College Search for future Sorority Girl
 

Hello everyone! I am hoping to get a thread started in regards to my daughter, who is a Senior looking at schools. I am already part of the CC community, but since joining a sorority is a top priority, I thought sharing my story here would be best!:)
My DD is a Senior with a high GPA and ACT, 4-year cheerleader, and other activities including being an officer.
1) A strong greek system, would prefer that the sororities have houses
2) A large school that has many sports/activiitesj
3) A program in Biology (which is nearly everyone)

Financial assisstance is important. We would most likely be full-pay at state schools (we are from Michigan), with some financial aid assistance at private schools.

Her list includes: The University of SAM (my new name for it):Stanford, Alabama, and Michigan. She is also interested in Vanderbilt, WUSTL, and Duke for our privates, and a few in-state affordable options.

If she is going to Alabama (which is in her top 3) we know she needs recommendations for all groups on campus, which will be a major undertaking, so we are waiting a bit to see if she will be going to Alabama. The other schools do not require the recs like Alabama, but we will need some for some of the schools.

I would love to hear from all the sorority women out there with an opinion or advice for me! This year is turning out to be such an adventure! Thank you in advance!!!!:D

Sounds like your daughter has some exciting choices to make. I see only one West Coast school :mad: so I realize the chances of getting a PAC-12 addition are slim to none. Such is life!

I'm of mixed opinion about the benefits of having a facility, but my perspective is different than others', and may well be in the minority.

You'll be hearing from people at the schools you've listed, so their advice is most relevant. I suggest you do lots of reading and you'll pick up useful information.

I wouldn't assume that recs are optional on ANY of those campuses.

Recs are totally optional at Michigan!

Can't wait to see where your D ends up, for school and sorority!

The daughter of a friend of mine joined Alpha Gamma Delta at Bama this fall. She is an out of state student, was a double legacy to another chapter, but AGD won her heart.

She just loves her chapter and Bama. Her mom made sure she had a couple of recommendations for each chapter there. Good luck to your daughter as she makes her decision.

We have visited 3 college campuses in the last 4 months. The tours and campuses have all been vastly different. Two tours my daughter loved and one of the tours totally turned her off. Her criteria is similar to your daughters, but with a different major. We have one more tour to go in state but she really wants to go out of state. For us it will depend on the money that she is offered. BTW, check at each school to see if there is a Biology scholarship available to Freshman from the Biology department separate from the admin scholarships.

If you are looking at Biology - I think that you also need to think about what does she want to do with that? Is biology the end goal or a jumping off point?

Does she want to teach Biology?
Is she interested in a Pre-health program like medicine, nursing, physical therapy?
Does she want to go to grad school in biology?
Or does she want to work for an environmental sciences program, a forestry company, or a fish hatchery?

Some schools have Biology and some have Biomedical Sciences, Zoology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, Laboratory Technology, Marine Biology and Natural Resource Management?

These don't necessarily go together like a horse and carriage. :) If you mean to say you prefer that the sororities have housing that is another matter. But there are MANY strong Greek systems out there where the sororities don't have huge houses.

Agreed - take Duke for example.....

Wash U sororities do not have housing. They have chapter suites, I believe, but no actual house. The greek system at Wash U has really grown in the last few years, and I believe they are colonizing another sorority within the near future. I would have to go back to Irish Pipes list to see who it is.
The biological sciences programs at Wash U are excellent. They have huge research facilities and are operating with an endowment of several billion dollars.

Kappa Delta is colonizing this spring at WashU.

Agreed that you don't need recs at Michigan. You just don't.

And if you're from the state of Michigan, why go anywhere else but UofM? :)

Of course, I'm a little biased, but if she's pre-med, the program is top-notch, the Greek system is strong and the housing is amazing.

Does she want to get away from people from her high school?

I know that it's expensive at UM, but there are tons of outside scholarships available.

I say GO BLUE! (Good luck to her no matter where she ends up!)

I'd get recs no matter where she goes. Why not take advantage of an extra advantage? A current sorority member of one of the most competitive groups at Michigan told my daughter to definitely get recs. My guess is that they play a bigger role at some chapters than they do at others. Her chapter is one that is likely making heavy cuts early on, and a rec. might help.

Have you read AGDee's thread about her daughter's college search?

Vanderbilt has housing but not many girls live in. They are more like lodges. They do have a very strong Greek system. Not for sure about references. I know we send a lot from Dallas but we are use to them being required.

Are you asking only for advice specific to these schools or are you looking to add other schools to her list of applications?

There's a thread listing the schools where you will most likely need recs/references. There is also a "general advice" thread linked in my signature which may be helpful for the general process of recruitment. Addtionally, if you use the "Search" function, you can find past threads detailing PNMs experiences with recruitment at specific schools.

If you would like to consider any Florida schools, note that a student can qualify for in-state tuition after their first year; unlike the residency requirements of many other states. UF, FSU, and UCF will meet the criteria on your daughter's lists (and recs will be required for these schools).