exceptions to acceptance
 

i am in a real panic right now.

have any of you current members accepted someone whose gpa was slightly lower than your min.? lets say that the min. is 2.5 and the pmn has a 2.39 and you really like her. would you cut her due to grades?

Most sororities meet exceptional women in recruitment who do not meet their grade requirement and will make an exception to admit these women. They will work closesly with you in your first semeter/qtr to develop good study habits and to bring up your GPA.

It also depends if the chapter is on or on the verge of probation for being under grades as a whole chapter. Some sisters may not want to take a new member who is a grades risk, and some may think her assets outweigh the chance. I didn't have the greatest G.P.A. either, and I was worried about this and brought it up with my Rho Chi-- you can ask her. When I went through recruitment some chapters had a minimum of 2.8, and even though I was nowhere near that, I made it all the way to one of those houses' preference, so don't panic! And my grades actually went up after I joined.

If they REALLY like a woman, but she doesn't make grades, they will probably try to take them. Depends on the school though, and the chapter.

Some groups may have to get special permission from a national officer.

Also, it really is a concern to most of them, because if you don't make grades while a sister, you'll be on academic bad standing (at least speaking for KD policy) and you can't participate in a lot of the activities.

Use this as motivation to get that GPA up!! Once you find your sisters, you'll want to help your chapter be the best in all ways...through service, through enthusiasm, and through scholarship! Hang in there, smiley21. Didn't you say in another thread that you DO meet or surpass the minimum for some of the sororities?

Erica

If the woman can get past the Panhell requirement to recruit, I would say it's a definite possibility the chapter might make an exception. Usually, PNMs are cut for grades early on, so it's important that the PNM make a great impression during the first round or so.

right now, i only made the min. of one org.

During formal recruitment that's actually the only way a girl can get cut for 2nd party. It's kind of a weird way of judging, but I think it's because they really don't have anything else to base the PNM on after just knowing her for an hour or so. More often than not a girl will be invited back by all of the sororities, but some have "outgoing high school GPA requirements" that aren't found out about until after first party. That's what happened with me when I went through formal and it kind of hurt to know that I was cut from ABC on such a technicality considerring I had gotten along with them so well during first party and on Greek Info Night.

As for Phi Gam personally: we have the lowest GPA requirement and we'd make an exception in a heart beat if we knew a girl would make a wonderful sister.

I really don't remember Chi O National policy (even though I was rush chair!). But I know my specific chapter would not make exceptions for a girl who did not meet our gpa requirement. Like LoudChick's org., it was the factor we used to make cuts after Round 1. The only exception would be for a legacy - and even then we would have probably had to cut her after Round 2 (I say probably because the situation had never come up that I know of). We set the rule of cutting for grades so that it never had to be an issue. Never would the chapter be torn apart by a girl some loved but didn't have the grades. It made the situation very cut and dry - if harsh. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think a lot of groups are like this. :(

Although, before dropping the idea of rush for this semester, check with your Panhel and Rho chis - they may be able to clue you in on the policies of the chapters at UNF. Good luck, smiley!

Delta Zeta has a GPA requirement policy that we do not make exceptions for. We simply cannot bid a woman who does not meet our GPA reqirement.

A lot of times there will be a national GPA requirement that all chapters absolultely must obey. However, many chapters are highly encouraged to increase their minimum GPA in their chapter bylaws. So if you fall between the national and chapter, there might be a chance for an exception.

But unless you had VERY extenuating circumstance (such as severe illness, death in immediate family, etc). it's not likely that they'd even be able to get special permission.

I don't know much about UNF's rush, but if they're adding a new chapter (KD) this year, i'd imagine that there's a lot of girls and it's pretty competitive, so it may be very difficult for you to overcome.

Also, if your grades are that low, perhaps it's not a good time for you to be joining a sorority. The time you'd be spending with the sorority may be better used in studying and bringing up your grades. Your grades and your future are much more important.

Re: exceptions to acceptance
 

smiley21 I know at my school several of the chapters lower the grade standard during formal recruitment because we are suposed to cut for grades the first day, that way they give great girls with lower grades a chance. Let them see your winning personality and other stong points.

I think I only made grades by 1/1000th of a point this past semester. I would be lying to say schools my thing because it isn't.

Even with my grades am still envolved and I have been selected for several university honors and have a great job. Actually this past semester I was selected as panhellenic counsel acdemic chairwoman, irionic isn't it?

My chapter, like other chapters mentioned, cuts for grades after the first night. However, I'm confused--at my school I happen to know the GPAs required for all 5 groups and the highest is a 2.33... I thought these numbers were set nationally?? I know that at W&L the school requires you to have a 2.0 to rush (we have a deferred rush) and then all the groups but one have a 2.25 rule to initiate, except for the 2.33 group... so are these national numbers or local numbers?

While every sorority cuts for grades the first night, exceptions ARE made if a woman has really clicked with the chapter, regardless of the sorority affiliation. Many chapters stick strictly to their grades-only policy, depending on their chapter overall GPA, size of the chapter, etc., but the sorority is looking overall at the well-rounded woman and if someone sticks out in their mind who is all-around wonderful but doesn't have the grades, they sometimes will make an exception.

Smiley21, I encourage you to go through recruitment this year. If you do not feel as though you could see yourself as a sister to the chapters who have asked you to Pref, don't commit to them by signing your bid card, get your grades up and go through recruitment again, either through informal or formal.

Good luck to you!

the grades that i have made in recent semesters have been good. its just that from a mistake i made two years ago, my gpa suffered. i have no problem with the commitment to my studies. i know that if i joined a sorority, i could still do well in school and be a great member. i just want a chance. i am still rushing this fall.

rush at unf is not very competitive from what i hear. there is a very laid back atmosphere. the org's are just getting large so its time for a new org.

I totally understand the "mistake" factor. I took "The Bible as Literature" my junior year because I was sincerely interested in the topic, but it did a number on my GPA. Don't be discouraged. You aren't the only one that has had an "oops!" at some point. Hopefully, the sororities won't let that one mistake outweigh the many other qualities that make you a great candidate for membership.

I just want to clarify here (no disrespect to adpiucf!!)...
The above quote reads to me that "yes, all sororities cut for grades but if they really like someone they'll keep her around to see if they are willing to take the risk on grades". Maybe that's not what you intended, adpiucf, but just in case I want to reiterate my chapter DID NOT make an exception for a girl regardless of her other wonderful qualities. If she was not at a college 2.5, she DID NOT get invited back. No ifs, ands, or buts. We even had a girl who had an illness issue or something, and we loved her, but we still had to cut her. That was our policy and we stuck to it.

Again, I don't mean to be a downer, but I want smiley to be absolutey clear that just because she's wonderful (and we all know she is!) that doesn't mean she will make it past the grades cut. That's why I urge her to see if she can find out each chapter's policy on exceptions so her expectations can be realistic.

One thing that I did was check out the website of the orgs that we have at our school to see what the minimum for each is. One I know for sure that I will be cut for grades, although I meet the minimum for the others. This way, I already know what to expect, and although I look forward to meeting these women and plan to have a great time, I haven't gotten my hopes up and will try not to get attached to this group. My GPA is high enough for the other orgs, but not stellar, so I'm counting on my involvement in campus activities, last year's GPA, my outgoing personality, my interest in each group and my ability to make others more at ease in high stress chaotic situations to get me past the first round of cuts in at least a few groups. I tend to worry and stress over things I can't change, (such as mistakes that keep my GPA from being stellar), but all I can do is take pride in recent accomplishments in this area and sell that.

Did that rambling make any sense?

XO_Kathy, no offense taken. :) I did point out in my post that it was something dependent on the chapter. Some chapters can take what is termed "grade risks," and some don't. It evens varies within one sorority from chapter to chapter-- that is, there is a national GPA established and chapters have local GPA requirements that are higher than the national requirement-- my own chapter's min. GPA was a 3.0 when I was in college; the chapter I advise is a 2.5! One will consider grade risks b/c their overall GPA is very strong, but others won't because their membership might not be large enough to assume the risk (This is not to say that a chapter of 20 members would not take a grade risk, or that a chapter of 100 would- it just depends on that chapter). Every sorority is grade conscious, but some chapters are able to take on members who meet the Panhellenic-University average, but not yet their own. Not all chapters can or will do this.

What I wanted to assure all of our PNM's is that while grades are very important and will be a large factor in recruitment, if they have other attributes that are outstanding and lower grades than the min requirement, there are sometimes exceptions made. I'm sure they are all a bit overwhelmed right now with everything they need to do or say at the parties, and I dont want our PNMs to think that they aren't going to have any chance at all to get a bid, just b/c of a less than stellar GPA. While they will be cut from certain chapters, others WILL keep them. As we always say in recruitment, keep an open mind, PNM's, and be confident! :)

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

what about kappa delta colonizing on my campus? would they look seriously at my grades? i havent been to crazy about being apart of that cause i am scared. is it really hard to start a new chapter?

This thread has been eye-opening for me. I'm just below the minimum for about 6 sororities and I've realized that I may not get selected by any of them for 2nd but I have 14 other groups to look at. Also, if I end up not getting a bid, I may just do AI. :D I just really wish I could erase my first fall semester and that I never majored in engineering.... :o

hey i wish i could wipe out an entire year. it is amazing how one abusive relationship can severely alter your academic future. that was the mistake i made. i let this relationship get the best of me and i gave up on myself. i was ready to drop out of college. then i changed my life around and school is the most important thing in my life. being in a sorority is my dream. i have so much that i know that i can offer. i am not going to let this 'man' from my past screw it up for me. this is my moment to show that i am successful and that i could do what my heart wants to do. i cannot give up. i am going to go through rush.

Smiley, that's the right attitude to have! it can't hurt anything to go through and you never know what's going to happen. ;)

BlueGBI, wow! you still have 14 other groups to look at!!!! it's wonderful that there are so many GLO's on your campus. 14!!!!
as a girl with only three chapters at her school, the though of choosing between even 14 is crazy!!!

good luck to you both!

I think what happens is that while ABC might have a GPA requirement of 2.3 nationally, the local chapter might raise that to 2.5 and list that as their GPA requirement in the rush booklet. If a girl that they really love has a 2.4, they might decide to take her even though she is under their local standard -- they are allowed to do this because she is not under the national one.

If she's under the national requirement of 2.3, they can't take her no matter how much they want to.

Smiley, while it is a lot of work to start a new chapter, you also have the benefit of getting tons of national support and national officers to guide you along the way. As a founding sister, you also have the fun opportunity to develop the standards and fun local traditions (i.e. wearing letters every Wednesday, honking 3 times when you drive past another sister, etc.). As with any sorority, you get out what you put in-- you don't HAVE to be the president, but you do have greater opportunity to be a chapter leader from the very beginning. The recruitment process isn't so much of a hectic "rush" as with formal recruitment-- it is interviewing with national volunteers and being exposed to the sorority by them, learning about each other, etc., to the point you are presumably extended a bid.

I advise you to go through formal recruitment. If you don't think it is for you, do not sign a bid card on preference night, and check out KD. Or for those chapters (and there are a lot out there) who do not bid to total, you might get an unexpected phone call from your dream house inviting you to become a member, too. This does happen sometimes!

Good luck!

adpiucf- clean your pm box!!:D

(oh cool, this is post #800!)

It's cleaned!!! :) PM away!

This was one of my concerns as well, going into rush....however I wish that colleges differentiated between college gpas and hs gpas! (I don't know if they do!) because I did awesome in High School, but my College GPA just isn't that great...which was definitely a factor in the fact that I am even at ASU at all this semester....but I can almost guarantee that my GPA is going nowhere but up this semester. Hopefully I won't get cut, but if I do, than atleast I will know that I tried...but if I get cut I will be soooo sad and very dissapointed because I know that I would be an awesome addition to any chapter!!

Most chapters I find on my campus look at the college gpa over the hs and require a certain min there. If there is a drastic difference between hs and college some chapters first round may try to hint at a reason why this was so and take that into consideration, but that again is if they are allowed to invite back women who did not make grades.

This has been an issue for my chapter...

We have a deferred rush, and on the rush applications, which are turned in the fall, the PNMs put down their high school GPA. However, that's not incredibly helpful since you're NOT going to even get in to W&L without at least a 3.5--most of the people I know had pretty close to a 4.0 or above in high school. So there's really no way to eliminate with that. We do get the grades from first term right before rush starts, and it sucks to use them because it's their first term at a very difficult college--of course some of them are going to screw up. :( I feel really bad because every year there's people who rush (the school only requires a 2.0 to rush) and they don't have the minimum 2.25 that all the sororities at least require. So they get cut. I think the school should raise our minimum GPA to 2.25. I mean, at this point, I don't think the school even releases the grades of all the PNMs to us. They just give us a list of those below 2.25. My chapter never really worries about grades, anyway, though, because my chapter's GPA is like 3.6... so we basically kick every other GLO's ass every term... If we do get a NM who's struggling, we'll help her out with tutoring or study hours or whatever she needs. The thing about grades is they can always be improved, but in a competitive rush environment sometimes they're just the easiest things to go by.

My school has sophomore recruitment, so we based our grade cut-offs on 1st yr college GPA. If you're below grades, you're not even allowed to begin formal recruitment, so that eliminates some of the embarassment of going to the first party and then being cut before second round because of grades. You may go to COB parties if you're below grades, but you will not receive a bid until your grades are above the cutoff. This went for every chapter on my campus (AGD, Alpha Phi, DDD, DG, KKG, and Pi Phi). I think most NPC's are probably pretty strict about their grade cutoffs, but if you raise your grades, you can always try to get in through informal.

any new thoughts??

It really depends on the chapter. For example, a 100-sister Gamma Phi chapter with a stellar GPA probably won't mind one grade risk. A 40-sister chapter on academic probation won't take one. I would ask your PX or Greek Advisor.

you have just set my mind a little at ease. but i was told by someone that if a chapter make one exception for one girl, they would have to do it for other girls.

It really depends for every chapter of every sorority - what their campus climate is, what their standing with their HQ is, etc, etc. Ask your PX, she will know much better than anyone on GC could.