rush
 

ok, im not in a GLO (yet), but i want to be,

let me give you a low down on me first, i just moved (with my family) to GA from AZ. and i am the one paying for college so i am going to a community college until i get my year in residence, so i will be xfering to West GA U either next spring or summer at the latest.

i will be a college sophmore but 20 going on 21 when formal rush happens.

im kinda scared about it, but i really want to be in a sorority, im not the tall blonde girl that weighs 3 ounces. im short with brown hair and i weight lift. i know that not all sororities are like legaly blonde, i have seen them at WGU that aren't, but i have seen them at WGU that are,

i also have to continue to work while in school, will this be possible if i get a bid, i know i can't find out what the pledge program is until im a pledge (if that happens)


its is still possible that i could still get a bid :confused: with all that against me? i guess i just need some reasurance of some kind,

i think i rambled enough
thanks
Christia

Of course... :)

You will find that looks are usually pretty irrelevant. I can't speak to WGU's rush, but usually as long as you look pulled together and nice, that is fine. You wouldn't want to rush in your ratty workout tees and sweatpants, but if a chapter cut you because of your physical looks, you wouldn't want to be a part of them, anyway, would you? :)

During rush you can ask the different chapters about the time commitment their pledge program requires. Most chapters will have a weekly meeting for pledges to learn about the heritage of the sorority. There will also be social events and other fun things, many of them optional. Many many many people on Greekchat balance work, Greek life, grades, and extracurriculars. It is very common. Plus no national sorority can legally require you to do a pledge program that takes up an inordinate amount of your time (ie, hazing, which is very illegal!).

There are several Georgians on the board... They can probably tell you about WGU!

There is a person I know who pledged for 12 weeks (b/c of delays, personal problems, etc.). Is this hazing?:(

I think when she said an inordinate amount of time she meant being at the house doing stuff 20 out of the 24 hours in a day.

A 12 week pledge program, while not common, isn't unheard of. Probably the majority of groups have a 6-8 week program. If there are problems (especially personal problems) it can happen. Also some groups wait until the beginning of the next semester to initiate so they can make sure the girls have the grades (Chi O on my campus does this for example).

I think a longer pledge program COULD be beneficial b/c then you wouldn't have so many events at once.

I thought that all NPC pledges had to be initiated by 8 weeks but my daughter's pledge class went from August to early March and another nearby pledge class of the same sorority went from August to February. Maybe it's really up to the sorority?

As far as I know, NPC has never made any rules about length of pledging on a national level. Locally, that's a different story.

I know my pledge period lasted from the beginning of September to the end of January, so that Nationals could get our first semester grades. I definitely think that our long pledge period was extrememky beneficial in bonding us as a pledge class, and you know the girls that stick it out are going to be hardcore into the chapter. (sorry for the hijack)

My pledge period started towards the middle of September and my pledge class was initiated on November 15, 1996. :)

For some reason, I was under the impression that Chi Omega is the only NPC sorority that does NOT limit their pledge period to eight weeks or less . . . but right now I can't remember where I read this or why I think this. Can anybody back this up?

I think Phi Sigma Sigma requires pledge periods to be 4-6 weeks long, and most, maybe all, of the rest (except Chi O) require 6-8 pledge periods.

Non-NPC sororities have their own rules, so a lengthy pledge period wouldn't necessarily be considered hazing for them.

I'm not sure, but I don't think that WGU's rush is that competitive. By that, I mean that your looks or your year in school are less likely to matter than at schools like UGA. As far as working goes, I too pay for school myself (and I go to a private University!) so I work 20-25 hrs a week and I made it through pledging fine. I think you should go for it, and not stress out too much. There are no horror stories on this board (I think) about horrific cuts at WGU, I think you have alot to offer and should go for it!!!!!;)

I am 100% positive that Pi Beta Phi limits pledgeship (ooops, new member period) to 8 weeks.

We do the full 8 weeks and we are the last group at our school to initiate.....

The Chi Omega new member program is designed for 6-8 weeks (I was pledge educator two years ago). We only have 7 weeks after rush until school ends so I don't know if they strictly enforce a 6-8 week pledge peroid, but I wouldn't see why you would wait so long!

I'm under the same impression. I can't be certain, but when I went to West Georgia for an APO convention, there were lots of sorority girls, and not all of them were 5'10 and 110 pounds. ;) I went through rush at Emory, which is fairly competitive (about 400 girls and 7 sororities) and I am DEFINITELY not a toothpick. :D West GA is a fairly small school, and it has 6 sororities. Have you checked out the sororities' homepages? From what I can see, it looks like they have a pretty good mix of women.

Just make sure you have the GPA requirement and all that good stuff. Keep an open mind, and good luck! Keep us posted!

Do all sororities have the "pledgeship is 6-8 weeks long and the girls must be initiated by the end" rule?

I'm guessing that fraternites don't. One on my campus had their pledge period, and when it was over didn't initiate for a while, like another 6 to 8 weeks. I thought, what the heck? That's kind of crappy to me. You aren't a pledge, yet you aren't a brother, so what are you?

I dont' know, there might be a good reason for it though.