A 4th year exchange student in a sorority ?
 

Hello,

I'm an Italian student who is applying to study at an American university next fall for the entire academic year, my choices are San Diego State, Cal State Northridge and Cal State Long Beach.
I'm really interested in joining a sorority there but I'll be applying as a senior staying for one year ( more if finances and my visa are on my side ) any way I'm wondering if I have my chances at being picked to join a sorority given the facts that :

- As for now, only staying for a year // Applying as a senior
- I'm not American
- I'm 22

But on the bright sides, I'm pretty social, a good student and I'm already involved at my current school

One of my friend ( non-Greek ) from Cali who told me that rush wasn't that competitive at CSULB and CSUN but that it was a pretty big deal at SDSU, anyone knows if it's true or not ?

I really appreciate your thoughts on the matter :confused:, thanks in advance !

- Carlotta

My chapter actually had an exchange student come through this fall (informal). She said she was "just coming to see what it is all about" but it made me think "What if there was an exchange student who actually wanted to join?"

Normally, chapters wouldn't take someone who they know will only be around for a year. However, as an exchange student, you have something very unique to offer a chapter, which could be on your side. I have a friend who joined a chapter at CSU Northridge as a junior, so I don't think your age would work against you. I can't speak for the chapters at the schools to which you are applying, because I have no idea how they would feel about an exchange student, but I say give recruitment a try if it interests you, as long as you won't be crushed if it doesn't work out.

I don't know what rush is like at those schools specifically, but I know that there is a chapter here that has girls from overseas, and they fit right in with their respected sisterhoods! I think that any chapter would have a lot to learn from someone who isn't from the U.S

I don't know about California schools either, but I think some chapters would think it pretty cool to have an exchange student, assuming you like them and they like you, of course. Getting a bid as a senior can be tougher depending on the campus, but again, that might be where the uniqueness of your student status might work in your favor. I say go through rush and see what happens, worst case scenario is that you don't get a bid, but at least you'll have had the experience of rush and won't always wonder "what if" if you don't try... good luck!!!

Does CSU-Northridge and CSU-Long Beach have anything called "open university" or an extension program? If they do....are you considered part of the extension or open university. At CSU-East Bay all the international exchange students are under what is called "open university" so that means you aren't fully enrolled in the college. And they were NOT allowed to rush. So i'd check if i was you to make sure your considered full enrolled in the school.

I have known exchange students to go through recruitment and they were very well received. I would encourage you to contact the Greek Life office to find out more about it. They can answer the questions you might have if that school permits it.

We have some ladies on this board that are affiliated with San Diego State. Maybe they can jump in and provide some advise.

When I was in school, we had a girl from the UK. She wasn't an exchange student, but she pledged as a Sophomore. We loved her and several of our sisters went to visit her in Europe over the summer.

Thank you all for your kind and quick replies ! I don't know how to quote several people into the same message so I'll go with this :

- VioletPretty : Which sorority did you friend join at CSUN if you don't mind me asking ? Is she still in or she graduated ? It's just because I'd like to know if the rush process is very competitive or not

- Epchick : Yes SDSU and CSUN have an extension school I dunno about CSULB but I'm not applying through those, I'd be attending classes just like regular American students, taking 12 units and stuff


I'm definitely gonna go through rush and if I don't get a bid I'll just see it as an experience. By the way, is anyone in the chat currently or previously enrolled at one of the 3 schools ( SDSU - CSUN - CSULB ) ??

I am an SDSU Sorority Alumna

Correction: last year quota was in the mid eighties for SDSU. I know that my sorority would have been open to an exchange student, however, Sigma Kappa closed in April of last year.

If you are really interested in joining a sorority, the Fraternity and Sorority Director may allow for you to join and for you not to count towards quota. There is always COB'ing, which tends to be less competitve.

Here is the link for SDSU Greek Life, I say definitely look into it. Joining a sorority is a great experience!!

http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/cfsl/

WOW! I just realized a lot of sorority's are only in the USA. Glad mine's not one of them.;)

Thanks I was able to see lots of things I wanted to know on the website, if only the 2 others universities had such a comprehensive site about the subject.

Cal State Long Beach, Greek Life:

www.csulb.edu/greek/

CSUN Greek Life:

http://www.csun.edu/getinvolved/frat...rospective.htm

Hi Carlotta,

You're in luck! I graduated from Cal State Long Beach and I just happen to work at San Diego State University! :) I advise two sororities and three fraternities at SDSU.

At San Diego State, recruitment is pretty competitive. Every year we see more and more students wanting to participate and we don't have room for everyone. :( Though, we just added a new sorority this year and hopefully this will help offer more places for new members next fall.

Most of the girls rushing are freshmen (first year students). We do get some sophomores (second year) and some juniors (third year); but, we do not see very many seniors (fourth year).

Being an exhange student will add interest and give you many things to talk about while meeting the sorority members. However, the fact that you will only be here for a year may be a disadvantage. With a limited number of places for new members, the sorority may favor someone who will be around for a longer period of time.

Cal State Long Beach is less competitive; but, again, being a senior will put you at a disadvantage. It has been a few years since I graduated from this university; so, things may have changed since then. I have an associate who is the coordinator for fraternities and sororites at Long Beach, perhaps I can ask her for you?

Finally, I do not have much information about Cal State Northridge; though, I would imagine that their recruitment is less competitive.

Of course, it would be wise to consider all aspects of the university you select: academic programs, location, activities for students, etc. ;)

No matter which university you attend, I would encourage you to participate in recruitment anyway. It would be a good thing to experience this unique American tradition and, you never know, there is always a chance you could be invited to join.

If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a private message!

.....Kelly :)

To KSUViolet06 : thanks for the list of websites but the CSUN one unfortunately isn't really informative but any way I have time before knowing where I'm gonna be accepted.



Thanks Kelly, Even if I don't know where I'm gonna be studying yet I wanna know what are your sororities & fraternities recommendations at SDSU ?

Sure ask your coordinator friend at CSULB about joining as a senior if you don't mind.

When I was a student (in the dark ages), we had two exchange students that lived in our house. The first stayed for one year. It was such a great experience that two years later we invited another to live with us. The second became so close with our members, she was extended a bid and became a sister.

Living in the house when they were not members was an issue during meetings and rituals. However, we were able to work them out. Both of them had a very positive impact on our house. I think that, while being a senior might be a negative, it is more than balanced by the cultural exposure that is gained. Best of luck.

Concerning upper classmen going through recruitment: sometimes I think that the GLO's are so concerned about having a member for four years that they forget that the commitment is for a lifetime. I know the theory is that the four years will create a stronger bond, but that is not always the case or our alum groups would be so large that they would have difficulty finding places to meet.

I could be misinterpreting this post, but are you asking which sororities and fraternities she recommends at SDSU? As in, which does she think are best?

Of course I don't speak for Kelly, but if you ask any GCer on which organization they think is best, they won't tell you. What they will tell you is to go through recruitment with an open mind, give all houses a chance, and maximize your options. It's all about the sorority YOU feel most comfortable with.

People who go through recruitment with their hearts set on one or two sororities (based on what they've heard, etc.) often end up disappointed.

If you really want to be in a sorority, your best bet is, like your friend said, to go to a less competitive greek system at a smaller school. I know of many foreign exchange students from all classes joining where I went to school, but again, I went to a very small, private liberal arts university. It's a whole different ball game at bigger schools! Good luck. :)

If I really wanted to know which sororities were the best at SDSU I would have directly posted a thread asking this question, it's just that Kelly nicely wrote in her post "I advise two sororities and three fraternities at SDSU " so I was just being curious as to what her recommendations were there and hypothetically if she thinks that ABC and XYZ are the best at SDSU she can say it, afterall aren't you all proud to be/have been in a sorority ?

And I think you can't go more open-minded than what I've said before concerning rush " If I don't get invited to join a sorority I'll just see it as an experience" since we don't have the Greek system here in Europe

Hi Carlotta,

I just returned from a dinner with my sorority sisters. This evening I dined with several women, including collegiate members from SDSU, alumnae members and two advisers.

When I asked them what they thought of an exchange student participating in recruitment as a senior, they had no problems with that idea. The alumna member who is the chapter Recruitment Adviser, who was sat right next to me, explained to me that seniors are "free" at SDSU.

Here's what that means: Normally, each sorority is only allowed to invite up to a set maximum number of new members during each recruitment. That maximum number is called "quota". There may be 75 women that the sorority loves; but, if quota is 50, then they can only invite up to 50 to be new members. At SDSU, seniors do not count in this calculation - a sorority can invite as many seniors as they want without penalty. That doesn't mean they *will*, but they can if they want to. So, even though SDSU is competitive, being a senior will not necessarily hinder you.

Further, I cannot speak for any of the other sororities, but all of the women at the table agreed that Gamma Phi Beta (my sorority) is very open to international students and would welcome an opportunity to meet a woman like you during recruitment.

The only things that they would be concerned about is that you do indeed stay for the whole year and that you understand that you would be required to pay membership dues just like everyone else.

I'm not sure if the other sororities would share a similar opinion; but, that was the response I received directly from my sisters this evening.

.....Kelly :)

Hi again,

I'm not really sure what you meant with the question in your previous post. As OTW alluded, most of us here would not make any recommendations to any particular organization or which ones are "best". She is correct, one should go into recruitment with an open heart to find the organization which is a best fit for oneself.

Because I work for the university, I was asked to serve as the university sponsor, called "Faculty Adviser", to five of the groups on campus. That's all I meant by that. Since I volunteered to adopt so many of the fraternities and sororities, I obviously love them all. :)

.....Kelly :)

According to my colleague at CSULB:

"We actually had 2 exchange students go through recruitment here last year. Neither of them pledged because they decided it just wasn't for them, but they were well received by the chapters here. Seniors do not count in quota and I think our chapters would be very open to having an exchange student join."


.....Kelly :)

Hey all. I was actually thinking about this the other day.

I will be a senior next year and I'm hoping to do a semester at a university in the US (UNC, Chico university in California or LSU). I will only be there for fall semester, will I have any chance of being accepted into a sorority? I know it's a slim chance :(

Oh sorry, I'm from the UK. Haha didn't mention that.

That's what I thought. Thanks for actually clarifying it for me. I was kinda holding on to the idea of joining one but now I'll just forget it :) Thanks so much for the response!

It took almost one whole semester after I was initiated for me to finally get my Badge!

I'm in a sorority at CSUN. Our past recruitment was huge. We are not as competitive as SDSU, however there are definitely more and more girls going through recruitment at CSUN. If you decide to come to CSUN, I highly recommend Greek Life. We are such a tight knit community. It's amazing. I love it. We had a few juniors in my pc and i know many of the other sororities had about the same. I'm not sure about senior's though.

Open a new window. . .
 

I'd say you have nothing to lose by trying - it will be an experience, for sure. I am speaking of informal only, though - I don't see it working with formal. With the new shorter pledge period, she might be able to be initiated during her semester here, and she has an opportunity to be a part of a WORLDWIDE and LIFETIME sisterhood - isn't that what we pitch? Just be prepared to possibly not get a bid - approach it as a chance to meet some amazing women, whether or not you get a bid.

one of the other NPCs on our campus took in a 26 yo Russian exchange student. She went through formal, and a lot of chapters were really actually interested in her, including mine. No idea how much she was planning on staying

I'm a student from New Zealand and will be going to CSULB this fall 2008. I'm looking at where i should stay and would appriciate any advice.

I believe that staying in a sorority would be a unique American experience and i know I have a lot to offer.
My concern is I've been told i can't find out if i can stay at one until after the start of the semester. Is there any way of being pre selected? or does anyone recommend staying somewhere in particular instead near long beach

On the vast majority of campuses, pledges do not live in the house. Can anyone (BetteDavisEyes?) from/familiar with CSULB verify that this is the case at CSULB? So you'll have to find a place to live regardless.