advantages when living out

[Betarulz!]

Hey, since this Rush board seems to be dominated by sorority sisters perhaps you can help me out.

My girlfriend is rushing next week (at my encouragement, we're both freshmen) and she posed this question to me because it had caused her some uncertainity almost to the point of not rushing at all. The question is, b/c all the freshmen sorority members have to live in the dorms b/c there is not enough room in the houses (that's how it is at Nebraska), what are the benefits of pledging when you arent' even going to be living in the house?

Off the top of my head I came up with meeting more people, being more involved on campus, having a group of people who will support you immediatly, and structured community service opportunities that don't have to be searched for (thus making it more likely she will do them). She's the type of rushee that will be successful where ever she goes, so I found it hard to come up with solid reasons that will prove true. The things I came up with weren't things she wouldn't be able to anyway. I guess I did a decent enough job b/c she is definetly going to go through rush still, but could someone give me one more reason?



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Geoff Mickells
Beta Theta Pi
Alpha Tau chapter
University of Nebraska

[SSS1365]

The semester I pledged, I didn't live on my sorority's hall (we have a sorority dorms because the sororities don't have houses here). It really wasn't much of a problem, I mean sometimes it's annoying to walk over for meetings but other than that it's not bad. She won't be at some horrible disadvantage either because most of the girls pledging with her will probably also be freshmen. For me, one advantage to not living on the hall was being able to get away when I needed to

[dzrose93]

Hi!

I think it is a common thing at MOST schools for freshman sorority members to NOT live in the house during the first year. The main reason is because the housing situation is usually set up before classes start so that the sisters can get moved in and settled before school.

If the sorority waited to fill those slots and was depending on freshman rushees to move in, then the house might not ever get completely filled. Most freshmen already have housing set up before Rush, so it wouldn't make good sense for the sorority to count on people who aren't even in the chapter yet to be living in the sorority house.

Please tell your girlfriend that she is certainly not in the minority in this case and to not worry about the housing issue. She should definitely get a chance to live in the house at some point during her college years.

I don't know how it is with other sororities, but Delta Zeta's chapter on the UGA campus requires sisters to live in the house for at least one year. Most girls choose to do so as soon as possible, which is during their sophomore year.

Also, I'll throw in my own personal experience - I NEVER lived in the house during my time in college and it never bothered me at all. I was still able to do everything I wanted with my sisters, visited the house whenever I liked, and even spent the night on occasion. Living in the dorm as a freshman and off-campus the rest of the years never made a difference in the amount of time I spent with my sorority sisters. I even held the office of president without living in the house!

Hope this answers your question! Please tell your girlfriend GOOD LUCK WITH RUSH!

[Betarulz!]

Ladies thank you!!! You defenitly gave some reassurance, and if my girlfriend has any concerns about I will be prepared. (the being able to get away and being president w/o living in very helpful)

However, in clarification (and perhaps the advice I was really looking for, I'll explain more in depth) I think that the cause of her concern and confusion may actually have been me. Her parents originally had a bad impression of greeks, and through some persuasion (and some facts from me, and seeing how much I fun was having during open rush) she was able to persuade them that this was beneficial. Of course she used things like grades and sorority ladies having better GPA's, as well as things like philanthropy, and getting the most out of college. However I think she began wondering the advantages when she realized that the house wouldn't have set study hours to make her study (as it is in many Frats) and all the things she had used with her parents wouldn't necessarily apply when not actually in the house (especially GPA).

So I don't think that she is worried about not getting in the house, but she may be worried about the fact that the houses influence will be lessened if she's not living there.

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Geoff Mickells
Beta Theta Pi
Alpha Tau chapter
University of Nebraska

[PenguinTrax]

As stated earlier, only under very unusual circumstances are first semester freshman allowed to live in the house. When space allows, second semester freshman may be given the chance to live in. Either way, your girlfriend should have no problems staying in the loop with her new sisters - she'll probably spend so much time at the house that she'll look forward to getting back to her dorm.

BTW - I lived on Abel 13 when I was at UNL. Is it still a crazy floor?

[dzrose93]

Originally posted by Betarulz!:
So I don't think that she is worried about not getting in the house, but she may be worried about the fact that the houses influence will be lessened if she's not living there.

Hi Betarulz,

I understand what you mean. Like I said before, I don't know how other sororities do it so I won't try to speak for them. BUT, in Delta Zeta, we have set study hours for all sisters. In my day, we had to do at least 5 hours in the library each week with the academics chairman there to sign us in and make sure that we actually studied during our sessions. We also had 5 hours (on the honor system of course) required that we could do on our own time. I don't know if that has changed in the past few years or not.

Delta Zeta, like all other sororities, has a minimum GPA that members must keep in order to be active (able to participate in the social aspects of sorority life like intramurals, formals, mixers, etc). To me, the sorority was a big help with my studies. I learned time management skills VERY quickly and so did my pledge sisters because no one wanted to miss out on socials or formals because of academic probation.

Something else you might want to tell your girlfriend: If a sister is not meeting her academic obligations to the sorority, then this brings the whole chapter's average down, something that our National Headquarters looks at very closely. So you can imagine how important academics is to us! We do everything possible to make sure that sisters stay on track.

Personally, I have found that the ones who want to study do, and the ones who don't just won't --- no matter where they live or how many study hours we impose. College is all about growing up and learning how to do things on your own. Your sisters can be there to support you - but they can't MAKE you get those good grades. That's why I don't feel that living in the house (or NOT living in the house) makes a big difference in how well a sister does in college.

I know this rambled a bit - I apologize! Hope I got my point across! Your girlfriend sounds like she is concerned about academics, and that's great. I think she'll be a good asset to whatever house she chooses.

In the Greek bond,
Carrie
Delta Zeta '93

[AlphaSigLana]

Carrie was absolutely right! I know that the house was a great place to see everyone and know what was going on. I loved it bc it gave me a chance to get away from my roommates. Also no freshman live in the house. Freshman at my school must live in the dorms. Like Carrie or PnguinTrax said if the sororities depended on the freshman to live in the house they may never get filled. My house had to have every room full for this fall before spring semester ended.I am excited to live in the house bc I hated the dorms. Also grades are a big thing. We have study hours. Plus a minimum gpa requirement. I believe being Greek actually makes you work harder. ANd if you search chitchat under sorority facts someone mentioned that Greeks are 75% more likely to graduate from college or get better grades(Not sure which exactly plus many successful people have been greek). So tell her she will be fine living out of the house.

[finest_alum]

Originally posted by Betarulz!:
if my girlfriend has any concerns about I will be prepared. (the being able to get away and being president w/o living in very helpful)

. However I think she began wondering the advantages when she realized that the house wouldn't have set study hours to make her study (as it is in many Frats)

I don't know if this is what you meant, but my house had required study hours (in hours, not set times) that actives and new members had to comply with. We actually got fined if we didn't get in all our hours.

Also, our Exec Board was required to live in-house (you couldn't be Prez and live out).. but then, the Prez also got her own room

I personally chose never to live in-house aand do not think it adversely affected my relationship w/ the house; but everyone is different. I just really didn't like the idea of never being able to have male guests in my room (even family members). But hey, that's just me.
I was there all the time anyways, so it wasn't a big deal!

[Betarulz!]

Originally posted by PnguinTrax:

BTW - I lived on Abel 13 when I was at UNL. Is it still a crazy floor?

I don't know, I haven't even moved yet (not until the 23rd)!!! But if/when I find out, I'll try to let you know

For everyone else thank you very much. I will definetly pass this information along to my girlfriend.

[This message has been edited by Betarulz! (edited August 13, 2001).]

[AlphaChiGirl]

Our chapter, because we have deferred recruitment, does not offer housing to first-years. Regardless, I think living in the dorms freshman year is an INVALUABLE experience--you meet so many people you would not normally meet if you lived in the sorority house.

I have never lived in our Chapter house, and I'm a rising junior. Part of it's because I've had other obligations (before Rush, I had applied to be a Resident Counselor for Sophomore year), and the other part is because I just prefer dorm living with friends than being in the house with sisters. Call me crazy...

[orchid2]

Betarulz, you're a freshman too? When was your rush? I can't believe people in our class have already pledged!! This is so awesome...

[KSig RC]

Here's an interesting sidenote for ya -

I go to a school where only a small percentage (less than 25%) of any chapter is allowed to live together in the chapter house - meaning that we can only keep about 20 out of around 70 guys in the house at once, according to the school. Well instead, we reside in a house that only fits 12 people, and it works out wonderfully for us. The vast majority of brothers don't 'live in' - but they do have a place to call home, a chapter hall, a place for social events, etc.
The chapter GPA and house GPA are nearly identical (only slight difference, with the house being a little higher primarily due to the 'smarter' brothers living in last year), almost every brother attends social events, philanthropy attendance is very high, etc . . . i'd say that not living in the house, from my experience, doesn't necessarily impair the greek experience for an individual. Now, I think you gain a lot from living in the house, and i'd encourage that to anyone - but i wouldn't fret about not moving in right away. You'll still get all the positives of greek life, plus the positives of living in the freshman dorms. Good luck to ya, beta, and to your girlfriend - hope this personal-experience thing helps!

-Rob

[Betarulz!]

Originally posted by orchid2:
Betarulz, you're a freshman too? When was your rush? I can't believe people in our class have already pledged!! This is so awesome...

Yep, I'm a freshmen guy (obviously) Nebraska (and all the state schools here in the midwest that I know of--KU, K-state,Mizzou) has open summer rush for guys, and most houses fill their pledge class during this time before formal rush (leaving guys who go through formal rush with fewer houses to choose from). Formal rush (for girls and guys begins next monday the 20th, pref day is the 23rd and bid day I think is the 27th (also first day of classes). It is really awesome, I'm so excited to go.

[This message has been edited by Betarulz! (edited August 14, 2001).]

[CutiePie2000]

Originally posted by Betarulz!:
Her parents originally had a bad impression of greeks.

Here's a good link for "anxious" parents, in case you need it for future reinforcement! http://www.wlu.ca/~wwwss/greek/parents.htm