Lane-swervy question
 

Please let me know if this is encroaching on membership selection/nonya business territory:

I've read over there years here that PNMs are somewhat discouraged (at the very least, not totally ENcouraged) to affiliate with their sorority if they transfer colleges. The idea seems to be that XYZ at University of GC and XYZ at GC State could be SO apples and oranges in terms of personality that it's not worth it. Or worse, the XYZs at GC State just aren't that into you (ranging from "she's so meh" to "what a hot messity mess!") and have jurisdiction to reject Transfer Tracy.

I also have read threads where current NPC members argue the logistics of transferring membership: having room in the house, quota numbers, difference in collegiate dues costs...

Of course this is apples and oranges in my NPHC brain, and perhaps I'm just not meant to understand. I just wonder about those transfer XYZ girls who probably could use their sisterhood, or a sister (or hundred) when coming to a new college. On the flipside, are collegiate members taught to welcome transferring members as their sister?

I think that the advice given here has a slightly finer point. We discourage women from affiliating WITH THE INTENT to transfer. There are many reasons this plan can backfire, like the things you mention above, but they pretty much fall into two categories: 1) The chapter may not think the member is a good fit and 2) The member may not think the chapter is a good fit.

I think #1 primarily occurs when it looks like the member intentionally rushed at Tiny Commuter School and transferred to Big State U. Yes, the woman is still a sister, but this is one of those things that they have to put the kibosh on, because if BSU allowed this as a matter of course, it seriously hurts the chapter at TCS.

IME, if a woman transfers into a school for a legitimate reason, and meets the requirements of membership for that chapter, they are not likely to reject her attempt to affiliate, even if it's unlikely that's the chapter that she would have ended up with had she rushed there. To be blunt, I have seen women affiliate with top chapters who probably would have been dropped by those same chapters in FR, as long as she had grades, could pay the dues, etc.

OTOH, I have actually seen #2 a lot more often. Greek Life can be so different from one school to the next that a member may not want to affiliate because it's not what she signed up for. For example, member transfers from TCS to BSU, and never had any intention of living in a sorority house. She chooses not to affiliate, and gets to keep her membership the rest of her life.

I think it's not that potential transfers are discouraged from affiliating at their new college so much as they're told to think about their actions before taking them: if you transfer, affiliate, and then realize you don't fit in/can't afford it and have to resign your membership you will most likely be done with sorority life forever (barring the very uncommon reinstatement). If you transfer and don't affiliate you can keep your membership forever, although seeing a chapter of your sorority putting on events without you might sting a little. Because every chapter can be so different the best advice I've read about the situation if a girl transfers is to meet the new sisters for a semester after transferring and then make the decision to affiliate or not rather than doing so immediately and potentially regretting it.

Speaking for my chapter and my chapter only we welcome transfers with open arms. My Bid Day buddy (girl in the chapter that holds the welcome sign with your name on it on Bid Day and introduces you to girls she knows) was a transfer from our chapter at Furman University, and I think we also have transfers from USC and Winthrop as well. Things might be different at a school with a house or a live-in requirement, but as far as my chapter's concerned a sister is a sister no matter where she originated from.

ETA: DBB makes a good point about joining a chapter with the intent to transfer and affiliate at another chapter. That's not cool-it disrespects the sisters of the chapter you joined because you've essentially used them as an "in" to a more "prestigious" chapter at a different school without valuing the sisterhood you joined, and disrespects the sisters of the chapter you want to join because you've decided that they're somehow better than the other chapter despite probably not knowing enough of them to make that kind of judgement.

I agree with what Clemsongirl and DBB posted. In part this is so people don't go to a less competitive school, join a chapter then transfer to Bama or Ole Miss. Like DBB said it's the intent behind the transfer. Do they want to be a sister or do they just want the prestige that a chapter has on a certain campus?

I also think it might vary regionally and if the chapters have any relationship. For instance Oregon and Oregon State have a close knit relationship and do things together multiple times a year. Since they know the other chapter transferring isn't a big deal. On the other hand if you are transferring from a liberal San Francisco school to a conservative school on the East coast, there might be some question about compatibility and the chapter may need to meet the sister first. It doesn't mean anyone is less of a sister just the idea of how people mesh. Also just because they don't affiliate doesn't mean they aren't a sister, they most likely (can't speak for all organizations) are now an alumna.

My sorority has a very flexible policy where it applies to this issue, but in defense of the chapters that seem a little hard nosed about affiliation, we are not well-represented in many of those highly competitive schools where some girls equate their social status for the entire rest of their lives with which sorority (not chapter) they join. They used to go to a school with a weaker chapter JUST so they could transfer to the school with the right potential husbands AND the sorority that will afford them the right countryclub lifestyle. Even the most traditional old southern sorority chapters expect a little more respect than that.

I just wonder... who has that kind of time and money. Sheesh.

BTdubs, I'm sure this is an issue among the bigger two NPHC sororities, where women transfer from schools with lesser known chapters to Howard in hopes to represent Alpha chapter. Im sure this extends to other well-known and larger chapters (I don't know them because I don't keep up).

Also, I can't speak for other orgs, but I'd think there'd be more open arms from Big-Name Chapter XYZ, Inc. to a transfer member from Smaller Name Chapter XYZ Inc. But again, apples to oranges. There'd probably be more vetting beforehand - I doubt Transfer Tracy could just show up to BNC with letters on like "hey Soror!" without some introductions (perhaps between graduate advisers or chapter presidents).

You are right tld221, a transfer can't just show up on the doorstep of the chapter she hopes to affiliate with. There is all sorts of paperwork that has to be done. In ZTA the transfer has to initiate the paperwork with her chapter, it then goes to the sorority's headquarters, then to the chapter she hopes to transfer to. She also has to leave her original chapter in good standing (no outstanding bills or standards violations).

I really don't think it's a lack of "open arms," but a position of caution. Remember, if a woman does not affiliate, she becomes an alumna. If she does, and it doesn't work out, she could end up resigning her membership altogether.

When I was chapter president back in the day, a transfer came in and we loved her, but it was clear when I talked to her individually that the money was going to be a problem. It doesn't help anyone to let her affiliate with the chapter. Of course, we talked about it with the treasurer and the chapter adviser, and ultimately all decided it wouldn't work, rather than putting it up for a chapter vote and rejecting her or something.

I was friends with a girl at Oklahoma State who transferred but did not affiliate. I believe the issue was money. She had come from a chapter at a smaller school in Missouri, and she decided to be an RA to help pay for school at OSU. She wouldn't have met the live-in requirement for her sorority. On occasion, she was invited to and attended some of the chapter's events, and the chapter members knew and liked her.

Idk...I don't think this is as common as it seems to be in NPC orgs. Even if I did transfer to another school, I would not claim that Chapter. I'd always claim and represent the Chapter I came in through..

So would you specifically NOT represent the chapter at your new school? Like, say a student (greek or not) approached you about your organization. Would you make a point to say "that's not my chapter so..."

Also, would you not affiliate/transfer to that chapter? Support that chapter's events? Maybe I could see not engaging in any membership-related activities, but... you're a Zeta. They're Zetas.

Hypothetical, of course :)

I'm re-reading this and still thinking "...what?"

In my head, I'm giving Transfer Tracy the benefit of the doubt: she pledges a sorority because... well, it looks fun. Sisters for life! Yay!

Then life happens, unexpectedly, as usual, and realizes she needs to leave school. Or maybe she just doesn't like it there anymore. Her chapter gushes about being sisters for life, lifetime commitment, etc. But now that she's going to New University, that comes with a big ol asterisk?

Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Or maybe this isnt as huge as occurrence as I think it is. I just figure most 18 year olds aren't planning (or expected to plan) THAT far ahead in their sorority life (NPC, anyway) outside of remaining in good financial standing and adhering to the live-in rules if applicable.

So again, I cant imagine you all meet the "I'm gonna transfer to bigger-better-awesomer chapter next fall, let me pledge ABC now" girls more than the "damn, life happens, going to a different school, kthxbyelahveyall!" girls.

Tld --- were it as innocent as you suggest. Women would drop out of Big Southern University if they did not get specific houses, transfer to a small, uncompetitive school in order to get the letters they wanted and then transfer back to Big School. Or they would simply start at Small Uncompetitive, get the letters and transfer. This has become far less common with the RFM recruitment syste and the growth in chapters and expansion. But it was about purported prestige rather than sisterhood. Remember that for NPC, we are talking about teenagers joining.

In my org (and several others like it), transfers are handled like lulutnl3 said. If I transfer from Gamma Chapter to Lambda Chapter, I'll affiliate with Lambda Chapter but it would be known that I came in through Gamma.

It's never "FUCK LAMBDA CHAPTER. GAMMA FO LYFE!!!" or anything -- just letting folks know your origin story, I suppose :)

This. It is such a different approach to membership for NPC than NPHC that I would imagine that transfers for NPHC members from one school to another are rare in comparison to NPC. The research and everything that goes into being an aspirant takes time and a certain level of dedication. Most of the collegiate NPHC members that I have known were juniors or seniors when they crossed. Whereas in the NPC, you can pledge a sorority before you even have your first college class. It's not unusual for freshmen to transfer, but the closer one gets to graduation, the less common transferring becomes in general.