Too old to join a Sorority?

[Ilaria Ame]

i don't think so at all...one of my line sisters is 29 (!), and we just crossed this semester. it's all about finding an organization you will be comfortable in and that will be comfortable with you.

also, what are you taking at USA? my stepmom is an OT instructor there...just wondering!

[Nicholie]

I went to college for a year and a half at age 17 and then got very unsure of what I wanted to do with my life, so I dropped out. Now I know exactly what I want to do...which just happens to be a doctor, neurologist to be exact. Anyways, I just turned 25, but I am very young at heart Would 25 be seen as way too old to rush a sorority???

[AOII_LB93]

Originally Posted by Nicholie

I went to college for a year and a half at age 17 and then got very unsure of what I wanted to do with my life, so I dropped out. Now I know exactly what I want to do...which just happens to be a doctor, neurologist to be exact. Anyways, I just turned 25, but I am very young at heart Would 25 be seen as way too old to rush a sorority???

If it's a non-traditional school, you may or may not get a chance. At 25 and working on pre-med, you really want to hang out with a bunch of 18-20 year olds? Seems like your focus should be on school if you want to become a neurologist.

It's your choice, but be prepared for the worst.

[Buttonz]

Originally Posted by jennyj87

Rumor that 40 year old, firs ttime in college, is rushing at my school this year. I'm instersted to see how this works out. I go to a small (3 panhellenic sororities) non competitive school, so this should be interesting.

We had a similar situation...a 30-something year old at a small non competitive school with children at home. I think it took her one night to realize that it wasn't going to be what she wanted.

Originally Posted by AOII_LB93

If it's a non-traditional school, you may or may not get a chance. At 25 and working on pre-med, you really want to hang out with a bunch of 18-20 year olds? Seems like your focus should be on school if you want to become a neurologist.

It's your choice, but be prepared for the worst.

Concentrate on school. Your older then a traditional student first starting out and you have a long road of school ahead of you, I think your focus should be on school.

[Miss{BooperDoo}]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

Booper Doo-

I don't want to seem rude, but a few things struck me from your posts that I just thought I'd mention so you don't go in thinking it's going to be a cake walk.

• Your age will likely be a factor, especially at a Deep South school. Those schools are sellers' markets and the chapters have their pick. All else being equal, a freshman will have one up on you.
• Being a transfer student at a Deep South school is also a strike against you.
• Being from Indiana (or any state other than Alabama) will likely be a strike against you. (Of course I would count it as a point in your favor, personally!)
• You mentioned the expense of IU and ND - make sure you evaluate the financial obligations of a sorority before you rush and get your heart set on one.
• You mentioned that your plans are influenced by your boyfriend. Some sororities may frown on that. I hate to say that, because it sounds like your situation is very unusual and I am very supportive of what your boyfriend is doing.

I am sure that at many schools your situation would have little or no affect on your recruitment, but the reality is that USA is Deep South, and Deep South is different. I would recommend getting great recs and also thinking of how you can sell all of your "shortcomings" as assets. Also, it seems that all the things I listed as concerns are things that are now beyond your control. Be sure that the things you CAN control, like your grades and extra-curriculars, are stellar.

Also, BTW Notre Dame has no Greek Life, but it is beyond huge at IU. That is one of the 3 largest Greek systems in the country.

Hey, your not being rude. Just looking for advice here, and thats what you gave

I guess I should stress again, I don't come from an area where greek life is big. IU is SOUTH Indiana unless your going to a local campus like IU-south bend. In which case I compare it to Ivy Tech...which you are prolly not familar with but its a community college. There is no ANYTHING at IU-south bend. It's a very boring campus. I come from North Indiana. Different world. ND is in North Indiana. (as I'm sure you know). I don't know any of my classmates who went down to IU who wanted to go greek.

I honestly do not mean this in a rude way, so please don't take it that way, but comparing the cost of ND or IU to greek life is like comparing the cost of buying a mansion to renting an apartment. ND tuition is about 50 grand,(nd.edu :
Tuition and Fees

$35,190

Room & Board

9,290

Books and Supplies

850

Personal Expenses

900

Transportation

500

Total

$46,730

while IU is more like 20 grand (iub.edu:Tuition and fees$7,460$20,472Room and board *$5,616–$7,164$5,616–$7,164Total for Academic Year$13,076–$14,624$26,088–$27,636* Based on a double room with a full meal plan.
Other Personal Costs for an Academic YearFor new full-time undergraduatesIn-stateOut-of-stateBooks and supplies$650–$740$650–$740Personal expenses and transportation $2,400–$2,950$2,400–$2,950
Just because I can't afford these schools dosent' mean greek life at USA is out of the question...I don't know of ANY sorority that expects 50 THOUSAND dollars a year in dues. But I respect what you said about evaluating financial situation before considering rushing, because as I've said before I don't know much about greek life and until I started persuing information on it, didn't know that some dues ARE quite expensive.

Thanks for the point in my favor as for coming from Indiana If transferring from an Indiana school is going to affect my chances of getting into a sorority that badly, honestly its not something I want to be a part of. I fully plan on giving everyone a fair chance, and hopefully they will do the same for me. But forming an opinion of someone based on where they come from as a reason to not accept them is about as shallow as not accepting them because of their hair color.

Also thanks for supporting what my boyfriend does. But this wouldnt be something I would bring up rushing, as from what I've read boys are a no no to talk about. I would give other (equally truthful) reasons as to why I didn't attend in the Fall.

Thanks for the great advice, yours is one of the best responses I have received.

Have a great day!!

[Miss{BooperDoo}]

P.S. sorry about the IU/ND cost part, they were tables until I posted it and it kind of got meshed together

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by Miss{BooperDoo}

Thanks for the point in my favor as for coming from Indiana If transferring from an Indiana school is going to affect my chances of getting into a sorority that badly, honestly its not something I want to be a part of. I fully plan on giving everyone a fair chance, and hopefully they will do the same for me. But forming an opinion of someone based on where they come from as a reason to not accept them is about as shallow as not accepting them because of their hair color.

Let me clear this up...nobody is holding your home state against you. Nobody cares that you are from Indiana or New York or Arizona. The problem is that nobody went to your high school, church, summer camp, etc., so you don't have the personal connections that other girls may have prior to rush. You may be competing with girls who already know a lot of sorority members, and you have 20 minutes to impress sorority women who have known other PNM's for years.

THIS IS WHY RECS WILL BE CRITICAL. They can not replace personal friendships with women in the houses, but they will help.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by Miss{BooperDoo}

Hey, your not being rude. Just looking for advice here, and thats what you gave

I guess I should stress again, I don't come from an area where greek life is big. IU is SOUTH Indiana unless your going to a local campus like IU-south bend. In which case I compare it to Ivy Tech...which you are prolly not familar with but its a community college. There is no ANYTHING at IU-south bend. It's a very boring campus. I come from North Indiana. Different world. ND is in North Indiana. (as I'm sure you know). I don't know any of my classmates who went down to IU who wanted to go greek.

I honestly do not mean this in a rude way, so please don't take it that way, but comparing the cost of ND or IU to greek life is like comparing the cost of buying a mansion to renting an apartment. ND tuition is about 50 grand,(nd.edu :
Tuition and Fees

$35,190

Room & Board

9,290

Books and Supplies

850

Personal Expenses

900

Transportation

500

Total

$46,730

while IU is more like 20 grand (iub.edu:Tuition and fees$7,460$20,472Room and board *$5,616–$7,164$5,616–$7,164Total for Academic Year$13,076–$14,624$26,088–$27,636* Based on a double room with a full meal plan.
Other Personal Costs for an Academic YearFor new full-time undergraduatesIn-stateOut-of-stateBooks and supplies$650–$740$650–$740Personal expenses and transportation $2,400–$2,950$2,400–$2,950
Just because I can't afford these schools dosent' mean greek life at USA is out of the question...I don't know of ANY sorority that expects 50 THOUSAND dollars a year in dues. But I respect what you said about evaluating financial situation before considering rushing, because as I've said before I don't know much about greek life and until I started persuing information on it, didn't know that some dues ARE quite expensive.

Thanks for the point in my favor as for coming from Indiana If transferring from an Indiana school is going to affect my chances of getting into a sorority that badly, honestly its not something I want to be a part of. I fully plan on giving everyone a fair chance, and hopefully they will do the same for me. But forming an opinion of someone based on where they come from as a reason to not accept them is about as shallow as not accepting them because of their hair color.

Also thanks for supporting what my boyfriend does. But this wouldnt be something I would bring up rushing, as from what I've read boys are a no no to talk about. I would give other (equally truthful) reasons as to why I didn't attend in the Fall.

Thanks for the great advice, yours is one of the best responses I have received.

Have a great day!!

I'm from Illinois and went to U of I so I know where you're coming from regarding the differences in Indiana. As for the financial aspect - I know that Greek life is no where near as expensive as an entire college education at ND. Not knowing your personal finances, I was just bringing it up because you had mentioned finances as a concern. It sounds like you are knowledgeable about the costs associated with Greek life - too often girls get swept up in sorority life only to find out half way through their pledgeship that they can't afford to initiate. I'm glad that won't be a problem for you.

And about being from Alabama v. from Indiana. DeltaBetaBaby understood what I meant. Some southern chapters feel like out-of-state PNMs are a risk because no one can really vouch for them. Plus, some groups like to brag that they got all of the Birmingham girls or whatever the city-of-choice is. At some schools, taking out-of-state girls is looked down on. That always seemed silly to me, because at Illinois it was really cool to get out-of-state girls. But, as we've established, the south is just different. Mostly though, a good rec will help negate your out-of-state status since they will have that chance to know more about you.

As for the boys thing - you have obviously done your homework since you know not to talk about boys!

Good luck!

[Miss{BooperDoo}]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

I'm from Illinois and went to U of I so I know where you're coming from regarding the differences in Indiana. As for the financial aspect - I know that Greek life is no where near as expensive as an entire college education at ND. Not knowing your personal finances, I was just bringing it up because you had mentioned finances as a concern. It sounds like you are knowledgeable about the costs associated with Greek life - too often girls get swept up in sorority life only to find out half way through their pledgeship that they can't afford to initiate. I'm glad that won't be a problem for you.

And about being from Alabama v. from Indiana. DeltaBetaBaby understood what I meant. Some southern chapters feel like out-of-state PNMs are a risk because no one can really vouch for them. Plus, some groups like to brag that they got all of the Birmingham girls or whatever the city-of-choice is. At some schools, taking out-of-state girls is looked down on. That always seemed silly to me, because at Illinois it was really cool to get out-of-state girls. But, as we've established, the south is just different. Mostly though, a good rec will help negate your out-of-state status since they will have that chance to know more about you.

As for the boys thing - you have obviously done your homework since you know not to talk about boys!

Good luck!

Ahh, just letting DeltaBetaBaby know, I did read your response before I got to this one, and thanks for the clarification, I honestly didn't think about it that way...just got in defense mode.

I wondered if you were from up arounds here irishpipes, my cousin was at U of I for awhile I think. Thats kind of funny taking pride in accepting all people from one paticular area. I had something somewhat mean about that to write here...but I'll bite my tounge (or fingers?) as I don't personally know anyone in said groups to be mean about it. I've noticed this question popping up alot since I joined, and I'm sure there were hundreds before mine. It's not a big deal to me if I don't go greek, so I truely won't be too heartbroken if for whatever reason (I'm too old...too Northern...too random...I have green eyes...) I don't get in. Who knows

Thanks again for the great advice Have a great day

[EGAOPi]

It IS possible, but as others have pointed out, at a Deep South school it's not necessarily a guarantee (not that it is anywhere, but it really may be more difficult).
I'm not in the Deep South--just in Florida--but there were 3 girls in my new member class that were 21 and turned 22 shortly after initiation. They were all at junior standing.
The rest of the girls were between 18 and 20, mostly freshmen and sophomores.
A lot of schools look down on taking upperclassmen, but the age may not be a factor if you just mention the fact that you're a sophomore.
I defintely think if you open up about your situation, they will be understanding.
Definitely, as it has been suggested, get as many recs as you can so these women can learn as much about you as possible before you go into the homes.
Best of luck!