Faith4Keep's Retro Recruitment!

[Lily1909]

Originally Posted by dream*a*dream

i know that gc encourages a true panhellenic spirit. i further realize that each campus is unique and that sororities vary from location to location. that said... am i ever impressed with your rush and the the chapters you are ending with. 3 of those chapters are among the strongest, largest and most elite of all of the many sororities in the npc ranks. i do not mean to be offensive to any sorority, but... sadly, while gc prefers to pretend that they do not exist... but tiers within a local panhellenic and "power-houses," are a definite reality and a fact of life... especially in the south. with 3 of those chapters you definitely would have had a rush that *dreams* were made of. i am totally impressed, those are absolutely wonderful chapters. seriously, you only lack on sorority in that list and you would definitely have the enitre "core four" for this very large and very greek region... in spades! it is odd how regions vary, as you seemingly felt as though your rush did not go well... yet you have 3 absolutely wonderful sororities with highly prestigious ratings and rankings nationwide. i am definitely impressed!

*sweet*dreams*

Since the 3 chapters' names aren't mentioned directly, I'm sure she meant that AEPhi is one of those "absolutely wonderful" sororities.

Keep writing, Faith4Keep!

[FSUZeta]

brava adpiucf and lily!! thanks for voicing what i was thinking.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Lily1909

Since the 3 chapters' names aren't mentioned directly, I'm sure she meant that AEPhi is one of those "absolutely wonderful" sororities.

Keep writing, Faith4Keep!

Well of course! and so are the others!

ETA: I think it's realistic to admit that some GLOs can have a regional dominance, that some groups have a higher national profile, and that some campuses have tiers. Other than the local tiers, I don't know how much the others matter in your Greek experience really and the local tiers may matter less than you think.

[Lily1909]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

Well of course! and so are the others!

I agree - I think all four organizations are absolutely wonderful. Not just three of the four

Every NPC/NPHC/multicultural sorority has characteristics that make it absolutely wonderful to its members.

I'm interested to see where Faith4Keep preffed...

[aephi alum]

All four of them are "absolutely wonderful" sororities. So are the other 22 NPC sororities.

Are there tiers? Yes. Are some NPC sororities stronger than others in certain regions? Yes. Do some sororities have larger numbers of chapters and initiated sisters than others? Of course. What's important is for each PNM to see beyond the tiers and the stereotypes and to pursue the sorority/ies she feels a connection with. If that's a "top-tier" sorority with 500 chapters and a million sisters, so be it. If it's a smaller sorority with "only" 100 chapters and 100,000 sisters, so be it.

</soapbox>

So, where's the update already??

[adpiucf]

National reputations have nothing to do with campus reputations. A sorority that may be nationally or regionally "strong" may, in fact, have a weak chapter on a particular campus even where other chapters of that same sorority at nearby colleges are very strong.

But that is all besides the point. At the end of the day, you have to choose the CHAPTER, not the national or regional reputation. The chapter represents the choice you have to live with everday as an active COLLEGIATE member. And that choice should be based off where you feel you best fit in, not what organization has the most members nationally, locally or who the local chapter is paired with for Greek Week.

Dream*A*Dream is fully entitled to express her own opinions. So am I. And my opinion is that the poster's opinion is without merit. That's really great that you got invited back to a sorority that has 1 gazillion members in the universe. At the end of the day (or at the end of recruitment!), what's the local chapter got to offer you and do you like what they're offering? That's the only thing that should matter.

If I'd rushed with the intent to join the strongest national sorority, I would not have joined ADPi. We don't have the most chapters, the greatest presence, etc., overall, but on my campus 10 years ago, the Zeta Omega chapter of ADPi represented the best choice for me. I'm so glad I didn't join a "national reputation"-- I joined a group of women at my university.

I feel bad for anyone who joins a sorority solely based on its national scope, and I know the OP joined her sorority because it was full of great UCF women she could relate to.

PNM's: if you're reading this: join the chapter for its members.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by adpiucf

National reputations have nothing to do with campus reputations. A sorority that may be nationally or regionally "strong" may, in fact, have a weak chapter on a particular campus even where other chapters of that same sorority at nearby colleges are very strong.

But that is all besides the point. At the end of the day, you have to choose the CHAPTER, not the national or regional reputation. The chapter represents the choice you have to live with everday as an active COLLEGIATE member. And that choice should be based off where you feel you best fit in, not what organization has the most members nationally, locally or who the local chapter is paired with for Greek Week.

Dream*A*Dream is fully entitled to express her own opinions. So am I. And my opinion is that the poster's opinion is without merit. That's really great that you got invited back to a sorority that has 1 gazillion members in the universe. At the end of the day (or at the end of recruitment!), what's the local chapter got to offer you and do you like what they're offering? That's the only thing that should matter.

If I'd rushed with the intent to join the strongest national sorority, I would not have joined ADPi. We don't have the most chapters, the greatest presence, etc., overall, but on my campus 10 years ago, the Zeta Omega chapter of ADPi represented the best choice for me. I'm so glad I didn't join a "national reputation"-- I joined a group of women at my university.

I feel bad for anyone who joins a sorority solely based on its national scope, and I know the OP joined her sorority because it was full of great UCF women she could relate to.

PNM's: if you're reading this: join the chapter for its members.

Well, yeah!

Nobody is disagreeing with that, but we're just acknowledging that some of the other factors that GreekChat sometimes seems to feel that it's better to pretend don't exist are in fact real. It doesn't mean that they will play into where a PNM ends up at all.

And, although I think a lot of us got our backs up about Dream*a*Dreams post, I think her intention was simply to compliment Faith4Keeps results. She believes three of the four groups to be some of the most wonderful organizations out there, and it's a shame about Theta.

(I'm totally kidding. It's only because Theta is such an outstanding and well known group that I was even tempted to make a joke. The only problem with her post was that she did seem to slight one particular group so much.)

[notyouraverage]

of course I didn't join my chapter solely for its national reputation, however, I do think it's something PNMs should think about. Maybe I'm just a special case because I joined a little bit older than average. Probably most PNMs don't think that far ahead. However, ff it's going to come down to two or three chapters that all have great girls and amazing programming, I'm going to pick the one that is stronger nationally. And here's why: I know that each sister of every NPC pledges for life. Of course, I can be a loyal TUV without an alumnae chapter where I live, but I'm interested in having sisters wherever I go. So when I'm off to grad school, I'd love for there to be a DG undergrad chapter that needs me and alumnae sisters I can turn to. And when I settle for good, I want there to be an alumnae chapter that I can raise my little legacies around. TUV may have been the same as DEF and DG as far as girls that I could fall in love with and sisterhood out the wazoo, but DG, to me, has an edge because I know they are at my top three grad school choices and have strong alumnae networks wherever I could want to live.
disclaimer: of course, I would never recommend that anyone choose a chapter she hates just because she knows about lots of alum groups. I mean, if you hated the undergrad experience, why would you want to be an active alum? But it could be a tie-breaker. It's certainly better than ranking a sorority based on how well you like their mascot or colors.