How do I tell my parents I want to join?
 

I want to join a sorority, but I have no idea how to tell my parents I want to join one. None of my family has been part of a sorority or a fraternity, so it never even occurred to my parents or me that I would want to join one. At my previous university, I saw how much fun sororities looked and there was deferred recruitment, but by the time it was the spring semester, I was on academic probation and was ineligible.

I'm transferring to a new school next year due to bad grades at another university. I got my GPA up to a 3.0 at my old school, but my GPA would be a 2.95 at the new one. I'm also taking summer classes so my GPA would be above a 3 for recruitment. So my grades shouldn't be a factor for my parents to tell me not to join.

I just don't know how to broach the topic with my parents. How do I bring it up to them? I've gotten my act together when it comes to studying and prioritizing things, so I definitely think I can handle my time properly now.

Unless your parents will be footing the bill for your sorority expenses, I'm not sure why it's even an issue.

I'd be more concerned about your grades. Depending on where you will be going to school, barely having a 3.0 just might not cut it...especially if you'll be going head to head with girls who boast very high GPAs.

My parents are the ones who will be paying so I do have to ask for their permission.

And I am worried about my GPA not being high enough :(

Just tell them that you're interested in Greek life and you think having something to be part of would give you additional incentive to do well and stay in school.

Be advised that if the two schools are very different, Greek life will be also. Check it out, but don't automatically think it will be like it was at your first school.

I think many schools' Greek affairs offices have FAQs for parents on their websites.

As does the NPC (assuming it's NPC sororities the OP is talking about).

I had kind of the same situation. My parents are paying for my school, and I had to get their approval first too. I just sat down with them and told them why I wanted to join a sorority, and gave them as much information I could. Since it seems like you're worried about the issue of grades, make sure you talk to your parents about how you'll be able to manage the time commitment of sorority. Before you sit down and have that chat, make sure you get some of the information off of your school's Greek Life website. What mine were most concerned with was cost, time commitment, hazing, and partying. As other posters have said, some websites will have an FAQ for parents; if they do, print out and give it to your parents. If you approach them in a mature way, they are more likely to respond agreeably. Good luck! :)

Thank you all so much! This was very helpful and I will definitely be using this advice!

Well...says who? If I were paying for someone to go to college, a 3.01 would not impress me unless she were studying chemical engineering at a top school. And even then, I wouldn't think that it was necessarily smart to add a time-consuming extracurricular to her schedule.

I would not advise you to tell your parents that THEY shouldn't consider your grades as a factor. They're going to have their own opinion about that regardless of whether you consider a 3.01 to be good enough or not. Instead, focus on the things you will do to bring your grades up at the new school, with your new sorority's help.
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