Very weird situation..
 

So here's the deal: I'm 18, but a junior by hours since I dropped out of high school after my sophomore year to attend college. I went to a medium sized school for my freshman year and transferred to Georgia Tech after that. I've now been here for a full year.

Last year I rushed, but dropped out after the second day (our rush starts the Friday night before classes start and ends the next Wednesday). I did so because I was dropped from all but one sorority, and that sorority was one I knew wouldn't fit. I have spent the last year observing our campus sororities and that has only strengthed my desire to rush again.

However, I'm very nervous about being rejected again. I've recently decided to take more time to get my degree (about three more years instead of two), so I am similar to a rushing sophomore. I have a 3.63, which is a relatively high GPA for Georgia Tech, and I have been pretty involved in extracurriculars over the last year; however, I'm still terrified that this will not be enough!

Does anyone have any advice? I have a rec for one sorority, but should I try to get more? Anything you ladies have to say would be extremely helpful. Thank you!

I don't know your school, but I'd say go through recruitment again but go through knowing you may be cut hard again. If you don't think you can deal with that, don't put yourself through it.

I have friends who are members of most GA Tech chapters. Recs are important, though not important like they are at UGA. They can help you get to round two at Tech, but they won't necessarily get you further.

If you want to re-rush, give it a shot. But I would think twice about dropping out so early on... even if you only have one house, give them a chance for more than one round. A lot of houses will be even less likely to pledge a junior than a sophomore, so you need to be prepared for that.

You should try to get more recs and you should try to talk to girls in the groups that you already know before rush.

If your GPA is stronger and you are more involved, you may do better overall generally. I don't know how important it is to be a first year when you rush at Tech, but you'd be better off communicating your issues with class standing before rush, IMO, maybe even have an alum do it for you in a rec, so that someone who is already singing your praises can call it to their attention that you are only 18, the same age as the other PNMs and that because you are majoring in ___ you will be there three more years.(I'd find a more positive spin than that you dropped out, if you can too; do you mean post-secondary option?)

Do you have people that know you that you can get recs from? If you don't, you could do the same thing by talking with girls who are already in the groups about it before recruitment to see what they think.

I did joint-enrollment my junior year of high school and was accepted into Tech's early admission program and skipped my senior year. I am technically a dropout, as I never recieved a diploma, but I probably shouldn't have said it so bluntly.

I actually am getting a rec from a past president of one sorority, who knows a family member of mine. I'm just not sure if I should try to get multiple recs by asking women in the local Alumnae Panhellenic Association. I've also told a few friends that are sisters about my choice to rush, but I'm worried to say too much because I know that a) word gets around and it's never wise to say "oh, I have my heart set on ABC!" and b) they're not supposed to discuss rush.

Get a rec at each house to be safe. At Tech, not having one won't necessarily mean an automatic cut, but as an upperclassman you will want every door open to you. Regardless of your age, you are still a junior.

a) Very good! Never say this. :) You can tell friends you are rushing without revealing your pre-recruitment thoughts on any chapters.
b) I'm not sure what the rules on contacting PNMs are at Tech at this point in the year. But even if you can't contact them, you can at least know to seek them out during recruitment parties if at all possible.

I though you could talk about recruitment until it started unless you were a rho chi/gamma?

(I thought that there's a deadline for visiting and staying at the house, but I didn't know that you couldn't talk about it with people that you already knew.)

I wasn't suggesting so much that you express your interest only in one group, but that you talk to them in advance and let them know of your circumstances with hours but being around for three more years and your interest in Greek life in general.

Atlanta Panhellenic does a tremendous job with recs - I don't know if it is too late to contact them, but it would be worth a try. Don't hesitate to contact them - they can't write you recs if they don't know you need them.

http://www.atlantapanhellenic.org/

Here are my thoughts... take them for what their worth...

1. I think it is awesome that you were able to SKIP grades (not drop out) and start college so soon.
2. I would have all the rec writers address the facts...
a. your 18
b. you have 3 years left so it is like you are just starting and
c. let them know about the outstanding gpa (at all the schools I work with new member GPA's and chapter overall GPAs are VERY important and something to brag about).

You're going to need to be careful about what you put out there on GC. There are most likely people here from G-Tech that read GC...and as an 18 year old jr. you're going to stick out like sore thumb. Also, you've already shown preference to one sorority over the others. You don't want to be doing ANYTHING to alienate yourself from ANY group and this point.

Thank all of you ladies for the wonderful advice! I've contacted Atlanta Panhellenic (thank you, DoctorD) and am trying to keep my mind open about which houses I'd like to be in. I really hope that I can someday call myself a member of the Greek community!

Hours really don't count for a lot at GT, (that's why they say "1st year, 2nd year",etc. instead of "freshman, sophomore"..) so you may be "technically" a junior, but that just means you vote for a junior in student govt. and you get a better shot at a parking place. A lot of people come in with enough AP/IB/SAT2 credits to be a sophomore on their first day. You have been at Tech for one full year and you're young, so that should put you on equal footing with 2nd years. At Tech, they are used to people who have experiences that are out of the ordinary. People co-op out of town and stay in their sororities, people study abroad for a year and stay in their sororities. It's not unusual to have a 5th or 6th year student rooming with a 2nd or 3rd year in the sorority house. And I think that some second years get bids, a lot of times because people come from non-traditional backgrounds and show up on campus clueless to the ins and outs of Greek life, and it takes them a year to figure it all out.

Go to the Tech Panhellenic site and read the rules for recruitment. I'm not sure about the contact rules for summer, but if there is no rule against it, make sure your friends know you are going through recruitment--it always helps to have people who know you and who can vouch for you. Get recs for all 6 houses so they know you're coming. Clean up your Facebook if there's anything questionable on it. And congrats on your high GPA.

And don't count anybody out and see it through to pref--you will maximize all your options (including being available for a snap bid--this happens). They are expecting quota to be around 50 again, and are looking at expansion for next year, I think.

Good Luck!

Please come back and post your recruitment thread when the time comes! I'm a GT alum and am hungry to hear what's new on campus these days.:)