Is Greek right for my dd?

[adpiucf]

Nothing mandatory. It was more like study break ice cream socials or coffee and doughnuts from 7-9 pm at the house or a workout video for 30 minutes. It was a nice break if you chose to drag yourself away from your books for a few minutes to recharge.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by KitKat58

Do sororities really have parties during finals week?

Not a "party", but, yes, my pledge class had a midnight ice cream sundaes at a study session with the Sig Ep pledge class during mid-term exams.

[GeekyPenguin]

If you are really from a "very conservative republican suburb" you should be able to find loads of recs. Between parents of my friends and girls who graduated a year or two ahead of me, I knew women from five different sororities. We're all frequently asked to write a rec for a girl going to an SEC school or help her find one from another chapter. If she wants to go Greek, it'll take just a little time to help her get recs which are essential to her success at an SEC school and couldn't hurt her at a Big10 school.

[honeychile]

^^Good to see you, GP!! Hope life is treating you well!

[Sciencewoman]

I know she's young, but does she plan to practice medicine, or be a research scientist in a lab? My sister is a physician, and she is a sorority member who held an exec. board office. She remained highly involved during graduate school, even serving as chapter advisor for 3 years. Being a physician involves a great deal of interaction with every day people from all walks of life. Being in a sorority is a good way to develop social skills and respect/empathy for others.

[JLCo]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

I know she's young, but does she plan to practice medicine, or be a research scientist in a lab? My sister is a physician, and she is a sorority member who held an exec. board office. She remained highly involved during graduate school, even serving as chapter advisor for 3 years. Being a physician involves a great deal of interaction with every day people from all walks of life. Being in a sorority is a good way to develop social skills and respect/empathy for others.

Good point. I appreciate your advice!

[Kappamd]

Originally Posted by Sciencewoman

I know she's young, but does she plan to practice medicine, or be a research scientist in a lab? My sister is a physician, and she is a sorority member who held an exec. board office. She remained highly involved during graduate school, even serving as chapter advisor for 3 years. Being a physician involves a great deal of interaction with every day people from all walks of life. Being in a sorority is a good way to develop social skills and respect/empathy for others.

This. I could NOT agree more.

[AZTheta]

^^^^^^^ THIS THIS THIS^^^^^^^ thanks, Katmandu.

[JLCo]

I guess i was against her involvement in a sorority until I read some of your posts; I will need to reconsider as the activities described might be a good fit for her. Now it is just a matter of whether she would want to do dance team and a sorority at the same time or perhaps just do dance team. Another option would be to minor in dance and rush for a sorority. Thanks everyone for taking the time to point out some considerations we should keep in mind!!

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by JLCo

I guess i was against her involvement in a sorority until I read some of your posts; I will need to reconsider as the activities described might be a good fit for her. Now it is just a matter of whether she would want to do dance team and a sorority at the same time or perhaps just do dance team. Another option would be to minor in dance and rush for a sorority. Thanks everyone for taking the time to point out some considerations we should keep in mind!!

Do you understand that she will need to make these decisions, and not you?

The point that is being made is, once she goes to college your daughter is an adult who can make her own decisions. You have to let her do that.

If she wants to be in a sorority and on the dance team and manage her school work, then she will find a way.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Okay, I'm gonna bite....So I wasn't on dance team, but I was/am very gifted academically, and I obviously joined a sorority.

Rush was tough for me when I was a PNM. I hate making small talk and I am not particularly good at it. Getting gussied up and painting my nails and all that stuff seemed frivolous to me then, and frivolous to me now. Cuts were rough, and that was surprising to me, because I thought that GPA/honors program/campus leadership/etc. would mean a lot to sororities. If you don't make a great first impression, it doesn't matter.

However, it turned out that rush on the active side was actually pretty easy for me. My ability to memorize huge amounts of information about the PNM's coming through made it easy for me to prepare, and I think that I learned what I need to do to be successful in these types of situations later in life. I know that if I am going to a networking lunch, for example, I need to think in advance about who will be there and some opening lines I can use for people I want to talk to, or to just think about some general questions I could throw out. At the same time, other people were happy to pick out my outfits, do my hair, etc.

I feel like I could go through every aspect of my sorority membership and give you the same sort of two-sided analysis: some things were tougher for me, some were easier, and then I learned something. I think your daughter's experience, if she is "different" from most women her age, will be different. But it can be rewarding, even if it is, sometimes, frustrating.

[Tulip86]

Nice to meet you. I've been dancing on dance teams and national competitions half my life. My IQ scores are placed in the "highly gifted" category. In high school, this made me different. I can get impatient with people who can't keep up with me and sometimes have trouble remembering not everyone thinks and learns the same way.

First thing I learned in college? There was nothing special about me. In college I was (and am) among many, many other gifted people, and people way "smarter". Most students here are winners, competitors, models, debate team captains, homecoming queens, cheerleaders with national titles and student body presidents.

Going Greek (or the equivalent of Greek life since I'm in school in Europe) has made me more social, and has taught me more than I'd ever imagine.

You can't succeed in life with just smarts and hanging out with people who are like you. Social behavior, wit, empathy, resolve and problem solving will get you a lot further.
Believe me, I know, it took me 8 long and hard years to learn that.

[AZTheta]

The University of Arizona's School of Dance is one of the top departments in the United States. There are actives from Theta and every other NPC GLO on campus who are majoring in dance, achieving excellent GPAs, participating on Pom Line, holding office in their chapters, etc.

Just sayin'...

(and I love the posts from my Panhellenic sisters, confirming that getting along with others is the single most important skill in life to have. Well, okay, maybe they aren't saying that exactly, but that's the take-away message I'm picking up).

[adpiucf]

Echoing what others are saying about not selecting the college because of Greek Life, I also want to point out that there's no guarantee she will earn a spot on the dance team if she tries out. And she shouldn't change her major or minor to accommodate a hobby, IMHO. But that's none of my business.

So I would plan accordingly to choose the best school for her academically in furtherance of her career goals. I'm pretty sure you're already doing that if you're gathering all this intelligence about extracurriculars. She may end up loving a school without a dance team and/or Greek Life.

I wish her the best of luck. I think she's going to be fine.

[TSteven]

slight hijack

This, …

Originally Posted by AzTheta

Sororities should NOT be a factor in college selection.

… is different than this.

Originally Posted by adpiucf

Echoing what others are saying about not selecting the college because of Greek Life.

In my opinion, a college education should not be limited to just what one gets from text books or learns in class.

I do agree that one should not select their college “because of Greek Life”. However, I feel a college’s extracurricular activities (and social climate) should be considered as a possible factor in one’s selection. Simply because extracurricular activities can/may help round out one's overall education.

end slight hijack