same time.

As others here have said, there are many other organizations on campus with less of a time commitment that will actually boost your resume and help you in your pursuit of a medical degree. I would urge you to look into those instead.

QFP

I have been mulling over the info you shared about being a legacy to two sororities. It would seem to me that your relatives would have told you that your chances of receiving a bid were little to none.

Coming out from lurking just to say.

Lololololololololololol.

I enjoyed the trolling, though.

THANK YOU< CARNATION!!!!

what about Junior League? I am a sorority alumna, but found a similar sisterhood aspect and philanthropy by joining my local Junior League chapter.

You may not have the ritual aspect, but there's a reason Junior League was coined "post-grad sorority" in my area.

It could be that the OP's relatives went to schools where recruitment is far less competitive than at SEC schools. Heck, my chapter bid a senior once - think that'd happen at an SEC school?

Anyway, to the OP: From what I know of SEC recruitment, I'd say your chances are between slim and none, and Slim just left town. You're a sophomore (strike one) and 23 (strike two). As soon as the sisters find out you have two little children (and they will), you're outta there.

As a 23-year-old, would you really feel comfortable answering to an executive board made up of 19/20/21 year olds? For example, during recruitment, the recruitment chair is basically God - she says jump, you say how high.

Also, pre-med is a pretty tough major which will require a lot of time and energy. Children also require a lot of time and energy, especially if you're a single mom. They should be your top priorities. Being in a sorority is also a big time commitment, with mandatory chapter meetings, mandatory new member meetings while you're a NM, mandatory attendance at all work week and recruitment events, etc.

There are plenty of other activities you can get involved with, but I'm afraid the sorority ship has sailed.

The part about “huge pressure to follow a family tradition” throws a wrench into that concept.

^ I didn't see the original post, only Titchou's QFP - was it incomplete?

It's still not impossible. You could have a mom who joined XYZ at Tiny Northeast U. where rush is not very competitive, who has a daughter who is going to an SEC school, and mom wants her daughter to have a great sorority experience like she did, so she puts a lot of pressure on her to rush, but she genuinely has no clue that SEC rush tends to be super competitive. Unlikely, but not impossible.

Thanks to Carnation, the story is here complete through QFPs :)

True but I can't imagine any mom thinking that a single mom with kids and studying pre-med would remotely have any time for membership even if things were way different back in the day, hence I can't imagine the pressure. Perhaps the pressure came before the daughter married/had kids, i.e., when she was a high school senior so the daughter might still feel like she needs to "deliver" on her mom's wishes.

Lol.... picking apart one piece of this response for local LOLs..... was the senior you bid almost 18 years old? hahahahah Oh, MIT.

That's so funny I forgot to laugh. :rolleyes:

Not that it's any of your business, but she was 20, she was impressive, we liked her, and we were under total so there was nothing preventing us from offering her a bid.

My chapter has also offered two bids to seniors (that I know of). One lived in an apartment with three sisters, and she was friends with basically the entire chapter, we were under total, so why not? The other was also good friends with a handful of the sisters and emphasized how much she wanted to stay involved after graduation. She ultimately helped found our Erie PA alumnae chapter.

It happens.

At age 23, our girls were attending med school. They had accomplished all of the activities, research, teaching under grads, etc. Some of this was due to their sorority membership. However, most of this involvement was not. I would not recommend rush for you at your age and stage...saying this in the most respectful way.
Best of luck.