Advice
 

Hello all!
So at my current school I realized is not a great fit for me at all and I plan on transferring to at least two state schools in VA. However I'm supposed to rush for my currently school in about two weeks. My number one VA school has only one sorority that my current school has while the second school has two that my current school has. Should I take a chance and go with rush week or should I ask if I can refund and wait till fall formal recruitment next fall (ill be a sophomore)?
Thanks so much!

I wouldn't advise going through recruitment at a school you are sure you're going to transfer out of and won't even be returning to after your next semester.

If you pledge and initiate into a sorority that has a chapter at the school you transfer to, you might be able to affiliate into that chapter. Then again, you might not be able to. They may not want you to or you might find them so different from the chapter at your old school that the fit is totally wrong.

It's also not fair to join a chapter when you KNOW you will only be giving them one semester before transferring. Sororities can only offer bids to a certain number of PNMs. You might be taking the spot of someone who could commit several years to them. You might take the spot of a girl who really, really wanted to pledge that sorority at that school.

Start fresh and go through fall recruitment at your new school. While pledging as a sophomore can be more difficult at some schools, like in the SEC, it isn't at others and plenty of women begin their Greek affiliations as non-freshmen. I don't know which schools you are looking at, but because they are in Virginia, I know they aren't in the SEC.

Also, have you been accepted yet at either of these schools or are you still waiting to hear? If it's the latter, their decision could be a game changer.

I agree with greekdee. If you are for sure going to transfer, don't go through recruitment. I would see if you can get a refund of your fees (although you might not, so keep that in mind).
I would just go through recruitment when you transfer to your new school.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Thanks for the advice guys! and I wouldn't hear back from my schools till around march-may which is my other thing as well...

In the event you don't get accepted to one of the two, do you have other schools in mind or would you most likely stay where you are?

If you can't get a refund of your fee AND your current school isn't too competitive, you could go through the first round of rush, to see what it's all about and get more comfortable with it. If you're at a pretty competitive school, I wouldn't because you could be denying another girl a spot (even after just 1 round of rush you could affect someone else's outcome). If in doubt, don't. But different campuses have different processes for rush, so going through the first round might not be problematic. You should be able to ask the Greek Life director or your Rho Chi (or whatever they're called at your school) for input on that.

And if you do decide to do this, DON'T LIE about your intentions. But I'm also wondering if finding a happy home in a sorority might change your opinion about the fit with your current school. I mean, if it's what majors they offer or the quality of education, that's one thing. But if you're feeling like you're missing out socially, then going through rush might fill that void.

I was actually just wondering the same thing! Why, exactly, do you want to transfer? If it's because you are struggling to make friends or find your niche with other students, a sorority could very well turn the tides.

If that's the only reason you want to transfer (and it's a valid reason for not liking your current environment!), I retract my earlier advice. Again, if it's the only reason and you honestly wouldn't be thinking of transferring if it wasn't...then go ahead and go through recruitment. :)

All of the above is so true! I just went through recruitment as a freshman in the fall, and before recruitment I thought my college experience so far was just ehhh. I'd made a couple friends, but I just kinda liked my college. I kept wondering if I should have gone to another school. After getting a bid though, my whole perspective changed! I'm definitely closer to saying I love my university now, and that's largely because of Kappa (:

However, do note that if the social reason is why you want to transfer, you will still have to work at friendships even if you join a sorority. You still have to make an effort (not implying that you're not making an effort now, just a caution that you're not necessarily gonna have insta-friends)

again thank you guys so much for the advice!: I want to transfer because the atmosphere at the school doesn't mesh with me at all! I personally think it's more than finding my niche, it's just not working out! But I've also thought that if I do end up going through rush at my school (which based on my research it isn't super competitive) maybe that idea of the school's atmosphere will change? and if I don't get into my two VA schools I was also going to apply to a school back home (another state school which would have almost all the same sororities from my original school.

Just keep in mind that while they sorority chapters share the same letters, they are often not the "same" chapter - different girls, different interests, etc. While you could join one chapter of a sorority at your current school it could be vastly different, for better or worse in your eyes, then a chapter you want to affiliate with at your new school. And keep in mind, some chapters do not take affiliates.