Researching NPC Sororities
 

Hey yall, I'll be going through rush in a month (scary:eek:). While I was getting recs I went through and researched each sorority represented at my school. After reviewing all of the different sorority's mottos, purposes, etc, I have favorities.

Is it bad that I want to be in certain sororities because I like what they stand for?
I know I have to click with the members of the chapters, but to me, being in a sorority is more than just a social experience , and anything I plan on being apart of...FOR LIFE...has to be in-line with my own morals/values and aspirations...

Am I wrong?


..and if you dont have anything nice to say, please dont say anything at all. :) thanks

No, there's no problem, but you'll probably be pleasantly surprised that they're all pretty likely to back up similar morals/values, etc.

If I were you, I wouldn't rule anyone in or out until you actually go through recruitment. If you want to look back at your research when you are filling out your final ranking to get matched to a group, that's great, but up until that point, you probably want to keep an open mind.

Um, I think you'll find that on a national level, there aren't going to be sororities that are OUT of line with your own morals. While based in tradition, a lot of what you'll find on the web sites is written by PR-type people.

Also why are you specifying that you only want people to be nice? If you have to specify, you're asking for it. In fact, it implies that you KNOW you asked a stupid question (and yes, elementary school teachers of the world, they DO exist).

Just also remember that the chapters are choosing their members. This is often forgotten by PNMs and it sets them up for heartbreak when the inevitable cuts happen.

At Bama the chapters must narrow a pool of 1600 PNMs to a pledge class of 80ish. Great girls will be cut just due to numbers.

I say this not to scare you off but to remind you to keep perspective on the whole thing. It would be very unwise to go in with favorites as it will only heighten the disapointment that will be felt should you get cut from that chapter.

Bama is full of wonderful chapters that all have great national reputations, stand for high ideals, and give back to the community through great philanthropies. You should be able to identify with some element of all of the chapters there.

Best of luck to you.

no ive just seen some of the rude things that have been said to people looking for advice, and comments like yours arent asked for. thanks..but no thanks.

& thank you UGAalum & Blondie93 for your advice, I appreciate it.

Oh, my bad. Totally see what you mean.

OMGosh!!!!!!!!1111one I'm SO glad you've made the decision to rush! EVERY sorority is fAbUlOuS in it'z own way! When you go into your competitive recruitment you should totally just talk about how much you like an org's mottos and symbols! "OMGosh, you guys support _______ philanthropy? ME TOOO!!!!! Let's talk about your colors now!"

Good luck and make sure you come back two months after recruitment to post a thread under a different name about your experience! (I'd make a sequined hose joke here, but I feel like that should just die already).


See, that. That would be rude; its vanilla aftertaste an insipid insult to anyone who may be reading it. If that was what you were looking for, congrats. If you've seen some of the rude things posted on here, then you should probably have picked up on the whole "if you have to ask that, it probably won't matter," school of thought.

Please do not limit your choices solely based on I/natl "mottos, purposes, etc". While each member and Chapter is committed to the same overall organizational goals, each member and Chapter can vary significantly from campus to campus.

Using Philanthropy as an example, you may like XYZ because their Philanthropy is something you strongly support. Or vice versa, it might be something you don't really care about. But it would be a mistake to focus on or dismiss a Chapter because of that. Keep in mind that every Chapter participates in a variety of philanthropy projects, not just the official I/natl supported cause.

Every PNM should look strongly at the actual members of that Chapter. Do your values, beliefs, interests, etc. mesh with those women who will be your (local) sisters? If you don't like/respect them even though you love the I/natl org, you won't enjoy your collegiate years as a member. If you wind up miserable you might not even stick around until the time you become an alum.

in all respect...that was totally unnecessary. but if it makes you feel better about yourself..

QFP.

So it's okay for the OP to be rude, as long as no one is rude in their replies to her?

Not a way to endear yourself to a new crowd. But go ahead and try that sort of approach during rush. Let us know how it works out for you.

Just because they're not asked for doesn't mean they're not valid.

You're gonna lose this battle, just so you know.

ETA: It'd be swell if you would capitalize, use proper punctuation, and learn the difference between apart and a part.

I have to agree with this. If you look at all the websites side by side, they basically all spout the same ideals: life long friendship, scholastic achievement, philanthropy, and values/ethics -- they might just word it in a slightly different manner.

So given that, I personally think you should look past the mottos/purpose/etc because you're basically saying "I have my favorites because these groups wrote out the same ideals in a more eloquent way in their motto"

At a school like Bama, I also think you might be setting yourself up for disappointment. I don't know anything about you or what your pnm profile has on it, but FR is very very competitive there and even girls with perfect GPAs, 10000 hrs of community service and pageant sashes get cut.

I just think you should base your favorites on the women you meet at FR and keep an open mind. There might be a group that doesn't have such eloquent wording on their website but end up being the house for you when you get there. It would be a shame to discount them because their motto isn't as fancily-worded.

Thanks for Q'ingFP kddani, I knew there was something forgotten here.

As a complete aside I'm sure you will take offense to, you don't have to use the clause "in all respect." I don't think I've ever seen a respectful statement come after it. It's up there with "may or may not be" on my list of pointless phrases.

It shouldn't have made me feel better at myself, and if you had taken the actual high road here instead of making yourself feel like you had, it wouldn't have. But I'm going to compare this situation to when you go to the Wal-Mart on the bad side of town: you are easily the cleanest and most attractive person there. As a stand-alone, that doesn't make you feel better. But when one of those people blocks an entire aisle and is then rude when you say "excuse me," to get past.... yup. It's just like an Internet Superiority Complex.

Edit: I feel I should add this so I don't get flamed for my Wal-Mart statement. In my town, there are nice and not-nice discount supercenters. By "not-nice," I mean you're likely to see a fifty-something woman wearing a shirt that reads "I'm a virgin..... but this shirt is old."

thank you UGAalum, Blondie, zillini, texasprincess, and AOEforme for your advice. yall pretty much said the same thing so im going to take that and run with it. :)

goodbye greek chat..no need getting worked up over people....behind computers.

aaaaaaaaand...FLOUNCE!

I think she was identifying those who weren't rude. (She'll probably take you off that list, now. :p)

Actually, I think she was just thanking Zillini and the others for their help.

I have never been through recruitment, but common sense tells me that Zillini's post is good advice.

This scares me. How large are the chapters up there? in ten years we only had something like 80-90 brother initiated.

Um, it looks like she was actually thanking you for helping her. I think you took this the wrong way...

Looking only at the NPC orgs that participate in Formal Recruitment, the average chapter size at Bama is well over 200.

It's amazing how different Greeklife can be at different campuses. For fraternities, 30 is considered big and 20 is big at my school for sororities.

Totally random but - HEY! I'm going to Bama and rushing this fall too!

....And yes, I would also agree that she was thanking you, because those are the only posters who said nice things haha...Oh well.

But they weren't. Annabella simply pointed out the fact that if you have to say, "Nice answers only," then you're aware that your question might elicit some not-so-nice responses. And frankly, Annabella was very cordial about it. She should be on the nice list, too. Kddani pointed out the hypocrisy in the OP demanding nice replies while not being so nice herself. And, again, she was very polite. Add her to the nice list. Indygphib just pointed out the obvious flounce - nothing mean about that since the OP herself is the one who put it out there. So far, if anyone has been not-so-nice, it's me when I suggested that the OP use proper English. If that's mean, then fine. I can handle being omitted from the nice list.

Just sayin'.

When will people realize that it's better to just go meet people in person instead of coming to the internet to get info?

If all you want is nice answers, go to Happy Pony Rainbow Land.

I agree with the sentiment, but this "go to Happy Rainbow Pony whatever" joke is getting realyyy old. Somebody brings it up in every single thread. We get it.

In retrospect, we could have done without my second post, but what's done is done. The OP chose how to handle it. She's not coming off as prepared for rush, so she'll probably have more to worry about than this right now.

On topic though, it's been more my opinion that when the Panhellenic recruitment guides show pictures of the houses and list their colors, major philanthropies and mottos it's more so the PNM can keep them straight after Open House day (aka "Everything Blends Together But T-shirt Color Day"). What the organization truly stands for doesn't come up much before Initiation.

HPRL, Happy Pony Rainbow Land, and Blowing Sunshine up People's Butts has actually left GC and I've used it at work and school.

I'm sorry you feel it is old, but I won't tell you to not read it if you don't like it. There are lots of things on GC (the intarwebz, the world) I can't stand and I often just deal because I can't control other people and getting upset about it is a waste of my time and energy considering it won't change.

Oh, I'm not upset about it. It would take more than that to get me upset! Just tired of reading it over and over.

ETA: Then I should probably take my own advice and just not look... :p

I found Happy Rainbow Land: http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/2009/...vered-bridges/

I'm not sure if you're still here, but if so, here's what you need to hear.

You could have researched the groups and decided that "Mu Nu Tau" is absolutely your favorite - you love their colors, their philanthropy, their creed, even one of their founders has the same name as your grandma. You are sure you & Mu Nu Tau are meant to be.

Then you get to the Mu Nu Tau rush party at Bama - and you can't wait to leave because these girls are the fakest, phoniest, lamest beeyotches you have ever encountered in your life.

It's all very well and noble to say you care about something above the social aspect - but the truth is, you will be spending a LOT of time, most likely the majority of your non-class time, with these girls. You will probably be living with them at some point. You will have to coordinate meetings, projects, etc with them. They will be your family. Think about how you have bio family members that you would choose to not be around if you could. Now think about having 200 of them.

If you are absolutely, positively deadlocked between 2 groups when it comes time to sign your bid card - maybe the factors you mentioned will be what tips you toward one group. But for the most part, in NPC rush, the main thing is whether you like the girls and whether they like you.

brava 33, i hope that bamarushee is still here and reads your post.

While that's a nice sentiment FSUZeta, she flounced a page ago. :)

THIS.

You may have favorites going in, but take care not to let that filter your perceptions as you go through recruitment. You may find that, as you get to know the women in each house, your favorites change during the week. Be open to that happening.

And have fun during recruitment!

oh well...... i thought i had felt a breeze.;)

Yes, but how many flouncers end up coming back anyway?;)

More than not because they cant resist :)

Kind of reminds me of the guy who delivers our B-Tanks at work...he's been late or not shown up a few times, so I've let him have it more than once, but my assistant says he always asks where I am if I'm not the one to sign...he'd rather have "abusive" attention than no attention at all. :p