Re-rushing, what do you think?

[Faith4Keep]

Hi!

I did formal rush as a junior at a semi-competitive school. Prior to recruitment, I knew that I didn't want certain chapters, and I knew that they wouldn't want me since I was a junior. But once I was there, talking to the girls, they had me convinced that I could be a part of their chapter. And then when I got cut- it hurt. It stung. It was very frustrating. But in the end I got a bid to an amazing group of girls-- it may not be considered "the best" on our campus, but I think they are the best!

I one time asked here on GC why chapters won't take juniors. One good response was that if you pledge fall of your junior year, you only get one go-round as an officer (spring of junior, fall of senior) and then you graduate. Your long-term contributions to the chapter are minimal. Also, I'm not sure the chapters on your campus have houses, but if you are a junior (or senior) you would not have the time to live in the house, which is a HUGE deal breaker for many chapters that need to fill rooms.

This is probably not a reason for being cut but... part of being in a sorority is that the chapter assists in "developing" you into a refined young woman. Once you hit your junior/senior year, you are pretty much set in your ways. For example, I was definitely not used to following my chapter's rules on drinking, partying, facebook, etc. I thought (and still do think sometimes) that it was really annoying to always have someone "watching over me" and making sure I do things the right way, the classy way, the XYZ way. However, when freshman and sophomores come in, that's just the way life is for them. It's more difficult to 'develop' someone who has already had 2-3 years on their own.

Consider these points before you enroll in rush. Will you take a leadership position? Will you live in the house (will you have time)? What can you contribute? Membership in a sorority is a give and take relationship. This commitment will be a lot, especially during your senior year. Have you tried joining other on campus organizations?

If you do decide to go through recruitment, have a prepared answer to the question "So, what did you do in high school?", because EVERYONE asks that. Like everyone has said, you will more than likely have huge cuts on the first day, just like I did. You must be ready for disappointment. I saw several juniors walk away without a bid on the third or fourth day of recruitment. You need to be open to ALL chapters, especially since you have this disadvantage of your class rank.

Feel free to PM me, I would love to hear what you decide.

[indygphib]

Originally Posted by Faith4Keep

Hi!

I did formal rush as a junior at a semi-competitive school. Prior to recruitment, I knew that I didn't want certain chapters, and I knew that they wouldn't want me since I was a junior. But once I was there, talking to the girls, they had me convinced that I could be a part of their chapter. And then when I got cut- it hurt. It stung. It was very frustrating. But in the end I got a bid to an amazing group of girls-- it may not be considered "the best" on our campus, but I think they are the best!

I one time asked here on GC why chapters won't take juniors. One good response was that if you pledge fall of your junior year, you only get one go-round as an officer (spring of junior, fall of senior) and then you graduate. Your long-term contributions to the chapter are minimal. Also, I'm not sure the chapters on your campus have houses, but if you are a junior (or senior) you would not have the time to live in the house, which is a HUGE deal breaker for many chapters that need to fill rooms.

This is probably not a reason for being cut but... part of being in a sorority is that the chapter assists in "developing" you into a refined young woman. Once you hit your junior/senior year, you are pretty much set in your ways. For example, I was definitely not used to following my chapter's rules on drinking, partying, facebook, etc. I thought (and still do think sometimes) that it was really annoying to always have someone "watching over me" and making sure I do things the right way, the classy way, the XYZ way. However, when freshman and sophomores come in, that's just the way life is for them. It's more difficult to 'develop' someone who has already had 2-3 years on their own.

Consider these points before you enroll in rush. Will you take a leadership position? Will you live in the house (will you have time)? What can you contribute? Membership in a sorority is a give and take relationship. This commitment will be a lot, especially during your senior year. Have you tried joining other on campus organizations?

If you do decide to go through recruitment, have a prepared answer to the question "So, what did you do in high school?", because EVERYONE asks that. Like everyone has said, you will more than likely have huge cuts on the first day, just like I did. You must be ready for disappointment. I saw several juniors walk away without a bid on the third or fourth day of recruitment. You need to be open to ALL chapters, especially since you have this disadvantage of your class rank.

Feel free to PM me, I would love to hear what you decide.

If you do decide to go through recruitment, please keep in mind that unless your campus has an upperclassman quota, you most likely will be cut heavily after the first round of parties. Even if your chapter does have an upperclassman quota, you're not guaranteed to be asked back to all of the chapters due to each chapter's membership selection process, which is a private matter. Most chapters are looking to take women who have the potential to contribute four (or more) years of their time to the chapter, and if your school is fairly competitive, chances are most chapters will take a freshman over a junior or senior any day because the freshman will (hopefully) be a contributing member to the chapter for the rest of her college years.

My recruitment experience was similar to Faith4Keep's. I knew that my junior status would be one of the main reasons why I'd be cut from most of the sororities. However, most of the chapters that cut me wouldn't have been a good fit for me anyway...I was only slightly disappointed about being cut from about three or so after the first round, but I was aware of the consequences of going through recruitment with my class standing. Fortunately for me, most of my top choices (and best fits) were always on my party list, and I ended up joining my #1 choice - woo hoo!

Faith4Keep also makes a good point about "developing" into a sorority woman. Are you willing to make some changes to your lifestyle so you can have a more smooth transition into sorority life? Adjusting to "the sorority way" was definitely an experience for me. I thought some of the rules on drinking, partying, etc. were excessive because they seemed like common sense to me. After all, I had been on campus for quite some time and was used to the social scene and knew how to "behave". But I realized that having a social protocol set by the chapter was a good thing...new members (myself included) needed to learn the chapter's expectations for leaving a positive impression on campus, and the existing members were expected to adhere to the same expectations.

I wish you the best of luck!

Thank you for everyone that has written in! Here's is what I think. I completely understand why sororities would pick a freshman instead of a junior, they do have more time to contribute, but I also think that it depends on the girl as well, I feel like I would be a great part in a sorority. And as far as the transition, I am not really understanding what you guys mean, here's the thing, yes, I'm in college, however, I do feel very grown up for my age, by no means do I go out and get sloppy drunk or do anything unapproperiate. I would love to give alot to a sorority, and help out in any way that I can. I love that fact that each sorority has a philanthropy that they work with. There is one sorority on campus who is probably my 2nd choice, and there philanthropy hits really close to home because I would be dealing with people who are going through some things I have been through. I'm not going to lie, my GPA isn't great, I've been trying to balance school and work with no social life, but I want to do better, and I feel like a sorority would help me out alot. There are only 4 houses on campus. And about the one who asked about the girl who might have something against me, here's the thing, I know girls can be that way, to make a long story short, she involved me in something I had nothing to do with, and decided that we shouldn't be friends, so I feel like she really doesn't have anything against me persay. I got an e-mail from the VP of recruitment to one of the chapters saying that it doesn't look bad to re-rush, and asking if I'm considering rushing in the fall, so I don't know, I will ask her about recs and the upperclass quota if they have one, I will keep everyone updated though! Thank you so much!

[adpiucf]

The Panhellenic Council at your school is another good resource to get information about quotas, juniors, etc.

Also, you may have a lot to offer, but your low grades and class rank will be a factor in being cut from some sororities after the first round. Same goes for anyone who may have an issue with you. Just be prepared for these things.

Good luck!

ETA: I think Faith4Keep was advising you that as an older student, you would be one of the oldest members in the chapter. And that chapter officers younger than you, possibly underclassmen, would be enforcing sorority rules -- and for you to be prepared for that. Or if you were to live in the sorority house, to know going in that the expectations to live in a sorority house aren't as lax as living off campus and even in the dorms. Sorority houses enforce the "no overnight male guests" and dry rules, and plenty of members don't like this, especially ones who are used to more freedom.

[PeppyGPhiB]

I would advise you to STOP contacting the chapter VPs of Recruitment. They are most likely not supposed to be talking with you now, and they may actually find it annoying that you're emailing them with these questions. I would also recommend that you NOT ask them about junior/senior quotas and recommendations, as it starts to get into the territory of member selection. It is best that you instead direct your questions to the greek affairs office, if you have one.

[ISUKappa]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

I would advise you to STOP contacting the chapter VPs of Recruitment. They are most likely not supposed to be talking with you now, and they may actually find it annoying that you're emailing them with these questions. I would also recommend that you NOT ask them about junior/senior quotas and recommendations, as it starts to get into the territory of member selection. It is best that you instead direct your questions to the greek affairs office, if you have one.

It's unclear to me if she was referring to the VP of Recruitment for Panhellenic or the VP of Recruitment for a specific chapter. If it is the former, well, it's kind of her job to answer questions from PNMs. If it's the latter, I agree, she should no longer be in contact and should forward all questions to Panhellenic/the Greek Life office.

[Faith4Keep]

Originally Posted by fadyas

I completely understand why sororities would pick a freshman instead of a junior, they do have more time to contribute, but I also think that it depends on the girl as well, I feel like I would be a great part in a sorority.

I think it depends on where you rush. I thought that I would be an excellent candidate for any chapter regardless of my class status since I had TONS of on campus involvement and awards to my name. Nope- I got dropped just the same as all the other juniors.

Originally Posted by fadyas

And as far as the transition, I am not really understanding what you guys mean, here's the thing, yes, I'm in college, however, I do feel very grown up for my age, by no means do I go out and get sloppy drunk or do anything unapproperiate. I would love to give alot to a sorority, and help out in any way that I can.

Let me give some examples... many chapters require sisters to do study hours in the library- this was certainly a shock for me. I do study (I'm an engineering major, I have to! ) but sometimes there will be weeks when I just don't need to study, so requiring me to do that at a specific place was weird for me.

Another example is personal appearance- MANY chapters on my campus require you to look your best anytime you are wearing anything that bears the chapter's name. This made me sad because sometimes I would just want to throw on one of my favorite chapter shirts and some sweats to go run some errands. It's made me more conscious of how I am representing the chapter, but I also feel like I should be able to wear a t-shirt if I want!

And finally- everything you do or say can be related back to your chapter. We all do it - "omg did you hear what that XYZ did/said???" You have to start censoring yourself- which is what I hate the most!

Basically, it's all about adapting to things that maybe you never thought about before, or changing things that are your second nature.

Originally Posted by fadyas

I'm not going to lie, my GPA isn't great, I've been trying to balance school and work with no social life, but I want to do better, and I feel like a sorority would help me out alot.

To be completely honest, if you are having trouble balancing school and work and "no social life", I don't see how a sorority would fit in- or furthermore, help you out. A sororotiy really only adds MORE to your schedule- I like to think of it as adding a 3 or 4 credit hour class to your schedule. And- if your GPA is low, the only thing your sorority may help you out with is study hours... some girls in my chapter have to do 20 hours a week!!! And then you don't have any time for social activities.

I'm not really sure what you are seeking from a sorority-- friendship? popularity? do you just want to wear letters? You should really think about this before you rush, because one thing that chapters can not stand is when they bid a girl and said girl gives 0 time to the chapter. Like I said- it's give and take.

Originally Posted by adpiucf

ETA: I think Faith4Keep was advising you that as an older student, you would be one of the oldest members in the chapter. And that chapter officers younger than you, possibly underclassmen, would be enforcing sorority rules -- and for you to be prepared for that.

Yes, this is partially what I meant. What I was trying to say was, if you like to go out to the local bar and dance the night away, and this is something you've always done... you may be surprised when all of a sudden chapter leadership is keeping a close eye on you and questioning your activities. I'm trying to think of more examples, but generally I have had to do a lot of lifestyle censoring, sometimes altering, so that my chapter won't get upset with me and I really start exemplifying what a chapter member should be!

[33girl]

I think what she's meaning to say is if she joined a sorority with enforced study hours and a calendar that is planned out, it would help - at least that's how I take it. Not everyone is adept at doing this on their own.

And whether or not one has a social life has nothing to do with what you can offer a social sorority. You don't get a bid because you throw parties or have a ton of boyfriends or are at the bar 6 nights a week, at least you shouldn't. That is not what "social" means.

[REE1993]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I think what she's meaning to say is if she joined a sorority with enforced study hours and a calendar that is planned out, it would help - at least that's how I take it. Not everyone is adept at doing this on their own.

And whether or not one has a social life has nothing to do with what you can offer a social sorority. You don't get a bid because you throw parties or have a ton of boyfriends or are at the bar 6 nights a week, at least you shouldn't. That is not what "social" means.

By junior year, I imagine most people would be able to self-motivate in terms of studying. Unless the OP is the type of person who does better under pressure, adding pledging to the load might be too much.

As far as having a social life - I never said that one needs to be partying or having "tons of boyfriends". The OP said that she has no social life, that she works, goes to school, and has a not-so-great GPA. Social means - to me - able to hang out and communicate with others. Does she have friends at all?

OP - people (ie. sororities) are looking to find out more about you. You must have interests, dreams, and hobbies? Think about what you might want to share during rush. Do you enjoy books? Movies? Sports? Do you work out? Sing? Any interests outside school and work?

[REE1993]

May I ask what your GPA is?

If all you do is school and work, and have no social life, I would think that your grades would be better?

Also, if you have no social life, what can you offer a "social" sorority?

How do you think a sorority can possibly help you out with your GPA? By your junior year, you should be engrossed in your Major's classes, and most would assume your GPA would be getting better.

Just wondering....

Originally Posted by fadyas

I'm not going to lie, my GPA isn't great, I've been trying to balance school and work with no social life, but I want to do better, and I feel like a sorority would help me out alot.