Rushing as a Fifth Year senior
 

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You won't know until you try! Yes, as a fifth year you might not have as many invitations as other, younger PNMs. You might make new friends and find a chapter, no one can say for sure. But we can safely tell you that you won't know if you don't try.

I agree with ISK.
You've posted sufficient identifiable information for people to be able to figure out who you are. I'd recommend that you edit your post.
Good luck with whatever you decide!

I am always curious when people say, "I always wanted to rush" but here it is five years later and it still didn't happen. If you wanted to, why didn't you? I don't want or need an answer, but it's a fairly legit question you might be asked during recruitment.

In some schools, being 23 or 24 years old and a new member, would be very strange. At other schools, it wouldn't cause a blink. Only someone familiar with the campus could know. Personally, as a fifth year senior, I would not be all that interested in mandatory meetings, study hours, mixers with 18 year olds away from home for the first time, etc. but as others have said, if you really want it, the only way to know is try. Good luck! I always root for PNMs to find a home!

Just like the other posters, I feel that it's ok to give it a try as long as you understand that you may not receive a bid.

I had rushed as a sophomore and received a bid to a sorority I really liked; but, I ended up withdrawing after my mother fell ill. Later, my mother ended up passing away. After things settled down in my life, I rushed again as a 5th year senior with just two semesters left. I knew my chances weren't good; but, I wanted to participate because I wanted to do it for myself. I was willing to consider all of the sororities and not just the one that had bid me earlier. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for me, I did not receive a bid that second time, I graduated from college without having gone Greek and I was OK with that. Truth be told, I am glad that I signed up and tried again - I have no regrets. As you can see from my signature line, I did end up where I belonged eventually; but, that's another story for another day!

Best wishes to you as you make your decision.

The last three semesters of nursing school are not very conducive to pledging. Most sorority members in your position are looking to wind down their responsibilities as school is so demanding. Clinicals require so much time that only the most organized sisters can effectively do both well. Actually being a NM during this time would be rather difficult if a chapter actually gave you the chance to do it.

You'll never know unless you try. The worst they can do is not extend you a bid, and even if that happens, you may make some new friends in the process.

Fifth: it works both ways, in order for them to give you a chance, you should give all of the sororities (and not just the ones you want) a chance.

As a fifth year, you will not have a typical recruitment. You may only get a few invitations back after the first round, but please keep in mind that these are the chapters willing to take the time to get to know you despite only being able to be an active member for 3 semesters. If you are not able to have an open mind about every chapter on campus, then you may not be as successful as you'd like.

The only guarantee is that if you don't rush, you won't get a bid.

You probably won't get a bid, but worth a shot. Just be open to every single sorority.

Your friend shouldn't of told you that. Her school is her school and your school is your school, they are not the same and she does not have a crystal ball. No one on GC can tell you your chances, if you've decided to rush then just calm down and enjoy, what will be, will be.

When a group colonizes, it usually will want a cross section of members from all classes so the whole chapter isn't all freshmen. they will take some in each class. Other than that, they try to just repopulate from the bottom. On campuses where there is a separate upperclass quota, your chances "may" be better but the chapters are not required to fill this quota.

No one can tell you what your particular chances are except that they are totally 0, nil, nada, etc if you don't try.

When a group colonizes, they tend to select a decent number of upperclassmen. However, once they have colonized, they would most likely take what is common for their campus. But that is just a generalization. Alpha Xi Delta colonizing in 2012 most likely has zero effect on them taking upperclassmen in 2013. Good luck to you.

I have tried to avoid making this comment but here it goes: it sounds from your posts that you are only interested in the new chapter or certain ones. In your situation you CANNOT be picky. You will need to consider ALL chapters on campus, regardless of reputation. If you are not willing to accept a bid from ANY chapter on campus, you will be disappointed. You are not in the drivers' seat like a first year student would be. You may be an amazing young woman, but you are facing a less than ideal situation. Your invitation list will have nothing to do with how intelligent or socially adept you are; your invitation list will be based on which chapters are wiling to use a bid spot on a member who will only be active three semesters. If you are truly interested in sisterhood, give each WKU chapter a fair chance. Each chapter there has something to offer and will give you an incredible alumnae opportunity after you graduate.

Be prepared for any and all outcomes, considering everything that you've been told in this thread. If you honestly can't handle disappointment, then do not go through recruitment, because given your facts, that's a possibility. So far you're asking to know the outcome of the race before you place your bet, and that's not how recruitment works. Actually, that's not how LIFE works.

Typically, colonizing or new chapters seek the strongest possible candidates for membership. And there are no givens or universals in recruitment. What's true for one chapter at one campus is just that - one chapter at one campus.

Surprised no one asked so I will. What does your GPA look like right now?

That's not bad but, you may also want to consider that some organizations on your campus may want you to have a higher GPA. It's a decent GPA, so don't get me wrong but, you are also junior standing. You need to go in with an open mind and to say you wouldn't just take any sorority because you aren't desperate actually makes you come off as rude and entitled. There are incredible women in EVERY one of those chapters and you should be thrilled, especially given your standing, to receive a bid from any of them. Good luck.

Yes but, in an entire chapter if you can't find SOMEONE to get along with then the problem isn't the chapter. Right? By going in and saying it that way, you are making it sound as though the girls in certain chapters just joined to join and they must not have found something special in their sisters. It reminds me of a young woman I wrote a recommendation for at another university. She attempted to bad mouth another sorority on campus that she viewed as "undesirable" by saying that "just anyone joins" that chapter and the girls in that chapter took little or no pride in their organization which is why she wanted certain sororities as she dismissed others. You can bet I did not go out of my way to also include a lovely letter about how much she could offer Phi Mu along with her rec. form. I was none too pleased and I'm just waiting to see how her recruitment ends up. Stop going in with this attitude because you are already coming off as entitled. Go in with an open mind.

How are you managing to only take classes on Monday and Tuesday? Are you a full time student?

I hope such a late night class schedule isn't a hindrance with sorority event/meeting schedules (provided you get a bid).

Do you know when sororities on your campus have chapter meetings? At my chapter and the one I advise, they are on Monday nights. It certainly bears consideration.

Call the Greek life office before you rush. If they all meet on a night you have class and if changing class is not an option, you will end up not being able to be a member.

It also sounds likely that you will miss two nights of recruitment, which may be the kiss of death, even aside from everything else.

ETA, I guess unless it's somewhere that only does recruitment on weekends. Or it's before school starts, somewhere that hasn't started yet. Are these possibilities?

Ah, okay

Aren't chapter meetings usually held on Sunday nights or Monday nights?

Are you actually in nursing school or are you still pre-nursing? Have you not started clinicals yet? Your class schedule makes no sense at all.

Wait, what? We had chapter on Monday nights, and if women had Monday night classes, they didn't attend. Nobody's membership hinged on that.

You would encourage a fifth year senior to pledge and not be able to make chapter for a minimum of an entire semester or one third of her time as an active?

Well your recruitment starts in two days, yes? Best wishes - I hope you have a nice time and make a lot of new friends.

QFP.

I advise you to not attempt to tell a sorority member about herself. She is what you are aspiring to become. She was not typing to you. She was typing to another Greekchatter with a more general question/comment that really is not about you personally. You are the one who came to a message board for advice. You could have emailed Greek Affairs without the Greekchat advice but the Greekchatters were being polite.

Back to my lane.

So you have class all day Monday and Tuesday and only have clinicals two nights a week? I am scared of the nurses coming out of your school. That is seriously the oddest system I have ever heard of.

That's not what you said. You said that she wouldn't be able to be a member. That's not a blanket statement you should be making without knowing individual chapters' policies on such things.

I agree with Katmandu. If I was 23/24, I would not want to be mixing with ladies and fraternity gentlemen who just got out of high school. Good luck going through recruitment. Remember to keep an open mind!

You're right. I didn't say it exactly the way I wanted to. Regardless of individual chapter's attendance policies, I do know that even if every absence is excused, a NM will have a hard time getting to know people and finding her place if she is never there. No chapter is in need of phantom members. She's going to have a hard enough time feeling out of place because:

As far as the OP is concerned, good luck with recruitment at Western Kentucky. You've already posted enough identifying info online and left it there until last night even after being warned to scrub your info for chapters to know ahead of time that you're not going to be around much. Regardless of their attendance policies, they can decide whether or not to bid you. If it's down to you or Franny Freshman or Sally Sophomore who don't have such a busy schedule, I know who I'd choose. I also wouldn't be so quick to dismiss AOII Angel's warning of how intense clinicals are. She's a sorority alumna AND a doctor. It is not uncommon for nursing majors to fall off the face of sorority earth during their last semesters in school because they have so much to do and in ways they've never dreamed of busy before. If that's rude, so be it. It's also the truth.

Also, if you're not as busy as AOII Angel indicates that you shoułd be, could you please let me know? A ton of Nashville area people go to Western, and I want to make sure that none of the nurses at my doctor's office went there if it's super easy.

Cheer up. The chapters may meet on Sunday.

Wait where did all the posts go, I didn't think you could delete on here?

Mods can delete, but a user can also delete individual posts by clicking on the edit button and then deleting.

And from your post, PM me and tell me what I missed!

ORLY? You might want to check the third or fourth post in this thread.


Clearly, you know yourself and your abilities better than we do. We just know the demands of pledging and some of us know the demands of clinicals. (I don't, but I know enough about AOII Angel to trust what she says.) All of us who are alumnae know how the demands on your time exponentially increase the closer you get to the end of your academic life and get closer to your post-collegiate career. It's something that you honestly can't quite appreciate until you're in it. Good luck!

Wow. Just wow. I cannot wait to hear how recruitment goes for you.

I'm sure they are different for a doctor. I'm also sure a doctor has a good idea of the rigor of study for a nurse. Good luck with all of that. Clearly, we can tell you nothing. Why is it that you came here seeking advice?