Sorority Info

Hi!!! I'll be starting college this fall, and sorority life seems like it would be a good experience. I was wondering if anyone had any info or tips that would be good to know. Also I was wondering where a good place to get info on the sororities can be found because the sororities at my school don't have websites. Thanks :-)

[PenguinTrax]

http://panhellenic.tripod.com/FAQ.html

General info about recruitment and links to the websites of the 26 NPC member sororities.

I'm not sure if you are interested in a particular type of sorority, but you may also want to check out http://www.latinogreeks.com or http://www.latinagreeks.com. Good luck!

[twinstars]

Also, you might want to look at the "Rush" board here for specific advice about rush and choosing the right house for you.

[blu_theatrics]

you can also try these websites depending on what you are looking for

www.nphc.org
www.sgr1922.org
www.aka1908.org
www.dst1913.org
www.zpb1920.org

Hope this helps

[This message has been edited by blu_theatrics (edited July 30, 2000).]

[equeen]

...and then there are those who are locals or independant, check out localsororities' site. If you're majoring in a technical field (engineering, sciences, mathematics etc.), you might want to check out my sorority, Alpha Sigma Kappa - Women in Technical Studies (there's a link in my sig file).

------------------
equeen
A Lioness has her Pride!
@>--;--
Alpha Sigma Kappa - Women in Technical Studies

[This message has been edited by equeen (edited July 31, 2000).]

[lizzie3d]

One of the universities in my hometown declared any greek letter organizations basically "illegal" on campus, so everything greek on that campus is absolutely not condoned by the school. In this case, all the greek letter orgs are basically hidden. If your school is like this, you may want to just ask around when you start classes, get to know people. The more people you know, the better chance you'll have of finding out what the greek life is really like on your particular campus. Truly local greek organizations can sometimes be difficult to rush as well. I know in some cases, they COB late into the semester to give themselves a better shot at staying alive.

At a school like mine, rush is the biggest event of each semester. As long as you get the chance to see each greek org. and you get to know the women in each chapter, I think you'll be able to tell where you belong. The saying I went by when I decided to pledge my house was, "can I see myself brushing my teeth with these women?" If the answer is yes, you're probably pretty comfortable with the house and you feel like you could fit in easily.

It's sad that some schools hide their greek organizations, but it can happen. Good luck, and find out everything you can about any organization you might want to join BEFORE you pledge! That's my 2 cents...

Lizzie

[equeen]

Here's localsororities URL:
http://www.geocities.com/localsororities



------------------
equeen
A Lioness has her Pride!
@>--;--
Alpha Sigma Kappa - Women in Technical Studies

[ZChi4Life]

You can also try going to http://www.greekpages.com. They have a large list of sororities there. Good luck!

[smileyjac18]

My only advice is that you check out all of the sororities, and that you keep an open mind. Personally, I joined a small local sorority....never exclude small local ones....I think the really big ones would make the sisterhood bond harder b/c it would be very clique, and you may not know all of the sisters that well. Thats just my opinion though, and I have met plenty of other people who pledged into larger sororities and love it. I wish you the best of luck in finding the sorority that is right for you!

------------------
Jaclyn S.
Delta Xi Delta @ MSU

[angel_kak]

As a former recruitment counselor for potential members I can say that the most important thing for you is to check out all the sororities and go where you most comfortable. I also glad you're asking people about Greek life. I didn't really know a lot about Greeks before I joined. Don't go where you would like to belong; go where you already belong. I agree that you need to find out as much information about the sororities ahead of time because it will help you make your decision better! But always keep an open mind about all sororities. Don't always believe what you hear because there are a lot of rumors floating around and that is exactly what they are...rumors. Another thing don't join a sorority just because that is where your friends are going because I have seen so many sisters do this and regret it! I wish you the best of luck and hope your sorority experience will be as great as mine has been!

If you have any other questions feel free to e-mail at angel_kak@yahoo.com

...I joined a sorority four years ago, my first semester of my freshman year so maybe I can help!

Kirsten

[justmyo]

Sunnydays
Go to College to get an education,don't think about pledging your first year.I have seen too many freshman get themselves in academic trouble by concerning themselves with greek life their first year.Concentrate on your grades your first year,because without them you can't pledge anyway.This is why most school will not allow freshman to belong to any organization until their second year.

[AlphaChiGirl]

Originally posted by justmyo:
Concentrate on your grades your first year,because without them you can't pledge anyway.This is why most school will not allow freshman to belong to any organization until their second year.

I know most schools (with NPC groups at least) encourage the girls to rush as soon as they get to school (the schools with the largest Greek systems all have Fall recruitment). In the NPC, it's often harder (for various reasons) to join as anything other than a first-year or sophomore. For schools that have fall recruitment, the groups use high school grades to decide eligibility.

[33girl]

justmyo - FWIW, I agree with you. I think too many freshmen take on too much too quickly. They forget the classes are a LOT harder than high school and there are no parents taking care of their food, sleep, study habits etc.

That being said, one of the things I've learned from this board is that at schools with huge Greek systerms (LSU, Indiana U etc)you can severely hurt your chances of EVER getting a bid if you don't rush your 1st semester. Partly because of housing, partly because of $$, partly because of tradition. For myself personally, I pledged as a 1st semester sophomore and can't remember us ever having a pledge class without a junior or two. We also were at a small school with no Greek houses on campus.

I think the best solution is for the school to defer rush to the spring so the freshmen can get a taste of "normal" college life. I know some people consider that discrimination because "freshmen can join anything else their first semester." True, but this isn't the ski club - this is a lifelong commitment, not to be entered into lightly. If deferring rush cuts down on senior burnout, disenchanted rushees and depeldging, I'm all for it.

So wait if it won't hurt you, but if it will, don't.

[juniorgrrl]

I also think that rush should be deferred until the second semester. I know so many girls that joined a house first thing, and all they know is XYZ. I also know of others that got so overwhelmed that they went inactive because they couldn't handle everything.

I think that *especially* at a place like LSU it should be deferred - its a big, new, scary experience. So many people use the Greek system as a crutch; instead of learning about college life independently, they connect with 200 other girls and learn about it that way. They never know life without XYZ.