SoCal sororities and age limits - UPDATE
 

My sister decided to accept an admission invitiation to grad school instead of pursuing her 2nd BA. I didn't know this when I posted this thread, so it's ok if the mods want to delete it.

Thank you to everyone for answering!

Technically: There's no age limit. NPC membership is open to undergraduate women. So long as she pays any appropriate registration fees and meets minimum GPA requirements necessary to go through recruitment, she may go through recruitment. Receiving a bid is another story. That is a mutual decision to be made between the PNM and the sorority.

What school will your sister be attending?

Purely objectively... I wouldn't recommend a 32 year old woman join an undergraduate chapter of an NPC sorority. This is only my opinion, but I would really question the maturity of a 32 year old woman wanting to mix with a (predominantly) 19-20 year old new member class and a chapter composed of members in their late teens to early 20's. I don't know what she would get out of it. Sisterhood is a very generic term. She could just as easily find that in a non-collegiate women's group.

She will easily be the oldest member of the chapter; possibly older than some collegiate advisers. Her presence will confuse others, and possibly label the sorority she joins in a negative way. On the other hand, she could be a stabilizing force and leader in the chapter. But if it were me, I would take my college years at age 32 to do well in school and pursue age-appropriate activities. I don't consider joining a collegiate chapter of a sorority age-appropriate for a 32 year-old.

We've debated this issue in previous threads; it is not the norm for a 32 year old woman to be going through recruitment, but it has happened and some have gotten bids to sororities. Same goes for some married women and some women with children. Again, not the norm, but it has happened, mainly at campuses that have more of a reputation for being a commuter campus.

I wish your sister the best of luck. She might be better off in the Sandpipers or the Junior League, non-collegiate women's groups that have an emphasis on leadership, service to the community and friendship. There will be women of various ages, and at 32, she'll be among the majority. The Los Angeles Junior League is a fabulous organization that works closely with the Red Cross, LA Downtown Women's Shelter, and more. One of my favorite JLLA events a few years back was our Casino Night Fundraiser-- over $100K raised for charity and a star-studded event-- everywhere you turned there were celebrities!!! (/end shameless plug for JLLA!)

GC: Flame away.

ETA: If she wants to give the "college" thing a go in terms of campus activities, and given that a 2nd BA will not take as long as the first BA to obtain, she might find what she is looking for in getting on a committee that helps plan the university's homecoming, Dance Marathon, Orientation Team, etc. These are not intended as substitutes for a sorority, but they are types of activities that will perhaps help her to regain some of the school spirit feeling she missed out on the first time around, as well as to help her contribute something to the university and make new friends.

Re: SoCal sororities and age limits
 

Thanks for the reply. She's going to CSULB.

I told her it was bloody unlikely, but I go to UCLA, where it would be...well...bloody unlikely. CSULB is a commuter campus though, and as far as I know, Greek Life is pretty small there.

I agree with what adpiucf said, and I want to throw in that while there are no age limits for Rush, certain sororities may have by-laws against bidding a member who has already graduated and is eligible for Alumna Initiation. Even if she is going for a second BA, according to some group's definitions, she may not be considered "undergrad" for bidding purposes.

ETA: If you can list the sororities, maybe some of their members can let you know if she would be eligible for their particular org.

CSULB

NPC sororities:
Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Phi
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Gamma
Delta Zeta
Gamma Phi Beta
Sigma Kappa

NPHC Sororities:
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Delta Sigma Theta
Sigma Gamma Rho
Zeta Phi Beta

Cultural Greek Council Sororities:
Chi Delta Theta
Kappa Psi Epsilon
Lambda Sigma Gamma
Lambda Theta Alpha
Sigma Lambda Gamma
Sigma Phi Omega

Co-ed Cultural Fraternity:
Delta Sigma Chi

Website: http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/stude...ek/Greek_Life/

I'm not SURE, but just guessing that because she has already graduated, she would be not be eligible for collegiate status at a Sigma Kappa chapter. She would however be eligible to apply for AI.


Someone else may know if I'm exactly right or not.

That is a good point. Considering that she has been through one BA, she may not be eligible for collegiate membership in some whose broad definition of undergraduate terminates at the receipt of a BA/BS; regardless of whether you come back in later years for a future BA/BS.

It sounds like a gray area-- she would be eligible for AI, but in this case-- her wanting to experience "college life"-- AI is not suitable for her needs and the process is such that it could be many years after college before she got a substantial lead or results.

I remember (unfortunately) having this issue before - someone going back for a second undergrad asked if she could pledge. I would say yes, because she's never graduated from THAT school and as far as THAT school and THAT chapter is concerned, she is an undergrad. Theoretically, I could be a 19 year old who's completed one college degree as well.

I think there are some CSULB people on here - I would go by what they say. If the sororities there don't have a problem with it, no one else should either.

Oh and for the love of God PLEASE don't tell her to look into AI. That isn't what she's looking for at all.

I'm going to agree that she may not be eligible as an undergrad since she has already graduated and AI might be the option for her, and possibly a more enjoyable experience at 32 unless she likes hanging around 19-20 year olds.

Yeah, I'm not sure how standardized such rules are across NPC orgs. It's hard for me to imagine at 32 wanting to "hang out" with 18-22 year-olds to the extent that a sorority involves.

Clearly the cultural/co-ed groups may have other rules as well as NPHC membership if she is interested in that.

~Perhaps a non-social sorority/fraternity? (Service, Professional?) (Again, this is not a substitute for a social sorority)

Perhaps she should consider Beta Sigma Phi.

To me, this falls into "She can always AI" category. Once again, that's not what she seems to be looking for.

Perhaps you are right. But possibly she doesn't quite know what she is looking for. From the outside, she may see college sorority membership as a chance for sisterhood and tradition, and she might not have considered the discomfort that might come from trying to socialize with 19-20 year olds. If she wants sisterhood and tradition with social events and service opportunities (exactly how many people define sorority membership), she might find it in places like Beta Sigma Phi or some of the other organizations and activities already mentioned in this thread. Since we are getting the story from a secondary source, we can't begin to understand what the woman in question really wants out of sorority membership.

With all due respect, I think my comment falls more into the "keep an open mind" file than the "She can always AI" bin. ;)

I rushed at CSULB & graduated from there myself. I just sent you a PM.
Let us know how it all turns out!

I agree here, and I'd worry that a 32 year old would end up being the unofficial "Mom" (even if she'd be a cool mom).