USF Fall Recruitment
 

Hi! I'm finally de-lurking to ask a few questions because I registered for Fall Recruitment at the University of South Florida, and I'm already getting nervous! I have a good, solid GPA, I have a good personality, I'm friendly, I'm pretty, I had a lot of extracurriculars/ community service, etc. You know the drill! But I still have some concerns.

The first thing, which is probably my main concern, is that I am coming to USF from a community college, so I am a junior. HOWEVER, I am planning on pursuing a double major, so I plan to be there for more than just 2 years. I have heard that some sororities will cut you right off the bat for being an upperclassman, but I don't want that to hurt my chances, because I DO plan on being at USF for at least 3 more years! Do you think that someone will bing it up during recruitment? Should I mention it during a conversation?

Also, I have heard that many sororities have meetings Monday nights. I have registered for a class on Monday nights. I mean, there is still time to fix that, but I don't want to seem overconfident and rearrange my schedule to accomidate a sorority I haven't been accepted to yet! If I do get initiated however, is that something I will need to do?

I am so nervous! I tend to get more nervous than I should, but if there is anyone who goes to USF/has rushed there/can relate, or has any additional advice on what to do/wear/say, etc, that would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you so much! :)

I have no USF experience but regarding the Monday night class I do have some thoughts. The only class that I ever took during meeting was a required course to graduate in my last quarter of school. A friend of mine from another sorority, who was also a chapter officer, was also registered for the class. She was a year behind me so she had to drop it and wait till two quarters later to take the class.

My point is that generally if you don't have to take the course at that time and could potentially take it another semester/quarter later, then you'd probably be encouraged to drop the class.

I wouldn't worry about the class thing. After all, you are there to get an education, first and foremost. I would inquire as to how that would be handled, in general terms, and see what is said.

Where is twinkle555?

Just call the USF Office of Greek Life to find out when chapter meetings are held. All of the sororities will hold their chapter meetings on the same day at around the same time each week. Go from there.

You will get cut from a few chapters at USF in the early rounds at recruitment on the basis on your year in school. But since you are coming in with good grades and activities, you should have a reasonable chance at getting a sorority bid by keeping your options open and giving all of the chapters who invite you back a fair chance.

By the way, your football team sucks. :) It's not too late to join us on the other side of I-4.

I didn't go to USF, but again, about the class thing - I was elected VP of Alum and Parlimentarian, and then I had a required class that conflicted with chapter meetings. I had to drop the Parlimentarian postion (yeah - imagine that the Parlimentarian actually had to BE at the metings:p), but I was still the VP of Alum...and I know we had regular (non-office holding) members who had conflicts and it wasn't a problem. They just had to read the chapter minutes and were expected to get info for all events coming up from either the Secretary or another sister.

Like previously said - you're in school to get an education, not to be in a sorority.:)

Is our football team really that much better? :p

We also have Sunday night chapter meetings! :D

Honestly, I'm sure that the USF sororities probably have a policy that accomodates members with class during chapter meetings. I also might ask the office of Greek life what is generally done.

Is your recruitment the week before school starts, like it is at UCF? If that is the case, you may be able to wait and see what the chapter thinks, assuming you get a bid. They would be able to give you more specific information on their policies.

If there is more than one section of this class, and you only have this specific section because the others were full, you may be able to look during add/ drop and see if any other sections at more convenient times have opened up. I used to do that all the time and it worked really well.

Despite being a junior you have a lot to offer and most chapters will realize that! I think you should definately mention that you're going to be there for at least 3 more years. With that fact mentioned, it makes you just as eligible as any sophmore rushing. Put an emphasis on how much you want to get involved with positions within the sorority and activities outside.:) With respect to Monday meetings, they are probably new member meetings, which are absolutely mandatory. Usually if you don't attend new member meetings you don't get initiated. Ask each house while you're going through what happens on Monday nights, but don't necessarily say you have a class that you can't change.

Shhh! They'll hear you and we're supposed to play them in October!

Do you have a basis for assuming this? We had chapter on Mondays, but I wouldn't venture to guess what day other groups had their chapters on, even within my own campus. Also, if someone had a conflict with the new member meeting, my chapter would arrange something else for them - usually their Ruby sister would do a one-on-one sort of thing. I certainly don't think any chapter would fault a new member for having a class during new member meetings.

I sent a note to a chapter sister who transferred to USF and affiliated with our chapter there.

She said that a few of the chapters have Monday meetings, but the majority have their meeting on Sun night. She also said that juniors don't fare as well in recruitment as underclassmen, but if they are really something special they will do fine.

Anyway, all that aside, it sounds like any chapters with Mon meetings will discuss that during recruitment and that as a junior you'll get some initial early cuts due to your year in school when you get to recruitment. Good luck and keep us posted :)

I think you should emphasize that you'll be around for 3 more years. It shouldn't be hard to work into conversation. The chapter members may study up on PNMs and may already know you're a junior and even bring it up, so you can talk about it then. If they have no idea and ask you, "So what did you do in high school?" you can reply "Well I am a junior, I transferred, I'm a double major going to be around for 3 more years blah blah blah" and then talk about what you've done since college.

Hi, I'm a USF alum! I will first tell you Congratulations on deciding to go to the school that DOMINATES the one sided "War on I-4" ( ;) to all my UCF peeps on here!)

Anyways, I would invite you to visit USF's Panhellenic website. http://www.usfpanhellenic.com/ It has been re-designed and updated. It has profiles of all the sororities, information about recruitment, and contact info for Panhellenic Council Exec Board members. Feel free to call the office, there are plenty of them working in the Greek Life Office all summer.

As far as your questions go, since you are a Junior, you should definitely let all of the sororities know that you will be in school for a couple more years. It is "U Stay Forever" so girls should take it into consideration. There are no guarantees however, some chapters will not take juniors and seniors.

Most sororities have meetings on Sunday nights, with the exception of Tri Delta, who usually had their meetings on Monday nights. My sorority would have some Monday night meetings due to holidays, in those cases, the meetings would be at 9PM, which allows everyone with night classes to attend. (Night classes should end by 8:50)

As far as what to wear to recruitment, there is a style guide on the Panhellenic Website, and they will probably give you a brochure on Info Night with pictures of the Pi Chis (recruitment counselors) in appropriate clothes for each day of rush. You will be spending all day, every day outside, under tents, in Greek Park. My advice is to dress cool, bring plenty of water, and an umbrella!

Most importantly, have fun and enjoy the experience! I was a Pi Chi and on Pan Exec, so I loved recruitment from the Panhellenic side of it. Good Luck, and GO BULLS!

Are you saying, UCF has a good football team...um ok...how many bowl games were they in this past year? Oh I forgot, yea none...Ok, enough football rivarly. As anyone can see from my sorority affliation, I do not attend USF as my sorority is no longer there.

Even though I go to UNF(With no football team, I might add), and I have grown up in the Bay Area, and I have friends who attend USF. My advice is to go into Rush with an open mind, and to just be yourself! I don't know what the unoffical policy there is about transfers joining as pledges. Just out of curiosity, which community college did you attend?

here i am!!
 

haha i dont come on GC for ONE day and this is what i miss!! lol..

emerald, ill PM you. but DEFINITLY consider what the other girls have written..they are giving you great advice!! also go to USF's panhellenic site that ShaedyKD gave you its very helpful!!

I guess I was right about chapter Alpha Frog.

But if a new member misses her NMMs then don't you think she misses bonding with her pledge class? I would feel really disconnected if I always missed chapter and other important meetings. Yeah we're in college to learn, but you also choose to be in a sorority, and pledge that it's one of your most important interests.

No, that's why there are membership retreats, socials and philanthropy events. And if a sorority chooses to schedule their meetings during a time when classes are being held, that's their fault, not the new members'. A new member should never feel guilty because she opted for a class schedule before she ever became a member of XYZ.

I don't know about other schools, but at UCF and USF, the admin seem to take pervere pleasure in complicating your ability to graduate on time-- hence "U Can't Finish" and "U Stay Forever." If you find a class you need, you take it ASAP... b/c they may decide not to offer it for another 4 years or force you to change your catalog and toss a bunch of other new requirements at you.

Well la-di-da for you. I still have yet to see where someone said all sororities have their NM Meetings on Monday.



NO.

Wow! Thanks to all of you for helping me out! I feel MUCH better!:)

I hope you decide to go through with rush, I'm really looking foward to a USF recruitment thread! I, too, am from the Bay area and many of my high school classmates went to USF and several rushed.
Best of luck!

p.s. I won't even touch the football subject . . . although UCF did make the trip to Gainesville last year :-)

okay, maybe i was quick to assume, but AlphaFrog, you were quick to jump all over me.

My sorority is one of the dearest and most important interests in my life, not just something to put on my resume or a way to have a social schedule. I'm sorry you don't feel the same way.

I still don't understand why a chapter would hold chapter meetings on a monday night, when classes may be in session. Bumping chapter to a monday night because of a holiday weekend is an exception. What's wrong with Sunday nights?

Quote:
Originally Posted by DMCBlondie http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/im...s/viewpost.gif
I guess I was right about chapter Alpha Frog.

Well la-di-da for you. I still have yet to see where someone said all sororities have their NM Meetings on Monday.


Quote:
Originally Posted by DMCBlondie http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/im...s/viewpost.gif
But if a new member misses her NMMs then don't you think she misses bonding with her pledge class? I would feel really disconnected if I always missed chapter and other important meetings. Yeah we're in college to learn, but you also choose to be in a sorority, and pledge that it's one of your most important interests.

AlphaFrog Quote:
NO.



So what are you disagreeing with? You went to college to learn? You chose to be in a sorority? Or the sorority that you chose to be in should be important to you?

I love my sorority, and I had fun in undergrad, and I'm on our district's education team, so I'm still involved, so it's obviously important to me. I judt wouldn't count it as the MOST important activity I did in college. I was a music major, and it's very demanding on your time. I would say for sure that Music and Miracles, which was the club devoted to my major, ranked above ASA in "importance", due to the fact that I was there to get an education. Also, all of the extra music ensembles came before ASA. I missed quite a few events because I had a concert or rehersal that I couldn't miss. And you know what? My sisters understood...I was initiated, even though I missed a few NM activities. I held an Exec position, even if I couldn't make it to chapter. A sorority is important to those who choose to join, but it shouldn't rule your life in college...and especially shouldn't affect your education.

Personally, as a new sister, I have to say that very few things that my pearl class did in meetings caused us to bond. Meetings are about learning about the history of the sorority, the Greek Alphabet, the NPC, etc. and to talk about upcoming events for the semester, important dates, and stuff like that. The real bonding came when we'd stay up into wee hours of the morning watching the Little Mermaid, helping one of our pearl sisters get ready for a date, going out together, spending the day in Manhattan, etc. If a new member has to miss a meeting for academic reasons but gets the notes from someone else, I think it's totally possible for her to bond with the rest of her class.

Exactly. You will bond with your NM class if you put in the effort. (But don't forget about the rest of the chapter too!)

I think the only intelligent thing to say is every school and every chapter is different. Some chapters have meetings on Sunday nights, others on Monday. Some NM programs foster bonding between new sisters and others are just informational. At some chapters it may be acceptable to miss new member meetings and chapter and still feel involved and "in the loop." However, at other chapters you may feel disconnected and left out if you do not attend regular meetings.

At my school, the majority, if not all, hold chapter meetings on Sunday nights. Chapter is a little fun and a little boring, but certainly not to be missed. Our new member program is focused on bonding and having fun as a form of retention. NPC at Florida State has 15 wonderful sororities and is very competitive. If we lose a NM because our NM Program was poor, then another house snatches her up.

Hey there!! Glad you are going through rush -- it's a blast, even if you don't end up joining a GLO. I can only speak for what my sorority does, but if you are a transfer, regardless of how many credits you have, we consider you a first semester sophomore for recruiting purposes, so it wouldn't be like you would be cut automatically because of your class status.

I also wouldn't worry about this. My chapter meets Sunday nights. Even if the house you joined met on Mondays, you would have an academic reason for not attending which is usually considered an acceptable excuse.

Best of luck with recruitment! Let us know how it goes and where you end up!

I think you are saying something that many GC'ers say on a consistent basis:

Chapters vary all over the country. I think it is GREAT that your particular chapter works hard to foster that sense of sisterhood during the NM period.

We had one chapter on our campus that had chapter on a night other than Sunday becuase they had some sisters who went to church both on Sunday morning and Sunday evening. So to accommodate thier beliefs, they moved thier meetings to another night. Plus many other leadership orgs had thier meetings on Sunday so if you were involved in the Student Alumni Board, Student Senate, or a professional fraternity you would literally be running from meeting to meeting on Sunday.
So I could see the advantage of holding some meetings on an alternate night- especially if it started after most night classes had ended (say 9pm or something).

Hey now, show some Theta love to your sisters at UCF!!!!

Oh I love the Thetas at UCF! I am just showing a little Florida rivalry! :)

i love how the past 2 threads (this one and my own rush story)the USF/UCF comes up...its hilarious to me!:p

GO BULLS!!

Don't worry, take it from a USF grad (Dec. 04), you can get out, but they will definitely challenge you. I was going to be a 5th (and 6th) year senior, but I decided to put up a fight and took 18 hours of summer school and took another 21 hours my final semester. I graduated in 4 and a half years. 1 year EARLIER than my advisor said I would. I don't recommend this for the faint of heart though.

P.S. And I still love USF, I got so many compliments from my Principal about how well prepared for the "real world" I was. I moved to Orlando and all my coworkers are UCF grads. I defend myself daily! :-)

Amen on the preparedness thing. I think the I-4 schools may take forever to graduate from, but they do give you a lot of opportunities to gain practical experience with co-ops, internships and externships that you don't have at schools located in more traditional/rural college towns.

To those not in the know-- I-4 is a stretch of road that goes from Daytona to Tampa :) It's a pretty boring ride and you are guaranteed to come to a screeching halt due to an accident or construction no matter where you are.

I dont know about you,but to me, construction and I-4 and now synonomous.:D

bumpity bump bump?? today was bid day..