a question
 

hey!
i'm in high school and definitely considering joining a greek sorority in college, but i'm kinda worried because i don't know any asians who are in panhellenic sororities.
are the chances of getting into a penhellenic sorority slimmer if one is asian?

thanks and have a great day!

*raises hand* I'm Asian and a member of an NPC sorority.

You may not know of any in NPC sororities, but trust me, there are many of us out there. There are LOTS of us out there.

And no, your chances aren't slimmer. Just make sure your GPA's up there, you have a great background of HS extra-curriculars, and a good personality (just to name a few) if and when you decide to go through recruitment and you'll be on an even playing field with the other freshmen girls.

While I am not asian, my grandbig was! I so loved her to bits!

In MY experience in the north, it wouldn't matter one bit. I have two theories -

Think about how recruitment pics usually look - usually they try to put some obvious diversity in there. If there are not a lot of Asians on your campus in NPCs, I might reckon it would make you stand out in a good way.

On the other hand, in places like New England (where I am), especially NY/CT/MA, there are high concentrations of people from Asian desent, at both private and state schools. You would simply be reflecting the campus culture.

I say go for wherever you think you want to be. Don't worry if you don't fit the classic "sorority girl" look. Be beautiful in your own skin!

thanks guys :)
the question's been nagging at me for the long time and i feel so relieved now!

One of my littles is Asian. :)

Yes, you can be in a Panhellenic sorority! It's against the rules to discriminate based on race.

Is there a chance you might get cut fro a house because of your race? Perhaps, depending on where you rush. But would you want to end up in a house that has close-minded members anyway?

My best friend in our chapter was 100% Korean.

While I don't know where you attend school, in most cases, this will be of little issue. Particularly, if you attend school in California, the North East, and the Midwest. In fact, in most "brainy schools" (i.e. MIT), you will find that the majority of the sororities are a large percentage Asian.

Take OTW's advise: keep up the grades, get involved, do volunteer work and be yourself. Also, start talking to ladies you know, like teachers, counselors, parents of your friends and friends of your parents. Find out if they were in a GLO and ask them honest questions about sororities. Keep a list of what GLOs they were in, and if the time comes that you choose to go through recruitment, ask them for a recommendation.

Depending on where you live, there may be a local panhellenic that you can contact to ask questions.

Good luck to you.

I'm an Asian in a Panhel sorority at a Southern school :) While rush at my school isn't exactly cutthroat, it is competitive to get into a "top" sorority. But I'd definitely say no, not at all!

My roommate when I was in college is Chinese. Another housemate was Japanese. My lil is half Filipino.

No it is not impossible or hopeless to be Asian and in an NPC sorority. Follow OTW's advice and you should have a good experience with recruitment.

When I joined ADPi, there was a girl who was from Singapore. I remember thinking that she was so pretty and a huge asset to the sorority.

Half my chapter was Asian when I was in college. The chapter still is half Asian. :) If your school has a diverse population then the Greek system should also.

I think y'all are being unfair to the southern groups! I don't think being asian would make any difference in the south either. In 1993, I pledged AOII with a Laotian girl in my pledge class and a Vietnamese girl in Kappa Delta's pledge class. My old roommates' best friend was a Korean girl who pledged Sigma Kappa at La Tech ( a very competitive group on that campus!) We pledged the sister of my pledge sister two years later. I can't even remember anyone commenting that any PNM was asian. Good luck with recruitment...I hope your experience will show you that this is the same everywhere.

i don't think that your ethnicity will be a detriment anywhere. i know many, many women of asian descent who are npc sorority members at many southern schools with very competitive recruitments. my senior year in college, our president was half japanese/half caucasian. two half filipino/half caucasian cousins are members of pi beta phi(alums. now) at a california school.

There were a lot of Asian sorority members when I advised on the West Coast. At my chapter in Florida, we had Asian members in my chapter as well as the other sororities and the fraternities.

There are also a few Asian-specific cultural sororities out there, should you choose not to go the "traditional sorority" route.