TIME???
 

Hey....this website is great. I have lerned a lot of stuff already, but I have a question for the sisters. I was wondering if you still have enough time to work, study, and stay close to your non-sorority friends and still be in a sorority? I want to join one but i have to keep my GPA at a 3.5 and I don't know how difficult that would be with a lot of classes. I would appreciate any advice you have!!! Thanks a bunch :-)

It was hard at first to juggle everything when i first joined. My new friends that I had made at college felt left out when I had things to do for my sorority. After time it became easier and they understood how much it ment to me. Somedays i still find that i don't have time for it all and somethings get left behind, but the rewards are far greater than the downfalls. The thing that helped me the most was that i made a list of my prorities and stuck to it. If I had many things going on at once and they all could not get done, i went back to my list and did the most important first.

------------------
Don't look to the future
or dwell in the past
But live for the moment
and long it will last

sororityseeker,

it's hard managing your time, and you might want to consider rushing and pledging in teh SPRING so you can get your schedule sort of worked out and know what you will and won't have time for. i've found it to be difficult to juggle everything, but as any greek will tell you: grades come FIRST! that's your primary reason for being there. last year, i had a total of 40 credits for both semesters (20 each semester) and was president of my sorority at the same time. it wasn't easy, but i saw a lot of my greek and non greek friends between classes if i had a 15 or 20 minute break here or there. i also saw them on weekends or when we had classes together. it's all about time management. i always told myself i could only go out if all my homework was done (or most of it, depending on what was happening elsewhere!). i strongly recommend freshmen to rush in the spring versus the fall just to get an idea of what college life is all about before jumping into anything so time-consuming. granted, virtually any greek organization you join will have mandatory study hours, but a lot of the time, that's not enough. if you're good at time management you'll be fine. either way, whether you are or not...GET A PLANNER!!!


etienne
sigma alpha iota-the hartt school of music

------------------
"red is the color of music and has been since the very earliest of times. the caps of faeries and musicians are well-nigh always red."~*~w.b.yeats

"I think that happiness is when you can let yourself feel every emotion you want at any time instead of being a lying little fuck." - Tori Amos

I personally think that time management in colleg if you do anything other than just going to class is a complicated task, but if you sit down and really look at your time and make study time a priority than I'm sure you will have no trouble, you just have to have self-control, which believe me I know can be hard when everyone is talking about going out and you have a test the next morning.

But get you a day planner and after you're classes are choosen for the semester, you will find that in the two hour break you have on Tuesday afternoon, you can get a lot of work done if you ISOLATE yourself and then when the night time comes can PARTY.....lol

Hi sorority seeker!
There are two keys to balancing sorority life with your academic pursuits...

1) If you join a sorority, they will be the first to tell you: classes come FIRST!!! Take advantage of the group's scholastic resources. Most clubs have organized (and sometimes required) study hours for new members, to insure that you are devoting time to your schoolwork. Other academic assistance can include pairing you up with an older sister that is also in your major, as a mentor to offer practical advice and study help, as well as test files, where sisters contribute information about classes they have already taken at your school. I have never heard of any group, be it GLO, BGLO, local, professional or service sorority, that would require you to do anything to jeopardize your GPA. If you are committed to your academics (and it sounds like you are!), the group you join will offer every possible resource for you to make the best grades you can.

But if you want to also get the most out of your sorority experience, the other key is

2) Time management (as indicated by the other well-informed posters on this thread!). You can be as involved in your chapter as you like, and most would require only a few hours a week... no different than a part-time job or any other organization you might join on campus. Once you have found your "groove" - the routine that works best for you - you could then decide to run for an office or get involved in various committees. No club would require you to attend a social function instead of studying, and no-one would look down on you for doing that!

As far as delaying your rush, this is sometimes a good idea and sometimes not so good. If you are considering joining a national organization, then most likely your best bet would be to rush during the formal rush period, whether it is your first or second semester. Remember, you can always scale back your involvement once you have pledged, but it can be hard to join the chapter you want if you missed "your window" - which varies from campus to campus. Ask an advisor at the Greek Life office on your campus, and they will be able to give you the insight on the recruitment for that school, so you can weigh your options.

hello again!!! Thanks all for the advice~it helped to answer a lot of my questions. I'm not so stressed now about studying, a job, and a sorority because it seems like the sisters understand the different things that have to be done. You have all helped a lot....Thanks a bunch!!!

i have to agree w/ sorority seeker 100% on this question. i was kinda worried about how i would manage my time w/ all the stuff i have going on. i too was hoping to be in a sorority, participate in basketball, get a job to help pay for tuition, have time to do homework, study, spend time with my friends, and just time to relax and veg out. the info all of u have provided has helped me a great deal and i was hoping someone could give me tips on this or let me know how they did it.i guess all of us incoming freshman are a little worried about this...lol!!!

I'm not sure if they have this class at your school or not, but at my school their is a studyskills class for incoming freshman it's not required or anything, but I like you was very worried about college before I even decided to join a sosrority that's why I took it. It is really helpful.

We covered study skills (obviously), but also time management, test taking and career develpoment you might want to look into seeing if that class or one like it is on your campus.

Also depending on how rigid of a person you are you might want to try to scheduke out your entire day. I tried and only lasted a few hours http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

List the entire day in increments of 15 minutes and put EVERYTHING in a time slot. If you can follow it..good luck, and if you do put EVERYTHING you will find a lot of extra time to veg out

I think the pledging period kind of threw me off of my time management. I don't know if this is the way it is in every house, but in the house I pledged last year, you could be as involved as you wanted to while you were pledging. BUT, once you became an active member, you were expected to basically devote three to four nights a week to sorority commitments. After participating in one or maybe two activities a week during pledging period, suddenly I was being told I had to be at all these other functions!

This got to be a bit much, with a full course load and a part-time job. I think the women in the house were pretty understanding about my situation, though. Classes are most definitely emphasized as first priority, and your next priority is supposed to be the house. I think there's some sort of unwritten understanding, though, when it comes to commitments. I'm not going to forego paying rent or studying for a massive midterm because we have a Hawaiian party with the Delts one night, and I know the women in my house understand that. I think as long as you do what you absolutely need to get done and THEN worry about your house commitments, you'll be fine. Some houses are more accepting of that than others, and that's what you'll find out in rush. I'm getting long-winded again... sorry! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/rolleyes.gif

Lizzie

It's been said before, I'll say it again: time management! I've been able to stay involved with my sorority, a couple students organizations, as well as do well in my classes and maintain meaningful relationships with family and friends due to good time managament. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

------------------
equeen
A Lioness has her Pride!
@>--;--
Alpha Sigma Kappa - Women in Technical Studies

"Anything worth having is worth working for." I'm not going to lie to you, the semester you pledge will be hard especially if you have classes with lots of papers to write. After that, it's a breeze. Sororities are looking for Ladies who can do it all and still be successful. It can be done without draining you if you know what you have to do and do it.

9 Pearls..how long did your pledge period last? i was just curious cuz i want an idea of how long my schedule will be really hectic. and i know you have to have some good time-management skills in order to get everything accomplished, so how did you get all your papers done on time...did you have to stock up on caffeine and pull an all-nighter? thanks for the help.

Here's what I found as the best way to manage my time as a pledge. My pledging period lasted a lot longer than most people's- because of the situation our house was in, the university allowed us to bend the rules and COB throughout each semester with no limit. I received my bid mid-November and pledged around Thanksgiving. Since it was so late in the semester, I waited until April to be initiated. That was a LONG TIME!

Anyways, as for time management... I had a daily planner that I would keep track of all my assignments and work/sorority commitments in. When I had a paper due on a certain date, I would write in "paper due in two weeks" and "paper due in one week" in my planner to keep my mind on it. Then when I found a spare 5 minutes or (hopefully) an hour, I would get all my research done at the library. That's half the battle. Once that's done, it's a matter of organizing your research and proofreading. Spread out your work over time, that way you don't get too stressed out and you can enjoy yourself, too!



------------------
Lizzie
Theta Sigma Chapter
Delta Delta Delta