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Should I go through Formal Recruitment?

Hi GC,

Obviously, I'm new and trying to figure out if rushing is even something I should think about right now.

About me: I'll be 20 this year. I'm planning on transferring to Delta State University this coming fall (Fall 2013) and have been thinking of going through recruitment.

My problem, however, is my GPA. I've never been good in school (my freshman year of high school ended with a 0.90 GPA... but that was due to personal reasons), partly due to being an outsider. I'm a very introverted person (though I'm less so now, than I was) and I'm very conscious of not doing something that could possibly offend people. I've never had a group of people to study with, and that has led to me having horrible study habits.

This looks extremely horrible (and it is) but I am also a 4th semester freshman. Since starting at community college, I've only been taking 12 hour course loads... and for the past 3 semesters, 3 of those credit hours were for a non-credit, remedial math class that a good 3/4ths of the local public school system students are placed in to. It's also an online-only course. I have also dropped two 3-credit hour courses since starting and I've failed 3 courses. My first semester I failed EN101 due to the teacher being foreign. This past semester I failed my last two remaining classes, after dropping my third credit class (due to not paying attention/being able to focus in one and the teacher being a crazy old loon in the second).

When I transfer, I may or may not still be a freshman due to how credits transfer.

My current cumulative GPA is 1.90 down from a 2.67 my first year. I'm hoping to raise it to a 2.4 (or higher!) this semester.

I know the chapters and the NPC look at high school/college transcripts, and I know I don't look good as an PNM.

Joining a sorority is something that I never used to see myself even thinking about doing and it still seems weird that I'm looking into it. I just love the whole sisterhood "thing" (I don't know what else to call it), and I've always known that if I had a group of people to study with... that could keep me focused, I would be a lot better off school wise.

Sorry for the wall of text, if you are still reading this I applaud you!

I have a few questions:

1) Would I possibly get a bid (or even get through day 1) at the DSU chapters of Phi Mu (Kappa Epsilon), TriDelta (Phi Phi) and/or Kappa Delta (Gamma Psi) with a 2.3-2.5?

2) Knowing that there's a slim-to-none chance that I'll get through the week due to my GPA, should I bother doing formal recruitment this year and do it next year (or try to come through spring semester?). I know the older you get (and higher up on the academic food chain) it's harder to get in, and that is a worry as well.

3) When I transfer, I will most likely still be classed as a freshman due to certain credits not transferring and whatnot. How are transfer students that are new to the Greek system treated in terms of recruitment?

Thank you!

Oh, where to start......

First off, edit your post. You have given way too much personal info so that you could easily be recognized.

Second, take responsibility for your academic shortcomings. Quit blaming everyone and everything else. While family emergencies happen and your personal life can hamper your schoolwork, the one constant factor in all of your school stuff is you.

Pledge the library, the writing center, and the academic resource center on campus. Even if you qualified for rush or to receive a bid, balancing the time and commitment of a sorority would only further remove you from academics. You need strong study and time management skills before you get involved in anything on campus, greek or not. A sorority is not a magic fix for poor study skills or few friends.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MusicIsLifeMD (Post 2206132)

Hi GC,

Obviously, I'm new and trying to figure out if rushing is even something I should think about right now.

About me: I'm currently 19, I'll be 20 in July. I'm planning on transferring to Delta State University in Cleveland, MS this coming fall (Fall 2013) and have been thinking of going through recruitment.

My problem, however, is my GPA. I've never been good in school (my freshman year of high school ended with a 0.90 GPA... but that was after/during my best friend attempted suicide and my parents getting divorced), partly due to being an outsider. I'm a very introverted person (though I'm less so now, than I was) and I'm very conscious of not doing something that could possibly offend people. I've never had a group of people to study with, and that has led to me having horrible study habits.

This looks extremely horrible (and it is) but I am also a 4th semester freshman. Since starting at community college, I've only been taking 12 hour course loads... and for the past 3 semesters, 3 of those credit hours were for a non-credit, remedial math class that a good 3/4ths of the local public school system students are placed in to. It's also an online-only course. I have also dropped two 3-credit hour courses since starting and I've failed 3 courses. My first semester I failed EN101 due to the teacher being Russian and not being able to understand her. This past semester I failed both my History of England class and my second, elective, health class. The class started with 25 people, and ended with 15. 7 of whom got a passing grade in the course (the professor took off full points for the tiniest mistakes and lectured us about stuff that was never on the tests).

When I transfer, I may or may not still be a freshman due to how credits transfer.

My current cumulative GPA is 1.90 down from a 2.67 my first year. I'm hoping to raise it to a 2.4 (or higher!) this semester.

I know the chapters and the NPC look at high school/college transcripts, and I know I don't look good as an PNM.

Joining a sorority is something that I never used to see myself even thinking about doing and it still seems weird that I'm looking into it. I just love the whole sisterhood "thing" (I don't know what else to call it), and I've always known that if I had a group of people to study with... that could keep me focussed, I would be a lot better off school wise.

Sorry for the wall of text, if you are still reading this I applaud you!

I have a few questions:

1) Would I possibly get a bid (or even get through day 1) at the DSU chapters of Phi Mu (Kappa Epsilon), TriDelta (Phi Phi) and/or Kappa Delta (Gamma Psi) with a 2.3-2.5?

2) Knowing that there's a slim-to-none chance that I'll get through the week due to my GPA, should I bother doing formal recruitment this year and do it next year (or try to come through spring semester?). I know the older you get (and higher up on the academic food chain) it's harder to get in, and that is a worry as well.

3) When I transfer, I will most likely still be classed as a freshman due to certain credits not transferring and whatnot. How are transfer students that are new to the Greek system treated in terms of recruitment?

Thank you!

I am not sure if you will even permitted to sign up for recruitment with your grades. I see on the Delta State web site that you may not go through recruitment if you are on academic probation.

Please please please edit your post. You have way too much personal info here.

Is your transfer already a sure thing? To be honest, I wouldn't expect a school to accept a transfer student with a low gpa.

The chapters will only look at your college gpa, and you just aren't strong on paper. You may be a wonderful person but I would suggest you focus on academics and less time demanding activities to help boost your social and study skills.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xidelt (Post 2206136)

Second, take responsibility for your academic shortcomings. Quit blaming everyone and everything else. While family emergencies happen and your personal life can hamper your schoolwork, the one constant factor in all of your school stuff is you.

This!

If you learn nothing else in college, please learn to at least take responsibility for your actions. It's one thing to have a bad semester because of a family issue, or to have a professor that doesn't mesh well with you and your style of learning. However, your GPA isn't just bad.. it's abysmal. That isn't due to anything else except the fact that you're simply not trying. Don't try and sugarcoat it. And don't act like you need a group of people around you in order to study well.

Figure out school and try to raise your GPA. Worry about a sorority only after you do that.

It's gonna take about 2 semesters with both a minimum of a 3.0 to get it even close to a 2.4. I've been in that situation: thankfully I worked my way out of it. And to address the excuse of your low grades: most schools don't take excuses in regards to having a low gpa. I would focus on my academics for a while, like maybe a whole year to get back into the swing of things. College isn't gonna get any easier the further up you go.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl (Post 2206139)

Is your transfer already a sure thing? To be honest, I wouldn't expect a school to accept a transfer student with a low gpa.

This is true..

Has this school actually accepted you?

If anything else, this post shows a piece of info I wish I would have had my freshman year:

DROP A CLASS IF IT SUCKS AND WILL DRAG YOUR GPA DOWN.

If you can't understand the teacher, drop the class!! If you have an 8 o'clock and can never get up that early, drop the class!

Everything doesn't have a prerequisite. Take some other general studies course you will need at some point.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 33girl (Post 2206151)

If anything else, this post shows a piece of info I wish I would have had my freshman year:

DROP A CLASS IF IT SUCKS AND WILL DRAG YOUR GPA DOWN.

I wish I knew this as well. My first semester GPA sucked for this very reason. Schools should really find a way to make it known to every student that dropping a class is possible.

That being said, after my first semester, I took one class for a second time with a new professor (and did extremely well), and I worked my butt off to bring my GPA up. I know many people who were in the same position I was, and that first semester was a learning experience and a huge wake up call.

Ditto. I had a teacher tell me she was going to flunk me the day after it was too late to drop. Lesson learned the hard way.

Maybe I'm stating the obvious, but OP - have you been tested for a learning disability or something else that might be interfering with your ability to achieve academic success? From what you wrote, you're not progressing.

There might well be something else going on with you that you could investigate and address. School should be your first priority. To that end, find out what's preventing you from achieving.

I say this because I have had attention difficulties my entire life (although I was able to hyperfocus on studying and got great grades, because I learned to isolate myself). In hindsight, it would have been helpful had my attention span and distractibility gotten the medical support it needed. Even today I still struggle with impulsivity and focus, but I finally know how to do what needs to be done when it really counts.

A sorority should be pretty far down on your list. That's my opinion.

Depending on how your school handles transfers - and they all can vary - the F's may not even show up. So it may be that your GPA will be only the A's - D's that you received. I'd ask the school how they do that and check with the Greek Life office as well. You very well may be worrying about something that won't even show up. If it does, you'll have to deal with it but I would get all the info from your school first - and not us. We didn't go to your community college nor the college you are transferring to nor are we there now. And they are the final arbitor.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xidelt (Post 2206136)

So what would you suggest removing, exactly?

I know that I've messed up, and let personal problems affect my school work. I don't think that that is ever going to change... it's just my personality. I stress too much about the things that are not as important as the things I don't stress for. I was raised in a household where homework and studying time was not given. Once I got home from school, it was time to clean... no exceptions.

My senior year was my best year in high school, due to having a part-time babysitting job. When I have a lot of commitments, I know how to spend my time wisely. But when I'm not doing anything other than school I'm not. That's why I think joining a sorority would be good for me. It won't allow me to have all the time in the world to slack off.

If I had just dropped all the classes that counted last semester, my GPA problem wouldn't be an issue. But, of course, it is now.

Thank you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by thetalady (Post 2206137)

I am not sure if you will even permitted to sign up for recruitment with your grades. I see on the Delta State web site that you may not go through recruitment if you are on academic probation.

I was not aware that I would be on academic probation. I'm currently on academic alert at my current school, which is just that-an alert to show that if I don't do better I will be on probation/restriction. Two of my friends are currently on probation status, and are only allowed to take 2 classes this semester.

But thank you! That will definitely be something I'll look into.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SoCalGirl (Post 2206139)

The transfer is a sure thing... IF and only IF I pass this semester's classes. The minimum to transfer is 2.0. I'm not aiming for that, because that would just be stupid. I am aiming for however high I can get, but even getting a 4.0 this semester would only bring my GPA to a 2.6.