Recs for international students interested in greek life?
 

Heyy guys,

So I've been looking through the greek life system in the US and I couldn't help but wonder how many international students take part/get selected to a sorority/frat? So apparently, you need stellar gpa and ECs and all that (but depending on the university ur attending, you probably already have all that..) BUT besides all that, they look for recommendations from greek alums...Usually, if you are an in-state student or if you have legacy or at least anyone ( a teacher, neighbor) who is a greek alum, you can get a rec from them. But whats the case for international students? How can an international student (who does not have a legacy or know a greek alum) get recs? I am aware that the Panhellenic council assists students participating in rush find alums who can write recs but I've only heard of this happenning in the US...does the council find alums for an international student too?

*And before anyone goes on to say that recs aren't important in all US universities..I'm focusing on the southern ones (UT Austin and such?) :)

So..wow that was a a lot to ask... It would be great if you're an international greek or an alum who could clarify this for me! Thank you xx

Well, it all depends. Some international students know Americans - or maybe are American and just live overseas for various reasons - and they network that way. Some groups don't want international members as they often are just her for one year. And some will get pledged due to their resume and how they click with the members as the members may want the experience of having an international member.

Well, I'm not american but I do go to an International School here in my Country (India)...Our school's affiliated with most of the Universities at US and yes, we have staff from the US too but I doubt any of them were Greek. I could ask...but do you think contacting the Embassy (they have this inquiry system especially for students in this country pursuing an education in the US) would help? Would they connect me to the Panhellenic women in my country (if there are any)? How likely is it that an international student is selected to be in a sorority? I'm just worried that even if I do find a women, I could probably just get one or two recs...but the southern rush needs at least 1 or 2 for each chapter! :/

I think making those contacts with your American teachers and the Embassy is an excellent idea. As for whether or not any particular campus/group would be interested in a foreign student, I really can't say. I know it happens but it isn't up to me - or any of us here - to decide. The Greek Life office at your American university might be able to give you some guidance.

Check with the American Women's Association or Club where you are. They undoubtedly will be able to help you, although you may need to spoon feed them the information. Do some legwork to find the nearest AWA or AWC near you. Once you have that, send me a PM and I'll walk you through exactly what to ask. I was the communications director (receiver of the emails) for the AWA in Dubai and I'd have been thrilled to receive this kind of an email.

And don't assume your teachers or friends' parents are not Greek or don't know Greeks. I would ask all of them (even the men), not just if they are sorority members, but if they know any. Without any work at all I was able to gather a list of 6 or 8 sororities represented within my group of friends in Dubai. If I'd have really worked at it I probably would have come up with almost every one.

Regarding the highlighted part, do you mean that a number of international students have been selected in the past? And yes, I understand it's the sororities' decision to pick who they want but what do you think/hear of is the main reason why many international students (who did rush..) are not picked by sororities?..(I've been looking through some of the threads on UT Austin rush and very few people on it are international..)

I never actually thought about the AWC or AWA...thank you! ...I'm currently starting my senior year of HS (its still summer but in a few weeks i will..). And obviously, I don't have an acceptance in hand yet but I plan on starting to work on my rush recs and resume after the acceptance...that is when I think I should contact the AWA/AWC. Do you think this is a good idea or do you think I should start talking to them in the coming motnhs itself, to get to know them?

Thank you soo much and yes, I'll PM you once I begin the process :)

International students have been selected by chapters before. Of course it happens. How often it happens, at what schools in happens, and the ratio of international students rushing to how many are selected.. we can't say. Unless of course there is some study out there providing specific numbers regarding such things.

The reasons why potential members are selected are part of the private membership selection process (which varies by sorority, and by chapter), and no one here will be able to tell you specific reasons why anyone is or isn't chosen for membership.

In general, international students run into more challenges - finding recs, understanding the Greek life culture, assimilating with the student body as a whole. They usually don't have the luxury of being a legacy or knowing active sisters with whom they attended high school. And in some cases, there are even language barriers. Any or all of these factors can be hard to overcome depending on the student and the school they're attending.

However, to give you definitive answers as to why an international student wouldn't receive a bid would be the same as providing specific answers as to why a student born and raised in the U.S. wouldn't receive a bid, and... we just can't say.

Ahh...I understand :) I really don't have any of those issues other than the fact that I have no legacies and I wasn't born/raised in the US. Will still give it a shot and see how it goes! Thank you! :)

To start: this is all anecdotal. I did not attend UT or any SEC school. I will not be revealing any membership selection, as that is private. However, during my time as a active, my group pledged 1-2 international students per pledge class. We were generally the only sorority (out of 5 at the time) to do so. About half of the international students we pledged dropped out of the sorority. A few of them I think only rushed because that was campus culture (80% Greek) and really didn't know what they were getting into. The other half were some of the best, coolest, most dedicated sisters we had. I roomed with a girl from Israel who taught herself English in high school by watching Friends. A
She attended every event we had, and had one of the highest GPAs in the chapter. She put me to shame! Personally, I think the other chapters missed out by not pledging international students, but the retention rate was poor enough that they may not have felt it was worth the risk.

I suppose my point, which I seem to have lost, was that you may need to impress on the sororities during rush that you DO know what you're getting into and are going to stick it out. I think putting in enough legwork to secure recs from India will help that a lot. No one can tell you what your chances are, but I think you're going about this the right way.

Okay, she learnt english by watching Friends?! :O that is very interesting indeed. So is the retention rate of international student, as you said. I'm glad to hear that some sororities consider internationals though haha thank you so much! :) xx

When you go back to school, then get in touch with the AWA. If you have any American friends, their moms might be able to help with that. You don't need recs anywhere near that soon, but it might take you awhile to make the connections you need to make. Besides, if you meet your friend's mom in September, you could actually know her well by spring when it's time to write that rec. And definitely start asking your teachers as soon as school kicks in. Again, they might be able to help, but everything takes longer when you're so far away. And word will get around, but not necessarily at lightning speed.

Do you use Facebook? Maybe as you start to finalize what school you will be attending you can post about needing sorority recommendations. A lot of people from India come to the US to study right? Maybe some of your friends have relatives or friends of the family who studied here who were in sororities or know people who were in sororities who they can connect you with. Work your network and you might be surprised what you find!

My daughter is a current member of the same chapter, and I spent some time reflecting on this issue after recruitment. This school combines 80% GLO membership with highly competitive admissions. Like other highly ranked schools, it attracts international applicants and a diverse applicant pool. Many of the daughters of immigrants and international students on my daughter's floor did not go through recruitment. Of those who did, it struck me that they seemed to make up the majority of those released. I know MS is private, but that is troubling to me. I'll refrain from saying any more.

One of her pledge sisters is from Mongolia. It would have been a real challenge for her to get recs!

Exactly...this is what I read on many of the forums/threads I go on but I also think that the reason they didn't make it through was because of the lack of recs?...I mean, its the only legitimate and fair reason I can think of. Why else would they be released (assuming they do have every requirement)? Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't GLOs in highly ranked universities with diversity want to have international students in their sororities/frats too? I mean..it just goes on to show multiculturalism as I see it...

Also, What's MS? haha...(not an expert in Greek Life) :)