Does it make sense to consider the national org. as a whole when rushing?
 

I've been wondering about this, because when I went through rush it was not something I considered. Has anyone, when going through rush, considered the national organization as a whole rather than the specific chapter at your school? I'm thinking of this in terms of what it would be like to be a member of the particular organization as an alumna -- do PNMs investigate the alumnae chapters in the area they anticipate living after graduation? Is this just waaaay to far in the future to even consider?

I'm just wondering, because I notice that sometimes PNMs are really torn between two or three different groups. I wonder if anybody considers life as a member *after* college when trying to make a decision. I've also noticed that some groups have far more or far fewer active alumnae chapters in certain areas of the country. Does this matter to a PNM?

It mattered to me. I wanted to be a part of a sorority that was both nationally AND locally strong.

At my school, we had a local sorority, so I know girls (especially those who didn't come from the area) considered that. "What if I move to Texas or Alaska or New York? I won't have any sisters around!"

But other than that, I don't think many of us thought about it. There were a lot of first generation Greeks going through rush, people who probably didn't even know alum associations existed. They had no idea who was strong nationally or regionally.

I think you never know where life is going to take you - you could end up in Canada or London or the south or the west, somewhere your sorority is weak or non-existent. I think it's more important, if you're thinking just beyond your local chapter, to think, "Is their creed really one I believe? Are their ideals really the ones I can strongly support?" Because although our beliefs are all similar, they're truly not the same, and I know some great chapters that I am glad I didn't join, knowing what I do about their creeds, heritage, philanthropy and the like.

And, if anything, what you hear about "who is strong nationally" - who really knows? You can see where chapters are located or how many we have certainly, but how many of us (even alums) know how strong, for example, we are financially compared to other orgs? I've been told by people that "AXD has a very strong nationals" and "AXD was picked to colonize here because we have weak nationals and the other groups wanted the new chapter to fail."

I didn't think about it at all when I rushed, but I'm sure glad my org is strong nationally and had good alum involvement!
Since I've watched my parents go through a divorce, I've seen my mom look for friends that she lost while raising her children. It made me appreciate that there are alum chapters almost everywhere in the states that I can join to meet women that I have something in common with!
To me it's a bonus to be connected to so many women all over the country.
:-)
-M

Alumnae org location was not important to me, but I tried to looked at why each group was started and what principles the groups were founded on. Unfortunately, that information is hard to get from the chapters, although you sometimes can get the info from the national web sites.

It was only after I was greek that I found the Baird Manual! I think that each group should have a 2-3 page summary of the whole organization (why founded, principles, were located, number of sisters, etc.), so that each rushee knows what they are getting info. Just my 2 cents.

At our school, every rushee got a flyer like that from each chapter during third round. It didn't include where chapters are, but it included the rest + financial info.

I did my research on sororities before I considered joining one. Others may argue this point, but I feel that all of the National Panhell sororities pretty much stood for the same things. There wasn't a sorority's creed or open motto that truely struck me as saying something radically different than the others.

Posting on GC has helped me learn about different histories, traditions, meanings of the sororities that I wouldn't have found otherwise.

The way I figured joining a national sorority was this: If they were strong Nationally/Locally, I'm going to be a great asset to this already wonderful organization. If they are lacking in either area, I'm a person who can help builld them up and make it better.

When I rushed I didn't know the difference between the national sororities on my campus at the national level. I chose the sorority I did because they were the stongest on my campus. I know now that Phi Sig is actually one of the smaller and younger national sororities, but i don't regret my choice for a minute. Plus, when I graduate I will have lots of opportunities to work for Phi Sig on the national level, develpoing new programs ansd helping to strengthen our sorority.

When I went through rush I asked about alumni involvement, alumni orgs, and the national group. I visited the national webpages as well.

While I cannot speak for Soroitys, I do have a little insght!

When We accepted LXA as the Group we were going to affiliate with I gave nothing a thought except that!

Now having been a Brother for 4&+ years, that I did not join an Orgaization for the 4/7 years that I was in school but for life!

I am still a Member and still participate with My Brothers in many differnt functions whether My Chapter or Others!

Is it good to be a member of a National, Yes! There are many Brothers/Sisters out there that may help you in a time of need if they can!

I dont know if this helped or muddied the waters but hell I am OLD so I can do it!:) :D ;)

Just Join and learn what life is about! You will be better off for it!:cool:

I think it's a lot easier to do this today with the internet. Back in my time, unless you were a legacy or from an area where a lot of people pledged, you really didn't know. When I went through I had no clue what the national reps of the orgs on my campus were. I didn't see a Baird's until after I graduated. I was shocked to see that one of the largest groups on my campus was one of the smallest nationally - I would have thought they were one of the biggest sororities in the nation from their presence at my school.

There are groups whose philanthropy/creed/aims etc. I might have loved, but I don't think it would have done me any good to join a group just because I loved their philanthropy, if I didn't feel comfortable with the sisters.

When I went through formal rush, I didn't consider the national orgs nearly as much as the specific chapters. I knew that for the next 4 years, my collegiate chapter would be my closest connection to whatever sorority I decided to join - and beyond that, I would have to see where life took me.

I dropped out of formal rush to join a local - again with the mindset that it would be my home for the next 4 years, and then I'd see. Happily, we became a chapter of AEPhi, and happily, I settled in the Northeast, where AEPhi is strong.

That said, I wish I'd done more research into the sororities at my school before going into rush. I might have ended up somewhere very different... naaaah, AEPhi is where I belong. :)

it actually really mattered to me alot. i chose to rush one of the national orgs on campus as opposed to the locals because i wanted to have the nationals around.. i think it does cross alot of girls' minds

Re: Does it make sense to consider the national org. as a whole when rushing?
 

Valkyrie,
I think it depends on how "forward thinking" the PNM is. For me, I knew that I wanted to be somewhat mobile after university, and try living in other parts of Canada or perhaps the USA.

Therefore, I did consider how "widespread" the sorority had chapters. I am not saying that bigger is better, but I knew for me, I wanted an NPC whose numbers were somewhere in the middle and higher in terms of both collegiate & alumnae chapter quantity and how active those chapters were. I'm an alumna initiate, so that factored into it. But I do recall being a collegiate rushee and still giving this factor consideration.

Then again, there are some PNM's who have a hard time envisioning their life past university...who think 30 years old is so OLD... ;)

A lot of PNMs probably don't think about it in terms of national status, just campus status...although I think that a strong national organization makes strong chapters. Anyway, I think it's really important to have an organization that has good alum opportunities, etc. but maybe I'm only thinking about that because I'm a senior.

As a PNM, I am DEFINITELY looking at the strength of the sororities I'm rushing in both the national as well as local levels.

It's been my understanding that sororities bear the same letters for a reason, although they're on different campuses... there's got to be some kind of core that really binds them together. That's why I'm always slightly confused when I ask someone how XYZ or ABC is on their campus, they won't give me a response besides, "Well, chapters are always different."

Perhaps I've got this all wrong? So the fact that there are say, a 100 other Sigma Kappas or whatever, besides the one on my campus, there's really nothing they have in common? That's the impression I'm getting.

I really understand that sororities are individual, but I hope to join a sorority that really is an essential part of the whole picture, also. In other words, a sorority that doesn't deviate from the Greek ideals or their national roots.

XOXO,
Annie.

This did play a small role in my decision in general when cutting during rush. There were a couple of chapters on my campus that are not as prevelant in Texas and I knew this by the panhellenic book I received before rush listing the chapters at each university in Texas. They also were not as strong on my campus. I knew I would stay here in Texas and of course wanted to get involved as an alum-that would be difficult if there were say only 3-4 chapters of a certain organization present in the state. I am lucky b/c AXO has 12 chapters in Texas and 1 rt. here in Austin :).

You're not wrong! In fact, you couldn't be more right. There are things that bind all KDs together, etc. Chapters are always different just in the fact that different people make them up and usually people tell you that "All chapters are different" because they don't know what your experience has been with that chapter. I've been fortunate to talk to KDs from all over and even as different as we can be there are things that are remarkable similar about all of us. So, again, you're not wrong and I think looking at the national organization as a whole is the right thing to do.

When I rushed, it never entered my mind...NOTHING entered my mind for that matter. I was probably one of the most uninformed PNMs in history. I only looked at the chapters as they were represented on my campus. If one could foresee where life would lead them, then it might be a factor to consider. For instance, some girls NEVER leave their region due to family business, property or heritage which makes it very likely they will live and die in a particular part of the country. Under those circumstances, they probably are a legacy or "ingrained" with a sorority or two in mind that have a lot of alums in the area. I was from a mobile type family, so it wasn't a factor for me. I do recall a poster of sorts that showed the chapters across the country and it was pretty impressive to see. I didn't join AXO because of some map though. I joined because I felt it was the best place for me.

It never occured to me to consider the national organization.

Rush was a lot different when I went through. We didn't have the Internet, so it wasn't nearly as easy to research various sororities. I was pretty clueless going in; I had no idea how old any given sorority was, how many chapters it had, what its philanthropy was.

I made my choice based solely on the girls at the particular chapters, how well I "clicked" with them and if I could see myself as their sister.

Looking back, I'm still certain I made the right choice, especially since it turns out the my organization IS strong on a national level and has a great alumnae network. But when my daughters rush I'll definitely encourage them to check out the national aspects of each organization on their campuses.

Forgive me if I'm wrong here. I've always thought that this was the way that Historically Black sororities thought of themselves. That each one has a unique and distinctive national personality, and when you join you are an "XYZ" for life. It does seem like a good way to think about sororities. You join your sorority for a lifetime, and although we stress that every chapter of a sorority is different, I would like to think that there is some common ground that draws each sister toward our organization.

I never thought about nationals when I went through. I looked on the internet to see pictures of the girls from my school, but never even researched them at other schools. I'm just now realizing how strong our nationals actually are, and it makes me really proud, so during rush I made a point to tell girls on the edge about that. I was actually talking to a couple of the Sigma Chis the other day about that, too, because they are strong here and nationally, but most of them had no clue. These guys really lucked out because they really are a tight-knit fraternity here, but also have the alum support and connections after they graduate to help them out. And it kind of happened the same way for me. I mean, we all have tough times, but I will never EVER quit my sorority because I know that it goes beyond the people on my hall or the stuff we do on campus, it goes 14,100 collegians strong as well as 180,000 initiates that I can call my sisters.
*gets off soapbox*

Are we the same/different nationally?
 

I think there is a degree of truth to the idea that Sorority X is the same all over the nation.

I know one sorority that, no matter where I meet their members, they always seem to be very appearance-oriented and "sorority girl-ish." I saw a couple of gals the other day, and I thought, "They look like X," and then I saw them get in their car - with that sorority's sticker on it.

Another sorority I know almost always seems to be "down to earth." They are almost always known as nice girls but are almost never the "top" chapter on campus.

But there are always exceptions. One fraternity I know is generally filled with jocks ... except on my campus, where they are the hard-core nerds. They say it's strange come convention-time. Every sorority has at least one chapter, I'm sure, that is "different."

I think the similarities come about because of the creed, the membership selection process, the advice of traveling consultants, etc. What does your sorority value? Do they only colonize on academically strong campuses? Do they pride themselves on their "firsts"? Are they striving to be the largest nationally? Do they stress diversity, strength through youth, strength through age, a commitment to existing chapters, expansion, etc.? Is their stronghold the south, the northeast, the midwest? These things are what make XYZ different than ABC.

Your observation about NPHC is on point.