Should you join a "lower tier" sorority?

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

I dunno.

At my SEC school, it's like the "tiers" are set in concrete reinforced by rebar and encased in steel. The top, middle, and lower tiers, with just a tiny bit of shifting within tiers, are the same now as they were in 1971.

It doesn't seem to matter what women do or achieve, they don't change.

And Panhellenic has traditionally been all about enforcing that. Informally, of course.

I thought this too about my SEC campus, but I'm realizing it might not be the case. One group that was bottom tier when I was in school is solidly middle now, I think. And there's been some shifting in terms of the popularity of some of the middle and upper tier groups.

I think a lot of it has to do with changes at UGA. I think high achieving suburban Atlanta public school kids are playing a much bigger role in the system than they used to, and they elevated some groups that were middle when I was there and some of the really southern traditional groups suffered a little. I'm not sure the mobility would have occurred without this big shift because of the HOPE grant. But I think a lot of the SEC schools are experiencing similar changes, if on a smaller scale. If you're pulling more out of state kids, they aren't going to have 20+ years of a group's bad hometown rep to deal with, IMO.

I think it's still hard to take a lower tier group and somehow turn things around in one four year window.

And anyway, even if your low tier is forever, it's probably still worth being a member.

On a different note: even if girls are preffing a low and a high group, I think the number who don't list the high group first are a small percentage. The decision might be, do I list and accept a low tier bid if I get it instead. But I don't think girls are saying with any frequency, "I'm turning down #1 for #15.

[KSUViolet06]

I find that in some smaller Greek systems, the tier structure is much more fluid and a pledge class or 2 can really change things for a chapter.

I'm finishing up my grad degree at my undergrad alma mater so I have been here for awhile and I have seen one class change the reputation of a chapter dramatically (or better or worse).

[AnchorAlumna]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

...anyway, even if your low tier is forever, it's probably still worth being a member...

Oh, I certainly agree with you. One thing I've learned as an alumna is that among alumnae, tiers don't matter. The important thing is that you're a member of a GLO, and share similar experiences.

Now, some here say that your choice of group determines who'll you'll associate with and how you'll be perceived. Granted, I can see this among certain folks in certain communities (think bluebloods of Birmingham, Mobile, Atlanta etc.) But not in my little city.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

Oh, I certainly agree with you. One thing I've learned as an alumna is that among alumnae, tiers don't matter. The important thing is that you're a member of a GLO, and share similar experiences.

Now, some here say that your choice of group determines who'll you'll associate with and how you'll be perceived. Granted, I can see this among certain folks in certain communities (think bluebloods of Birmingham, Mobile, Atlanta etc.) But not in my little city.

I agree with the second paragraph too, but I also wonder as the chapters get bigger and bigger if it even matters in the places where I thought it used to. It's also been pointed out that if the factors are in place for you to get offered a bid to a chapter that we think of as "blueblood", you probably don't need to even rush to keep associating with them.

I think this old row-y kind of mindset remains more prevalent in fraternities since they don't have quota. A kid grows up in that blueblood world, goes to a certain set of private schools, goes off to a big public university but joins a really elite/elitist group, goes back to reclaim social position in hometown. If you take a pledge class of 60-80 every year and their are multiple blueblood groups, how elite can you really claim to me?