[CutiePie2000]

Hmmm...this is definitely one of the tougher questions, but here is my take on it.

When you are going to alumnae functions, see if you can take along a bit of a "resume" as to what you have been up to since university. You might also want to compose an "essay". The essay should sum up why it is you want to be a member of the sorority. The composition should be about you, why you are interested in that sorority, what your values are, what your hobbies are, if you are involved with any activities (church choir, Girl Scouts, etc.), if you are married, have children (their ages, their names, their activities, etc.)

I say this because you want to make it very easy for people to get to know you and see what you are all about. If you have these things handy, then you can give them to people and they can read them at their leisure. Once people feel that they know you well enough, then they can feel perhaps more comfortable about sponsoring you.

(Think of it almost like a job reference...you need to tell people how wonderful and fabulous you are so that they can feel confident in writing you a recommendation. If you don't tell people, how will they know?)

I don't really have a "magic time" as to when to broach the topic, but you might want to make sure that this information (i.e. the resume and "essay") are made available fairly easily to the alumnae chapter, so that if they are entertaining the idea of sponsoring you, they have the information there at their fingertips. If you have reference letters from respectable persons (maybe you volunteered on a committe or something), I think this will lend weight that you are a suitable candidate for membership.