upperclassmen recruitment

hopefull26 · #1 06-29-2014, 01:24 AM

I was wondering what everyone thought about a married upperclassmen who wanted to join and had prior military service would do at recruitment and what words of advice would you give her.

33girl · #2 06-29-2014, 02:04 AM

It depends on the school.

AOII Angel · #3 06-29-2014, 10:24 AM

How old are you? 26? That's another negative in your column. Like 33girl said, it depends on your school. At a nontraditional, commuter campus, you MIGHT find a place in a sorority, but at a school with traditional Greek life with 18-19 year old women rushing, not a chance. Take a good look at your school and figure out what your options are. Every chapter is different. I advise at a school that had a 28 year old grad student in our chapter. 10 miles down the road at another school that would NEVER happen. Unfortunately, the number of traditional Greek systems far outnumber the nontraditional.

Hartofsec · #4 06-29-2014, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hopefull26

I was wondering what everyone thought about a married upperclassmen who wanted to join and had prior military service would do at recruitment and what words of advice would you give her.

My understanding from your previous thread is that you have been on your current campus a year -- do you know or have friends who are sorority members -- such that you are somewhat familiar with the sorority "culture" there? They would be in a better position to answer your question.

It might be a good idea to evaluate how where you are in your life (older, married, and a senior), as well as your interests and goals, relates to the reality (as compared to your dream) of sorority membership on your campus.

If your interests are in campus involvement and community service, there are probably many campus organizations that would love to have you join, including many that might involve a more diverse student demographic (older and married students). These may also be a better social fit for you to include your spouse.

Good luck to you -- whatever you decide!

austennn · #5 07-16-2014, 01:08 AM

It really will vary from school to school and chapter to chapter. I know for my chapter, if you get married or have a kid, you automatically become an alumnae member. I'm not sure how the marriage thing will work.

If it's different at your school and you can go through recruitment when you're married, I would advise you to work very hard to make connections within the chapters. You're going to have to work twice as hard to outshine all the 18-year-old freshman surrounding you. Take the opportunities you have to speak with active sorority members during recruitment to explain your situation and why you've had to wait so long to join a chapter, tell them about your military experience, ect. If you can make a chapter really want you by having a great personality, they will want to give you a bid regardless of age, class standing, ect.

I would also advise you to maybe look into a service/multicultural/religious/academic sorority. Panhellenic sororities are super special and something I think every girl should get to experience in their life, but maybe for where you're at in life right now, a different kind of sorority would be a better fit for you. I'm not sure how old you are, if you're 26+ I would say maybe it's not the best idea. I can't imagine being in my mid/upper twenties and married and wanting to be in a group of girls at least 5-8 years younger than me. It just seems like it would be very awkward, your big would probably be at least 4 years younger than you. I also feel like a lot of girls would have trouble relating to you and see you as a "mom" type. Even though 26+ isn't that old, compared to a bunch of college freshman, it's a pretty large gap.

Look into some other organizations, but if you absolutely want to go through recruitment with all your heart, you can at least give it a chance. Good luck to you! I hope it all works out!

If you're looking for any other advice over recruitment and Greek life, check out my blog. I make lots of posts about my sorority experiences on there.

thetalady · #6 07-16-2014, 01:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by austennn

It really will vary from school to school and chapter to chapter. I know for my chapter, if you get married or have a kid, you automatically become an alumnae member. I'm not sure how the marriage thing will work.

If it's different at your school and you can go through recruitment when you're married, I would advise you to work very hard to make connections within the chapters. You're going to have to work twice as hard to outshine all the 18-year-old freshman surrounding you. Take the opportunities you have to speak with active sorority members during recruitment to explain your situation and why you've had to wait so long to join a chapter, tell them about your military experience, ect. If you can make a chapter really want you by having a great personality, they will want to give you a bid regardless of age, class standing, ect.

I would also advise you to maybe look into a service/multicultural/religious/academic sorority. Panhellenic sororities are super special and something I think every girl should get to experience in their life, but maybe for where you're at in life right now, a different kind of sorority would be a better fit for you. I'm not sure how old you are, if you're 26+ I would say maybe it's not the best idea. I can't imagine being in my mid/upper twenties and married and wanting to be in a group of girls at least 5-8 years younger than me. It just seems like it would be very awkward, your big would probably be at least 4 years younger than you. I also feel like a lot of girls would have trouble relating to you and see you as a "mom" type. Even though 26+ isn't that old, compared to a bunch of college freshman, it's a pretty large gap.

Look into some other organizations, but if you absolutely want to go through recruitment with all your heart, you can at least give it a chance. Good luck to you! I hope it all works out!

If you're looking for any other advice over recruitment and Greek life, check out my blog. I make lots of posts about my sorority experiences on there.

I don't know who you are, but it is INCREDIBLY rude of you to come to this group and spam us with your personal blog. Please stop it. Very, very poor manners.

ASTalumna06 · #7 07-16-2014, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thetalady

I don't know who you are, but it is INCREDIBLY rude of you to come to this group and spam us with your personal blog. Please stop it. Very, very poor manners.

Ditto.

Especially when people come HERE for advice. It's one thing to offer up a specific blog post about a specific topic here and there, but for the most part, if you're providing answers on Greekchat, you should type your answers to specific questions in the comments sections of the threads on this site. Please don't run through the recruitment forum and copy and paste your blog link to every thread you can find, all in one night.

pinksequins · #8 07-16-2014, 12:59 PM

Her experience is quite limited and accordingly her advice can be extremely misleading. The spamming also shows poor judgment.

33girl · #9 07-16-2014, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinksequins

Her experience is quite limited and accordingly her advice can be extremely misleading. The spamming also shows poor judgment.

She lost me at "partying is a stigma."

ETA: Recommending a service/religious/academic/multicultural sorority as a "consolation prize" for an NPC sorority is extremely offensive. (Especially since most multicultural sororities ARE social sororities. )