Transferring schools and affliating with chapter
 

Hello,

I am a fully-initated member of my sorority. I am coming to the end of my freshman year. I have had problems with a certain sister bullying and hazing me, and am not happy at the school I am currently at. My question is, I am leaving this school at the end of the semester, and from the fall will be transferring to another school. I know obviously I can never rush again or join another sorority, but can someone please give me information on affiliating with another chapter? The chapter is in a different state. I am up-to-date with dues payments and am in good-standing with my current chapter.

Thank you.

This is a question for members of your sorority, not strangers on the internet.

Good luck.

Well I thought there might be someone on this site who could help me. It is more a question of asking sisters at the school I am transferring to, but I would rather know before I have transferred.

Thanks.

We have no idea since we do not know your affiliation. You should contact your advisory board, and/or your national office.

Okay, thank you very much. I will contact nationals regarding this matter.

Thanks very much.

Dear Brooke,

KnightShadow is correct that you will have to get exact information for your national sorority and also the chapter at the school to which you will be transferring. I wanted to give some general information that was true for me in my sorority both as a member and as an advisor and in two other cases in other sororities with which I am familiar (the cases of affliation - not the complete running of the sorority).

I transferred schools at the end of my sophomore year and affiliated with the chapter at my new school. I was a member in good standing (as you are). I contacted the Greek advisor at my new school who put me in touch with the women of the chapter. I met first with the chapter director and the president. My grades were checked through the school and my standing through nationals. I next went out to dinner with a group of juniors in the chapter (my year group) then attended a chapter meeting ( I believe it was a casual meeting but I'm not sure.)
The next week the chapter voted on my affliation and I was accepted. I loved my first chapter but I loved the chapter with whom I affliated even more - they are the ones that were my bridesmaids and that I still see every year. (I'm 47 now).

One thing that can come into play - I transferred from a large school with a large competitive greek system and a very prominent chapter - to a large school with a small non-competitive greek system and a very prominent chapter. If you are transferring from a not-too-hard-to-get into greek system to a very competive one - the chapter will be more stringent in examining you. Girls have been know to go to certain schools to pledge the sorority they want and then try to transfer to a school where they may not have been successful in pledging that sorority.

I have not been involved in working recruitment since 2004 - but at that time affliation numbers did not come into play in either quota numbers or total figures.

Again, you will need to contact your national headquarters and the advisor of the chapter at your new school to get exact information.

Do that this spring so that hopefully you can get to know some new sisters during the summer and be a part of the excitement of rush in the fall.


I wish you the best.
Georgia Rose

;) This post made me chuckle.

Long story finally made short by the end, "you will need to contact...."

Dear Georgia Rose,

Thank you so much for all that information. I appreciate it a lot :)

The chapter I am currently with is a large chapter, but not very selective. So you are right in saying that the chapter I wish to affliate with may not take me. They also could be completely different and I may not fit in.

I will contact nationals first and then once I transfer, I will contact the chapter at the school I am transferring to.

Thanks again,

Brooke.

Actually, contact your nationals and see what their policy is (you get right in, you have to be voted in, you have to wait a semester, or other possibilities). Do this, like, today.

Then once you know, I would reach out to the chapter before you actually get there (i.e. don't show up on their doorstep cold). You might want to do this through your regional director or whatever they call them in your group, so the chapter knows you're not a perp or a stalker. Point being you have a whole summer to email and possibly get to know some of the sisters in person and that might go a long way to smoothing things over and helping you and the new chapter feel comfy with each other.

It goes without saying to not mention the sister that you had the conflicts with. Just say you're transferring because you didn't like your school and let it go at that.

Chances are there will be a vote on whether or not to affiliate you. Go to the Greek Life website of that University and find the e-mail of the Chapter President. Let her know you're interested, and try to get to know the girls too. You should be all set :)

Um, no.. she might not be “all set.” The policies for your organization and hers could be completely different.

Contact headquarters. The end.

Back in my day, we had a lot of girls try to transfer in from less competitive chapters, but we gave all of them a fair shake. They were all invited to attend events and hang out at the house to get to know the chapter, and after a semester would be asked to affiliate/or not -but usually, if it was apparent that the girl did not click with the chapter, she quit hanging out with us.

Point is, every organization will have different policies, as will every chapter (while working with in the constraints of national policy).

Definitely reach out to the president NOW and let her know of your desire to affiliate, and ask what she recommends. Hopefully, you will get to meet some girls before you show up- try to if you can! It will make things easier.

Good Luck!

katydidKD, for the record, this is an example of why people get snarky. People who should know better give bad advice or ask stupid questions.

when i transferred schools i talked to the advisor and president at my first chapter, and they helped me with the paperwork. i also got in touch with the president of the chapter at my new school (this was in march, and i transferred that next fall) and met with her during our spring break to discuss the process. obviously that might not be possible if you are transferring to another state; i transferred about 250 miles away.

based on my experience, i recommend trying to get in touch with the president AND the chapter advisor before transferring. there were two other girls who transferred in the same semester i had, who had contacted the advisor instead of the president. they seemed to have an easier time getting involved in the new chapter, and i think that's in part because working with the advisor they were invited to a few days during spirit week and recruitment and had more chances to get to know people than i did having only attended bid night and one chapter meeting before the affiliation vote.

also, once you get in touch with the new chapter keep up contact, but don't be annoying. i would try to make an initial contact ASAP and check in again mid-summer, at least before work/spirit week and recruitment if they do fall formal recruitment.

33girl,

To clarify, I do not think my sorority is exceptionally homogeneous, but I do agree that I have been exceptionally lucky to be welcomed by members of my sorority everywhere I have lived near a chapter or an alum group.

I pledged my sorority at one school. I was initiated there and was a full member for two years.


Due to family illness needing me at home, I transferred to another school, affiliated with my sorority chapter at the new school as a collegian over the summer, and was a full member for two years.

I attended grad school in another state and served as an advisor for the chapter.

I got married and moved to another state, where I served as Chapter Director to the chapter near me. Several area girls attended this school for two years and then transferred to larger school and affiliated with the chapters at the new school. Almost all of these affiliations were successful. These girls were moving from a small school to a large school with competitive Greek systems. I helped them make contacts at the new school in advance and let both sides get to know each other.

I have since then served as an advisor to 2 other chapters as I followed my Army husband around the States.

Yes, being a chapter member is different from being an advisor, but I have made friends everywhere I have been involved with my sorority.

Army towns can be different. I once who had just moved to the area follow me home because she saw the sorority sticker on my car and wanted to meet a sister.

She is still a good friend.

I know this reply is years later, but it has always bugged me that I never clarified my situation and why I though my experience might encourage someone.

Did you just bump a thread from 2011 to get the last word? I'm almost impressed by how petty that is. Well done.

I'm glad you bumped this. I was just talking to one of my friend's whose daughter pledged at a large SEC school. She has since realized that she does not like how big it is and is looking to transfer to a smaller satellite campus of UT. We were talking about how easily or not she could affilitate.

Good timing.

Clemson Girl,

I truly did not mean to be petty, although I can definitely see how it would look that way!:)

I am a touch OCD with a very long memory.

I have been busy with elderly family members for several years now, and never forgot about wanting to respond, but never got around to it either!

My intent was to clarify - not to have the last word.

I'm just glad that my late clarification was actually useful to someone! That was a bonus I did not expect! Thanks for saying that SissyinTexas!

What did I even say? Where did I use the word homogeneous? This thread is like the twilight zone.

Dear 33girl,

I am so sorry! I am definitely coming off as a dingbat from a "Twilight Zone" episode sent out to confuse you!

First, I respond to a comment made in a thread in 2010, then I post it in another thread from 2011.

I have definitely used 2 of my 3 strikes before I show myself as too stupid to be allowed to post on the internet.

Okay, just to clarify the situation and not (I promise) to make any point.
(I am the crazy one here, not you.)

The thread was titled "Sophomore rush at a&m" and is from October 2010.

I said,
"I was just thinking that if she had liked her Chi Omega chapter enough to pledge maybe she would also like the chapter at A&M - I was lucky enough to be closely involved with four different chapters of my sorority and loved them all."

You replied, (with logic),
"You were exceptionally lucky, or your sorority is exceptionally homogenous."

I decided to clarify my situation - 7 years later.

I would say that I really need to get a life, but I do have a life or I would have responded sooner.

I definitely need to learn that just because something rattles around in my head for 7 years, DOES NOT mean that anyone else remembers it at all!

I apologize again for the lateness of my reply and the confusion of posting it in the wrong thread!

This may be my third strike, but just a heads up, I am going to repost my reply in the correct place this time (I really hope).

Just a little OCD.

I hope you are at least laughing at this by now!

Sincerely,

Georgia Rose