Greek life when living off campus
 

I've looked everywhere and i can't seem to find anything that really helps me with this......I'm going to be a freshman in the fall and I plan to go through recruitment. If I do end up joining a sorority I was just wondering if the living off of campus is a problem. I realie that many people communte everyday, but i am worrying about maybe having a strained or more difficult than usual relationshuip with the sorority that I join if I'm not living conveinent to the campus. Things like recruitment, big/little activities, socials, lunch/dinner, etc. I live about 20 miles(25 minutes, traffic) from the campus. Any advice would be really appreciated.:)

Personally, I had no problems as a commuter student. I lived about 10 miles from campus. During my new member period, I practically lived in the dorms, as all of my pledge sisters were residents. I was always able to attend major functions - because I made a commitment to the sorority and it was my responsibility to be there. Of course, I attended class and worked, but AEPhi was a priority as well. Plus, with 40 sisters living on campus, I always had someone with which to have lunch or hang out in between classes and I always had a place to sleep!

Living only 10 miles is a peice of cake:)

If you have a house to go over to so much the better.

If the Sorors live in a dorm area, I am sure there is always someone around to chat with.

The thing about having sisters, there is always someone to be with and enjoy!

Remember, it is not just for the 4-5 years you are an undergrad, it is something you will ahve for a life time!

Are you going to be living with your parents? The reason I ask this is that many of the sororities require you to live in the house, unless you're living w/ your parents.

Any of the meetings, big/little activities, etc will be preplanned so you'll know when you have to be there and can plan in advance.

I lived off campus at one point, and it isn't a big deal. I spent most of my day on campus, and if I was going out with sisters or having a late night, I just crashed closer to campus at a sister's dorm.

You feel more connected to your university the closer you live to the school. Ideally, live in the sorority house at some point if you are able. It's a great experience. By living off-campus, you just need to make more of an effort to spend time on-campus. This isn't too hard. When you were in high school, you were on campus all day, and after school for activities, right? The benefits of living on or near campus are being able to run home in the middle of the day to change clothes, take a nap, etc., and they're conveniences, but you can certainly work around them when you have a commute to school.

When you go through recruitment, ask about live-in requirements. Not every sorority chapter has a mandatory live-in requirement, although some do. Some sororities may not even have houses. It just depends.

Good luck with recruitment! Like 33 said, all sororities give their members event calendars, so you know what is happening well in advance. There may be a few last-minute activities, but those are usually things like invitations to go out to dinner or watch a sports event at the school. So you may not be able to be as spontaneous as some people who live closer to school, but you're certainly not precluded from enjoying everything your campus has to offer!

You don't say which school but it's possible that freshmen aren't allowed to live in the house so you may not have an issue at all. And I'm sure there will be many others who live off campus. It should not be a problem.

Even if she can't when she's a freshman though, it may be in the chapter bylaws that she does have to live in at some point.

The OP's username would suggest her school. Can any tigers weigh in on specifics?

I would think you would be okay. However, if your sorority requires you to live in the house you will probably have to fulfill that requirement at some point. During the day you will have your sorority house to hang out at for lunch and dinner. Just let your parents know that there might be some nights (Big Sis/Lil Sis revealing, socials, meetings, etc) where you won't be home right after your classes are over. I have seen several "local" women join sororities at Ole Miss and they are fine because they submerge themselves in everything their sorority has to offer. Obviously, if LSU is not requiring you to live on campus since you are considered a "local" or they don't require freshmen to live on campus, then you should be fine. I think whether you live on campus or off campus, it's all about really getting into your sorority and what your chapter has to offer you. I have seen girls who live in a house who aren't that involved but girls who live off campus are very involved. Since you are so close to LSU, I would think that you could find a few sorority members and ask them about living requirements

living out
 

My first semester I was fortunate enough to live near the AOII house because I was staying in the dorms. However, I had a lot of pledge sisters that did commute but still were able to maintain a strong relationship with women in the house. During long breaks between classes they were always hanging out at the house or sometimes they would sleepover if chapter ran late. If you put the effort in then you can still have a strong bond with your sisters.

you need to understand that you will be expected to be at the house at certain times-you won't be cut any slack just because you do not live on campus. however, it is the rare event that would happen spontaneously and you will know about mandatory things ahead of time.

if your house serves meals, usually even local girls are expected to pay for at least a few meals a week. all of that will be explained to you during your new member meetings-sometimes even during recruitment. frankly it is nice to be able to go to the house for lunches every day because it is a great way to meet your new sisters and your pledge sisters too, and that's why you joined that particular sorority-because you liked the girls and wanted to become their friend.

Yes, I'm living with my parents, for the first year at least.

thanks. I think I remember, i may be wrong, someone in a sorority telling me that most have at least a one year requirement, but not until later. Also, does anyone else have problems with over protective mothers do skate around when doing sorority stuff? My mom is getting a little better, but I still do not think that she realizes how different that it is going to be for me in college.

I don't know about other groups, but in Delta Gamma you do not have to live in the house as long as you live in your own home...even if the chapter has a live in requirement, you are excused.

Our chapter was very similar, but it's not sorority-wide. As long as you were living with a relative, you were not subject to the housing rule.

Joining a sorority is perfect for you. You will have somewhere to hang out between classes and many houses have meal arrangements for lunch. On the days where you have chapter, just bring your change of clothes to the house

We had several commuter girls in my chapter, and I remember two girls (biological sisters) that drove over 30 minutes. They were constantly at the house and living at home did not get in the way of their activities. In fact, both were very active.

My little lived with her boyfriend about 10 minutes from campus. She was very active in the chapter in terms of philanthropy and coming to chapter, but didn't make going out or socializing with the sisters outside of her A Phi family a priority. She deactivated a few weeks ago because she didn't feel like she had made that close a bond with the girls and it was too much money for what was basically a community service club for her. Obviously I'm devastated, especially because I feel like it would have been an extremely valuable experience for her if she had made more of an effort to hang out in the house/go out with us.

This story isn't supposed to scare you away, but I would be prepared to make your sorority a priority outside of just required/official events so that it's worth it for you. This means that during your new member period it's especially important to make friends in your pledge class who will tell you what's going on and who you'll want to hang out with. Don't get so focused on just the official stuff that you forget about having fun with your sisters!

To be honest with you I think I spent more time at the sorority house when I was living off campus then when I was actually living in the house.

This story illustrates an important point. Alot of girls terminate their memberships because they "didn't feel close to everyone b/c they weren't on campus" but made no effort to get close to people.

Making it to campus for sorority events is important, but I think girls should also make time for hanging out with the sisters who live on campus as well. This doesn't mean you need to be on campus everrytime you have a free minute, but go to the house and eat lunch or dinner here, tinvite some on campus sisters to go out to lunch or dinner off campus, or have girls over to your apt./house sometimes to watch movies. It's really easy to attend events, but that's just half of the expereince.

Excellent, excellent advice.

thanks fro all the advice. It is really helping me sort through all the decisions I'm trying to make.

I also thought I should ask...what are some things that you guys do to juggle school, work, sorority time, and also friends outside of the sorority. I realize that it is probably a pretty big time management thing, but I was just wondering.

watch the tv show Greek.

No, I meant about the prioritizing thing. Because Rusty has to deal with it in the show.

If your mother is overprotective, be forewarned that during pledging, you may or may not get home very late. Some parents require college-aged children living with them to follow some sort of curfew or notification system. Figure that out before it becomes a reality (whether you are Greek or not, figure it out anyway).

Mom and Dads are more protective especially if they were never Greeks!:D Most do not really know. They only know what they may read.;)

It is not all true of course as Greeks do a tremendous good for others with their charity events and so many things after college.


One of the greatest things would be living with your possible new Sisters. It is an experience like no other.:cool:

But, just to join and be a part of it will be remembered forever for you!;)

My folks never went to college and when I did what I did, they said nothing to deter me from it. They became very good friends of the members and loved them too.

I live an hour away from my campus and I'm in my third term as Vice President, if you have enough heart you can do anything.

Just a question in general-

Does anyone ask people questions anymore, aside from on the internet? I really don't intend to be mean, but come on. Call up the greek life office if you need to know ASAP. Or ask during recruitment. We represent a LOT of colleges/universities. Everyone is going to have a different policy. Why not call yours and find out instead of seeking advice on the interweb?

i haven't checked this in awhile but thanks for all the info. it has really helped

like i said, thanks again for all the advice, but here's another question. i know some girls that i am close to that are/were in sororities and we got to talking about my schedule. And to be quite honest, they all say that they are worried about how much time i already have tied up in work and school, so i thought that i would share my schedule with everyone........8-3 school, 4-6 or 7 work. and i help with additional hours around work stuff. The girls i know were being very sincere when they said that they don't think that i would be able to add anything else to my schedule when also living so far away. any imput?????

Are you (and your parents) okay with you routinely having 12-16 hours a day (if not more) on campus? Will you be working on campus? That would help. You'll likely spend crazy hours at the library too. Also, 8-3 school, is that your set schedule already? Is that every day? My schedule always changed from one semester/quarter to the next. My senior year it wasn't unusual for me to be on campus from 8am to midnight or later. I only lived 15 minutes from school though.

My D is taking a full courseload, doing 2 intercollegiate sports, running one of the major charities on her campus, working directly for a P's research, and is an officer in her NPC GLO. She does live on campus and will continue to do so even though many of her classmates will be moving into off-campus housing. GEN Alum and I are adament about staying on campus and made sure that the schools to which she applied could supply campus housing all 4 years. Her free time is fairly limited but she still manages to maintain grad/law school quality grades while meeting her various ec responsibilities.

I'm sure I've mentioned this in previous threads. I work a minimum of 20 hours a week, take 15 credit hours, spend 10 hours a week in the public school system, and hold an exec office in both of my GLOs. (I WAS AWARDED THE SWORD OF HONOR ON SUNDAY!! YAY!!)

Most days, I go from 8a-8p--and that doesn't include Phi Sig/SAI stuff. Many nights I'm on campus until at least 10p. I usually have an event for one org most nights and if there's not an event you can rest assured that I have some sort of meeting.

I live right down the street of campus--only about 5 minutes away. Living close doesn't make it any easier. And, most days I hit myself in the head for getting involved in so much, but it's worth it and it pays off. I love every second of my crazy life.

And, while I'm not in an NPC, my membership is still rather time consuming.