sorority stereotypes
 

could someone please give me the GENERAL stereotypes for the sororities (not like all the sororities, just common ones) and GENERAL stereotypes so like not just at your school.

im just trying to get an idea of the sororities. thank yoU!

There's so much wrong with this post, I don't even know where to start....

ETA: I guess this is a good place to start.

Sorority women tend to be intelligent, dedicated, philanthropic, witty, well-groomed and loving leaders in their campus communities.
Gamma Phi Betas in particular.

If I were you, I would check out both the National webpages for the sororities on your campus -- then look at the links to different campuses. You will see that there are no cookie-cutter stereotypes for any of the NPC sororities.

A good place to start: http://www.npcwomen.org/

Someone once told me that sororities are like individual people. You don't assume that all the people with the same name are the same, therefore you can't create a stereotype of every person with that name. People are different everywhere, sororities are different everywhere.

It's not possible to generalize. There are hundreds of chapters and every school is different, just as every organization is different. Try reading organizational websites instead of coming to an internet message board for your answers.

I'll give you my generalization of sorority women though...we tend to be smart, some smarter than others (just like the general populous). We do community service. We can be social butterflies or the women who like to observe and learn. We are religious and non-religious. We are fat, thin, tall, short, and everything in between. We are beautiful and not so pretty, we are pageant winners, teachers, lawyers, doctors, congresswomen, mechanical engineers, mothers. We are black, white and every shade in between.

We are girly girls and sporty girls. We are the type of women other women love, hate, love to hate, and hate to love. We are American, Canadian, English, German, Australian, and every nationality. We drive BMWs and Hondas, Mazdas and Lexus, SUVs and sportscars, Minivans and Motorcycles. We are rich, middle class, or struggling to make ends meet.

We found sisterhood when we may have had no sisters. We found family when we didn't have one of our own.

Is that stereotypical enough for you?

Collegiate sororities serve a dual purpose: service and social. There are 26 sororities that fall under the umbrella of the National Panhellenic Conference-- these are the sororities commonly referred to when you hear about sorority recruitment (rush).

These sororities are all national organizations, and they have various "chapters" of their organizations on various college campuses. Each chapter follows the bylaws and traditions of its national organization, but each chapter's culture or "feel" may differ from campus to campus.

I'll use an example. When I was a kid, I joined a chapter of a national youth group in my hometown. Loved it-- I was super involved. When I moved to another town, I expected to get involved again, but after a few meetings, I could tell that even though this was the same youth group with the same activities I didn't click with the people in the same way. This chapter of the youth group just wasn't for me. I didn't think any less of the organization, but I realized that even though its activities and traditions were identical, the feel of each group was a little different.

You'll find the same in a sorority-- the collegiate chapters follow the same ideals, but the "culture" of a sorority varies by chapter.

You should never base your impressions of a sorority chapter off of members you may know from another school-- look at the sororities on your campus and the members in them.

Sorority members in every chapter are from diverse backgrounds, races, religions, majors and hometowns, but there is a definite "culture" or "feel" in each chapter of a sorority. At recruitment, take the time to meet the sororities on your campus and see which culture feels the most comfortable to you.

So there's no general stereotype we can give you. And getting the opinions of people at your college isn't too helpful either b/c those are just their perceptions-- you won't really understand the culture and feel of a sorority chapter until you've met its members and see if it's "you."

Good luck!

emsy, everyone has given you excellent advice. It's now your turn to do some leg work. Go to your future school's website, and look up the Greek Life section. It may be hidden under a lot of other names, such as Student Life, Student Activities or such, then to Greek Life, or Sororities. Some schools, but not most, will link you directly to each separate chapter.

From there, make a list of the sororities at your school, then look up their national website. Chances are that the site is something like www.sororityname.org.

Check out the philanthropies, the goals, the ideals that each of the sororities has on a national basis. Note the photos, the graphics, the mascots, the history - and realize that they are trying to put their best foot forward.

Then, attend all Recruitment Seminars or such, and go through Recruitment! You're not going to get any idea of who's special and who isn't from anywhere else but your heart.

Best wishes on a successful Recruitment.

I heard Sigma Kappas are funny, smart, and hot. ;)

Actually, its really weird, I've heard that about ALL NPCs. We must be some awesome ladies.

aw thanks everyone for your input . sorry if i offended anyone eek. didnt mean anything by it. ive already looked into most of the sororities and i was only asking because all of the sorority webpages said the same thing. like the exact same thing but rephrased in like 20 different ways.

Word my sistah.

That's not true. AXO sucks. Don't join them emsy!

that is so true!:D

Cheater :p

What were you expecting, a list like this?

ABC is the best sorority everywhere. They only take size 0 blonde women whose daddies have millions of dollars. Maybe they'll take a brunette woman, but only if you resemble Elizabeth Hurley.
DEF is fat nationally. They actually seek fat and ugly girls.
GHI is popular with fraternities everywhere because they are slutty.
JKL is nerdy and only take girls with 4.0s and never go out.
MNO is diverse everywhere.

No one of any repute on GC will actually give you a list like that. Most NPCs nationally speaking, are quite similar. They will have a variety of chapters. You want to find which chapter is best for you; why cut out a few chapters based on what some idiot says on the internet when the chapter at your school would be a good fit for you. It is best to go into recruitment with a mind untouched as possible about the sorority reputations, although your original post makes me question your intent of joining a sorority.

What a great way of saying it!!!!

hahahahahaha

Congrats, you're already learning. :)

In all seriousness...every single NPC has a chapter or 2 or 10 or 40 that are at the top of the heap on their respective campuses. Every single NPC has a chapter or 2 or 10 or 40 that are at the bottom of the heap on their campuses that girls would rather drop out than join. Even if you look at things like campus awards or the national sorority awards - they may have absolutely zero to do with that chapter's standing on campus.

It's tough to weed through everything when all you see is "Sisterhood! Scholastics! Service!" Coming from the inside I've taken a look and have sometimes gotten unfamiliar chapters from other campuses all blurred together.

Do go through Formal, that will give you a chance to meet each chapter face to face, and you'll get a better feel. Take copious notes.

As you look at each chapter, try to pick out what's different. Maybe their philanthropy? Maybe one leans toward general community service while another is specifically service to children? If the chapters include their fraternal history (if not, national websites commonly do), is there a difference in the purposes or the reasons the founders came together? You'll come up a few differences, and it'll get you in the gear of looking for them. Don't feel like you have to figure it all out beforehand - the people make all the difference in a chapter, and you'll meet them during recruitment.

They pretty much are all the same, underneath it all, and conceivably... you could be happy in any of them!

They're all devoted to scholarship, service and friendship. The members in any chapter have diverse interests and backgrounds.

But at recruitment, there may be a few that stand out to you above the others because you just feel like you really click with them. That's what you should look for-- don't go in with any preconceived notions and don't listen to what anyone else tells you about which sororities are "the best." You will get lots of opinions once you get to school.

You've got to hang out with these ladies for the next 4 years, so ignore the comments of others and just go with what clicks for you when choosing the right sorority.

Also, don't write any of them off-- stay in recruitment the entire week and see how it plays out.

If you go into recruitment with the goal to find a few sororities you enjoy after each round, than mentally committing yourself to just one, you'll end up a lot happier than other girls who play into stereotypes. Those girls will be really disappointed when they either drop out of recruitment b/c the house they thought was the place for them dropped them and they won't have any sorority experience at all -OR- they will end up joining a sorority for the wrong reasons-- and possibly a place where they find they don't fit in at all.

Keep us posted!

and remember, it's your decision. these girls will be your sisters. and just because one chapter is FAH-BUH-LOUS one or two or ten years, one year can send a chapter in the hole. as long as you feel comfortable with the girls, then the chapter can and should work for you. my chapter was arguably one of the bottom tiered when i went through recruitment...i heard the rumors, i did research -- and i still preffed them number one, and couldn't be been happier. my sorority, in the course of a year, became one of the top on campus, and still is (and i'm not saying that because i'm in it). go with what your heart feels -- being in the "smart and hot" house doesn't mean a thing if you don't have a bond with the girls. and the closer you feel to your particular chapter, the stronger (and more successful) your chapter will be.

This is beautiful. Seriously. I feel like printing it out and framing it, then pointing to it everytime someone asks about sorority women!

Seconded!

I third!

Stereotypes...
 

There is no way to generally stereotype sororities! You can listen to the media or watch TV shows about Greek Life, but really you won't be able to understand what a sorority is until you become a part of one. I never thought I would join a sorority when I was in college, but then I decided that I had nothing to lose and rushed my junior year. It really adds so much to your collegiate career as well as to your own personal character. A sorority, in a general sense, is a group of girls that have some underlying common denominator that brings them together. Each sorority may have some sort of stereotype, whether it be campus-wide or nation-wide, but I promise you that it does not apply to every single woman that is part of that organization. If you really want to know more about a sorority, please visit my sorority, Kappa Delta's website at www.kappadelta.org to get a sense of one, or take a chance and go through recruitment! Hope that this helps! :)

we are all rich snobs who have to pay for our friends. we would never even speak to someone who wasn't in our sorority, much less no sorority at all......gdi's. we also drink heavily, use massive amounts of drugs and sleep with the all the cute frat guys on campus. we only wear designer clothes, even when we work out, which we do constantly b/c we are obsessed with our appearance.


how's that for a stereotype? i could continue, but i think the above is probably sufficient.

LOL.. love it

To the OP,

You may find all of the sorority websites similar, because we all believe in the same noble things. Scholarship, charity, community service, sisterhood...those are all wonderful ideals that every organization trumpets. What makes each sorority different and each chapter in each sorority different is the women that choose and are chosen to join. Each chapter and each sister has their own personality that fits in under the general ideals listed on their websites. We just all get to share in a tradition that has special meaning for us. I think expecting more uniformity is to expect every woman in the world to be the exact same. We all know that isn't true, so why buy into any stereotypes about sororities.

Sincerely,

A very individual and proud AOII

This is very well put.