Going Through Recruitment as a Transfer?
 

Hi ladies!

I'm from the midwest and am planning on going through formal recruitment this fall at the University of Minnesota. The thing is, I'm a transfer student and I'm not sure how that is going to effect things. Because I transfered after only a semester, I'll still technically have first year status--I won't be a sophomore.

I have a 3.42 GPA and was very active in activities and service in high school, and have been fairly active through college as well. I'm just wondering what to expect..Is being a transfer going to hurt my chances of joining a house? Do you think I will get a lot of early cuts because of it? I know that every experience is different and that no one can say for sure, just by looking at a GPA or a resume who will be offered a bid to one sorority or another, I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect!

Oh! I was also wondering--would it be a good idea for me to get recs? My aunt was a member of a sorority at the same school I'm going to attend, and I have many friends who are in various sororities at other schools.

I'm just trying to go through this with an open mind and I'm really excited--I just don't know where to begin!

I have a couple friends who were AOIIs at University of Minnesota. I can ask them, but it will be later this month before I see them again. From speaking with them in the past, I doubt this would be a huge disadvantage for you, but I can make sure.

Thank you both so much! I'll keep that in mind. And AOII Angel, it would be great if you could check with your friends! Thanks!

Sweet, thanks so much! I'm hoping it won't be a disadvantage!

I just got an email back from my Tau Chapter sister. She said that she was actually a sophomore when she got a bid to AOII. She didn't think that not being a freshman would be an issue, nor did she think there was a disadvantage to being a transfer. Good luck with recruitment. Take care of the things that you have control over and let the things out of your control go!

You will be a freshman this fall, period, end of story. Don't advertise that you are a transfer student. If anyone asks just say you picked up some credits at another school this spring but you are a freshman.

I didn't tell her to lie. She will have freshman status when she enters UM in the fall, not sophomore status. I didn't tell her to lie about being a transfer student, I just said she should not bring it up. Don't bring up issues that could be a negative. What is wrong with that?

Then you say "I'm still a freshman CREDIT WISE but I was at BFE University for a semester last year." Once people find out she's 19, they are going to want to know where that year went.

Yeah I get what you're both saying...I was just planning on not bringing it up, but I didn't really know what I was going to say (without getting into a big discussion) if someone asked me about it. But the thing " Yeah, I transferred, but I'm still a freshman credit wise so I'm going to be here 4 years" seems like a good answer if/when it's brought up.

Thank you ladies again, this is all so helpful!

Most importantly,

1) You are a freshmen
2) You will be there 4 years
3) There will be other 19 year old freshmen. ( you will not be the only one )
4) You don't need to lie as the above is the truth. If someone asks you to expound - then do so. If not, simple honest answers are best. As they say - "less is best"

Okay ladies, so general consensus is that you think I should just not mention the transfer thing at all unless it is brought up? Because that, I think, is my plan. Aside from that, is a 3.42 an acceptable college GPA going into recruitment? I just want to go into this with realistic expectations!

A 3.42 GPA out of 4.0 should be no problem.
Check out www.freewebs.com/sororityrush for some of the best advise for a PNM I have found.

Ahh, that's nice to hear. :) That website was really helpful!! Thanks!

Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. Could it be a possible advantage though, because my GPA is from college courses instead of high school, where most of the girls will be coming from? I realize that a 3.4 is a pretty average GPA.

I agree with OTW and we don't know how your GPA compares/weighs in relation to others.

One thing I can tell you - GPA is not a great way to compare because a 3.42 can be strong if you are a chem major and you just can't compare that 3.42 to someone who came out of high school with a 4.0 or to another college student majoring in a much less rigorous program. KWIM?

Just relax because each sorority weighs things differently and it will be so hard to see where you stand on GPA alone.

This is true! I'm just self-conscious about my GPA--I got all A's with the exception of a C in biology for bio majors (which I'm NOT, it was just the only science class that fit into my schedule-- and almost killed me!) so I feel like I could have done a lot better. But thank you so much!

Mhmm, I see what you're saying! I'll try to relax, haha. Thank you!

A good general comparison for an upperclassmen PNM's GPA is to look at what the Panhellenic average was last semester. On most campuses this is published somewhere (often on a Greek Life website) or you could call the Panhellenic office. Many campuses also publish individual chapter GPA's. Keep in mind that practically every chapter's goal is to improve their GPA and their ranking among the other groups on campus. So the more a PNM could potentially help them out in that regard, the better.

Now as a transfer student things might be a bit more complicated depending on what school a PNM transfered from, meaning did she transfer from Easy Eastern State or Terribly Tough Tech? It would probably be up to the individual chapters to determine if they want to take that into consideration or not.

Yeah, I've been searching for the semester averages online but I can't seem to find them, which makes me feel really stupid! But I'll definitely consider calling and asking.

In regards to my school, I transferred from a small, private liberal arts college. It's moderately selective, nationally ranked, and a "Tier 1" liberal arts school according to US News & World Report. It's a great school...It just wasn't for me. I definitely see where you're coming from as far as that making a difference, though! Thank you for the tips!

Found it! That was SO helpful!