Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosiegal
I recently went through recruitment (I'm a freshman) and received a bid to a sorority I was VERY excited about and I absolutely loved pledging. However, about halfway through pledging, we lost our charter. ... Anyway, my pledge sisters and I were offered bids to another sorority on campus. I think they were allowed to do this because they were under total? I'm sorry I don't know all the Greek terms yet, but I think that is what allowed them to give bids to girls outside of formal recruitment.
... I'm trying to weigh my options. I could accept a bid to this other sorority and pledge there, go through formal again as a sophomore, or abstain from Greek Life. I really would love to join a sorority (obviously haha), but I'm torn about this other group and my chances as a sophomore. . . . Should I try out this other group to see if I fit? They were not one of my favorite pics in formal, but formal is such a blur, who knows? Do you think it matters what my pledge sisters decide to do?
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Hi Rosiegal, and welcome.
Were I in your shoes (and they're some shoes I think might hurt a bit), I would do a few things...
1) Still consider Greek Life. You were interested in it during Recruitment, and you still have at least some interest, so I would not rule it out.
2) Don't force yourself to stick with your pledge class. Just because you and your pledge class joined the same sorority doesn't mean you all joined it for the same reasons. Like a few other people have said, without that sorority on campus, you probably would have wound up accepting bids from different chapters. Whether you wind up joining the same sorority in the future or not, you can ALWAYS be friends--but you personally have to feel at home with your sisters.
3) Don't accept this bid (again, this is just some random online person's advice). You said that they were not one of your favorite picks in Formal Recruitment--so why would you rush into a lifelong bond with a group of women you weren't so fond of just a few months (weeks?) ago?
4) Go through Informal Recruitment if possible, also known as COB (Continuous Open Bidding). Usually, the individual sororities invite PNMs (Potential New Members) to a very casual party or get-together to get to know them, and bids may be given out at or after the parties. The downside with COB is that we can't tell you how many sororities will be allowed to participate in it; that's determined by campus total and how many members are in each specific chapter.
5) Talk to your Greek Adviser. If you're interested in COB but don't want to wait to hear from all the chapters on campus, you might head on over to your school's Greek Life office and speak to an adviser there. They can tell you which chapters are allowed to COB, and they might even be able to pass your name along to the chapters as a PNM.
6) Go through Formal Recruitment again next year if you don't do COB this year. Perhaps the format of COB just isn't your style, or perhaps only two chapters are allowed to participate, but you want to meet girls from all the other chapters on campus. Who knows, maybe you'll even go through COB next year. Whatever the reason, if you're a good fit for one of the chapters either through COB or through Formal Recruitment, you'll find each other.
Of course, it's all up to you. You're in a difficult situation, and I don't envy you in the least. But to summarize my suggestions, you really need to find a place where you, yourself, feel comfortable and happy. Whatever it takes to make that happen... do it. I wish you luck.
