Am I too old?
 

So.. my story goes like this.. I am 21 now and I have started college not too long ago because I moved to Arizona from Russian and it took me a little while to get acclimated to everything. I will be transferring to the University of Arizona in the Spring of 2011 and I would love to join a sorority because it seems like a great experience and a good way to make friends. However, I will be 22 at the time and I am wondering if 22 is too old to rush?

search the forum

It depends on how many years you have left at college and how well the sisters like you at Rush. My advice is go ahead and Rush anyway and find 3 of your favorite organizations and dedicate your time to them. I'm not familiar with U of Arizona's rush practice but I know that my sororities in DC dont discriminate about age, example- i was 22 when I rushed for my fraternity (Sigma Nu) and now i'm the Commander in my final year. It just depends on the maturity of the sorority and the sisters needs at the time. But never be afraid of rushing. Just having the courage to put yourself out there and meet some of the sisters is often enough to get you a bid to a sorority, never doubt yourself.

Since you're out of your lane, I'll swerve out of my lane too.

You're thinking in terms of fraternity rush. The advice you have given doesn't necessarily apply to sorority recruitment; it can be a whole different set of considerations.

It's best to leave answering questions like this to sorority members.

There are several threads about UofArizona recruitment. That being said, recruitment is fairly competative and you'll need good grades, recommendations to every chapter, and good community involvement. You also need to think about how you'll fit in with a
new member class of 70+ women who are all 18 or 19 years old. And you'll need to be open to each and every chapter.

That might be decent advice for fraterntiy recruitment, but that is NOT how sorority formal recruitment works. If she goes through formal recruitment, she needs to keep as open of a mind as possible.

Arizona is competitive and traditional, meaning that most women in sororities join as 18 year old freshmen. Most potential new members will also have recs.

How many years of school do you have left?

One thing you may have going for you is that you are from Russia; it's novel. Some chapters may be eager to invite a woman from another culture to join.

Recruitment at Arizona is one of the most competitive there is. Chapters are looking for 17/18 yo freshmen. The few sophs or jrs who get bids are usually girls well know to the chapters. Just understand that your chances of getting a bid are very low, but do go through recruitment for the experience and fun and with no expectations.

^^ good advice there. It really just depends on the school and how competitive it is. My school isn't very competitive as far as recruitment goes and we even have a 26 year old (even though she doesn't look like it! :D) in my sorority. She is such a wonderful sister and very active. However, Arizona is a completely different story. It's very competitive there and they are probably mainly looking for freshmen and a few sophomores.

Thank you for your answers everyone. :) I appreciate all the advice. But to answer a question that was asked... I will have three more years left at the time of my transfer. However, I was not aware of Arizona being very competative in terms of rush bceause everyone I spoke to who is or was in a sorority or fraternity seemed all to be very nice and accepting. They sort of made the process seem easy and like it wouldn't be a big deal. Maybe I misunderstood though.

You don't lose anything by rushing but the cost of signing up for recruitment, which is usually reasonable. I think you'll enjoy it. You'll make new friends and really get a good look at a part of North American culture. And if you get a bid -- bonus!

There are so many wonderful sororities there. Please consider them all seriously. Membership in a sorority is for a lifetime!

ETA: Congratulations to Russia for getting the bid for the winter Olympic games, 2014! I've heard wonderful things about your beautiful Black Sea resort city of Sochi. ;)

If I do decide to rush then I will definitely consider every sorority seriously because for all I know the one that I may think won't fit me will actually be the best fit. :)

I noticed that a lot of you said that I would need letters of recommendation and I am wondering... How would I go about getting them? I unfortunately do not know any women who are in sororities and I am not a legacy since I moved here from another country and in Russia there are no such things as sororities of fraternities. The members who I have had the chance to talk to were just quick meetings at a party or some other social gathering and it did not even occur to me to get their contact info since I was not thinking about tush at that time.

You would want to contact the Tucson Area Alumnae Panhellenic group. They will be able to guide you through the rec obtaining process.

Thanks. That was very helpful.

(Russian chick, do not listen to this PhiMu Burberry person... they are way off base).