MissKP:

The type of school you are at has a great deal to do with whether or not you would be a good fit for sorority involvement, even before getting into whether you could rush as a graduate student. If we khew where you were going it would help tremendously.

Not only have I heard of Willamette, and considered attending the school, but a relative of someone I know very well is in a sorority there. Recruitment is done in the spring, and it is the type of school where undergraduates come at 18, and leave by 22 (and therefore sorority membership is in that age range). Even though you will be 20 (according to your post) you will still be married and a gradaute student. I am not a member of any of those three groups (Alpha Chi Omega, Delta Gamma, and Pi Beta Phi), so I don't know if they consider graduate students or married women for membership. However this document http://www.willamette.edu/org/phc/phcrecruitrules.pdf does not mention graduate students to be eligible, just sophomores, juniors and seniors for fall COB, and freshmen only for spring formal recruitment.

You should probably contact the Greek Life advisor for clarification and more information.

Your situation isn't really different at all from many other threads. There have been a number of threads where graduate students want to rush, and are married, etc. so they would not want to live in the house. Living in the house doesn't have a lot to do with it. I'm not familiar with your school, but it doesn't sound like the groups are huge and I wonder if they even have live-in requirements.

I'm not sure what you're talking about with the "freshman experience". I'm not sure what you consider the "freshman experience" aside from living in the house (which rarely freshman do anyway, and in your school's case, freshman don't even go through rush until second semester).

Only a handful of sororities accept graduate students via their policies. But that doesn't mean that individual chapters do. And I do not believe that any of the three sororities that are at this school allow graduate students to rush. Possibly AChiO, but from what the school has been described I don't know that the individual chapter would be open to that idea.

In any event, I would echo others in their statements to concentrate on your graduate program. Sorority membership at the collegiate level is a LOT of time, a lot of late evenings, a lot of weekends. You're going to be a newlywed, don't think your husband would appreciate that (not saying that you need to live your life according to your husband, but you should have some consideration for him!), nor would that leave you a lot of time for what should be a heavy amount of coursework that is much more demanding than undergrad.

I'm sorry that you "missed the boat" on sorority membership, so to speak, but sometimes life works out that way.

On an unrelated topic: Have you considered the consequences of getting an MBA at your age? You are going to be virtually unhireable-- an MBA will not be considered for entry level jobs, and an MBA without any legitimate post-college work experience will not be considered for an executive level job. The MBA is a more useful career transition degree, not a stepping stone because you graduated early and/or don't know what to do next with yourself and your career. You are much better off working for at least 2 years before getting an MBA.

If you must have the MBA now, forget the sorority idea completely. Join the American Marketing Association, IABC, AD2 or one of many professional organizations in the community-- there will be plenty of service and social opportunities and networking opportunities. For "sisterhood," join a church group. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but at this point in your education/life, the sorority boat has passed and it is time to move forward.

I do appreciate the explanation, and I feel for you. What people said may be right...there have been some discussions about which sororities even accept graduate students and Alpha Chi Omega was the only one of the three at your school which was mentioned as being open to graduate student membership. HOWEVER (and this is a big, big however) I've never heard a policy like this discussed, even being at a university w/undergrads and graduate students. Now, granted, we never had a grad student go through rush. Basically, someone said they emailed our HQs about it a few years ago, but I don't know if that's accurate or if that's changed and but I can't/won't discuss it on GC unless I find out that whatever policy we do have is openly advertised.

But let's pretend you're allowed to go through recruitment. And let's say DG and Pi Phi don't allow graduate membership into undergraduate chapters. Your options are already extremely limited. You sound nice, fun, and intelligent but unfortunately undergraduate sorority membership really wasn't designed for women like you. I do feel for you, but you're in such an extreme minority of all PNMs that situations like yours really haven't been accounted for. If you must know for sure, talk to the Greek Life office about what your options are, but I can't imagine they would encourage going through recruitment with all the automatic roadblocks due to your educational status.

That's my $.02 and I'm honestly sorry that things aren't different. Good luck in your professional program and upcoming marriage.

Being a part of a sorority is an incredible thing but, like the other girls have mentioned (and I'm also sorry to sound pessimistic), it doesn't seem very feasible for you at this time.
While some sororities have extended bids to graduate students in the past, the sorority experience is a part of the COLLEGE experience. While I understand that you're going to be married and out of college and therefore don't want the traditional pledge process/experience of living in the house, etc., I don't understand why you would then want to be in a sorority now. You chose to speed up the process by graduating early and heading off to an MBA program (which, as adpiucf pointed out, is unusual for someone your age and may not be the best decision, but to each their own). Most people your age are sophomores in college and if you still were, you'd probably be a great candidate for sorority membership. However, that's not your situation. We all make choices and your choices led you in a different direction which, unfortunately, likely will keep you from joining a sorority.
While your sorority is for a lifetime, you form those connections and share those memories in college. As a married female in graduate school, you're not going to be bonding over classes, dates with guys, getting excited over socials with fraternities, big/little sleepovers and things like that. While you're still young (only 20), the reality is you ARE out of college and you ARE going to be married. As amazing as the experience is and as much as I advocate it, a sorority is probably not the right thing for you.

I strongly agree with the others' suggestions about joining a group like Junior League. Junior League really is like a sorority for women out of college. Also, don't think that it's a group filled with old women--it's not. The NYC chapter lets women join at the age of 16! My local chapter requires you to be 21, so I plan on joining next year. In most cases, you need a sponsor in order to get in. Also, there are philanthropies and community service (the entire purpose of the organization), numerous fundraisers and huge social events (galas, balls, the works), meetings, an executive board, and more. In all of those respects, it really IS like a sorority. Many sorority women go on to be a part of Junior League. It's a huge group of women with common interests. It's run similar to a sorority, functions like a sorority and serves some of the same purposes...and even has some of the drama of sororities. I know several Junior League women that absolutely love it and say it is quite similar to the sorority experience. I'd definitely suggest that you look into this option.

I think you should concentrate on your grad work and making your marriage work. As a young student and a newlywed, a sorority shouldn't be your first priority right now. I know what it's like to wonder "what if?", but college is over and that ship has sailed. In the place you are right now, I'd suggest another option--I hope you do look into Junior League and everything works out for you.

Thank you for posting this--I second EXACTLY what she said. She makes an excellent point--since only freshmen are eligible for formal recruitment (whereas at most schools, sophomores and upperclassmen are eligible), it appears that this school adheres to stricter guidelines. If they're focusing on freshmen primarily, your chances are not good as a graduate student. Furthermore, it should really not be your focus at this time.

I am very familiar with Willamette and its greek system since my best friend was in a sorority there. There may only be three sororities, but greek life on campus is very popular and filled with tradition (it's the oldest univ. in the northwest). There are live-in requirements (though you'd probably be exempt since you'd be married). The undergraduates are isolated from the graduate schools and their students, so honestly I think you would be labeled as "unusual" or "weird" for going through recruitment with freshmen. They probably won't know how old you are...once they find out where you are in your studies, they'll assume you're older and wonder why you're going through rush now. When it comes to recruitment, the bottom line is that chapters select members based on whether they would fit in. And since none of the chapter sisters would be able to relate to your school experience yet, they would probably think you wouldn't fit in.

That's not what it said.

It said "first year students may only participate in the formal recruitment period or Spring COB."

That means these are the only things freshmen can do, not that only freshmen can do these things. Any school that limited formal rush to only freshmen would find themselves on the end of a lawsuit (not to mention a reprimand from the sororities' national offices and National Panhellenic) very quickly. So just to clear up any confusion - sophomores, juniors and seniors ARE permitted to participate in formal rush at Willamette.

And again, the original poster would most likely be allowed to participate in formal rush. It's just that she's very very very very unlikely to get a bid.

Hmmm...
 

Right, I think what makes people hesitate when it comes to a graduate student is that graduate school is serious work. Not that undergrad isn't, but undergraduate study is also about being away from home for the first time, making new friends, making your own decisions, etc. A sorority would expect you to do all the same stuff the other members do...would you have time for two meetings per week plus any other new member and chapter social/philanthropy activities?

Very good point. Being in a sorority collegiate chapter is not an a la carte type deal. You don't get to pick and choose what aspects you want to participate in (aside from the obvious like running for council).

Also too and I think this has been mentioned before, a lot of your bonding will come from doing or participating in more than just what is required. If you only show up to just what is required of you, you will not have the experience or the kind of bonding you seem to be seeking that the other girls in your pledge class will, that went to and participated in everything they possibly could. I personally saw girls quit after initiation (grrrrrr!) because they stated they werent bonding well with the members or their pledge class. The main reason for this that I saw was that they only were doing the minimum required and not spending free time on the floor getting to know people, not going to mixers/crush dances, not participating in AOII Lip Sync, not socializing on the weekends, not participating in greek week activities, etc. Most chapters as well set a certain number of service hours that you must complete each semester and some even require you to be involved in atleast one other campus activity.

As stated previously by many, greek life takes a lot of time commitment. If you arent willing or able to put forth this kind of commitment, then I dont recommend going through recruitment.

Buuuuuuuut....

Based on previous research that other GCers have done, two out of the three sororities on her campus DO NOT allow graduate students to join an undergraduate chapter as a matter of national policy. I apologize if this has changed since the list of sororities that allow graduate students to join was originally posted.

In sum, it doesn't matter how amazing, wonderful, or enthusiastic she is (I'm sure she's all three :) ) but national policy will take precedence in this situation. It is unfortunate for the OP, but them's the rules.

If she were at a campus with lots of NPC groups that allow graduate students membership, then I'm sure we'd all encourage her to try her luck at recruitment.

You can stop replying to this one...
 

Just wanted you all to know you can stop posting on this thread because I think I've got enough replies to make up my mind...unfortunately the greek system isn't as welcoming as I would have hoped, but that's life. Thanks to all who wrote encouraging messages, I appreciate it. I am done with this whole greekchat thing...Unfortunately there are too many people that are here to judge. As far as I am concerned, having graduated at 20 and wanting to get my MBA is the biggest accomplishment of my life, and I have honestly been messaged and replied to like I am an idiot and a freak...wow. Way to recruit. :(