Am I too old?
 

So.. my story goes like this.. I am 21 now and I have started college not too long ago because I moved to Arizona from Russian and it took me a little while to get acclimated to everything. I will be transferring to the University of Arizona in the Spring of 2011 and I would love to join a sorority because it seems like a great experience and a good way to make friends. However, I will be 22 at the time and I am wondering if 22 is too old to rush?

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It depends on how many years you have left at college and how well the sisters like you at Rush. My advice is go ahead and Rush anyway and find 3 of your favorite organizations and dedicate your time to them. I'm not familiar with U of Arizona's rush practice but I know that my sororities in DC dont discriminate about age, example- i was 22 when I rushed for my fraternity (Sigma Nu) and now i'm the Commander in my final year. It just depends on the maturity of the sorority and the sisters needs at the time. But never be afraid of rushing. Just having the courage to put yourself out there and meet some of the sisters is often enough to get you a bid to a sorority, never doubt yourself.

Since you're out of your lane, I'll swerve out of my lane too.

You're thinking in terms of fraternity rush. The advice you have given doesn't necessarily apply to sorority recruitment; it can be a whole different set of considerations.

It's best to leave answering questions like this to sorority members.

There are several threads about UofArizona recruitment. That being said, recruitment is fairly competative and you'll need good grades, recommendations to every chapter, and good community involvement. You also need to think about how you'll fit in with a
new member class of 70+ women who are all 18 or 19 years old. And you'll need to be open to each and every chapter.

That might be decent advice for fraterntiy recruitment, but that is NOT how sorority formal recruitment works. If she goes through formal recruitment, she needs to keep as open of a mind as possible.

Arizona is competitive and traditional, meaning that most women in sororities join as 18 year old freshmen. Most potential new members will also have recs.

How many years of school do you have left?

One thing you may have going for you is that you are from Russia; it's novel. Some chapters may be eager to invite a woman from another culture to join.

Recruitment at Arizona is one of the most competitive there is. Chapters are looking for 17/18 yo freshmen. The few sophs or jrs who get bids are usually girls well know to the chapters. Just understand that your chances of getting a bid are very low, but do go through recruitment for the experience and fun and with no expectations.

^^ good advice there. It really just depends on the school and how competitive it is. My school isn't very competitive as far as recruitment goes and we even have a 26 year old (even though she doesn't look like it! :D) in my sorority. She is such a wonderful sister and very active. However, Arizona is a completely different story. It's very competitive there and they are probably mainly looking for freshmen and a few sophomores.

Thank you for your answers everyone. :) I appreciate all the advice. But to answer a question that was asked... I will have three more years left at the time of my transfer. However, I was not aware of Arizona being very competative in terms of rush bceause everyone I spoke to who is or was in a sorority or fraternity seemed all to be very nice and accepting. They sort of made the process seem easy and like it wouldn't be a big deal. Maybe I misunderstood though.

You don't lose anything by rushing but the cost of signing up for recruitment, which is usually reasonable. I think you'll enjoy it. You'll make new friends and really get a good look at a part of North American culture. And if you get a bid -- bonus!

There are so many wonderful sororities there. Please consider them all seriously. Membership in a sorority is for a lifetime!

ETA: Congratulations to Russia for getting the bid for the winter Olympic games, 2014! I've heard wonderful things about your beautiful Black Sea resort city of Sochi. ;)

If I do decide to rush then I will definitely consider every sorority seriously because for all I know the one that I may think won't fit me will actually be the best fit. :)

I noticed that a lot of you said that I would need letters of recommendation and I am wondering... How would I go about getting them? I unfortunately do not know any women who are in sororities and I am not a legacy since I moved here from another country and in Russia there are no such things as sororities of fraternities. The members who I have had the chance to talk to were just quick meetings at a party or some other social gathering and it did not even occur to me to get their contact info since I was not thinking about tush at that time.

You would want to contact the Tucson Area Alumnae Panhellenic group. They will be able to guide you through the rec obtaining process.

Thanks. That was very helpful.

(Russian chick, do not listen to this PhiMu Burberry person... they are way off base).

http://www.phoenixpanhellenic.org/az_college_list.html is a good place to contact in regards to recs.

Thank you for the help!

Ummmm....Are you another Penn State Phi Mu? If so, please come introduce yourself in the Phi Mu forum!

Tucson Alumnae Panhellenic web site is

http://www.tucsonalumnaepanhellenic.org/

Thanks for that AZ AlphaXi... Tuscon doesnt have their website linked on the NPC site. :)

They dont ask, but I do believe they ask you what year you graduated high school on most recruitment registration/information forms. It will also include her current college class standing. Assuming one typically graduates high school at the age of 17/18, then it isnt hard to do that math and figure out how old she is. In addition, some sorority recommendation forms may ask this information as well if not flat out ask an age. As a recruitment advisor, I can say those forms are each looked at by the chapter. Most likely they will have an idea of how old she is, so they wont need to ask her.

As for me personally, while I did not attend Arizona, I did go through recruitment and pledge at 22 at my school. I had an additional two years left due to transferring and changing my major. While my school favors freshman, it was not competitive at the time, though now it is increasingly becoming so.

I wish you the very best of luck and take the advice of my sister, IrishLake here :)

I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who has thought about rushing at a later age. :) Thank you for all of your advice everyone. :D

Ummm....no. First semester freshmen can rush at Penn State. Junior rushing is not uncommon as it is at some similar schools, but I don't think people purposely wait until junior year either.

Not that it matters for Russian Chick because she's going to Arizona.

Your age/class standing will be a disadvantage at Arizona. However, it is not something you can control. Focus on what you CAN control, like trying to get recommendations, having good conversational skills, and looking polished.

I hope she's as hot as Caviar on Love of Ray J

I doubt that this is a Phi Mu.

Troll.

Well it is clear that 22 is not the "normal" age to join a sorority but how weird or uncommon is it for someone to want to join at that age? Is it silly to even think about it?

Still not a Phi Mu.

Concur.

While it may not be the norm, it certainly isn't unheard of. You may be 22 at the time of Recruitment, but you will only be a sophomore (right?). Go in confident and friendly, get your recs, get involved, and keep the GPA where its at or higher, and at the very least, you will make new friends. Don't worry so much about your age. :)

It will probably hurt you, but each chapter has different standards. In short we have no idea how it would effect you if the other stuff is set.

It's not silly. And it sounds like you're getting yourself anxious and worked up. I suggest you look for recs, but otherwise don't stress about recruitment for a while. You'll figure out whether or not you're comfortable when you meet the chapters.
But you did.
But you replied
But you're probably not.
Just a troll.

I respect Phi Mus too much to think that you're one of them.

/QFP

Not everyone, sweetcheeks. Just you.


/QFP

I am Russian and blond but I am not gorgeous. I look, how I look, just like any other normal person. I'm not Megan Fox by any means. That's all there is to it. But I am not sure how that matter at all since I would hope when I go through rush that my friendly and nice personality is what will count the most.

And you seem "special."

I can't offer any advice in terms of your "chances", as I come from a not-so-competitive university... but I was an older student (23 year old sophomore) when I went through recruitment. I think whether or not it's "silly" depends on what point in your life you're in. All my friends my age are all engaged, or married, or having kids, or settling into common-law relationships and growing up.. While I decided to go back to school... So I feel like I have more in common with young women who are 19 - 22. If you're more mature, you might feel silly hanging out with girls who are so much younger than you. Remember when you graduate you'll be like, 6+ years older than some of the freshmen! I think if you go through recruitment and you feel more like you're babysitting than meeting new friends, you'll know it's not for you.

But it's fun to be an "older sister" figure in the chapter, to have people ask you for your life experience :)


Good luck in recruitment though!

TEITY?

It may be more common at other schools, but at Arizona it isn't common at all.

Also, ignore the Phi Mu who isn't really one. That person has no idea what they are talking about when it comes to recruitment at the U of A. I doubt that person is even a female.

Like I said, as a person who is an ACTIVE in the Arizona Greek system (unlike anyone else responding here), go through recruitment with no expectations. Chances are you won't receive a bid, but you won't know unless you try and you will meet a lot of people and have some fun no matter what the results.

Please make sure to get a recommendation for each chapter since you definitely will need them.