Interested in Alumnae Initiation
 

Hello All,

I am a recent grad from a small school in East Texas. During my years at this university I was focused on my school work and my relationship with my boyfriend. I never really connected with any of the sororities at that campus, so I never rushed. Now that I have graduated, my biggest regret is not rushing a sorority as an undergrad. :( I wish I had the sisterhood and the seemingly life-long friendships that sororities offer.

I have recently moved to a new town and am interested in one of the chapters at the school where I will begin graduate level coursework in the spring. It is not a sorority that was located at my undergraduate university. I have researched this sorority and I know they have an alumnae chapter in my town and that the sorority does do AI (at other schools). However, I am uncertain whether or not this particular alumnae chapter does AI.

My questions are, How might I find out if this alumnae chapter does AI and how does one start the process of rushing an alumnae chapter?

Thanks for any help in advance! :)

p.s. feel free to redirect me to the proper thread for these questions. After all, I am new here. ;)

Although every sorority has its own policies, AI isn't typically something that is pursued on the potential inititate's part. AI is an honor that a sorority bestows upon women who it deems are worthy due to some special relationship with the sorority. AI is not really a second bite at the undergraduate apple.

Women don't "rush" alumnae chapters and AI isn't a replacement for not joining in undergrad. It's an honor a sorority bestows on a woman who has made contributions to her community, whether it's career related, volunteer, etc. It is also meant for women who already have a connection to the sorority, such as a mother or a sister who are members or a woman who pledged but couldn't initiate for family or medical reasons (these are just some examples.) while there is an AI forum, you will most likely not get the reception you are looking for on greekchat. AI is not something that is taken lightly by NPC members. And it's not something that you cold call sorority hq about. If you are looking for friendship with like-minded women, consider a community sorority or the Junior League. Also, you ate starting grad school. You will be busier than undergrad and have new responsibilities. Will you really have time for a new org? What about joining something for professional/grad students at your new campus?

Thank y'all very much for your insight. It seems like I will need to become super active in my new community, and maybe then I will have the opportunity to become acquainted with some of these distinguished alumnae. :) Also, I will take into consideration my new schedule and responsibilities before I make a commitment to any type of new organization.

I am sorry if I offended anyone by using the term rush, or the nature of my post. I was not quite sure how the process worked and was only going off of my research and the knowledge I had from being an undergrad.

Thank you again, and I am still open to other advice!

There are non-collegiate sororities. You might see if there is one in your area. Also, consider a church or temple sisterhood group or the Junior League for fellowship, community involvement, sisterhood, and meeting new people.

Are you looking to join an NPC sorority (one of these)?

I just moved and wound up joining Junior League. They have the service and some of the social aspects that sororities do. Clearly you won't be having theme parties every single week, but I know my regions Junior League likes to grab a drink or two after our meetings.

You may also want to consider some national organizations which offer intake at the graduate level and also provide networking. There are many different Greek lettered organizations with varying focuses. I can only speak for my organization, we do have graduate chapters and you do not have to be a grad student to pursue membership. You do have to have obtained a baccalaureate. Every organization has different rules, so I would suggest looking into specific organizations you are interested in.

Good luck!

voLTAgeDEuce,


Which type of national organizations intake at the graduate level? i have been trying to research this but I am coming up short. I must not be looking in the right direction.

I believe NPHC organizations do so, as well as Beta Sigma Phi (a community based sorority). If you are looking for an NPC org, you may be out of luck. You could contact your school's greek life office and ask if any groups take graduate members, but keep in mind that just because ABC as a national org allows graduate members does not mean that the ABC chapter at your school will.

I remember reading here somewhere that "an" NPC sorority was actively seeking alumnae initiates. I believe it was Tri Sigma, but I don't want to step on any toes. Maybe someone would like to jump in on that one. I found information fairly quickly on their website.

There are some groups who have information fairly readily available on their national websites, but that's certainly not to say they aren't selective.

Information about AI is available on many NPC websites.

I'm not claiming unlimited knowledge in this area, but I haven't heard of any NPCs intentionly gathering alumnae initiates except in cases of colonizations. AIs are sometimes actively sought during a colonization to create alumnae support in the community and to bind the college community to the chapter. Even in those cases, there isn't a wide call publicizing an opening for AIs; the sorority simply encourages the new collegiate members to consider asking the women in their lives (moms, aunts, etc.) and on the campus (professors, administrators, advisors, etc.) to consider membership. At least that is what I have seen. Like DeltaBetaBaby said, the sorority may still be quite selective in extending an offer of membership.

I actually participated in encouraging alums of an absorbed local to become alumnae initiates of Alpha Sigma Alpha. There was some very interesting tension in that scenario. Very interesting! I learned a lot, and I truly appreciated the loyalty to the local sorority.

Initiating alumnae of a local sorority who have been active collegiate Greeks (albeit locally Greek) for 1-4 years =/= initiating women who have no Greek experience.

I don't even consider initiating alums of a local group that becomes national "AI" as it is spoken about on here. If they choose not to initiate into the national group, they still have alumnae ties to the local group that continue - the same as alumnae ties in a closed chapter of a national group would continue. And even if they don't initiate - it doesn't mean they won't support the local-turned-national in every way. If a sorority would spurn their support just because they wouldn't be "official" - that would be flat out sillypants.

Was this at Capital University by chance?