Too young to be deciding and learning about sororities?

[hae413]

Hi! I'm seriously considering recruitment once I go to college. (I'm in the tenth grade but have my top four schools decided.) The schools I'm interested in are the University of Alabama, Clemson, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and my local school which has 6 NPC sororities.

My dad is in a fraternity and my mom has co-workers that are alumnae of sororities so I do have a head start on recommendation letters.

I haven't been "groomed" all of my life for recruitment and I will be an out of state student for my ultimate top choice, Alabama. I've read some of the recruitment threads from past years, general advice and I've read the advice from UA Panhellenic's website. I know I'm far too young to be worried about whether I would get a bid and I also have two years and a few months time to get my resume up to where I expect it to be.

I just feel like if I were to start working on making my conversational skills better and talking to family friend alumnae about what to expect I might be better prepared. Is there any advice you could give me as to what I should be doing considering I am so young? Thank you!

[lucgreek]

This really shouldn't even be on your radar until you are actually accepted to schools.

[jazing]

Have fun in High School. You'll see what you want to do when you get there. You might decide in 2 years you don't want to be a sorority girl (just like in 2 years I might decided not to transfer).

[CeCe Newbie]

I'm in high school too, so obviously I think it's okay to start thinking about rush!

I've grown up listening to my mom talk about her sorority and all the fun she's had, so it's only natural that I'm very interested in greek life. If all goes well, I'll end up going to school veeeeery far away from my hometown, and I hope to join a sorority that will be family away from home. It's a lot of fun to fantasize about your future sorority and sisterhood, and it's never too early to start networking for recommendations .

Additionally, having good conversation skills can help you in a lot of other aspects of life. It's a great idea to start working on them now, regardless of whether or not you ultimately end up being a sorority girl. I love reading recruitment stories just because they're entertaining, but they will also help me learn from the rush mistakes of others and to imagine my own happy ending. You can also read some of the topics devoted to rush tips.

In all honesty, the presence of greek life is just another factor that helps me narrow down my college choices.

[DaffyKD]

In my opinion you are never too young to practice meeting people and learning to feel comfortable in a new situation.

You are never too young to be involved in school and community activities. You will need these for you resume when you apply to colleges and for a resume for sororities.

You are never too young to work on achieving the highest GPA possible. You will need these for you resume when you apply to colleges and for a resume for sororities.

You are never too young to make sure that your social networking sites show you in the best light. You don't want anything on those sites you would not want your grandmother to see.

You are never too young to make sure that any information about you that finds its way to the internet shows you in the best light possible, i.e. news article showing you participating in community service projects or receiving a scholarship.

Best wishes. Your graduation will be here in the blink of an eye. Enjoy this time.

DaffyKD

[sigmagirl10]

I spent all of high school assuming that I would join my mother's sorority when I went to college. I would say I was "groomed" to some extent--we even had practice recruitment conversations, though they were mostly joking. And when I started college? I didn't even want to be in a sorority anymore! Things ended up changing, clearly, since I'm on GreekChat, but my sorority experience didn't happen the way I expected (I'm so happy it happened the way it DID, though).

My point is that you will probably change your mind at least a few times. Right now you should go live your life, and don't read too much on GreekChat or anywhere else. Worry about recruitment again when you are a senior and starting to apply/get accepted to colleges.

[DubaiSis]

You're too young to worry about specifics, but knowing what you can do now to help yourself in the future is a good idea. As said above, make sure you're involved in things you like in high school. DON'T join the debate team if that's totally not your gig just because it's good on a college app. But do get into a variety of activities and do them well. If you have any interest in public speaking or performance kinds of activities, I think that can only help you feel more comfortable in the chaos of rush. And try out for a few things you want to do but don't have a great chance of succeeding at. First, working for things that are hard for you is good, and experiencing failure is a remarkably good thing to get comfortable with.

Keep your grades up, keep your friendships up, make at least passing friendships with the girls in the 2 years ahead of you. Don't glom onto them and be pathetic, but knowing them well enough so they remember you fondly in membership selection can only be helpful. Don't give yourself the reputation of being the class drunk, slut, bitch... be nice to everyone and try to avoid doing things that will embarrass your parents, not so much because they're your parents but because they might be a good gauge for you. Now that's not to say you need to sit home on Friday night knitting, but learning balance and moderation is a very good thing.

[MysticCat]

Just a gentle and well-intentioned correction:

Originally Posted by hae413

My dad was in a fraternity . . . .

Unless he was expelled or resigned his membership, your dad is in a fraternity.

Membership is for life, not just for college.

[hae413]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Just a gentle and well-intentioned correction:
Unless he was expelled or resigned his membership, your dad is in a fraternity.

Membership is for life, not just for college.

Oops! I fixed it. Thank you for telling me!!

I know I need to sit back and enjoy high school and just represent/improve myself in the best way I can. I am involved, I don't know how much more I'll be able to put on my plate, but I would love to do more if I could!

I'm not going to stress myself out about college or joining a sorority. I'm partly so curious just because it's entertaining to read stories about recruitment and I feel like a lot of the advice about recruitment is applicable to everyday life!

Thank you everyone!

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by lucgreek

This really shouldn't even be on your radar until you are actually accepted to schools.

I disagree. If Greek Life is something that interests you, it's never too early to think about how to become the best candidate you can be, as long as you are not fixating on certain chapters at certain schools. Some of the things that will make her a better candidate for sorority membership will also make her a better candidate for admission to colleges.

*Get the best grades you can
*Develop your leadership skills---better to have a few organizations where you are a leader than just a name on paper at a dozen.
*Diversity of organizations are good too, athletics, service, arts, spiritual (if that applies)
*Make a list of all the sorority women you know so when you need recs, you know who to ask
*Practice your conversational skills
*ENJOY HIGH SCHOOL

[Coug2012]

I started reading threads on this website very early in high shool and I learned a lot of valuable information that applied to any stage in life but also mentally prepared myself for what I should expect for recruitment when I was older. Now I am a senior and finally made an account knowing what school I am going to so that I could ask more specific questions. So my personal advice would be to continue reading threads but you probably don't need to start asking specific questions until you know what colleges you actually get into

[DeltaBetaBaby]

I also want to tell you to RELAX. Even at the very big rushes, most PNM's who have recs and haven't done anything terrible end up with a bid. It may not be from the most popular group, but every NPC group has a very strong sisterhood.

[hae413]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

I also want to tell you to RELAX. Even at the very big rushes, most PNM's who have recs and haven't done anything terrible end up with a bid. It may not be from the most popular group, but every NPC group has a very strong sisterhood.

I have this very irrational fear I won't get into any college or end up going to the community college in my town. It's weird because I get great grades, have extra-curriculars, am involved at school and so far have done well on prep tests. Once I actually GET into a college, I'll then proceed to stress about recruitment for absolutely no apparent reason. I just stress about things until they work out, then I feel ridiculous for worrying in the first place! Oh well...

I know it's silly for me to think about these things so young. I'm not kidding you, I've been thinking/talking to my parents about college and how I'll do on the ACT/SAT since I was twelve.

I really do appreciate the advice everyone.

[sigmagirl10]

The advice is super--focus on being the best version of yourself, because not only will it help you with recruitment once you're there, it'll help you get into college in the first place.

Here's a point, though, where you think you want to go to college may change 10 times between now and then.

[amIblue?]

Focus now on making yourself the best possible college applicant that you can (specifically grades and extracurriculars), and the sorority stuff will follow. It's not too early to be learning about the different organizations and trying to find as many possible rec writers as you can for now. I wouldn't start asking them for recs, but develop a kind of checklist of who you know in what org, etc. Work on polishing your social and conversation skills. The conversations in recruitment parties can feel forced and uncomfortable at times; the better you are at small talk, the better you will be in recruitment and, quite frankly, social situations in general.

If you are looking at NPC, try not to get your heart set on any particular organization. When I was in high school, I knew without a doubt that I would be in X organization. I'd never known anyone who was a Kappa. Things work out the way they're supposed to.