Joining a sorority as a grad student
 

Hi all, apologies if I've posted this in the wrong place. I'm a British student who will be beginning graduate studies in the US in the fall. I was unable to join a sorority as an undergraduate in the UK as they don't exist at British universities. How common is it to join a sorority as a grad student? I've already contacted the Greek life contact at my new college and have been told different sororities have different rules when it comes to grad students. An American friend of mine also suggested that alumnae initiation may also be an option for me. Any advice that anyone can offer me would be gratefully received. Many thanks, Pip

That depends on the council and conference.

Have you used Internet search engines to read the websites for the fraternities and sororities in the USA?

I've done a bit of research online and have looked at the websites of the chapters at my school. None give a definitive answer regarding grad students but it has given me some insight into each chapter. Is there a hard and fast rule or is it very much dependant on individual schools, chapters, etc?

If you are speaking of NPC sororities, the answer to your question is that it can be both a hard and fast rule, depending on the sorority, and it can also vary based on chapter and campus culture. In other words, even if it is allowed by the GLO as a whole, the chapter does not have to take a grad student. For other GLOs, they mauls not be allowed to pledge a grad student, even if campus/chapter culture allowed for it.

Please note that the first Unanimous Agreement of NPC is the Panhellenic Creed which begins, "we, as undergraduate women...."

Alumnae Initiation will not make you an active member of a collegiate chapter, if that is what you are seeking.

My sorority allows for grad women. I've never actually seen it happen, but it is allowed.

Mine does as well - but only if you were an undergrad and want to continue while in grad school.

So, these differences are the reason I worded my answer the way I did.

When my friend mentioned it, I think she was suggesting it as an alternative if joining a collegiate chapter wasn't possible. She said it might still allow me to enjoy some of the benefits of being a member of a sorority, get involved with various philanthropic activities and so on. She mentioned she knew someone who had joined as one but under different circumstances and did help out from time to time at her college chapter from time to time. But I appreciate that circumstances differ everywhere.

In fact as I wrote the paragraph above I received an email from one of the sororities at my school mentioning AI may be an option as that particular sorority does not take grad students. It might be worth mentioning that I have had a couple of emails so far from other chapters at my school saying that they themselves are unsure. So I guess it must be fairly rare for grad students to want to join, presumably because most had the opportunity to join as an undergrad.

This is why the OP needs to research the council or conference of sororities she is interested in instead of just searching for a sorority that has graduate initiates.

I certainly would not want a woman interest in an NPHC sorority, for instance, primarily because we allow graduate students.

I've checked out the websites and contacted all of the chapters at my college to ask if they allow grad students. I want to keep an open mind about each sorority but also think it's important to be aware which ones are 'off limits' because I'm a grad student. Is this the right way to go about it? Or does anyone have any recommendations as to other ways I should be approaching this? Thanks in advance.

Personally, I think pursuing AI would be a complete waste of your time unless you're planning to make your home in the US after grad school. Women who have no previous connection to a sorority can sometimes take years to build the sort of relationships where AI is appropriate.

The more important thimg is whether the College Panhellenic at your school will allow you to participate in recruitment (that's the process to take new members). You need to ask the Fraternity/Sorority Adviser in the Greek Life office at that school.

^^Well, not really, because you can be offered a bid without participating in recruitment. I think it would be silly of her to go through formal anyway and waste both her time and the sororities' time with groups that flat out can't take her.

IMO the best plan would be to:

1. Contact the NATIONAL headquarters of each sorority and ask what their policy is. If a group says no, cross them off your list.

2. Contact the local chapters of the groups (if any) who do take grad students and ask what their local policy is.

3. Realize that just because a group CAN do something, doesn't mean they WILL.

Informal is still recruitment. And the CPH may indeed have rules for either. I'd establish whether the school allows it first. And then worry about the individual groups.

You can be offered a bid without ever going to any sort of recruitment event. Panhel can't prevent a sorority from doing that, it infringes on freedom of association.

To me, this is like Panhel not setting a grade requirement to go through rush - except a policy on whether or not a grad student can pledge isn't the same as a grade risk.

I've already exchanged a few emails with the appropriate advisor and she said to check with each sorority as policies differ. She didn't mention anything about the recruitment process itself, only that some will admit grad students and some don't so I'd need to check. That's kind of where I am now, I've emailed each chapter and I'm currently receiving replies although so far about half that have replied to me are themselves unsure.

That's why it would be best to contact the NATIONAL organization. No chapter is going to think well of someone who has them doing extra work checking policies.

Nothing like having all the information....

Thanks for this. I've started at point two but now realise that contacting the national headquarters is probably the best thing to do next, especially as some local chapters I have had replies from are a little unsure themselves. I'll certainly keep your third point in mind as it is a valid point that is important to remember, some chapters my feel that a grad student just won't fit well within the chapter despite the national policy allowing it.

I think I assumed it would be a fairly normal query but the more I look into it the more I'm learning that it is rather unusual. I'm new to all of this as a Brit. It's after 2300 in England now so I'll email the national headquarters of each sorority in the morning. That's again for all of the advice everyone had offered. It's proving really helpful. :)

That's why I didn't assume that you are talking about NPC and intentionally put this thread in the Sorority Recruitment form. If you're talking about NPC, I recommend taking the advice of the NPC women who have responded.

I like 33girl's advice about checking with the Inter/nationals first. A few NPC sororities allow graduate students to be active members but most do not.

Please keep in mind that your graduate work will likely be much more demanding than your undergraduate work. You may not have time for the demands of being an active at a collegiate chapter anyway.

In case AOII is at your school, AOII does allow grad students to pledge. Our immediate past president at the chapter I advise is a grad student and was when she pledged. That being said, very few AOII chapters would likely pledge a grad student given campus norms.

This is all very useful information. Thanks everyone. Just to make sure I'm understanding things correctly, does NPC stand for National Panhellenic Conference? How does it differ from NPHC or is this just a different way of shortening it?

Also, I've noticed that some chapters have houses on campus and others don't, obviously I'm aware that those that have will offer accommodation to some members, but other than that what are the differences? Does it affect the experience of being a member?

NPHC - National Pan-Hellenic Council - This is the council that governs the historically African-American Sororities and Fraternities. The groups covered under this council can be found here: http://www.nphchq.org/

NPC - National Panhellenic Conference - This is the council that governs sororities. The sororities covered in this conference can be found here: www.npcwomen.org

Two completely different organizations.

Re your housing question, this depends on the school. NPC advocates that all sororities on a campus hould have similar housing but this is not the reality everywhere.

FYP.

I dislike the fact that NPC falsely defines itself as "...the premier advocacy and support organization for the advancement of the sorority experience. The National Panhellenic Conference provides support and guidance for its 26 member inter/national sororities/women’s fraternities and serves as the national voice on contemporary issues of sorority life."

/keep it real

DrPhil, couldn't agree more.

Except, as Dr. Phil notes, the many sororities that are not in the NPC.