Didn't get invites, what are my options?
 

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First a couple of questions:

1) What year are you in school? How many years do you have left at UT-C? Did you transfer, or did you not rush your first two years? And if you did transfer why didn't you rush at your old school? And if you didn't transfer...i.e., you're a freshman...when did you finish high school, and why are you just starting college now? There are perfectly reasonable answers to these questions, but they are questions sororities probably wondered about.
2) Are we talking about a high school or college GPA? If it isn't that high, do you have a slew of extracurricular activities and community service to make up for it? Did you do something really interesting between high school and college or in the summers?

Okay, so really your question was about your options now. Here they are:

1) Let the Panhellenic Office know that you are interested in COB/Spring Rush opportunities. Some groups may be interested in picking up a few extra members, but your age still make work against you, as may your GPA, and I am telling you to inform Panhellenic just on the off chance that an opportunity becomes available...I wouldn't get your hopes up.
2) Find other groups to join...are there any service fraternities on campus? Non-panhellenic women's groups? And what are you interested in...chances are there is a group on campus (drama, debate, music, etc.) that covers your interests in addition to providing a social outlet...and if you have some time left at UT-C, you might start your own organization if none of the ones that are left fits your needs!
3) Just get out and meet other people...a sorority may not be in the cards for you, but you still can have fun in college, go to parties, and have lots of friends!

Good luck!

You should pursue AKA and 'em.

I don't know the typical minimum GPA for chapters on that campus. But it is not uncommon for a Panhellenic to state a minimum that is far below what the chapters actually use.

I'm starting my 4th year at UTC. However, I'm still considered a sophomore. I have at least 3 years left at UTC. I'm not a slacker by any means though. My mom was extremely sick my first two years and almost died twice. Thats how many times the doctors called us in to say our goodbyes. It was really hard on me and my family. I didn't take full loads and at times I couldn't be here at all. Out of it all I failed two classes but have since then replaced them. My GPA isn't the greatest but it is above what is being asked. I've been working really hard to get it that way. I waited and didn't pursue so that I could give it my all and be a part of a sorority. I know it takes time and I wouldn't have been able to dedicate my time before now. I have talked to my Pi Chi (Rho Chi) and she knows I'm still interested. Snap Bids were mentioned to me yet I do not know how that works. I really really wanted this and was really disappointed when I got the news. I just hope its not to late for me.

The GPA that is required to RUSH is a 2.5. And each sorority has there different GPA for initiation.

OK. But new member periods are only about 6 weeks long. So unless a semester/term ends in the middle of a new member period, the minimum GPA to initiate will be the same as the minimum to bid.

All GLOs have a minimum GPA required for new members and actives. On the campus I advise we are committed to academic excellence. Plus recruitment competition is ridiculously fierce. My chapter has set our minimums far above what our own Inatl requires. Again, I have no idea what it's like on this particular campus.

I'm just saying that Panhellenics too often set their minimum GPA for a PNM to participate in Recruitment below what the chapters are actually looking for. In my book it's equivalent to telling PNMs that Recs aren't required and/or chapters will obtain them for a PNM, when in reality chapters cut those who don't have them.

So what are my options? Will I be able to be in a sorority or is it looking pretty slim for me? I really wanted this. There were a few snap bids handed out last year. hopefully I will receive one this year, if not what other options are there?

That pretty much is the option. Just stay in touch w/ your Rho Chi and let her know you're interested.

Work on your grades (I know, easy for me to say), and let the Greek office know that you're open to COR both this term and next term. There could be an opening that an improved GPA will allow you to grab!

First, work on making yourself more marketable to the chapters. Raise your grades and get involved in other campus activities.

Next, having gone through recruitment, I feel that you can make a pretty informed decision as to the chapters you will fit in with and those that you won't. Be sure to keep in close contact with the recruitment chairs for the chapters that you like so that you might participate in COB/COR if it is available.

Finally, there is nothing keeping you from trying formal recruitment again next year. If you make yourself more marketable and have contacts within the Greek community, this should improve (notice I didn't say guarantee) your chances eventually.

I can't speak for your campus but age might not be a factor if you don't act older than the other PNMs. In the future, I'd focus on your class standing and not your age.

Just a general FYI:

The number of potential snap bids available is limited to the number of chapters that did not make quota and how many they missed quota by. The number of potential COR opportunities available will be limited to those chapters that are below Chapter Total and by how many under Total they are.

Plus, it's not likely the OP would receive a snap bid. Snap bids are usually made to girls who dropped a house or dropped out of recruitment; the OP was dropped by all houses halfway through.

The number of rushees (read: PNMs) is up this year at UT-Chattanooga. There are 4 sororities (Chi Omega, ADPi, KD & Sigma Kappa) and over 400 women rushing.

I'm not sure what total is, but if quota is higher than ever, there might not be as many spots for chapters who traditionally are under panhellenic total/limitation.

There was only 367 girls sign up for recruitment this year. And after the first night they new of at least 70 that quit/didn't show up at all. Thats not counting the ones that were dropped. I'm prepaired for the worst but I'm also prepaired to do whatever I have to next time or later to join the greek community. Its something that I really want and maybe one day I can be a part of that. Thanks so much guys. You have helped me a lot.

It sounds like you have a good attitude - good luck to you.

And for future reference, it's "prepared", not "prepaired" :)

I agree. Also, please look over your last post. There are several grammatical and spelling errors there. I know when we are online we get sort of caught up in the post and don't always check for these things. There may be some sorority women from UTC lurking here who will see what you have written. Your lower grades coupled with these types of public errors could really be hurting you. I'm just trying to be honest with you. Talk to the Greek Adviser there and see what he/she has to say. Good luck.

I agree with her. Spelling errors are a pet peeve for me. Not to be bitchy, but if I had seen an app with lots of misspellings, I would consider putting it in the circular file.

Titchou is telling it like it is. Good luck to you, hon

Wow. So when I write letters for applications or etc I usually double check everything and sometimes even have other people check it. I was a little upset when I was on here (upset as in disappointed, sad) and was trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm sorry I misspelled words. My application for recruitment was checked twice before I ever turned it in. I don't usually type badly. I try my hardest not to. I was just typing fast and while upset. Sorry. Today is Pref night and i'm at home reading greekchat forums instead of getting dressed up. It's actually very sad because I really wanted this. I just hope that I will have another chance. Here is another question, what do sororities think if a girl in engaged or married? My boyfriend and I have been together over 3 years and have discussed marriage but not right now, however if I have to wait another year for formal recruitment, I may be engaged. How is that looked at?

WOW... back off the girl. You may not like spelling mistakes, but it is really inappropriate to tel her that she may have been dropped from recruitment because she spells things wrong on a message board.

To the OP...sorry you are upset. We really truly can't tell you what your options are and whether or not it is highly likely you will have a chance to receive a bid in the future. There are already a few posts with some good advice. Good luck.

I think I'm going to have to agree with the other posters by saying you should probably focus on your GPA if you want to give it another go next year. While your GPA may be slightly above the minimum to rush, sometimes groups will make their minimum to join way above that.

Maybe it might help to get involved with some campus activities. Since many sorority women are involved it would be a great way to meet them.

Unfortunately, those may not even help you get a bid next year. We don't know that. Maybe it will? Once again, we don't know. We can't really give you the "light at the end of the tunnel" that you are looking for because no one here knows why things didn't work out.

Maybe it might help to go to the Greek Life office and see if the sororities will be participating in COR either after Fall recruitment or in Spring. Maybe you should try other organizations on campus - there may be co-ed service GLO's or perhaps organizations built around your major to help you meet more people.

Re: the engaged/married thing - that is also something that only people on that campus may be able to tell you since it varies from campus to campus. It might be cool with them at one campus, but the climate might be different on another campus. On my old campus, the only girls who were in sororities and engaged/married were about to graduate. Some sororities may give the sister the option to go alum early if they got married, but once again, that varies.

Oh please.

Her spelling errors all over the damn thread suggested that she really doesn't know how to spell...and that may have been reflected in her recruitment applications, etc. Several of the women here are collegiate advisors, so any rush documents would raise red flags, I'd imagine. No one said that she was dropped because she was too lazy to use spellcheck on GreekChat.

To the OP, instead of wondering "what if", just take things one day at a time. Do you know for sure you'll be engaged come recruitment time next year? Because you know exactly when your BF will pop the question, right? That's what I thought.

We could say that we don't care if a PNM is engaged, but the UTC sororities may think otherwise. WE CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT SORORITIES THINK ABOUT ENGAGED PNMs BECAUSE ALL CHAPTERS ARE DIFFERENT.

Really?

Yes. Really.

I know...that is exactly what I said. Someone on GC told her she may not have gotten a bid because of her poor spelling skills. Thanks for agreeing with me.

..Are you serious? I think it was pretty clear I was NOT agreeing with you. She really could have been harmed by her poor spelling skills during recruitment. Sorry you're so naive.

See....we aren't trying to be mean. We are seriously just saying that when you have sorority members AT YOUR SCHOOL reading your posts. And just FYI, it is easy to find out who someone is. I'm sorry that you think that spelling doesn't matter, but if you were rushing my school and typed like this, I WOULD find out who you were and may hold it against you. We are very honestly trying to make sure that you don't screw yourself over because you think you're anonymous.

And why do you keep doing that font thing? It's irritating. Good try, though.

I'm not sure what font thing. I'm just using the quick reply box at the bottom of the screen.

Strange. It didn't do it in that post..well, whatever.

And congrats on the getting married thing :)

All posts about spelling aside, unfortunately we cannot promise you that "there are still options". We don't know what went wrong, and neither do you. We also don't know if bringing up your GPA or rushing as a junior or being married or anything will help or hurt you.

It would be wrong for us to give you false hope, because we don't know what happened.

utcutie315...no one here wishes you any ill, but you seem to be getting frustrated with use because we can't give you any reassurance that there are still options. We have made some suggestions, but frankly we can't tell you much beyond that -- I did my best in my first post. You seem to have a lot going on in your life, a lot that has just happened, and it kind of sounds to me, at least, like you should be focusing on your grades and your upcoming engagement...both of which are very serious life matters that are more important than joining a sorority. Obviously we are not trying to tell you what to do with your life, but you did ask, and since you asked, I'm giving you my honest opinion. Once you've settled down from the horrible ordeal you went through with your mother and once you've gotten your grades up, then might be a good time to see what your sorority options are. But you seem to be older, and moving on to a more serious part of your life...engagement and marriage are really a big deal, and you should keep in mind that these are the kinds of things most sorority women grapple with at the END of their time as active members, not at the beginning. You may find that if you do end up pledging at some point, you feel very alienated from your pledge class, most of whom will be 18 and still thinking about their high school sweethearts. In any case, we aren't going to encourage you or give you false hopes just because that's what you want to hear. We did try to help, and we are sorry that the answers weren't satisfactory. We all wish you the best of luck.

Whoa. That is hinging entirely too much on the unknown result of a variable process, you set your expectations way too high and counted on a positive result for way too much, that's part of why you're so upset. You have to be able to let it go and move on, greek life doesn't happen for everyone. It just doesn't.

Co-sign

Although recruitment is billed as a mutual selection process, the balance of power is tipped in favor of the sorority since a PNM can't join a chapter without their invitation. You went through the process, and unfortunately weren't issued an invitation to join a chapter on your campus. Since it could be a situation where you slipped through the cracks, I would contact the Greek Life Office about COB. If that doesn't work out, I would drop it and move on. It could be that you just don't happen to be a fit for the 4 chapters at your campus. We will never know. In any case, once you have given them 2 opportunities to invite you to membership and they haven't chosen to do so, you will know their position on bidding you.

There are lots of people who believe that they would be an asset to a sorority, but unless they can get a group of 18-21 year-olds to believe that, it is a moot point. I know that's a tough pill to swallow, but it's the truth of it. The chapter members get to issue the bids, and if they won't issue one to you, you really have no options. Sorry that sounds so harsh. It sounds like you have been through a lot and fortunately you have a support system in your boyfriend. Best of luck.

FWIW, UTC is one of only a handful (if that many) of campuses that require a semester-long pledge period AND a 2.5 GPA in order to initiate. If a new member doesn't make the 2.5 her pledge semester, she gets held over. (Yes, you can imagine the extra burdens that this puts on the chapters.) So to some chapters, a low college GPA might be an extra risk that they'd rather not take given that they will have to keep you as a pledge until you make a 2.5.

OP, you have received some good advice: make sure your recruitment counselor and the Greek Office are aware of your interest in membership. If any chapters fail to match quota, they will have the option to Snap Bid to quota any woman who participated but did not receive a bid - it is their discretion whether or not to invite someone that they previously released. It is highly unlikely that any chapters will be below Total after they take quota. Spring COR may or may not be an option depending on chapter size, transfers, etc. Good luck.

My apologies. I didn't know.

But that does raise another issue/question. Does a University have the right to overrule I/natl(s) policies?

Yeah, no kidding, my thoughts exactly.

I am guessing that the university can set policy and that the sorority can either accept the policy or leave. I know that Auburn has a 3.0 policy and that sororities can set a higher bar if they so choose. Some chapters of my sorority have a 3.5 bar.