exceptions to acceptance - Page 2

erica812 · #16 08-07-2003, 11:19 AM

I totally understand the "mistake" factor. I took "The Bible as Literature" my junior year because I was sincerely interested in the topic, but it did a number on my GPA. Don't be discouraged. You aren't the only one that has had an "oops!" at some point. Hopefully, the sororities won't let that one mistake outweigh the many other qualities that make you a great candidate for membership.

xo_kathy · #17 08-07-2003, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by adpiucf
While every sorority cuts for grades the first night, exceptions ARE made if a woman has really clicked with the chapter, regardless of the sorority affiliation. Many chapters stick strictly to their grades-only policy, depending on their chapter overall GPA, size of the chapter, etc., but the sorority is looking overall at the well-rounded woman and if someone sticks out in their mind who is all-around wonderful but doesn't have the grades, they sometimes will make an exception.

I just want to clarify here (no disrespect to adpiucf!!)...
The above quote reads to me that "yes, all sororities cut for grades but if they really like someone they'll keep her around to see if they are willing to take the risk on grades". Maybe that's not what you intended, adpiucf, but just in case I want to reiterate my chapter DID NOT make an exception for a girl regardless of her other wonderful qualities. If she was not at a college 2.5, she DID NOT get invited back. No ifs, ands, or buts. We even had a girl who had an illness issue or something, and we loved her, but we still had to cut her. That was our policy and we stuck to it.

Again, I don't mean to be a downer, but I want smiley to be absolutey clear that just because she's wonderful (and we all know she is!) that doesn't mean she will make it past the grades cut. That's why I urge her to see if she can find out each chapter's policy on exceptions so her expectations can be realistic.

MTSUGURL · #18 08-07-2003, 12:22 PM

One thing that I did was check out the website of the orgs that we have at our school to see what the minimum for each is. One I know for sure that I will be cut for grades, although I meet the minimum for the others. This way, I already know what to expect, and although I look forward to meeting these women and plan to have a great time, I haven't gotten my hopes up and will try not to get attached to this group. My GPA is high enough for the other orgs, but not stellar, so I'm counting on my involvement in campus activities, last year's GPA, my outgoing personality, my interest in each group and my ability to make others more at ease in high stress chaotic situations to get me past the first round of cuts in at least a few groups. I tend to worry and stress over things I can't change, (such as mistakes that keep my GPA from being stellar), but all I can do is take pride in recent accomplishments in this area and sell that.

Did that rambling make any sense?

adpiucf · #19 08-07-2003, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by xo_kathy
I just want to clarify here (no disrespect to adpiucf!!)...
The above quote reads to me that "yes, all sororities cut for grades but if they really like someone they'll keep her around to see if they are willing to take the risk on grades". Maybe that's not what you intended, adpiucf, but just in case I want to reiterate my chapter DID NOT make an exception for a girl regardless of her other wonderful qualities. If she was not at a college 2.5, she DID NOT get invited back. No ifs, ands, or buts. We even had a girl who had an illness issue or something, and we loved her, but we still had to cut her. That was our policy and we stuck to it.

Again, I don't mean to be a downer, but I want smiley to be absolutey clear that just because she's wonderful (and we all know she is!) that doesn't mean she will make it past the grades cut. That's why I urge her to see if she can find out each chapter's policy on exceptions so her expectations can be realistic.

XO_Kathy, no offense taken.

I did point out in my post that it was something dependent on the chapter. Some chapters can take what is termed "grade risks," and some don't. It evens varies within one sorority from chapter to chapter-- that is, there is a national GPA established and chapters have local GPA requirements that are higher than the national requirement-- my own chapter's min. GPA was a 3.0 when I was in college; the chapter I advise is a 2.5! One will consider grade risks b/c their overall GPA is very strong, but others won't because their membership might not be large enough to assume the risk (This is not to say that a chapter of 20 members would not take a grade risk, or that a chapter of 100 would- it just depends on that chapter). Every sorority is grade conscious, but some chapters are able to take on members who meet the Panhellenic-University average, but not yet their own. Not all chapters can or will do this.

What I wanted to assure all of our PNM's is that while grades are very important and will be a large factor in recruitment, if they have other attributes that are outstanding and lower grades than the min requirement, there are sometimes exceptions made. I'm sure they are all a bit overwhelmed right now with everything they need to do or say at the parties, and I dont want our PNMs to think that they aren't going to have any chance at all to get a bid, just b/c of a less than stellar GPA. While they will be cut from certain chapters, others WILL keep them. As we always say in recruitment, keep an open mind, PNM's, and be confident!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

smiley21 · #20 08-07-2003, 03:35 PM

what about kappa delta colonizing on my campus? would they look seriously at my grades? i havent been to crazy about being apart of that cause i am scared. is it really hard to start a new chapter?

blueGBI · #21 08-07-2003, 03:38 PM

This thread has been eye-opening for me. I'm just below the minimum for about 6 sororities and I've realized that I may not get selected by any of them for 2nd but I have 14 other groups to look at. Also, if I end up not getting a bid, I may just do AI.

I just really wish I could erase my first fall semester and that I never majored in engineering....

smiley21 · #22 08-07-2003, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by blueGBI
This thread has been eye-opening for me. I'm just below the minimum for about 6 sororities and I've realized that I may not get selected by any of them for 2nd but I have 14 other groups to look at. Also, if I end up not getting a bid, I may just do AI. I just really wish I could erase my first fall semester....

hey i wish i could wipe out an entire year. it is amazing how one abusive relationship can severely alter your academic future. that was the mistake i made. i let this relationship get the best of me and i gave up on myself. i was ready to drop out of college. then i changed my life around and school is the most important thing in my life. being in a sorority is my dream. i have so much that i know that i can offer. i am not going to let this 'man' from my past screw it up for me. this is my moment to show that i am successful and that i could do what my heart wants to do. i cannot give up. i am going to go through rush.

trisigmaAtl · #23 08-07-2003, 03:51 PM

Smiley, that's the right attitude to have! it can't hurt anything to go through and you never know what's going to happen.

BlueGBI, wow! you still have 14 other groups to look at!!!! it's wonderful that there are so many GLO's on your campus. 14!!!!
as a girl with only three chapters at her school, the though of choosing between even 14 is crazy!!!

good luck to you both!

sugar and spice · #24 08-07-2003, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by breathesgelatin
My chapter, like other chapters mentioned, cuts for grades after the first night. However, I'm confused--at my school I happen to know the GPAs required for all 5 groups and the highest is a 2.33... I thought these numbers were set nationally?? I know that at W&L the school requires you to have a 2.0 to rush (we have a deferred rush) and then all the groups but one have a 2.25 rule to initiate, except for the 2.33 group... so are these national numbers or local numbers?

I think what happens is that while ABC might have a GPA requirement of 2.3 nationally, the local chapter might raise that to 2.5 and list that as their GPA requirement in the rush booklet. If a girl that they really love has a 2.4, they might decide to take her even though she is under their local standard -- they are allowed to do this because she is not under the national one.

If she's under the national requirement of 2.3, they can't take her no matter how much they want to.

adpiucf · #25 08-07-2003, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by smiley21
what about kappa delta colonizing on my campus? would they look seriously at my grades? i havent been to crazy about being apart of that cause i am scared. is it really hard to start a new chapter?

Smiley, while it is a lot of work to start a new chapter, you also have the benefit of getting tons of national support and national officers to guide you along the way. As a founding sister, you also have the fun opportunity to develop the standards and fun local traditions (i.e. wearing letters every Wednesday, honking 3 times when you drive past another sister, etc.). As with any sorority, you get out what you put in-- you don't HAVE to be the president, but you do have greater opportunity to be a chapter leader from the very beginning. The recruitment process isn't so much of a hectic "rush" as with formal recruitment-- it is interviewing with national volunteers and being exposed to the sorority by them, learning about each other, etc., to the point you are presumably extended a bid.

I advise you to go through formal recruitment. If you don't think it is for you, do not sign a bid card on preference night, and check out KD. Or for those chapters (and there are a lot out there) who do not bid to total, you might get an unexpected phone call from your dream house inviting you to become a member, too. This does happen sometimes!

Good luck!

smiley21 · #26 08-07-2003, 07:17 PM

adpiucf- clean your pm box!!

(oh cool, this is post #800!)

adpiucf · #27 08-07-2003, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by smiley21
adpiucf- clean your pm box!!

(oh cool, this is post #800!)

It's cleaned!!!

PM away!

absolutuscchick · #28 08-08-2003, 02:21 AM

This was one of my concerns as well, going into rush....however I wish that colleges differentiated between college gpas and hs gpas! (I don't know if they do!) because I did awesome in High School, but my College GPA just isn't that great...which was definitely a factor in the fact that I am even at ASU at all this semester....but I can almost guarantee that my GPA is going nowhere but up this semester. Hopefully I won't get cut, but if I do, than atleast I will know that I tried...but if I get cut I will be soooo sad and very dissapointed because I know that I would be an awesome addition to any chapter!!

nauadpi · #29 08-08-2003, 03:32 AM

Most chapters I find on my campus look at the college gpa over the hs and require a certain min there. If there is a drastic difference between hs and college some chapters first round may try to hint at a reason why this was so and take that into consideration, but that again is if they are allowed to invite back women who did not make grades.

breathesgelatin · #30 08-08-2003, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by absolutuscchick
This was one of my concerns as well, going into rush....however I wish that colleges differentiated between college gpas and hs gpas! (I don't know if they do!) because I did awesome in High School, but my College GPA just isn't that great...which was definitely a factor in the fact that I am even at ASU at all this semester....but I can almost guarantee that my GPA is going nowhere but up this semester. Hopefully I won't get cut, but if I do, than atleast I will know that I tried...but if I get cut I will be soooo sad and very dissapointed because I know that I would be an awesome addition to any chapter!!

This has been an issue for my chapter...

We have a deferred rush, and on the rush applications, which are turned in the fall, the PNMs put down their high school GPA. However, that's not incredibly helpful since you're NOT going to even get in to W&L without at least a 3.5--most of the people I know had pretty close to a 4.0 or above in high school. So there's really no way to eliminate with that. We do get the grades from first term right before rush starts, and it sucks to use them because it's their first term at a very difficult college--of course some of them are going to screw up.

I feel really bad because every year there's people who rush (the school only requires a 2.0 to rush) and they don't have the minimum 2.25 that all the sororities at least require. So they get cut. I think the school should raise our minimum GPA to 2.25. I mean, at this point, I don't think the school even releases the grades of all the PNMs to us. They just give us a list of those below 2.25. My chapter never really worries about grades, anyway, though, because my chapter's GPA is like 3.6... so we basically kick every other GLO's ass every term... If we do get a NM who's struggling, we'll help her out with tutoring or study hours or whatever she needs. The thing about grades is they can always be improved, but in a competitive rush environment sometimes they're just the easiest things to go by.