Joining a sorority as a grad student

[Titchou]

Originally Posted by 33girl

^^Well, not really, because you can be offered a bid without participating in recruitment. I think it would be silly of her to go through formal anyway and waste both her time and the sororities' time with groups that flat out can't take her.

IMO the best plan would be to:

1. Contact the NATIONAL headquarters of each sorority and ask what their policy is. If a group says no, cross them off your list.

2. Contact the local chapters of the groups (if any) who do take grad students and ask what their local policy is.

3. Realize that just because a group CAN do something, doesn't mean they WILL.

Informal is still recruitment. And the CPH may indeed have rules for either. I'd establish whether the school allows it first. And then worry about the individual groups.

[33girl]

You can be offered a bid without ever going to any sort of recruitment event. Panhel can't prevent a sorority from doing that, it infringes on freedom of association.

To me, this is like Panhel not setting a grade requirement to go through rush - except a policy on whether or not a grad student can pledge isn't the same as a grade risk.

[CastlePip]

Originally Posted by Titchou

The more important thimg is whether the College Panhellenic at your school will allow you to participate in recruitment (that's the process to take new members). You need to ask the Fraternity/Sorority Adviser in the Greek Life office at that school.

I've already exchanged a few emails with the appropriate advisor and she said to check with each sorority as policies differ. She didn't mention anything about the recruitment process itself, only that some will admit grad students and some don't so I'd need to check. That's kind of where I am now, I've emailed each chapter and I'm currently receiving replies although so far about half that have replied to me are themselves unsure.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by CastlePip

That's kind of where I am now, I've emailed each chapter and I'm currently receiving replies although so far about half that have replied to me are themselves unsure.

That's why it would be best to contact the NATIONAL organization. No chapter is going to think well of someone who has them doing extra work checking policies.

[Titchou]

Nothing like having all the information....

[CastlePip]

Originally Posted by 33girl

^^Well, not really, because you can be offered a bid without participating in recruitment. I think it would be silly of her to go through formal anyway and waste both her time and the sororities' time with groups that flat out can't take her.

IMO the best plan would be to:

1. Contact the NATIONAL headquarters of each sorority and ask what their policy is. If a group says no, cross them off your list.

2. Contact the local chapters of the groups (if any) who do take grad students and ask what their local policy is.

3. Realize that just because a group CAN do something, doesn't mean they WILL.

Thanks for this. I've started at point two but now realise that contacting the national headquarters is probably the best thing to do next, especially as some local chapters I have had replies from are a little unsure themselves. I'll certainly keep your third point in mind as it is a valid point that is important to remember, some chapters my feel that a grad student just won't fit well within the chapter despite the national policy allowing it.

[CastlePip]

Originally Posted by 33girl

That's why it would be best to contact the NATIONAL organization. No chapter is going to think well of someone who has them doing extra work checking policies.

I think I assumed it would be a fairly normal query but the more I look into it the more I'm learning that it is rather unusual. I'm new to all of this as a Brit. It's after 2300 in England now so I'll email the national headquarters of each sorority in the morning. That's again for all of the advice everyone had offered. It's proving really helpful.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by CastlePip

I think I assumed it would be a fairly normal query but the more I look into it the more I'm learning that it is rather unusual. I'm new to all of this as a Brit.

That's why I didn't assume that you are talking about NPC and intentionally put this thread in the Sorority Recruitment form. If you're talking about NPC, I recommend taking the advice of the NPC women who have responded.

[Blue Skies]

I like 33girl's advice about checking with the Inter/nationals first. A few NPC sororities allow graduate students to be active members but most do not.

Please keep in mind that your graduate work will likely be much more demanding than your undergraduate work. You may not have time for the demands of being an active at a collegiate chapter anyway.

[AOII Angel]

In case AOII is at your school, AOII does allow grad students to pledge. Our immediate past president at the chapter I advise is a grad student and was when she pledged. That being said, very few AOII chapters would likely pledge a grad student given campus norms.

[CastlePip]

This is all very useful information. Thanks everyone. Just to make sure I'm understanding things correctly, does NPC stand for National Panhellenic Conference? How does it differ from NPHC or is this just a different way of shortening it?

Also, I've noticed that some chapters have houses on campus and others don't, obviously I'm aware that those that have will offer accommodation to some members, but other than that what are the differences? Does it affect the experience of being a member?

[JayhawkAOII]

NPHC - National Pan-Hellenic Council - This is the council that governs the historically African-American Sororities and Fraternities. The groups covered under this council can be found here: http://www.nphchq.org/

NPC - National Panhellenic Conference - This is the council that governs sororities. The sororities covered in this conference can be found here: www.npcwomen.org

Two completely different organizations.

[33girl]

Re your housing question, this depends on the school. NPC advocates that all sororities on a campus hould have similar housing but this is not the reality everywhere.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by JayhawkAOII

NPHC - National Pan-Hellenic Council - This is the council that governs the historically African-American Sororities and Fraternities. The sororities and fraternities covered under this council can be found here: http://www.nphchq.org/

NPC - National Panhellenic Conference - This is the council that governs the historically white sororities. The sororities covered in this conference can be found here: www.npcwomen.org

Two completely different organizations.

FYP.

I dislike the fact that NPC falsely defines itself as "...the premier advocacy and support organization for the advancement of the sorority experience. The National Panhellenic Conference provides support and guidance for its 26 member inter/national sororities/women’s fraternities and serves as the national voice on contemporary issues of sorority life."

/keep it real

[AZTheta]

DrPhil, couldn't agree more.