SCARED OF RUSHING
 

I am a hs junior, and i REALLY REALLY REALLY want to rush, but i just found out about being cut because of yor GPA...and that has been hard for me for a number of personal reasons...i feel i have so much more to offer as well and i really don't want this to affect me....is it really going to be that bad? being in a sorority is a REALLY big factor for picking a school (some of my fave schools i might disregard b.c of no greek life)...so will i really be wasting my time?? i am very social and warm, engaging, and outgoing... i am also very involved....please say that it's not all over for me!!!

You go to college to get an education, not to join a sorority.

You're a junior in high school. Improve those grades because you know what? Warm and outgoing, social and engaging won't get you into college.

I know I sound harsh, but you should be scared about not getting into college -- not rushing.

First of all, relax. There is no need to get so stressed now. When picking a college, don't let greek life take priority over getting an education. You are going to go crazy if you are using your energy worrying about being greek instead of picking a college.

Yes, having a good GPA is one of the requirements needed to join a sorority. The minimum GPA needed depends on the particular chapter.

My advice for you now? Calm down. Be concerned with graduating with the highest grades you can get and be involved with school activities. Although I dont necessarily think there is anything wrong with choosing a college with a strong greek system; however, it should not be your top reason. Joining a sorority is not a definite for every girl who goes through recruitment. That is why you should choose a college that best suits your academic needs, because guess what...that is why college exists in the first place.

So relax and enjoy the time that you have left in high school.

Id like to say that you must really use your head when it comes to joining a sorority. Since there is so much dedication and effort put into becoming a sister it can be EXTREMELY over-whelming. It's recommended for women to have a strong GPA because it sort of proves that you are capable to balance the heavy workload college can be and mix the the workload of being in a sorority.
If you are in so many activities now and your GPA may not be wher you'd like, try focusing on fewer activities and more on your grades. If you graduate with at least a 3.5 and your are able to successfully complete all your other programs you shouldn't have TOO much diffculty balancing recruitment.
Also, some schools require that PNM be a full time student for at least one semester before RUSH. This is to help you adjust to college life and have opportunity to gain an understanding of how you might handle a full course load and being a part of Greek life.
Didn't mean to be so lengthy...:p
Hope this helps~

Excellent points made by both of the previous posters. Sorority life is a wonderful piece of the college experience, but it's not what college revolves around. Having a great personality is a wonderful attribute, but you're not the first person going through recruitment to have one. Grades are a big factor--more so for some chapters than others (and this really varies by school)--because the reason you're at college in the first place is to do well and eventually graduate and get a career. Being Greek is something that can help you along that path, but it's not for everyone.

If you're having difficulty keeping your grades up as a high school junior, you're going to be in for a shock when you get to college because, I hate to break it to you, college is a hundred times more difficult. I went to a school for the "intellectually gifted" and now I'm in a state college and I find it way more challenging, grueling and time consuming than high school. Being Greek can offer some opportunities in regard to academics, but it can also be very difficult to juggle if your grades aren't solid and you're constantly struggling.

School must always take priority over extracirics and this includes Greek life, no matter how important it may be. We always push that and remind people of that (because it is often forgotten). We need to remember why we're here in the first place.

Work on raising your high school grades first. Crack down and learn some time mangement skills. Once you master that, then move on to college. Go through recruitment and see how it goes. You may want to consider waiting a semester (or going up early to takes classes over the summer) to see how you handle the stresses of college classes before making such a big commitment.

Like it has already been pointed out, don't pick a school based on Greek life. Go where you feel you will benefit and learn the most...pick based on your intended major, your desired location, etc. If there's Greek life at the school of your choice, fantastic--go for it! It's an incredible experience that I wouldn't trade for the world. But please, please be realistic and set the correct priorities and goals.

Calm down for now and start putting your energy into your studies. It's good to be planning early, but face this when it's time.

interestingly enough, every graduate from my high school said that college was ten times easier than junior year at our school...so i dunno....

That reminds me...
I was thinking of rushing too, although I'm already in college as it is...do the sororities look at your high school grades as well as the grades you're getting in college right now?

that may well be the case for them, but that doesn't mean it'll be the same for you, and it also makes me wonder (no offense) about the quality of institution they're at. I would be very surprised if they were (for extreme comparison's sake) at an institution like Harvard and making those claims.

Yes, college is slightly easier in terms of the fact that you don't have the same class each day, and my activities schedule isn't as jam-packed as it was in HS, but I still have a lot of work to do, a lot of meetings to attend, jobs, reading, etc. I can only imagine how much more insane life would be if I also had the time committment required of Greek life.

I breezed through high school. I could never say I breezed through college.

mystikchik is 100% correct. I don't believe you will ever hear someone saying that they breezed through college. I would also take into question their insititution and its credibility. Freshman year in college can be extremely difficult for some (sometimes the classes, sometimes being away from home and friends), but it can also be a lot easier. I see a lot of grades drop as girls go into sophomore year. Junior year at every high school presents challenges with more advanced coursework and SAT/ACT prep. However, wait until you get into your junior year of college. I currently only have class 3 times a week and it is still a million times more stressful than high school ever was. Add to these upper-level, incredibly advanced classes the millions of obligations that come along with Greek life, not to mention other organizations in which you may be involved...plus finding time to go out every once in a blue moon. I hardly find time to eat a well-rounded meal.

Plain and simple: if you're extremely concerned about your high school grades (which it seems like you are), there's no way college is going to be easier for you. Greek life is only going to make you busier and potentially more stressed. It's a lot of fun, but that can be the problem when students have a difficult time with schoolwork (usually for reasons like going out or doing too much that ISN'T school-based in the first place). Like I said before (and like everyone else has been saying), study and improve your time management skills and work techniques. You need to succeed in high school to even have hope into getting into a 4-year college, let alone into a Greek organization.

Icicle-No, if you already have earned college grades (like, if you've been at the school for longer than 1 semester), then no--we only go by your college transcript.

well all thoses graduates went to duke davidson brown stanford upenn cornell columbia, etc, so it's not like random state university...basically every graduate says that college was so much easier that hs

they are either exceptional individuals or they're bragging, that's my two cents. but even if it is easy for them, it may not be easy for you, so keep working hard and good luck :)

Mystickchick is absolutely right. I went to a prettty good college and the only reason I found it "easier" than HS was because I was so engaged and interested in the classes I was taking. I put forth lots of effort because my college work was actually pretty fun. High school was "hard" in that I thought some of my required classes were so boring that I couldn't bother to really try.

Don't be fooled by anyone though, the level of work at a decent college is leaps and bounds harder than any high school (the only case MAY be some freshman year seminar/introductory survey classes that could possibly have overlapping material with really rigorous AP classes. In that case, some of the material in the AP class might be harder.) If you're really interested in what you're studying, you probably won't notice how hard you're working but trust me, college is far more rigorous.

But that's really neither here nor there. You said you're worried about rushing and your GPA. Of course you should focus first on being actually accepted to college. If you really want to know what you should be aiming for in terms of recruitment, the minimum GPA to even be eligible for recruitment is generally somewhere around a 2.5-2.7. That said, INDIVIDUAL chapters might have minimum GPA requirements anywhere from 2.5-3.3 (the 3.3 upper limit is pretty rare though, generally most sororities fall around a 2.7-3.0).

If your grades are lower than that, then I'm sorry to say but you're going to really be limited in terms of Greek life. That's not to say that you can't go to college, bust your ass in school, and try recruitment again after you establish a good college GPA. But don't expect too much in terms of sorority life your first semester if your HS grades are under a 2.7, and that you'll probably be cut from at least a few chapters if you're under 3.0.

Remember, establish good study habits now. If you're allowed to go through recruitment and you receive a bid, you have to keep up your good grades to stay in your chapter. ALL chapters have minimum GPA requirements and if you fall below them, you'll first be put on some kind of academic development plan and then expelled from the sorority if you don't improve. No joke. Lots of sororities take great pride in their chapter GPA, so make sure that your grades reflect that pride in yourself.

*cough*BS*cough*

um no. i don't know who you have been talking to, but i wouldn't take it too seriously. college is hard, period. the school doesn't have to be ivy league for it to be considered hard. if people seriously think that college is easier than high school, then more power to them, although i think that is pure crap. so until you get to college and experience it yourself, don't believe people who say things like "oh high school was a nightmare. college was so easy.":rolleyes: if you start believing things like that, then you are only hurting yourself by going to college with no intention of working hard.

fwiw, i thought high school was a cakewalk compared to college.

/agree. Completely. I was involved in every group, 4.0, graduated valedictorian etc in high school no prob. That's just not the case in college- for 9/10 of the people I know, not just me. I like most of my classes, but I bust my a$$ for my grades. There's been some great advice given here. good luck with whatever you decide!

The only people I know who might say this took 3 or 4 AP courses as juniors in high school and a more strenuous courseload as seniors so they would not have to take core classes in college. It's a lot more fun (which can seem easier) when you are only taking classes that you like (which should be the case after you have completed your core classes and are into your major classes). If you have difficulty managing your academics in high school, though, college is going to be a lot harder because unlike high school teachers, college professors do not care what grade you receive and will not baby you or manage your time for you.

Focus on your grades right now. I believe all NPC groups have minimum GPAs and depending upon your school the individual chapters may have higher minimum requirements. Even though sorority life should not be your reason for bringing grades up, if this is a good motivator for you, then use it!

juniyah08, please pay close attention to what people have been writing here. They are giving you excellent advice. (Esp. AChiOhSnap, EGAOPi, and mystikchick)

Let me give you one more thing to think about - go to the very best college or university that you can manage. A 4-year degree from a great school says much more than a 2-year degree from "where?" community college. It doesn't even really matter what the degree is in. But that degree is what is going to set you up for success in your work life, far more than membership in any sorority. Without that degree, your job choices and earning power are going to be much worse. Even being part of a sorority won't make up for it.

I'll give you an example. I have an undergrad degree from an outstanding University. I am not using that degree in the field I currently work in, but the fact that that University degree appears on my resume has opened WAY more doors for me than I would have expected prior to going to college. I have had more than one employer say, "wow, you went there? And you graduated!" before they ever see the list of positions I have held and do currently hold with my sorority (which I think are far more pertinent and impressive).

In this day and age, a 4-year college degree is practically required for top jobs. Sorority membership is not. Think about that, and good luck with the rest of high school!

Just as a point to following on to what this poster and some others have said, college is not easier.

I am an Academic Advisor and I work with thousands of students at a fairly competitive university. I have personally worked with MANY freshmen who have come in to see me due to being on academic probation or who are just struggling in general. Most of them tell me that they don't understand why they're flunking college. They say things like, "I was an excellent student in high school. High school was so easy for me; I figured I could just skate through college. I found out I was wrong."


Reality check.


College is harder. That's why it's called a higher education.


.....Kelly :)

well no one at my hs ever says hs is easy...i guess that my hs's course load is rigorous to the point when they get to college it's similar or easier...

While this may be your experience, plenty of jobs very specifically DO care what your degree is in. I really wonder what you are applying for when people are impressed just that you graduated.

:rolleyes: Because no one who goes to a state school breezed through high school with flying colors or anything.

I didn't...even though my 'random state university' was ranked by the Daily Telegraph as one of the top 50 universities in the world. Yes, the renowned and respected Daily Telegraph of the UK. But whatever, state schools are for slackers.

Eh, I think most of us are smart enough to not put too much weight into what she says. For all we know, she's just pulling that info out of her ass. She is 16, after all.

But I went to a state funded school, so wtf do I know, right? I must be dumb because I had a hard time in college -- probably because my college tuition wasn't as much as my HS one.

I'm curious to see what munchkin03 thinks of the OP's statement. She went to one of the prestigious schools listed earlier. I can't wait to hear how easy she had it.

I might get flamed a bit for this, but whatever.

I can see your point juniyah. For me high school was incredibly hard because my courses were so rigorous. My school had a program that was actually above the AP/Honors level. We didn't even offer AP or Honors, just the International Baccalaureate program. So when I got to college, I really didn't find my courses difficult. They're challenging, but they're not hard. However, that doesn't mean I just disregard studying or homework. I study for hours on a daily basis to ensure I fully comprehend and memorize things as necessary. I don't consider that to be hard though.

IMO, college is about dedication and determination. If you can dedicate yourself to take the time to study and are determind to learn, you will succceed at the collegiate level.

i can understand what the op is saying. i went to one of the best high schools in my state (which was public, yet ranked above several nationally recognized private schools) and struggled to get A's and B's (and even a C in one case). I was also involved in several productions a year as well as worked, so that may have had something to do with it.

when i went to college, however, i was still just as busy, but managed to get a 3.75 my first semester. i didn't have to work nearly as hard as i had in high school. now, my school wasn't the most competitive, but i was in an honors program. i transferred out of that school into a pretty competitive university, and while it's definitely more difficult, it's not nearly as hard as high school was.

a lot of the kids i went to high school with went on to ivy leagues, and the general consensus from people i knew who went to harvard was that it was much harder to get in than to stay in.

sooooo, what she's saying is possible. i just doubt it's very common.


(please excuse the incoherentness. sick. you know how it is.)

My high school was a joke; I felt soooo unprepared for college!

I'm sorry but that is bull. I went to a high school that had both IB and AP and one is not harder than the other, they are simply different. The IB program covers and teaches information differently than AP and offers a unique learning style for above-average students for whom AP may not be a good fit.
I know this is off topic, but I felt compelled to clear this one up.

My school doesn't allow you to rush until after your first term. If you decide to go to a school, be sure and check for that. I mean in high school I graduated with a 5.4 on a 4.0 scale (all AP's and such) and it didn't mean squat for me. Now I dream of a day when I will get a 4.0 for even one term (nature of my school and chosen major).

Just worry about the school first, seriously. I would never eliminate a school simply because of greek life. Remember that if a school does not have greek life, there is usually something that acts similar to it or goes in its place.

For instance, at certain Ivy schools, they have secret societies and "schools" based on where they live. EVen where I go you can live in a residential college. They have IM teams, weekly events, meetings, socials, and everything else. You even have to do an application for the house you want. I did it my freshman year, but then decided to go with the small house (<37 ppl) system where I would have a single. The systems are like "Harry Potter" and where he lives - it acts like a society.

Go with where you feel at home and it will become home.

My junior year of high school was much harder for me than college. I don't know if it was the four AP classes or the mono or a little bit of both, but it was extremely hard. I've always thought that high school was tougher than college. I had extremely difficult teachers who prepared me for college. I'm not saying college is easy, it's far from easy; I just think that for some people high school can be harder than college. We’ll see if I’m still saying this after taking Chinese this fall.

no need to get catty....oh and i don't appreciate the ageist comment...

and i'm not dissing state universities, a lot of them are very good... i'm just dissing the really really random ones (sarcasm).

i did the full ib too, and i go to a school that would make it onto that list of "prestigious" institutions, and yes, after doing the IB college classes weren't hard in the sense that I was well equipped to deal with the paper writing, but that didn't mean that the transition to college was easy. and once things started to feel too easy, then i took on more academic challenge. if the kids from your HS who are at the schools you say they are at are not being challenged, they're wasting the money they're paying to be at those institutions, because they cost a freakin lot of money. trust me. so again, don't take their word for it, and yeah, jr. year of HS WAS a lot of stress and hardwork, but so is college.

why would i lie about the colleges the people at my hs went too??

you sound a little bitter...was college too hard?

i have absolutely nothing to be bitter about. i just feel if you're forking over some $40,000 to attend an institution like columbia or stanford and you aren't being challenged, you're wasting your money. and most of the people i know who go to those institutions (stanford, columbia, penn, harvard, princeton, etc) are extremely challenged (in a positive way) by their academic experience at those schools, and they all went to excellent high schools that were rigorous as well.

and as i said, maybe the people from your HS are truly exceptional individuals, but each person is different. the thing is, college is a very different experience from HS, and while there were certain things about HS that were much harder than college (having homework for all my classes due each day, all the CAS activities of the IB, etc), college is a different type of challenge. as others have pointed out, you have to learn to balance school, socializing (life changes when your friends are around 24/7), work, extra-curriculars, and all the emotional aspects of going to college.

all i can say is keep working hard and work on your grades so that you can get into a good school and take the rest from there (like pledging).

edit: i'm a junior in college, and no, it's not too difficult, but it's a challenge, which is a good thing. i'd be worried if it weren't.

Clear what up? That my high school is different from yours and everyone has their own opinion regarding their personal education?


Sorry if I'm being rude here, but it is quite likely you didn't go to my HS and went through our IB program. What I may find challenging or easy is relative to me. I found our IB program to be challenging and felt that it prepared me very well for college.

These are all just opinions! So yeah, sorry if I made it seem otherwise.

I think what tinydancer meant is that neither the AP or IB program is inherently better or more difficult than the other, just different. The rigor of each program probably differs from school to school, but it's not like AP is easier across the board (or vice versa).

What I felt the need to clear up was the fact that you touted IB as more difficult than AP. That's simply not true. It doesn't matter that I didn't go to your high school, IB is taught by a uniform standard all over the world -that's one of the things that makes it so wonderful. However that also means that I know exactly how you were taught and can say with full confidence that your experience was no harder than that of a full AP student, it was simply structured differently. I have no doubt that your high school was challenging for you and that's great, I simply didn't want you (or other people) to go around thinking this:

AP/IB
It does depend on thr rigor of the instructor, but the student is reflected in the score that they receive in AP: 5-amazing, 4-very good, 3-passing.....
I don't know much about IB, but from what my friends have said is that it is not the material - it is the other requirements for an IB degree. You have volunteer hour requirements and long papers, etc.

I love being challenged here at my university, but I would make sure you understand what you are getting into with whatever college you go to. My classes average everyone's grade to a C, sometimes a C+ if the prof. thinks the class was an exception to the rule. It does make it feel like that much more of an accomplishment when you get a B+ or and A! ( I will say that I had one prof that said he only gave one A, two B's, 25 C's, 6-7 D's, and the rest F's for a class of 40 people. It was a brutal course too, but everyone has that at least once.)

I was lucky in that about half of the orgs were accepting of me being an engineer and understood that my GPA couldn't really be much higher. I think every chapter wants a good GPA, but good girls are much more important. If you know that your GPA is going to be under a 3.4, be sure that you can explain things. I did a lot on campus and worked through some boards, helping me a lot I think. I suggest finding an org outside of Greek life that makes you want to do well academically when you get to school to help your GPA. Seriously, if it wasn't for the Society of Women Engineers I might have dropped out and changed majors to something less frustrating.....

(It is because of the fewer girls, no one speaks english, amount of work, sexest profs I have encountered, and structure of classes. The sad part about the sexest stuff is that you can't prove anything without a tape and they can't do anything because of tenure.)

FYI: Don't be afraid to change majors, but follow what you want to do!

Listen Juniyah, your thread is rapidly turning into a train wreck. If you honestly want more advice about sorority recruitment via GreekChat, I think you'd be best served to quit fueling the college vs. HS debate. People are starting to get annoyed. It's a really pointless debate and you're only pissing people off who are actually in college or are college graduates.

Also, if you really want to make your point about your HS being more academically rigorous than Columbia/Yale/Stanford etc., you're going to probably want to start using correct punctuation/capitalization as well.

Just something to consider.