How Do I Choose?

[LeslieEMU]

I wanted to make another point:

I don't agree with curiouss either (sorry, guess I am being arguemental today). On my campus at least, service organizations like GSS or APO don't really hang out with "social GLOs" so they wouldn't necessarily get a better observation of Greeks. I know a few of my sisters go into Honor GLOs (or orgs like Order of Omega)after joining our chapter. This isn't to say you shouldn't join a service GLO first, I just don't think there's an advantage.

***Just wanted to mention that even though I may disagree with certain opinions, I am only speaking from my experience, which doesn't necessarily make me right (even though I like to think I am )***

[finest_alum]

Originally posted by LeslieEMU:
I wanted to make another point:

I don't agree with curiouss either (sorry, guess I am being arguemental today). On my campus at least, service organizations like GSS or APO don't really hang out with "social GLOs" so they wouldn't necessarily get a better observation of Greeks. I know a few of my sisters go into Honor GLOs (or orgs like Order of Omega)after joining our chapter. This isn't to say you shouldn't join a service GLO first, I just don't think there's an advantage.

***Just wanted to mention that even though I may disagree with certain opinions, I am only speaking from my experience, which doesn't necessarily make me right (even though I like to think I am )***

On my campus service orgs weren't part of the social Greek system.. they never really hung out or participated with any of the social orgs, and were not a part of the "greek life" stuff. Better off just getting to know girls/guys in your classes and dorms that are Greek. Just my .02

[curiouss]

APO isn't a part of the social greek system neither, at our school, however, about half of our colony/chapter belongs to a social GLO. Therefore we (non-social greeks) know a lot about people in the social greek system (which is small) and some, including me, even hang out and party with some of the social GLO's. But, as some you guys said, it can vary from campus to campus.

And yes, there are a few non-social brothers that do not want to associate with social greeks and vice versa, which confuses me! Greek is greek to me and especially to non-greeks, though we may have different agendas.

[This message has been edited by curiouss (edited August 15, 2001).]

[33girl]

Just my 2 cents (or maybe more than 2 )

Happygurl asked 2 questions - 1) how to know which sorority will be the best for her and 2) how to tell which sororities are strongest on campus. The two are not necessarily the same!

You can be in the "strongest" house on campus and hate every minute of it...you can be in the "weakest" sorority on campus and have the time of your life. That's when (especially rushing as a freshman) you should sit down and decide what is most important to YOU. If it helps, write out what you want, and rank what you want the most.

As far as APO, it definitely helped me that I pledged APO before ASA, just cause I knew the Greek alphabet and things like that. But only join APO or GSS if you are really interested in the service - not as a "practice run."

[DeltaBetaBaby]

One point that noone has addressed:

I know quite a few girls that ended up with bids from their second or third choice house. They are completely happy where they ended up.

You may have a strong preference, you may not. Whatever your bid card says, be sure to give it a chance.

[shadokat]

I'm with 33girl on this one. I think how you choose is also what you're looking to get out of the sorority experience. I know some girls go through with the intentions of joining the best house, while others join the house with a lot athletes or one with a lot of girls that study. It's all going to depend on what you see at the parties, and how that fits into what you're looking for. An open mind will lead you to the right choice...no matter how hokey it sounds.

[AOTLALA]

I agree with a lot of the points here but especially with Delta Beta Baby, about second and third choices. Sometimes your heart tells you one choice, your friends say another choice, and your bid card is a whole different story. But look at it this way--if you have gotten to the point where you are PREFFING an organization, there has got to be things about BOTH(we can only pref two at my school) that you really like, and people in both that you can see yourself being friends with. For me, AOTT not only provided sisterhood, it provided security. Security knowing that I would almost always have someone to sit next to in a class, I would pretty much a planned social life, and a support group of 145 members, of which at least ONE of them would have gone through at some point the same things I was going through. For me, I never had a clear cut factor that made my decision while going through rush, but I will tell you that becoming an AOTT was one of the best decisions of my life, even if my heart was arguing with my head and I wasn't sure if my friends would still love me as I signed it. In the end, forget your head, forget what other people say, don't base EVERYTHING(though it sure does help ) on a feeling and follow your heart! It really will tell you whats right.

[KappaPsiDelta@NYU]

Many girls hear "You just know" and struggle to get that "I know" feeling when maybe it really isn't there. I think you know when:

-You find yourself talking and joking as if you've known these people forever.

-You deeply feel they accept you for YOU.

We all get that gutt-feeling when someone is being fake with us, so stay true to that.

It's also true that you could choose one sorority or another and the girls are just as wonderful as the next. So then maybe you turn to other factors to help tip the scale like Philanthropy efforts you feel passionate about, social events you feel comfortable with, the opportunity to build and grown, etc.

I'm sure you will make the right decision for yourself. Good luck in your search!

KappaPsiDelta@NYU
www.geocities.com/kappapsidelta

[carnation]

bump!

[justamom]

Finest Alum wrote ths last year-I'm with Leslie. Imagine the girls you can be totally yourself with. Don't ever join a house because you think "this is the type of person I WANT to become" Join because the ladies are already LIKE you. Make sure you feel comfy enough with these girls to walk around in your PJ's and no makeup. That may not be the house with the best numbers. Maybe the smaller house is more your style.

This is a really good tip.

33girls also said she knows of several who are happy with their second or third choice-How true. In fact, there was a thead (OF COURSE) on this subject.

Also stated SOMEWHERE- Often, the sisters may know better than you where you were meant to be. The young 'uns in my extended family agree.

[kayla_adpi]

you know i was actually in the same situation as you are in. before going through formal recruitment i didn't know a single thing about greek life. i was from a small town and there was only one college there which didn't have greek organizations. anyways, one of my best friends already knew which sorority she wanted to go and when i asked her how did she know her reply was "i just know." the first night of recruitment it all seemed overwhelming and i really didn't know what to think....however...the remaining nights you really got to know the sisters of the sororities and from that you can tell which ones were really genuine. you will know which sorority makes you feel like you fit in and feel the most comfortable with and the one where you can be yourself. so i agree with everyone else when they say that "you will just know." don't worry about it....its a lot of fun....and you will get everything figured out...g'luck

ALPHA DELTA PI~"First and Finest"

[aw19]

If you find yourself having a flowing conversation about nothing, ie: shoes, dogs, weird places you've been, etc. These conversations are the same ones you will have with your future sisters. I found the places I felt most comfortable I would talk about the MOST random stuff. Also, when the time flies by and you feel like you've only been at that house for 10 minutes when you've really been there for close to an hour, that is a pretty decent indication that you've meet your match!!

-aw