Sophomore Problems
 

Hey! I'm a sophomore rushing at a small liberal arts college. I rushed last year but due to my gpa (2.7) I didn't get what i wanted and dropped out of recruitment. I am very close to almost all members of a certain sorority. I want to rush again but i am a little scared. Although i realize that there is no excuse for ill academic behavior, I had a lot of family problems, a lot of which kept me from school and my accumulative gpa didn't get much better; however, this past semester i got exactly a 3.0. which is a major upgrade from my previous semester (1.7) I was wondering if i could get some insight as to whether to rush again or not. I didn't know if there were anything to be accounted for hard work and dedication. Or if they could see that you were trying your hardest.

The girls know my situation and I feel that I could offer a lot to the chapter, I want to inspire girls who have been through a rough home life to power through their problems and show them they are beautiful and can overcome anything. I feel that these are things that sororities gear to motivate through themselves. I have many letters of rec from different chapters of this organization, and one from an alumni of my school. One letter of rec is from an executive member of an SEC school. I have also composed a letter to the chapter explaining to them what they mean to me, and that I am retaking a lot of my classes from previous semesters to improve my gpa.

please help me if you can:)

p.s. I know for sure the min. requirement is a 3.0 gpa but my accumulative is a 2.7 at this moment

QFP

We truthfully cannot answer your question as to whether or not to rush again.

What is the policy of the college panhellenic re: minimum GPA requirement for recruitment?

If you've read and done your research, then you know that we don't discuss membership selection on GC. We don't know anything about the policies of the chapter you have your heart set on (which, in and of itself, is problematic on multiple levels). The best advice you will get is to go through and see what happens. Good luck.

I just wanted some friendly advice, I didnt expect to get a straight forward answer! However, the panhellenic min gpa requirement is a 2.4 :)

My advice is go through but if your friends have told you their minimum GPA is a 3.0 and you have a 2.7, I would not exactly go out buying letters just yet. Your friends could have all the best intentions in the world and EVERY girl in the chapter could want you, but if they have to cut you because of grades, they do. Also, they can easily say they had to cut you for grades when it could be something else.

That being said, a 3.0 minimum seems pretty high to me and I think I'd start looking at your other options on campus. If there are other chapters who will take you and you want sorority membership and not just membership in that group (lifetime, blah blah blah), I'd start re-evaluating your priorities now.

It is very possible a chapter may have no flexibility in deciding to drop PNMs who do not make the minimum GPA, no matter how many members you know or how many recs you have. A 3.0 is hardly something to brag about, especially when it was only for one semester. You still look like a grade risk if that's all you could make when you weren't having problems.

That you have your heart set on one sorority when you are in this predicament is even more troubling. If you really are that close to so many members and they think you are all that, certainly they would be willing to wait another year until you were able to make grades.

Of course you can go through recruitment and see for yourself. But you should be very honest with yourself about how it will make you feel if things don't go as you'd like.

Have you asked your friends?

I have asked a few friends of course they aren't able to tell me much of anything but encourage me to go through.

In reply to Greek or geek I think you misunderstood me. I have been going through a rough time my whole life. I mentioned my home life lightly it's not just one incident it just happened to get a lot worse this past year. They did give me a year to improve my grades while as my home life got worse during that year. However these past 2 months I have begun to get stronger and have been using my experiences to better myself and raise awareness for others. I am by no means bragging about a 3.0 but for all that has came to me this year it is a drastic improvement as compared to previous semesters. I understand that Greek life puts a great emphasis on scholastics and respect it dearly. I have never had issues with academics until my college career not due to intelligence but lack of help.

I just wonder when a group takes the time to hep you and sees that you are making the steps in the right direction and could benefit their chapter, are there exceptions? Is there a chance to well, get a chance to show them that you are worth the bid and that I am retaking classes because I am in a better state of mind and know I am capable to make the grades now that I am in a healthier stage of my life.

:)

I don't even know what this means. Have you mistaken a sorority for a social service agency?

You said you have spoken to plenty of friends in the sorority about it. How do you expect strangers on the internet to respond? Even if we knew you, knew your school and knew every bylaw of the sorority you are set on, we still couldn't answer your questions. If your friends are encouraging you to rush then just do it.

Well that was rude.. I'm not asking for a social service agency..I was referring to grades..makin changes in my GRADES.. My question was are there ever exceptions when a majority of the group likes you and can see that your gpa will change in the upcoming semester? I was simply explaining the situation to the forum so you can have the same insight that my peers do...I just need outside advice before I get my feelings hurt.

You've been given good advice.

No one has a crystal ball to predict anything with any degree of certainty when it comes to grades or human behavior. Please.

This scenario sounds very familiar: in essence you are asking for the outcome of the race before you place your bet. Life is not like that.

Again, good luck.

The short answer to your question is no. There are minimum standards set for grades and they will not be broken. Sororities are fun and important in our lives, but your education is THE MOST IMPORTANT reason you're in college and sororities don't take that lightly.

I'm sorry you've had a rough childhood, but if you're doing all you can to keep your head above water now, adding all the commitments of sorority to the mix is just not a good idea. You had family issues that kept you from going to class. How about class, meetings, study hours, philanthropy hours, parties, financial obligations? I think it's a big surprise to girls who see NPC sororities as the pretty IT girls on campus, only to find out these girls who seem to float through life are actually busy busy busy from dawn until late every day juggling multiple commitments and not letting ANY of the balls drop.

Ask your sorority friends about their commitments and spend some real time thinking if you can make that happen. You can, by the way, get kicked out of your sorority for not meeting your obligations and yet STILL have to pay the money you promised. If you read through some threads here you will see it can and does happen and it's a mighty bitter pill to swallow.

it seems to me that if you are going to be retaking classes to improve your grades ( a good idea, by the way), then you will remain a sophomore a bit longer, or will, at least, not be graduating in 7 semesters, i.e., you will have longer to be a collegiate member than other sophomores that may be rushing. am i correct?