i don't mind the "don't tell if we don't want you." i understand that concept
its just annoying that no one knows anything about their bid day or any other events.... at my party there were 20-30 girls.... surely someone would know something....
as far as i can tell nothing has happened.... i could be wrong tho.

I did however email my PC recruitment lady telling her to email my info to the orgs.
we'll see what comes up
and thanks for the support. i really need it.
my bf is in a greek.... and he has a way of not saying the right things.... even when he doesn't mean it like that.

well good news.... and bad news...
bad news first... Jasmine didn't contact me....
good... snow white did...
i'll see how that goes....
Snow White party on Sunday. and let yall know how that goes.
i'll give them another shot....
= D

Yeah, Snow White! Hope you enjoy the party.

So glad to hear good news! Good luck Jess!

I do wish you luck! Every chapter can have a bad day. It's great that you are giving them a second chance.

OhYesJess...Great to hear.

Sad news...
 

It is with a sad and bitter heart that i tell you....
i got no bids....

For snow white.... they have a rep for being the "barbie dolls" [literally, fake tan, perfect hair, slightly snobby... ect.] on campus. i def. saw that when i went there sunday. they girls are sweet, but i honestly think they cared more about what was on the outside, the fact that i won't.... CAN'T be a barbie doll.... [ unless its an indian one lol. ] but atleast they had the decency to call and tell me [ they told me a timespan in which they would call too so...]

i am debating going through formal rush or not..... will it end in the same heartbreak because i look different than everybody else? i'm def. not ugly, my beauty is not what you've seen down here.... its def unconventional.....
and i'll be a junior....

i really don't know what to do.... and since its a possibility that i could FR, i will not post a key on here.... if you want one, you can PM.... i will also not post my school.... if you would like to know, PM for that too.....

if you have addvice abou me going through FR or not... please let me know... PM me... since you should know what school i am at.... that kinda changes things....

I am so sad to hear that, Jess.

Sorry to hear the bad news, Jess. :( Whatever you decide for formal recruitment, please don't assume that the reason you didn't get a bid was because of your skin tone and looks. I don't know your campus, but I do know that getting a bid through informal recruitment can often be largely a matter of "who knows who". You might have better luck in formal recruitment just because you have a better chance to meet more people.

btw. i don't think Snow whites are snobs or evil or racist.... personally fom my interaction with them they seem like a bunch of sweet girls.... i have a few friends there... so i have nothing against them.... i just think the greek system here as a whole doesn't show the [albeit small] diversity here....

and i don't hate greek life.... obviously if i want to go through FR... and my boyfriend is in a NIC fraternity.

Jess, Im sorry to hear about your experience with informal. I went to an informal recruitment event 2 years ago and didnt receive a bid. I went through again during formal (as a junior) and received a bid.

I would encourage you to really think about it for yourself, and if juniors receiving bids isnt unheard of at your school, I would go for it. good luck in your endeavors and keep us posted!

this will prob. be my last post....
maybe forever....
I found out [obviously] that all the GLO's handed out bids [it took a lot of sleuthing and a month later... its all confirmed.... i still had hope... for a while....]
being handed this rejection.... [even tho i knew i wasn't accepted into a GLO] makes everything seem so fresh... and painful... it makes me feel like no one wants me [again], and that i'll never fit in or find my niche anywhere....

and due to recent events that have occured.....
i am highly doubting i'll go through Formal...
i have little intrest after seeing how the sororities on campus interact with each other, and [mosty] the fraternities... it actually makes me saddened because i am a girl that wanted to go through rush after seeing what they did.... [not to go on with details.]

This really saddens me and it happens alot more than I would admit.

I wish you all the best!

it sounds like some ish went down and i wanna know what happened!

UPDATE! UPDATE!
 

Well as I was considering going through FR [since i only met half of the orgs on campus and have heard some of the others are really great], but I got a mentorship/scholarship opportunity that I am wasn’t going to pass up, and you can't do FR [it happens at the same times]

Then, as I was considering going through Spring Rush and building up my contacts at various houses, my dear boyfriend [we are serious....] tells me he's 'taking alternate routes' with his fraternity [I don't want to disclose too much, his fraternity chapter president is on GC]. But he is saving up for grad school, taking 19 hours and taking an ancient language as his minor, so the “alternate routes” are the only way he can be affiliated ith his org.

Since we do plan to have a future together, and he is not getting any support from his family for going to gradate school/seminary, I have to get a job as well [I was planning on it anyways] but I won't be able to save up enough money, work, spend time with XYZ and do new member events, and get into my upper level engineering classes at the same time while having a life.

So basically, I can't pursue a sorority during my collegiate career.

I was working on starting a local among female engineers and affiliating with a national engineering org eventually.... but our Pan-Hellenic is causing so many problems with it I don't think it can happen, at least not before I graduate....

So the main point is I still desire sisterhood, friendship and a support network, along with something I can put my time into. Basically I think I’ll be pursuing a non-collegiate org and see where to go from there.... [i.e.: Beta Sigma Phi]

Am I going about this the right way?

Anyone have helpful advice?

How are they causing problems with it? Your campus' Panhellenic can't stop you from starting your own local.

and a national engineering sorority for women would likely not fall under the umbrella of the collegiate panhellenic council anyway. it's a different type of greek organization.

why don't you contact the national office of the engineering sorority directly and see what it takes to establish a chapter at your school?

honestly, it sounds like you are going to be way busy, with classes, work, boyfriend. i think you made the practical choice to not pursue npc membership.
congratulations on your scholarship!

The only thing I would say is:

You shouldn't let your boyfriend's situation affect what you do in college. It is not your job to support him for grad school, bills, whatever. You are not his wife and it is up to him to take care of his own business.

I know you and your boyfriend are serious right now, but take it from someone that's been there--things change. And, if you let this job-so-I-can-help-my-bf thing stop you from pursuing sorority membership or anything else you will always regret it--especially if you two don't get married in the end.

I've been there. I was with a guy for three years and we were talking about marriage and then one day he didn't want me anymore.

But, at the end of the day, you have to be happy with the choice you made.

Is the point to this that you can't join a sorority because you have to get a job to support your boyfriend?

If so...fail.

Co-sign.

Ditto.

to answer all your questions:

We have formed the local, but in the process of affiliating with the national social engineering org, we have to get certain paperwork [ie: Panhellenic and Student Life Guidelines, Panhellenic Grade Policies, Student Life Grade Policies]. When i contacted Panhellenic about this they said that since the national is classified as a SOCIAL org [even outside of the PHC] they have to give approval to be on campus. The PC said since we were a SOCIAL org and not a Professional, or honor, they have to approve us. I've had a national rep contact our PHC, but nothing has happened so far. [and they haven't given us the info] I wasn't trying to affiliate with Panhellenic, i've heard of it being done, but i've been discouraged at doing so from our pahnellenic. I was trying to make a social org affiliated with the college of engineering, i even had approval from the dean.

As for my boyfriend, I'm not getting a job to support him. It's so I can have some money of my own. I've never had a job, and my parents take care of everything [they feel is important: School and groceries is pretty much all of it] and while i am grateful to come from that kind of situtaion, i would like to earn my own money. The money i hopefully will earn is mostly for my independence, while he will get some of it for gas money [he drives me around since i don't have a car, ironic right?]... and if we do end up married [which i know we might not], i want to be able to contribute something to the bank, so i don't just walk in and not have earned anything [ i don't want to walk in like that to ANY marriage].

i agree with everyones concern and he knows that the money i earn will be 90% me 10% gas money for him. although of the 90% that comes to me, a lot of it will go into savings for my grad school. I guess he wants me to take care of my business so if we do end up together i won't have to worry about his grad school bills and he won't have to worry about mine... my family doesn't believe in college loans and his dad is pretty well set financially, so we both look at our educations as hard earned gifts from our parents....

sorry for making it seem like the ONLY AND SOLE reason for getting a job was to support my beau.... trust me its not, i'm not that dependent, and thats not how i work.

I just re-read this whole thread, and I think you sound like a very mature young woman with a good head on her shoulders.

If your social org does not work out, don't forget that good friendships and sisterhood can be found in a variety of places and situations. Being a part of a group with a common bond/interest/ideals is the basis of most sororities, and that can happen with any group. Even something as simple as volunteering at a local soup kitchen every Tuesday can become a sorority of sorts. You will bond with your fellow volunteers and those you help.

jess, are you dealing with the campus panhellenic council or are you dealing with the greek life office? my reason for asking is that if you are dealing with the panhellenic council , the collegiate officers will most likely not have the experience or knowledge that the greek life advisor, or the dean of students would have.

The lady i am working with the is Panhellenic Advisor. I assume she's part of the Greek Life Office. She's a full time non-student advisor....

It doesn't mean she knows her butt from a hole in the ground.

Have the national engineering sorority lady contact the head of the Greek Life office AND the head of the Student Life office.

You don't want to be in Panhel so you shouldn't be taking any direction from them or their advisor, any more than the Young Democrats or a new fraternity for men would.

well i emailed them a while back, and no reply.
i'm going to wait until i get back to my campus [July 4th], and talk to the Panhellenic and Student Life Advisors.

BTW here is the letter i got:

Hi Jess, can you tell me more about your organization? If it is an engineering honor sorority, you will need to go through the Student Union and Activities office. If it is a social sorority, then you will have to obtain the approval of the Panhellenic Association.


Panhellenic sororities are affiliated with the National Panhellenic Conference and have a lengthy extension process that requires the current sororities to vote approve a new sorority. Our campus is not currently open for extension, therefore a vote would have to be conducted to determine if an organization is going to be permitted to participate in Panhellenic as an associate member.

Associate members of Panhellenic are still expected to follow the same risk management, social function, and hazing policies as well as recruitment rules.

Please provide me more information regarding this organization that you would like to start.

Just let her know that it is a social/professional sorority, NOT part of NPC, and you will not be rushing in the same way as the members will all be engineering students. Do they have SAI at your school?

My school has a social engineering sorority. They are associate members of the CPC.

Thanks for the shout out, 33! Jess, if you want more info on SAI, PM me. :)

Still just sitting around waiting to hear something from anyone from my campus.

for SAI, we have TBS [one of the earlier chapters], KKPhi, Mu Phi Epsilon, Phi Mu Alpha, pretty much anyone thats a music major is involved in one of these.....
and since we are all engineering majors [and i am the only one that was vaguely related to anything musical in college out of all the girls.... yaay Choir!] i don't know how well it would hold up.

I've told PHC that we didn't want to be affiliated with them, they don't seem to understand that. :(

and on a depressing note: i totally bombed my Linear Algebra Test Today. :( oh well off to drown my sorrows in dove chocolate covered almonds.

No, I meant that you could use SAI as an example of a social sorority that is not a part of Panhellenic.

If they are asking you to follow the same rush rules as the NPC groups do then I don't think you even want to be an associate member.

I stand on my earlier statement that the Panhel advisor doesn't know her ass from a hole in the ground...you are a social/professional org. She needs to understand that. Maybe you should direct her to this thread!!

co-sign. the engineering sorority should not fall under the college panhellenic umbrella. when it comes to catagorizing it, it would be more correct to put it in the catagory of a professional organization.

i am going to check out a college website to see under what division they placed the engineering sorority.

i return with incomplete information. on the national website of the engineering sorority i looked up, there is no information about what "type"(npc,honor, professional,etc.) of sorority they are. on two collegiate websites of the same sorority, they were listed as associate members of the collegiate panhellenic. however, i don't think that they could ever be anything but associate members, because there are restrictions on their membership(only eligible for membership if you are an engineering or science major). they may have to come up with a different catagory for them, as they expand to more campuses.

Sorry so Long
 

I was wondering what Engineering organization[s] you looked up? Here is the basic rundown i gleaned off the national homepages.

Phi Sigma Rho- Phi Sigma Rho is a social sorority for women in engineering and engineering technology.

Alpha Omega Epsilon- Alpha Omega Epsilon is a professional and social sorority composed of female engineering students and alumnae.

Alpha Sigma Kappa- Alpha Sigma Kappa is unique because it is a social sorority for technical majors.

i don't know if this helped or is even relevant.

I contacted panhellenic a while back, [i started this journey Fall semester - before spring rush] about what it would take to be an associate memeber [ 11 NPC sororities, and 0 associate members on campus] and i was told it would be a long process and the chances of it happening are slim. i then informed the Panhellenic Advisor i would just be a national engineering sorority affiliated with the College of Engineering. i don't know why she came back to tell me that i HAD to affiliate with PHC. We have 3 local orgs that are independent, but i assume that since they are local [vs. national] the don't need to be part of the PHC.

Whatever the case, i'm going back to campus tomm., starting my mentoring [i get to help freshman in the College of Engineering, its also a great recruitment opp!:D] and on monday i will go pay a visit to the Student Life office.

Whatever the case i'm not giving up... I've met some really awesome girls {now one is my future roommate} so honestly i think i have found a bond that i can count on. I've put a lot of time and energy into seeing this grow, and it has [i'm "president/founder"] and i'm not going to go chopping my work down.

thats my rant.... i finished linear algebra, got a frappachino, and am having a family PS3 night/send off party.... YAAY FOR BIG CLOSE-KNIT FAMILIES! caffeine maybe thats why i'm so hyper [more so than usual]