Alabama Sophomore Spring transfer
 

I attended a large very Greek oriented SEC school this past fall. I was given a bid by a largely considered "top tier" fraternity and pledged all fall. The fraternity happened to be the only one that did not initiate its fall pledge class until early spring. Well I happened to get in some fairly serious trouble over christmas and was forced by those financing my collegiate endeavors to take a few semesters off at a local college. So fast forwarding I'm now planning to go back off to school for my sophomore spring semester but in light of what's happened I've started flirting with the notion of transferring to Alabama for a fresh start (not that I didn't have a great time last fall by any means) but considering I'll be a sophomore coming in after rush is over I am doubting whether I would be able to be accepted in a well respected Fraternity. The main question I guess is whether any Alabama students on here think that if I contacted the Alabama chapter of the GLO I had previously pledged elsewhere, They may take a better look at me than a typical older rushee. (the fraternity in question is to my knowledge well respected at Alabama)

Out of curiousity, why did the fraternity you were pledging not initiate till early spring? Is this just their tradition, or did the pledge class suck at getting their stuff done? Because if it's the latter, you might be better off not to mention your involvement at all.

Also, be prepared to answer questions about your "sabbatical" and why you will not be doing again what you did to get in trouble (or at least will not get caught at it).

I'd say it's worth a shot at least, unless like 33girl mentioned, you guys weren't initiated till spring for reasons other than tradition. I actually know a guy who pledged a fraternity at Alabama (mind you, it's not "top tier"), had to drop because he was deployed to Iraq, came back after his tour of duty and pledged the same fraternity again. Now, it may be different for him because he a) Came back to the same school at which he originally pledged, and b) He had to leave school for more...noble reasons, but it does happen, I guess. I'd say a lot of it may depend on which fraternity you pledged at your school. If it's a "top tier" one at Alabama too, it's going to be a lot harder for you, despite your connection, if you're out of state and a transfer. You can PM me if you have more questions - I'm a current student at UA.

This. And stop obsessing about "top tier" and "well-respected." Focus less on status and more on trying to find a group of guys you'd like to call brothers (and who'd like to call you brother).

Thanks for the help, and to clarify the relatively late initiation was actually a tradition in that chapter. Also I understand that tiers and rankings are generally speaking arbitrary and deceptive, I only use them to put my previous affiliation in perspective. I left on good terms with the chapter and I would imagine most of them would even vouch for me if it means anything. Ive been considering calling an officer in the chapter at Alabama to discuss the matter, get my name out there early, and get a feel for my own fit with the chapter. By no means would I be dead set on rushing the same fraternity but I would think ill have some level of credibility with them being that I have been through a version of their pledge process before. I have a few recent alum connections with other Bama fraternities I can try and work with and I'm technically a legacy to another fraternity. Any tips on which of these avenues are worth pursuing would be really helpful.

Auburn is better lol. But, I don't think I would specifically call the rush chair to explain yourself. If you're at a rush event and it comes up then go for it. There are twenty-something Fraternities at Alabama so try and see as many as possible, and don't get too caught up in how huge ATOs house is.