Am i to old to join a sorority?
 

I transfered recently to LSU and I am a sophomore. i am 20 years old and i want to join a sorority fall of 07. My roomate tells me im to old to join and that i probably shouldnt pledge. Am i to old? and will i feel to old when i pledge with incoming freshmen?:confused:

This isn't just the South.

It's LSU.

People won't tell you if you're too old or not. However, they will say that, based on experience, it's very unlikely that sophomores and juniors get bids at LSU. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen, but it's very rare.

I'm with you. OTW. But does anyone know if LSU has "free" juniors or a separate quota?

I was surprised to find out recently that Alabama has a separate quota for juniors.

You're right.

If they do, I wonder how many of them actually go through rush each year -- especially since it's LSU.

Yep, most PNMs don't need any extra challenges at LSU.

To the OP, if you really want to rush, start trying to get to know girls in the groups. That's probably going to be essential. Also, you may be able to express your interest and ask how many juniors were in the last few pledge classes to get a realistic picture of what your roommate may have been trying to warn you about.

We're not trying to be negative, but many campuses have reputations for competitive recruitments being anything other than a first semester freshman makes it harder. If you really want to do this, you're going to have to figure out how to beat the odds.

I am 20 and I am currently going through my new member period. I am a transfer in my third year but lost credits in the transfer process so I may be here an extra year. I had no problem going through recruitment and there are a few girls my age and older in my pledge class and I know in the fall alot of juniors went through. Granted, I go to a large school, but greek life isn't as big of a deal here as it is at other schools. But it is always worth it to give it a try.

I was 20 when I decided to go through recruitment. My first couple years of college I was dead set on the idea that a sorority was just not for me and that there was no reason to join one....
When I got to my junior year I started meeting a lot of people from all the different fraternities and sororities and realized that Greek Life isn't anything near what I thought it was. I decided to sign up for recruitment and I got into my sorority of choice.
Being older has its ups and downs...
Down: Some orgs may not want people who are going to be graduating sooner rather than later. I don't know why, but I saw that with a couple of the groups I went to.
Up: When you tell the girls that you've been here for a couple years, [I think] they see that you're not just in it for the parties and social stuff because you've already been doing that, just with different people. They see that you want to be in a sorority for the deeper meaning of it- the bonds, the loyalty, all that stuff.

The way I see it is that it's never too late to give it a shot.
I completely recommend it.

Best of luck!

No one can stop her from trying, but she needs to be realistic. We may think that there shouldn't be anything wrong with juniors rushing; however, THIS IS LSU. It does not help telling her that she should rush if you don't go to that school or even a "southern school" (and i am mainly referring to Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and even Florida to an extent).

I am in agreement with those that say it will be tough, but you are just going to have to work harder in showing your interest and getting your name out there. Also, look for recommendations. And find out if it is even possible for juniors to get bids. If it is rare, then you may want to think about whether you really want to even try to rush. I am not trying to discourage you, just be realistic to what the possiblities are for you.

Recearch
 

quote- you really need to do more recearch on this.
Good luck.?:confused:

As everyone else has said, LSU recruitment can be painful even for a freshman, so it's going to be tough for you if you go through as an upperclassman. As long as you are willing to look at EVERY option and you are aware that it will be difficult, you might as well rush (you never know what will happen!). However, as far as the feeling older thing goes, you may or may not... it depends on YOU. If you have similar interests/priorities to your 18-19 year old pledge sisters, you should get along and be fine... we can all have friends who are older and younger than us! But if you have very different priorities from your pledge sisters (e.g. you have a difficult load of major courses and going to every social is not high on your list), it can be difficult... it's hard to feel included when you aren't on the same page when it comes to interests/priorities.

It still will be hard...
 

I will say that it will be difficult. I go to a school where it is divided about who will even take sophmores. There are really only about half of them that will even consider it, and about three that don't look down at the pledges that are older. I even go to a northern school with 11 panhel orgs. You may want to consider non-affiliated or local orgs. as well as greek service organizations.

Just remember that being greek is not your only option at finding a tight-knit group of people. I know of many different groups that act as brotherhoods or sisterhoods on our campus. I would look at things related to your major or a special interest of yours. Heck, I am even a part of a group like that which has girls who are affiliated and who are not - we do service work/help each other/etc. just like a lot of greek orgs. do. The main differences are that there is no formal code of conduct, house, or secrecy. We do have regular meetings, yearly dues ($25), and everything listed above. The org. is related to my major though......but yours doesn't have to be!

No when I did list them after I went through, but I went back and edited because I went to informal rush parties for one of the groups I preffed and thought it was appropriate that their names be taken out. Also I was looking into two other groups when I was on campus and thought it was appropriate to take them off. I can go back and put the names back on if you would like.

LOL. You misunderstood me. Sorry for not being more clear. When you went through, I believe you suicided. You say now that you really want to join a sorority, but if you'd listed all the groups you preffed on your final card, instead of suiciding, you'd probably be Greek now. Do you regret the choices you made?

No I don't regret the decisions I made. Yes I did suicide to one group and yes I really do still want to join a sorority. But the reason I suicided is simple: as much as I want to join a sisterhood of wonderful women, I want to feel comfortable within that group. While I respect them tremendously as a group of women and have done so much on the UCF campus that you can't not help but respect them. Yes if I had listed them on my pref card I probably would have gotten a bid from them, but the little glimpse I got I wasn't sure it was for me. Would you join a group if you weren't comfortable within them? As much as I want to be Greek, I want the girls to be my sisters. A sorority is for life and also for the years at college and at the time I wasn't sure I could commit myself. I do not regret my decision because I also believe I was at the wrong university and picked it for the wrong reasons. I have taken some time off from school and believe I am picking a school based on different things, not because of a strong greek system. I am thinking about rushing in the fall, but still haven't made any final decisions. I might stay in my hometown and go to a commuter campus with no greek system.

<<Sorry to hijack, but just answering the question asked me...you look up the rush thread under "liltrixx rush at UCF">>

<<I also listed the names of the groups back on my thread.>>

At any other school, I'd say go for it. But LSU is a very competitive recruitment where even freshmen who are triple legacies with 4.0's and accolades like Homecoming Queen and Student Body President are completely cut after the first round. Without being a freshman, and not knowing your grades, legacy status, recs, etc., I'd advise you to skip formal recruitment and look for informal recruitment events. These are events hosted by the individual sorority. Or go through formal recruitment-- just honestly, don't have any crazy expectations. It's not you-- this is just LSU.

It's true for any SEC school though. There are over 1000 women rushing many with the same achievements and accolades, i.e. homecoming queen, student body president, valedictorian, salutorian, 3.0 GPAs and higher, and girls who are probably double to quadruaple legacies.

And I know I'm about to make a stereotype but this is the south, excuse me, the DEEP SOUTH, women down here were bred for sorority life since the day they were born. I've seen and heard older ladies at interviews ask if the girl was in a sorority. I've SEEN some older ladies go completely ga-ga when their granddaughters didn't get their sorority at their school and they wrote an amazing rec for them.

It's the Deep South, being a sorority girl is almost like a requirement. Kinda like you were expected to be a Democrat back in the 40s and50s and the entire South was considered the Bible Belt.

Learn something new everyday.

lol i was just saying. i mean i've been in GA my entire life .. so yeah.

i know rush is different at UGA and the other SEC schools compared to those that are in the A-Sun, or smaller conferences but the rush is still fairly competitive.

oh well. that's the south for ya. at least we don't have to wear those god awful hoopskirts anymore. lol

I don't know why this cracked me up but it did. ;)

I also laughed but that's probably because I'm not a part of the Deep South Cult. :(

Why did this thread get bumped? The OP is a junior by now, and she's either Greek or she's not. No more advice needed.

Thread bumper (PNM who hasn't even gone through rush at UGA yet) wanted to educate us on the South, oh excuse me, DEEP SOUTH. :rolleyes:

But didn't you all learn something? :(

In-ter-es-ting. I am now re-reading the post-bump thread in an entirely new light.

Absolutely, especially since the thread bumper will also be rushing this fall as a 20 year old. She was probably doing a search of 20 year olds going through rush at SEC schools one day.

um i don't go to uga. i have never wanted to go to uga and that still holds true. don't get me wrong it's a great school just not my cup of tea. but i am a UGA fan because everybody on my dad's side of the family has gone to UGA ... so yeah.

and sorry that i didn't check the dates. my bad.

Yes. I learned that I am not in the Deep South Cult either. :eek:

Mmmkay. Keep on telling yourself that.

This post reminds me of those "It wasn't me...it was my roommate!" posts.

And just how many sororities are there at Macon State College?

Ah, so you're TRANSFERRING and you'll be rushing as a 20 year old. I get it now. :rolleyes:

yepyep.

and i was just making a broad statement about the deep south and SEC schools from what my friends who have gone to SEC schools have told me about their experiences.

but the south is def more hardcore greek than i would say california or the new england area .. .ya know ???

Where's that damn shovel when you need one?

Here's a word of advice - wait until AFTER you rush to give advice. And then, if you do get a bid, you will be qualified to give rush advice to 20 year old transfer students that go to your college. That's about it.

QFP

...Says the supposed Gamma Alpha Initiated Fall 2007. Mmmkay.

Wonder what her excuse will be for this one.

please excuse my ignorance... what is a "qfp?"