27 Joining a sorority

[TheBest!]

I have a question for you girls:
I am 27 years old and I am going back to school, I never had the chance to be introduced to greek life, specially Alpha Xi Delta and I think you girls are amazing.
What would you recommend?
Should I join even though I am 27 or should I give up that idea?

What you girls think?

[33girl]

Originally posted by TheBest!
I have a question for you girls:
I am 27 years old and I am going back to school, I never had the chance to be introduced to greek life, specially Alpha Xi Delta and I think you girls are amazing.
What would you recommend?
Should I join even though I am 27 or should I give up that idea?

What you girls think?

If you never had the chance to be introduced to Greek life, why do you think A Xi D is so amazing? That makes no sense.

[TheBest!]

Maybe I wasn't clear enough.

I was never introduced to greek life until this year.
My ex-boyfriend was a FIJI and I had the chance to hang out with differente sororities and fraternities, but I personally thought AZD girls were the ones I really got along with.

Because of that, I considered the posibility of joining AZD.

[WCUgirl]

Thanks for the compliment! But I do have to say that any NPC sorority would be a wonderful choice.

Are you returning to school as an undergrad or as a graduate student? There are only a few sororities that will allow you to pledge as a graduate student. If you'll do a search, there are a couple of threads on that topic. We do, and I know Phi Sigma Sigma does as well.

If you're returning as an undergrad student, depending on where you'll be attending school it may be hard for you to get a bid to any sorority. Some of the more competitive "Southern" shcools will only take freshmen. On a non-traditional campus, however, you will have a greater chance of sorority membership.

Keep an open mind, and good luck with whatever happens!

[Dionysus]

Originally posted by TheBest!
I have a question for you girls:
I am 27 years old and I am going back to school, I never had the chance to be introduced to greek life, specially Alpha Xi Delta and I think you girls are amazing.
What would you recommend?
Should I join even though I am 27 or should I give up that idea?

What you girls think?

It depends on where you are in life. Do you have a full time job? Kids? Are you married? Do you (or can you) relate to younger people?

If you answered no to the first three questions and yes to the last one, I say go for it. I rushed with a friend who was 26, she had to drop out after she got her bid. Nevertheless, she stayed quite connected to the Greek community. We were also petitioning in alpha phi omega. She pretty much fitted in with everyone.

[winneythepooh7]

It would depend on how comfortable you are with hanging out with younger women. If you are a grad student, why not look into becoming an alumna initiate? That way you could participate in an alumnae association with women closer to your age you may feel more in common with. To be honest too, the younger women may feel uncomfortable around you. I rushed another sorority before I went DPhiE and there was a woman who came that was in her mid-30's. While the members of the organization were nice enough to her, everyone kinda felt it was wierd that she would want to hang out with 18-22 year olds.

[Dionysus]

Originally posted by winneythepooh7
It would depend on how comfortable you are with hanging out with younger women. If you are a grad student, why not look into becoming an alumna initiate? That way you could participate in an alumnae association with women closer to your age you may feel more in common with. To be honest too, the younger women may feel uncomfortable around you. I rushed another sorority before I went DPhiE and there was a woman who came that was in her mid-30's. While the members of the organization were nice enough to her, everyone kinda felt it was wierd that she would want to hang out with 18-22 year olds.

Yeah that's a factor too. On our campus the average age is like 23 or 24, we are a commuter school. So older students who are 24-26 won't have too much trouble fitting in on campus. I could see how it could be a problem when the average age is 19 or 20.

[TheBest!]

Well, I've been thinking about all those things too.

But I am considering joining a sorority as a sophomore (that means starting from scratch), I have no kids, no husband, I have my own small business, so working full-time is not a problem for me either.
Besides, people assume I am 19 or 20 since I look too young (I am not saying I'm that old either )
and I hang out with people my age and younger.
And to be honest with you girls I am more concerned about my future sisters, I don't want them to feel awkward.

The average in my campus is between 19 and 23

[Peaches-n-Cream]

If you have sophomore standing and you look 19 or 20, I think that you shouldn't mention your age when you go through recruitment. If I were you, I would not make age an issue.

Just so you know, I don't think that you should lie. Just don't be the first to mention it.

[amanda6035]

I was 23 when I joined because I went into the military after high school and started college late. I'm the oldest member in my chapter. That being said, I go to a small technical college, our chapter isnt very big to begin with, but I enjoy it nonetheless.

However, if I were going to a more traditional campus, I'm not sure if I would enjoy it. Even in my chapter, there are some things that happen that I think "I'm too old for this! What have I gotten myself into?" but I still love it, and I'm glad for the experience.

My advice would be to check out the sororities, see what they are all about. If you want to do it, GO FOR IT, if after a while, it doesnt seem quite right for you, that's okay too. But, I think the thing deciding factor that finally pushed me to do it was "You'll always wonder 'What if?' if you don't give it a shot." Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

[TheBest!]

You girls are the best!

Thank you very much for your advice, what you say it's true.
Even though I love the fact I will share soo many good and bad moments with my future sisters, sometimes I stop for a minute and wonder about the activities or behaviors I won't really agree with, but I guess it's just about of getting along right?

I was told by an alumnae that I could join as an alumnae as well but I don't know how involved I would be in the chapter being in an alumnae status, and also I don't really know what is their role in the sorority (in this case AZD).

[winneythepooh7]

Originally posted by TheBest!
You girls are the best!

Thank you very much for your advice, what you say it's true.
Even though I love the fact I will share soo many good and bad moments with my future sisters, sometimes I stop for a minute and wonder about the activities or behaviors I won't really agree with, but I guess it's just about of getting along right?

I continue to wish you luck with whatever your decision is. I just want to warn you about something that happened when I was in undergrad. It may not be as much of an issue now especially with all the new policies regarding alcohol use, but nonetheless, still be aware. Way back when I was in undergrad, there was a party where a bunch of the sisters lived. Basically since the town police had nothing better to do than harass the college students/Greeks the girls that lived there got into trouble because alcohol was being served and minors were there. The town was trying to get a couple of the women over 21 into trouble because of their age and alcohol being served. Lawyers had to get involved as well. I don't want to scare you, and as I stated, I would like to think that most of this has changed now with the strict alcohol policies, but I am sure stuff like this still goes on in some places. People may want to borrow your ID also to get into bars.

[AXiDTrish]

Basically since the town police had nothing better to do than harass the college students/Greeks the girls that lived there got into trouble because alcohol was being served and minors were there.

People may want to borrow your ID also to get into bars.

I joined my chapter as a 21 year old....people from the campus, Greek or not, would get busted for underaged drinking. The key is don't get into a stupid situation such as loaning ID's or giving someone alcohol. This is not an age/older sister thing, this is common sense.

I encourage you to see what sororities are out there! Meet them all even if you are set on one 'cause you never know what you will find. Sometimes the stuff younger sisters do is silly and petty in terms of the real world, and as an older member you would hopefully have an advantage with age and will become a role model for the chapter. It does happen!!!!

Have fun!!!!

[kddani]

I hate to be the bubble burster among the sunshine blowing but I wanted to add in a reality check.

Rush is mutual selection process. There is NO guarantee of a bid. Most people DO get a bid, but there are a good amount of people who do not get a bid, particularly to their first choice organization.

We don't know what school you'll be going through rush at. That'll make a big difference, if it's a competitive rush it's going to be harder for you to get a bid.

I'm also guessing on most rush registration forms it'll ask for your age, and I don't know that hiding it is a good idea.

While I hope you enjoy yourself and find a home, I just wanted to point out that there's no guarantee that you'll get a bid. So saying things like "my future sisters" and other comments that assume that you'll get a bid to a group are premature.

Good luck!

[TheBest!]

--saying things like "my future sisters" and other comments that assume that you'll get a bid to a group are premature.--

I am not assuming I'll get a bid. I am saying my future sisters as a way of respect to the sorority members.

Besides since I was recommended to check the alumnae status. I would like to know what is their role in the chapter. Since I'll be in school everyday I would like to get involved in the chapter activities.

I would like to try to be a collegiate, but if it doesn't work for me then I'll move on.