Why? Sophomore UGA story

[alum]

Originally Posted by violetpretty

Don't make me choke. I would agree that UGA and Texas are among the best public schools in the country. Is that what you meant by "public Ivy"? While UGA and Texas are on par with (or slightly below) other competitive presitigious public schools like Penn State, Maryland, UVA, William & Mary, UNC, etc, they pale in comparison to actual Ivy League schools. Keep in mind, I am not knocking the quality of these schools, because I went to one, just that I think the term "public Ivy" is laughable.

I absolutely agree with you. However, there are several books out there defining the public ivy institution.

William and Mary, UVA, UNC-CH, UC Berkeley, Michigan (AA), UVM, Miami of Ohio, and UT Austin were the original "public ivies". The phrase was used by a college admissions counselor from Yale to define the 8 public higher education institutions most similar to the true Ivies. Another college admissions expert later expanded the list to include other publics by region. UGa is on the 2nd list.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by alum

Another college admissions expert later expanded the list to include other publics by region. UGa is on the 2nd list.

I wonder who that expert was. Hmmm

[LadyLonghorn]

One of the things I don't see mentioned about Sophomores and up is if a woman has already been so involved in campus, why don't some members already know who she is? Even at large schools, sorority members get familiar with non-Greek women through campus activities and organizations. A Sophomore may look to be very involved in a variety of groups on her resume, but maybe she's one of those who likes to join groups because of the way it makes her resume look but doesn't get involved at all or spreads herself too thin. Those are the kinds of people we don't need. Chances are, if you're active in those organizations, some of the sorority women are familiar with you. If not, we've got to wonder who you really are.

And those of you who think MS is a fun and easy experience at a strong Greek school are sadly misinformed. You have no idea how painful it is to have to cut a huge percentage of PNMs starting from the first round.

[srmom]

For those of you that asked, she did not rush as a freshman since both her Mom & Dad had pledged as Sophomores and had no problems (also at UGA but many moons ago). Their feeling was that you should get your feet on the ground and then rush. When she got to school, she did realize that it was a potential negative and she worked very hard to make sure that she did everything "right" this fall.

This is the situation of a girl I know who is rushing as a sophomore at UT next week, and frankly, I'm worried about her. It's competitive enough there, but to add in the fact that she's a sophomore who chose not to rush last year and, YIKES!

Last year, she decided not to rush because she's pre-med and didn't think she could handle the academics and greek life. She is now regretting it and wishing she had just gone ahead and rushed. She is going to make a go of it! Luckily, she has a number of friends in some houses, but still, the sophomore standing is going to be a strike.

I wish they allowed quota additions for upperclassmen. Back in my day at SMU, we were allowed to pledge 2 extra upperclassmen, it sure made for alot of happy gals who, for whatever reason, didn't rush 1st year

[srmom]

We are not talking about Vandy or Vassar here.

Yes, thank heavens we're not! Vassar? A UGA person would cut off their foot before they'd choose Vassar.

Weren't Fern and her roommates in Animal House from Vassar?

"Can we dance with your dates?" (couldn't resist)

haha JK! Really!!

[AnchorAlumna]

Originally Posted by srmom

Yes, thank heavens we're not! Vassar? A UGA person would cut off their foot before they'd choose Vassar.

Weren't Fern and her roommates in Animal House from Vassar?

"Can we dance with your dates?" (couldn't resist)

haha JK! Really!!

Fawn. Fawn Leibowitz. Actually, I think they were students at "Emily Dickinson College."

[AGDee]

Since it was mentioned (and I'm trying to convince my daughter that Michigan is NOT below her)

50%,didn't find it quickly on the site, 92%,630-730, 590-690

[33girl]

Originally Posted by srmom

Yes, thank heavens we're not! Vassar? A UGA person would cut off their foot before they'd choose Vassar.

Weren't Fern and her roommates in Animal House from Vassar?

"Can we dance with your dates?" (couldn't resist)

haha JK! Really!!

actually it was Fawne and Chris Miller said in an interview that "Emily Dickinson College" was Bennington.

I thought that was an odd comparison too.

[phimusam]

Also, if she was invited back to ten, we can pretty much dismiss that she was deliberately singled out to be cut.

Regarding people who get into Tech but not into Georgia, it usually has to do with GPA. At UGA, except for AP (or maybe IB) courses, there is no boosting of GPA for honors or gifted courses - at Tech, anything below an A is boosted 1/2 point.

[EE-BO]

To the OP- thank you for coming back and offering more info. As you can see, there are clearer answers now- and my nagging concerns have certainly been explained, plus those of others.

And it is good to have this thread here since it brings out a lot of good points. I did not realize her parents had rushed as sophomores at UGA years ago with no trouble. And waiting a year certainly has advantages. We reading here can never know if waiting a year is what really hurt her, but this story will hopefully help guide some others.

Recruitment at UGA can be brutal. I had a good friend who waited until sophomore year for valid personal reasons which would not have- in and of themselves- affected her suitability for sorority life. And she had one house she really wanted to go- and they wanted her. She was close with many members she had known since high school, had a legacy connection and interacted with many of the members through a church group we all belonged to.

She suicided on her bid card and mismatched even though there was every reason to believe this was a no-brainer (and this is not just what she told me, I personally observed her closeness with members of this sorority.) Who knows what happened, but it did. As devastated as she was at first, she eventually was fine and continued being close with her friends there.

Best wishes to your goddaughter. There is a lot of fun to be had at UGA and the talented young lady you describe will surely have a great college experience.

[AuburnMom08]

BTW, my daughter dropped out of rush on the last day after she was cut by all but 2 houses and she was really down about the whole thing but I am happy to report that now, a whole week later, she is doing great and not nearly as lost/lonely as she thought she would be without sisterhood.

[kddani]

Originally Posted by AuburnMom08

BTW, my daughter dropped out of rush on the last day after she was cut by all but 2 houses and she was really down about the whole thing but I am happy to report that now, a whole week later, she is doing great and not nearly as lost/lonely as she thought she would be without sisterhood.

Am I understanding you correctly? Your daughter had 2 houses left on the last day, then dropped out? How many houses did she expect to have left? Preference, at most, is three parties. Did she not go to preference for either of the two houses that genuinely were interested in getting to know her and potentially having her as a sister?

I'm glad that she's doing well, however, it sounds like she had quite a good chance of becoming a member of a sorority.

[InHerShoes]

Originally Posted by kddani

Am I understanding you correctly? Your daughter had 2 houses left on the last day, then dropped out? How many houses did she expect to have left? Preference, at most, is three parties. Did she not go to preference for either of the two houses that genuinely were interested in getting to know her and potentially having her as a sister.

What???

Just because a sorority shows interest in a PNM does NOT automatically mean that the PNM feels comfortable or at home in that chapter. Who are you to judge this woman's daughter for dropping out of recruitment because she wasn't comfortable with the houses she had left? Every sorority is not for everyone; they are not all the same, and that's the beauty of the system, but it also means that not every girl is going to fit in at every house.

I think that too often on this site girls are accused of dropping out of recruitment because they thought the houses they had left were "bottom tier." Why do we assume that is the case? This girl could have had two "top tier" chapters left that she simply couldn't see herself in.

Which is worse? Knowing that you wouldn't be happy with any of the sororities that invited you to preference and dropping out of recruitment? or knowing that you wouldn't be happy with any of the sororities that invited you to preference but attending the parties, signing a bid card, and dropping out after bid day, thus taking the spot of a girl who would have been HAPPY in that group?

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by InHerShoes

I think that too often on this site girls are accused of dropping out of recruitment because they thought the houses they had left were "bottom tier." Why do we assume that is the case? This girl could have had two "top tier" chapters left that she simply couldn't see herself in.

Yeah right. It doesn't happen like that. Do you know how the RFM works? Besides, that girl was a sophomore and received 4 invites for round 2. I HIGHLY doubt her only remaining options two "top tier" chapters where she didn't feel comfortable. If you don't click with a "top tier" chapter, it's going to be obvious, and you're going to get cut (unless you're a celebrity in some way), because they have plenty of other girls that would be dying to join and they have to make big cuts. Hell, even if you do click at a top tier chapter, you still have a good chance of being cut.

Originally Posted by InHerShoes

Which is worse? Knowing that you wouldn't be happy with any of the sororities that invited you to preference and dropping out of recruitment? or knowing that you wouldn't be happy with any of the sororities that invited you to preference but attending the parties, signing a bid card, and dropping out after bid day, thus taking the spot of a girl who would have been HAPPY in that group?

I don't mean to sound like I think every girl should sign a bid card, because really, she'll just drag her pledge class down with her if she doesn't want to be there. What I DO advocate, rather strongly, is going to all parties to which you were invited and have room for through preference AND keeping an open mind throughout recruitment. If after seeing your preference chapters 4 times and giving them the chance to change your mind and win you over, you STILL don't feel like you could be at home there, fine. It's not the action of dropping out that ticks me off, it's the "I'm too good for these chapters" attitude that causes the PNM to drop out.

[AGDee]

To me, at these huge chapters like UGA, Auburn and Bama, there are so many women in each chapter that I cannot believe that no matter who joined a chapter, there would be SOMEONE else in that chapter they would click with. There's no way that all 180 members of a chapter have identical interests, attitudes or personalities. These groups most certainly have groups within the larger group who hang out primarily together. I get the impression it is largely by pledge class. If that's the case, then it's really dependent on who else is in your pledge class rather than who else is actually in the chapter. In every chapter at UGA, I'm sure there are scholars, athletes, beauty queens, computer geeks, etc. In that way, I think a PNM could end up feeling at home in any of the chapters easily.