Confused...

[tlw23]

I am soon to be a junior at Western Carolina University and recently I decided I want to join a soroity though I have no idea how/what to do to go about things. I have at least three more years of school ahead of me so time there shouldn't be a problem. However I have been 'trying' to do research on what kind of recruitment and what happens in the fall but I keep getting conflicting answers.

Is there such a thing as Fall Formal Recruitment?

Is it a bad thing that I plan to rush in the fall but haven't done anything with the sisters of any soroity this far (not by choice)?

Is there any information you can give me specific to rushing at WCU?

Thank you.

[PenguinTrax]

Yes there is Formal Recruitment - check out the WCU Greek Life page.

You aren't expected to do activities with sorority members if you aren't already a member. However, if you are extended an invitation for membership you will be expected to participate in New Member meetings and Chapter events.

[FSUZeta]

go by the greek life office at wcu and ask them about formal recruitment-the dates, the expense, what to expect, etc. they will be happy to help-after all that's their job!

[SassyPantsAGD]

That's exciting to hear that you are interested in joining Greek Life at Western Carolina University. It is a GREAT experience!

I'm assuming that you have been at WCU for the last two years, therefore you would be familiar with Valleyballyhoo. At VBH there will be a Greek Life table with all of the sorority women. There will be information regarding recruitment events.

WCU holds their formal recruitment in the Spring. You can choose to wait if you would like to stick to the formal structure.

However, if you are interested in pledging in the fall, all of the sororities will be holding informal events throughout the first weeks of school following VBH. Spend some time to talk to some of the women at the table. None of them will be wearing letters because during that time they promote Greek Life as a whole. However, there will be a sign up sheet so that the women can contact you for their events. If you still want to wait until the Spring it would be a great opportunity to attend some events at the houses in the fall to meet the organizations.

Good luck! Its certainly a great opportunity to get involved at Western and one of the best experiences I ever had!

[tlw23]

I more meant fundraising events and other things the soroities do throughout the semester.

And thanks I have been there/here for two years now and I never realized there was a table for that in the mass of advertising. I'm actually kind of itching to start as soon as possible so I'll probably try in the Fall, I was just wondering what types of things would go on and evrything for that kind of recruitment.

[SassyPantsAGD]

With having the Informal Recruitment (aka Continuous Open Recruitment) each house will have events at their houses at various times throughout the few weeks following the start of school. They range from various themes to activities. They will typically last 45 minutes to an hour depending on what activities are done and the theme for the event.

I would suggest going ahead and checking out the National/International as well as local sites for each sorority that exist:

Alpha Chi Omega: http://www.alphachiomega.org and http://www.alphachiomega-wcu.com/

Alpha Gamma Delta: http://www.alphagammadelta.org

Alpha Xi Delta: http://www.alphaxidelta.org

Delta Zeta: http://www.deltazeta.org

Phi Mu: http://wcuphimu.4t.com/ and http://www.phimu.org

Good Luck with doing fall recruitment! It is a lot of fun and I'm sure you will find a perfect match somewhere at WCU

[tlw23]

Also, does every chapter have to go through informal recruitment or is there a chance that maybe only three out of the five would, and I miss out on the other two if I get a bid from one of the initial three? It seems better to wait for formal recruitment though I don't really want to.

Thank you so much for the information by the way!

[AZ-AlphaXi]

best thing to do here is to check out informal in the fall and see if all groups are participating. just because you get a bid in informal or go thru recruitment, you don't have to accept the bid(s) if you don't want to and can wait until spring.

but the advantage to participating in fall informal is that you'll get to meet women in the chapters and make new friends and see what its all about.

[SassyPantsAGD]

All of the sororities at Western will have informal recruitment events. No worries! You will certainly get the opportunity to visit all of the houses

[AlwaysSAI]

HEY HEY HEY!!!!!!

My sister is an Alpha Gam at WCU!!! She's currently VP-Member Development. She's graduating in December.

I'm sure you've met her. Dory, ring a bell?? I'm sure I've met you! I was up there for ya'lls formal in December.

[tlw23]

I just now thought of something that would be helpful to know about:

What are the requirements (things to do before/during) for informal recruitment as opposed to formal? I'm going to call our Greek Life office, but since I have almost three months until recruitment starts I've decided to wait until July/beginning of August.

[KSUViolet06]

In terms of grades, the GPA requirements will vary by chapter. Each one has a different GPA requirement in order to be extended a bid.

Every school and sorority structures informal differently. At some schools, it is very structured and involves registering with Greek Life, while at other schools, you just kind of go to the events. Your school's Greek Life office is your best source of info about informal because it is different everywhere.

[SassyPantsAGD]

WCU's informal fall recruitment is a very unstructured recruitment. You won't be registering with the Greek Life Offices. Like KSU also mentioned, the GPA requirements vary from organization to organization. The last time I checked they ranged from 2.5-2.75.

The best thing to do is go to the booth at Valley Bally Hoo. They make the master list from there to be contacted by all of the sororities. Once you make your way to the houses then you will learn about events.

There will also very likely be a group on facebook for Panhellenic Recruitment and many of the sororities utilize facebook to send out invites for events in the fall.

Tim Inman is the Director of Greek Life and he is amazing. He can definitely fill you in on any information about recruitment in the fall. He was actually my supervisor when I was a Resident Assistant at Western.

Good luck!