FSU Recruitment! <3
 

Hi everyone! I'm rushing FSU in the fall and have been reading a bunch of posts to get a feel for the school and general tips for rush week! I was wondering though if anyone knew the answers to a few FSU specific questions. I am going to ask during rush as well but I just wanted to have a heads up! :p

1. After bid day, do you immediately start eating at the sorority house? Or should I purchase a small meal plan to get me through the first couple weeks?

2. I assume that during recruitment week every house is putting their best foot forward and trying to portray a very positive non-superficial image, what happens though if I fall in love with a house and accept a bid from them, but then after bid day they start trying to make me wear only designers or change myself? I had a few friends at various schools that something like that happened to them. I can keep up with paying my dues, but wasting my money on things like that isn't me.

3. Are there any past or current fsu sorority girls who managed to go to class, be involved in their sorority AND have a part time job?

I would really appreciate anyyyy helpful information :D

My two cents for the first two.

1. Get a meal plan anyway, as you do not know for sure if you will get a bid or not.

2. Then don't. If they are trying ot change you, you can still depledge.

Yeah that one lol I'm not going to ask. I just wanted to get an opinion on the matter. True, depledging would be an option.

I want to congratulate you on your acceptance and decision to attend FSU. It is a beautiful school and wonderful place to spend your next four years! I did not attend FSU, but I can speak on behalf of attending your rival UF.

1) You should set yourself up with a meal plan just in case you do need this on campus. You can make adjustments once you pledge and find out what your life will be like as a new member. It is better to be safe!:)

2)I am not so sure it is members that MAKE you feel like you need to dress like them or own what they own. It may just be that more and more of them choose to wear certain things and you start to question it yourself. Do I need to wear these designer things? Must I wear them to fit in? I think you need to realize you were chosen/invited to belong to this organization without all of these so called things. You must be the person you are and represent yourself well based on what you choose to do. Yes, some groups do wear designer goods and yes, members may follow and do so as well. In my experience(s), I decided what I felt I needed to do with remaining true to who I am. There will be times you do need to conform to wearing certain things, but you should never feel you have to change your entire wardrobe to be part of the sorority.

3)I do not advise taking a job your first semester, if at all possible. It would be best to get into the rhythm of your studies and what is involved in your sorority first.
I eventually took a job on campus part time and managed my studies and sorority life. I was not very active in other clubs besides my sorority as my major involved a great deal of lab time throughout my four years. I was not the most active member nor was I the least active on campus. It all can be done, but you have to judge what is right for you. It is all about balance.

Have fun and please report back! I love hearing about Florida girls and their success.

Great post, Baci.

That is solid advice. My neighbor is an active in Tally. She works, but then again she is in her third year.

I really appreciate your response, it was a great one :) I understand what you mean, i'm definitely not going to change my entire self for a group, and you're right i'll be invited to the organization because they like me and it will be where i'm meant to be :D I spoke with my mom and she isn't going to make me get a job my first semester so I can get acclimated, thank you again for your advice. I will let you know how it turns out after rush week! <3

flowerchild,

regarding the fsu meal plan, i believe if you search on the fsu website you can find the answer to your question. i am not sure that the school makes adjustments for greek members. after all, they lose $$ if they refund your money so you can eat at your house. some of the sororities will make slight allowances for girls who have the university meal plan, but not all .

you would begin taking your meals at the house right after bid day, and you would want to. it is one of the best ways to get the new members over to the house. it will feel awkward the first couple of weeks of your pledgeship(new membership sounded too weird!)as you get to know your new member class and the sisters, so having the excuse of dining at the house can work as a wonderful ice breaker.

you are not required to eat breakfast over there(that is just for in-house girls) but would eat lunch and dinner at the house. the sorority food is great, most houses offer a salad bar at lunch and dinner plus a hot meal & you are able to keep abreast of the upcoming events and activities and learn the "lay of the land."

People will not require you to buy designer clothes. you may be required to wear a sorority shirt on a certain day(everyone in the sorority will do the same), or dress up for class in nice clothes(referred to as "pin attire") and wear your pledge pin. again, the whole sorority will be doing this.

you may be required to purchase certain outfits, or individual items of clothing for formal recruitment-there is a certain look that the chapter is going for each day of recruitment. the chapters do try to be mindful to keep the cost down and they generally give broad guidelines-"everyone needs to get a solid pink t-shirt and a pair of khaki bermuda shorts for philanthrophy day. the shirts can be any shade of pink and can have any neckline, but should be short-sleeved." that way it doesn't matter if you buy it at a major department store or at target-as long as it fits those perimeters, you are o.k.
sometimes the sorority is able to buy in bulk, which will keep the cost down. you may be required to purchase t-shirts at certain times of the year-some sororities include those costs in your dues while others charge separately for t-shirts.

it is good that you won't have to work your first semester. that is the time to get a good gpa established. i do know plenty of girls who work, go to school, are sorority members and participate in other campus activities AND have good gpa's. it is doable-you just have to be organized.

good luck with recruitment. all the chapters at fsu have great sisterhood and lots of support and fun activities to offer their members.

Flowerchild - I was thinking about my post yesterday and I wanted to add to it.

I was thinking you may be able to buy a smaller meal plan at first and then see what happens, if you accept a bid. I did a quick search for you and I found this:

Hi Flowerchild!

I too was an FSU sorority girl, so great choice on the school! I recently graduated and miss my house/the school very much! Although FSUZeta and the others answered your questions already, I still wanted to give my 2 cents! It was a while ago, but I ended up getting a meal plan before I came to FSU (and before I knew I was going to pledge a sorority) and it ended up being pretty expensive. I'm not sure if FSU will let you get out of it (actually some dorms now a days require you to have one regardless) but some sororities can give you a lower cost plan for eating at the house. After all, regardless of having a campus meal plan, like FSUzeta said, you're going to want to eat at the house with all your sisters! It's definitely the best way to get started in a sorority and meet all your sisters. My best suggestion for you, which might be dated, is to get flex bucks or garnet bucks or whatever kind that roll over year to year. That way, if you end up eating at your sorority house more than on campus, you won't waste the money and it will benefit you all four years.. I'm pretty sure they take those everywhere (like starbucks and such) on campus.

It's definitely possible to have a part time job and still do well in school and be involved in your sorority. I worked all the last three years of school, was on our exec board, and still pulled a good GPA and had time to still have fun. In my opinion, being in a sorority will help you learn responsibility and time management.

If you have any more questions about FSU I'd love to help. I'm glad you are going through recruitment, our school has ALL amazing chapters and I wouldn't be worried about ending up somewhere you aren't happy!

Thanks SO much. I'm really looking forward to rush, and you're right, every chapter at FSU seems absolutely amazing. I am going to get those Garnet bucks like you said. It ends up being more economical buying them than a meal plan for my situation. I do want to eat in the house. Are there set times every day when meals are served? And is it a little awkward when the first few weeks you're just walking into the house to eat and none of the girls know you? I just keep thinking of so many questions, even though I'll be finding out soon enough.

Chances are that other women in your dorm will be in your sorority, so you can always walk over to the house with them for meals and other activities. Also, most of the sororities at FSU assign an older sister as a temporary guide for new members until big sis/lil sis - they will often sit with you during meals to make sure that things don't get awkward and that you're meeting people.

I wouldn't worry about this kind of stuff just yet, because you are going to meet so many people during recruitment that you will almost always run into someone you know, even if you don't join a sorority for whatever reason.

Good luck with recruitment!

Thank you so much everyone for all the support you've given me. I really can't wait and I feel so much more assured.