Can you be initiated the next semester due to a lack of time for costs?

dreamerxxx · #1 03-05-2011, 10:54 PM

I am going through spring rush at the moment and went to visit a house. The officer told me how much the dues were and when they were due. She also mentioned that she was aware that there really wasn't enough time for many girls to obtain the money for their dues before initiation and that their chapter allowed for girls to pledge in the spring, but be initiated in the fall.

Do many sororities give this option and would it be a good idea?

Any advice would be appreciated, thank you!

33girl · #2 03-05-2011, 11:06 PM

As long as it's OK with the school, I don't see anything wrong with it. Is this an NPC sorority or something else?

Of course it goes without saying don't choose this chapter over another one solely because they give you more time to pay your dues.

It's a little late for spring rush - is your school on a quarter system?

dreamerxxx · #3 03-05-2011, 11:14 PM

Yes, it's an NPC sorority.

And my school is on a semester system. I agree, it's a little late. I know sororities are very costly, but I feel it would expand my horizons in terms of leadership and opportunities.

I don't get much help from my family and pay for school myself. I work and have financial aid. I usually have money left over from my financial aid package and could certainly use that, but that package doesn't come in until next year.

So I'm trying to figure out if it would be better to pledge in the spring and get initiated in the fall (if I get a bid) or wait and then rush in fall? It's a tough decision.

33girl · #4 03-05-2011, 11:17 PM

I take it this is COB/informal rush and you don't get to see all the sororities - that only certain ones are giving out bids? Have you visited all the sororities previously?

I certainly wouldn't pledge now if you're going to be the only person doing so. If they're getting a second class for the semester together, that's a different matter.

dreamerxxx · #5 03-05-2011, 11:23 PM

It is informal recruitment! I've visited with one and visit with another tomorrow and then maybe another one sometime next week. I was told whoever is interested contacts me, I meet with them, and if we mesh well, I get a bid.

I'm not sure who else will be pledging. I was told that the pledge classes for spring rush are smaller, though.

TriDeltaSallie · #6 03-05-2011, 11:41 PM

A bird in the hand is worth ten in the bush.

Although there is something to be said for going through formal recruitment in the fall, if you go through informal and find a group you like... Take the opportunity and don't wait.

I would never encourage someone to choose a group just to choose a group. But there is no guarantee you will find a group to join if you wait until the fall. You might be ill, you might have a family emergency, you might hate the formal recruitment process, etc.

I went through informal and sometimes I wonder if I would have ended up somewhere different if I had done formal rush. But I think I would have hated the hugeness of it and probably not made it through all of formal. I'm glad I took advantage of the opportunity I had.

Again, don't join just to join. But if you are really interested in being in a sorority and find a good fit now, go for it.

prettyv · #7 03-05-2011, 11:42 PM

How competitive is your school's formal recruitment? If it's not very competitive, you might as well go through formal recruitment. That way you get to see all the sororities, and maybe one of the ones who isn't COBing is your dream sorority?

Out of curiosity to anyone who has seen this done before, how does that work with formal recruitment? Are the "new members" of the spring class allowed to participate..? Just curious how the logistics of this would work.

dreamerxxx · #8 03-05-2011, 11:53 PM

TriDeltaSallie - You're very right and I agree with you. If I feel I can mesh with the girls, I will definitely pledge. Right now I have two choices and either of them are fine with me, so I wouldn't mind.

Prettyv - the Formal rush process is pretty competitive, which is why I'm not sure if I'd want to wait until then. I'd also be a sophomore in the fall and I'm sure it would hinder my chances. I also have a fairly high GPA at the moment (I'm taking econ right now, so I'm not sure if it'd drop me down to a 3.7 or 3.8)

I'm also curious as to how the spring class would fit into the fall class.

I would definitely pledge right now if I knew for sure I got a bid, even if it meant waiting longer to be initiated. I don't have a problem working for the costs, I have more than half for the costs of the sorority I met with the other day. I just haven't heard of sororities doing something like this. Where you pledge for literally the spring, be out of school the entire summer, and then return and get initiated in November. Seems like an awfully long time.

TriDeltaSallie · #9 03-06-2011, 12:23 AM

Way back in the olden days (okay, late 80's), we had spring pledges and we were on quarters. Our pledges were initiated right away in the fall as soon as rush was over. They did not wait to initiate with the fall pledges. They participated in every aspect of rush, but could not vote on membership IIRC.

Things may be different now, but that is the way it was back in the good old days of big frill rush!

Alumiyum · #10 03-06-2011, 11:18 AM

I agree with what's been said...if that's the sorority you really want to join anyway and the school and nationals have approved it, fine. However you need to begin planning out finances now. Make sure you will be able to pay dues every semester from now on, and if it looks tight consider other options. I say this because I've seen girls get into a situation before where they THINK they can pay but eventually have to drop after falling in love with the sorority because they just can't pay for the sorority and school at the same time and it's so hard on them. (As well as the sorority...because it's so hard to lose a good member, especially when they don't want to go).

33girl · #11 03-06-2011, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TriDeltaSallie

Way back in the olden days (okay, late 80's), we had spring pledges and we were on quarters. Our pledges were initiated right away in the fall as soon as rush was over. They did not wait to initiate with the fall pledges. They participated in every aspect of rush, but could not vote on membership IIRC.

Things may be different now, but that is the way it was back in the good old days of big frill rush!

Yeah, when groups at my school did a second class, if they didn't have time at the end of school year, this is what they did. Rush didn't start till 2-3 weeks after school did so they had time to initiate. I would really question why they would want to have you in "limbo" till November - I mean you should not still have the $$ issue after a whole summer. And from what they're saying, your pledging (as far as what you have to learn, do etc) would be complete.

I would ask them when exactly you will be initiated if your pledging begins now. The holdover till November thing - if that is what they are doing - doesn't sit right with me.

You also might want to make sure that they don't actually mean they'll give you a bid now that you could sign (and therefore are bound to them) and then you'll start pledging in the fall with the rest of the fall class. That would make more sense than doing your program now and postponing your initiation for 6 months.

Alumiyum · #12 03-06-2011, 01:54 PM

^That's odd to me, too. We only had one girl in my entire 4 years be initiated with the next semester's pledge class, and it was because she wasn't able to complete her new member program due to her theater schedule at the time (and because it was something she chose to do). Otherwise spring classes, of which IIRC we had 3?, were always initiated before school got out that May.

DubaiSis · #13 03-06-2011, 02:54 PM

It happened for us often, due to grades. And since you were a pledge for an entire semester it REALLY sucked for them to have to wait. But presumably there would be other reasons that a girl would wait to initiate and costs could be among them.

So the girls who pledged in the fall but didn't make grades would initiate the next fall, just before rush, with the spring informal pledges. Maybe the spring pledges always made it because I can't remember having to deal with a non-initiated member during rush which would have been a nightmare.