GWU -EXCHANGE STUDENT
 

Hey I'm probably going to GWU next year on exchange from the UK and I'll just be turning 21. I really want to be in a sorority so that I don't have to live in residence halls with 18 yr olds or postgrads who are working all the time. Also from what I've heard sororitys are loads of fun! Does anybody know how I go about doing it, given that I'm an exchange student?

Contact GWU and get as much information as you can from their Panhellenic. I do not know how competitive rush is there (maybe a GWU alumna here can chime in), but I would read, read, read as much as you can here on GreekChat about recruitment.

I didn't attend GW (I went to Georgetown) but something about this statement doesn't strike me as entirely true of GW.

L.O.C.K. went there... I'll see if I can get him to respond.

thanks for the advice guys . Senusret I- What's the nightlife like in washington dc? Is it mostly house parties or are there loads of bars/clubs?

Most definitely bars, clubs, and lounges.... while I don't know exactly which bars are in Foggy Bottom (the neighborhood where GW is), there are definitely loads of places in Georgetown (a 15 minute or less walk), Adams Morgan, Downtown, U Street, and Dupont Circle. All of those places are easily accessible by subway (called the Metro for short), and the bus.

GW is a pretty great school with a lot to do on campus, even though it's very urban (not gated, not much green space --- very similar to NYU).

Not to sound like I'm being argumentative or trying to discourage you, but if living with 18 year olds isn't something you want to do, keep in mind that, if you went through recruitment successfully and pledged, it's likely that many of your sisters in the new member class would be 18 year old freshmen.

As SWTXBelle said, get in touch with GWU Panhellenic, and also take time to check out the various chapters' websites (they all have pages linked from the Panhellenic site).

Also, consider what you will be doing as part of your year abroad. Are you just going to take classes? Will you pursue any internship opportunities? Internships can be quite a time commitment, and you may find that your priorities change between now and September '09.

No matter what you decide to do, good luck in DC! It's a fantastic city and a GREAT place to spend at least part of your college years!

GW has freshmen dorms and upperclass dorms. I'm not sure where the international exchange students would be placed. Some of the upperclass dorms are former luxury apartment buildings and are gorgeous. The Foggy Bottom freshmen dorms are horrible from what I recall. The MV campus has nice freshmen dorms. I haven't been in the dorms in a long time so there may be improvement. There was a new freshman dorm that opened up during in the fall of 2006 but I haven't seen it.

Not all the Greek organizations at GW have housing. There are several streets with nice townhouses for the Greeks and I think another set of townhouses is in the planning stages. My group happens to be one of the lucky ones with a house. The girls tend to be sophomores when they live in the house so they can live in the gorgeous dorms as juniors and seniors. Of course the exec board lives in the house as well.

GW Panhel conducts formal recruitment in the fall. Greek Life for women seems to be doing very well there. Several different groups have been added in the last few years.

^^^ I cosign everything said here, I just didn't want to be the first to say it in case I was wrong. :)

Ivory Tower is across from one of the rows of Greek townhouses.... they look cute from the outside, never seen the inside. Ivory Tower, however, is NICE. The thing I like most about it is that there's a food court and a Potbelly right in the dorm.

(I worked for a summer program which housed our Americorps people there for the summer)

The other thing I noticed in the OP's post was that she's an exchange student "next year." Are you only going to GW for a year? Sororities may not be interested in taking a new member who knows they will not be around for more than a year. You need to find out if the culture at GW includes giving bids to seniors or other students planning to leave at the end of the year.

My chapter (NOT at GWU) actually did this when I was an undergraduate (pledged a undergraduate exchange student who was only going to be at our campus for one year), but it strikes me that a lot of chapters probably would not.

I think it depends on the school - some places/chapters will like the "novelty factor" of pledging an exchange student even if they're only there a year. It all depends on if you have to worry about housing.

To answer your questions:
1) I live in Arlington and have jogged through the GWU area many times. The sorority townhouses look really cute, but I'm not sure they can house a lot of members.

You could see if you can board in a sorority house. Contact GWU about that policy.

Even if you do board in the sorority house, you would still have to go through rush.

FYI- boarding in sorority house XYZ does not automatically give you a bid to XYZ.You will still have to attend their rush events.

2) Epsilon Sigma Alpha, a national service sorority, has a chapter at GW. That's another option.

3)DC has good night life. Georgetown has great restaurants and bars. Dupont Circle is a nice walk from Foggy Bottom, also lots of fun. I haven't been to Adams Morgan or U St/Cardozo in years, but those areas used to be lots of fun. If you like punk or indie music, you can go to the Black Cat on U St. (U St was dangerous, so I didn't go that often.) Arlington, VA is a short metro ride from GW's campus. We have loads of restaurants and two music venues, Iota and Galaxy Hut.

Good luck and let us know how it all goes! :D

Also, if you are only going to be at GW for a year, you may not even have the opportunity to live in a sorority house. When I was there my freshman year, my roommate was able to move into her sorority's house midway through our freshman year, but only because there were two openings due to sisters going abroad 2nd semester and no upperclass women wanted to move in. I also remember her talking about how at the end of the year, the organization was required to fill all of the spots in the house with signed contracts for the following year or lose it for the following year.

All that to say, while you might go through recruitment and be offered a bid in the fall, there still might not be room in the house for you to live in during your first year there.

I do know that many international students join chapters at GWU, so there may not be a novelty factor if you're competing with international students who will be there longer.

The University of Kentucky? ;)