I'm a charter member of my chapter myself, though I'm now an alum.
DubaiSis and WhiteDaisy make some very good points. Charter membership isn't for everyone. While with an established chapter, there is generally "a place for everyone", when a colony is first getting off the ground, and often in its first few years as a chapter too, there is more work to be done, and depending on chapter size, a larger percentage of girls may have to take on leadership roles. Charter membership isn't for everyone. While it will vary widely from campus to campus (the campus Greek Life culture, chapter total, number of girls who participate in recruitment, etc.) a smaller colony especially may take some time to "catch up" to the other sororities.
WhiteDaisy posted while I was in the middle of writing this, so she's said a lot of what I wanted to (yay, less work for me!
), but here are some of my personal pros and cons that weren't already said.
Pros
- Avoiding the hassle of formal recruitment. Though my colonizing experience was different (we were an interest group first) and I know that most colonizations generally have an involved process of events and interviews, colonization recruitment allows you to focus just on that single group--no long days traipsing from house to house!
- Forming traditions. Not just the cute and fun ones, but also being a part of creating your chapter culture in terms of expectations of excellence, priorities, etc.
- Experience for the future. While any sorority leadership experience is valuable for future employment, a charter member who holds a leadership role likely ends up dealing with more sticky situations and ends up developing excellent experience that appeals to employers.
- Personal feeling of accomplishment. 10 years after she graduates, when your friend sees her chapter growing and thriving, not only will she be a celebrity, but she will have a wonderful feeling of "I was part of creating that". Even one year after graduation, that feeling is pretty awesome
Cons
- Colony recruitment means you don't know who your future sisters will be. Sure, you meet other PNMs during the recruitment events, but there is no guarantee that the one you really connect with while waiting for your interview is going to be your sister. Obviously this is also the case with regular recruitment, but since you are not getting an advance view of the existing chapter, there's the potential for a higher number of girls you might not connect with.
- Depending on how well-publicized the colonization is, you may have people asking you for months and months "what's XYZ? I've never heard of it" and that can get annoying.
- Though this really depends on campus Greek culture, fraternities might not be interested in mixing with the new group because they are the new group, and they don't know them yet.
There is probably a lot more to be said, but I think the bottom line is this: If your friend is looking for something shiny and "perfect" and established, colony recruitment isn't for her. But if she handles setbacks well, likes a challenge, is interested in taking on a leadership role, and likes the idea of really being a part of creating something, then she should go for it! As stressful as chartering a chapter can be (and for me, it was...and I was our first VP so I ended up dealing with a lot of the bumps along the way) it is incredibly rewarding and really an amazing experience. I wouldn't have had it any other way!