Is 40 to old to join a sorority?

[NutBrnHair]

An NPC group? Yes, I think you are too old.

[Titchou]

When I was Membership Adviser (rush), we had a 30 year old come thru recruitment. I never said a word about her age nor did any adviser. The chapter president asked "why a 30 year old would want to hang out with 18 and 19 year old hormone driven twits?" Frankly, I thought that was very astute of her. She couldn't see the chapter assimilating this woman due to what she rightly perceived as a maturity issue, not an age issue. We had advisers younger than this woman. What sort of relationship would you as a 40 year old expect to have with 18 and 19 year olds? I think the disparity in maturity and life experience would be too great to operate properly in a college sorority environment. How on earth would you relate at a fraternity mixer? Very difficult.

[33girl]

It all depends what kind of sorority, and what the campus is like. If 3/4 of the campus is returning students, obviously everyone else is going to be "old" also.

Not only that....not all sororities have fraternity mixers.

[DaemonSeid]

I thought 40 was the new 25 or sumn....LOL

[puddintane]

Originally Posted by 33girl

It all depends what kind of sorority, and what the campus is like. If 3/4 of the campus is returning students, obviously everyone else is going to be "old" also.

Not only that....not all sororities have fraternity mixers.

You are very, very correct. We have a nearby school that does have alot of returning students and there is a mix of age ranges in their Greek system. You see more older students in the fraternities rather than sororities.

I don't think it's a matter of wanting to "hang out" with women who are not just 18 and 19-year olds, but with more and more seniors delaying college or taking longer to graduate, most of the seniors that graduate from here are 23 and 24 years old.

While I can understand if your particular school has only a younger crowd, fully dismissing what an older student has to offer is the same thing as saying as your advisors have nothing to offer the sorority either...and we all know that isn't true.

Keep in mind that GPA to GPA, adult students usually outperform, younger students, and to be able to tap into that life experience, in my opinon, is valuable.

Sororities are for the promotion of women, younger women as a tradition, but I just think it's important to be open minded.

[skylark]

Originally Posted by puddintane

Keep in mind that GPA to GPA, adult students usually outperform, younger students, and to be able to tap into that life experience, in my opinon, is valuable.

I've noticed that too with non-trads. They are also a lot more into the class discussions, on average. My own conclusions from these observations is just that non-trad people aren't in college for the social aspects, as well as for the educational aspects. Perhaps that's because most of them already have been busy creating an outside life for themselves before coming to college, whereas traditional students are kind of starting out their entire lives from scratch when they come to college, in certain ways.

I guess the OP here is kind of the exception since she wants to be focused on things in college besides her classes.

[violetpretty]

Originally Posted by puddintane

While I can understand if your particular school has only a younger crowd, fully dismissing what an older student has to offer is the same thing as saying as your advisors have nothing to offer the sorority either...and we all know that isn't true.

Um, no. This is a ridiculous comparison because you don't want collegiates acting like advisors (although responsibility is a good characteristic). Of course advisors are valuable to chapters; lots of chapters struggle in one way or another with poor or no advisory support. However, a 40 year old advisor and a 40 year old collegiate member are completely different. Advisors are ALUMNAE who advise the chapter and the officers. They do not participate in the day to day activities of the chapter (although there are several events throughout each semester that alumnae are welcome and encouraged to attend).

Really consider the climate of your campus. What is the age range of the students? What is the age range of the Greeks? At a campus where 99.9% of the Greeks are 18-22, the LAST thing a chapter would seek is a 40 year old new member to advise them like their mother!

[OtterXO]

Originally Posted by NutBrnHair

An NPC group? Yes, I think you are too old.

I second that. I understand the desire to be involved on campus no matter what your age, but NPC groups are pretty much geared towards the typical college aged crowd. I remember a guy who was a 6th year engineering student (he had changed majors at some point) who was 24 and he seemed ancient when I was in college (so sad, I know). We all couldn't understand why he wanted to hang out with people so much younger. I think it would be much worse for a 40 year old.