I really need some advise

UKGOCATS · #1 01-19-2002, 02:53 PM

Hey all........
I am a sophmore at UK. At the beginning of this year I pledged a sorority on campus. It took me only a couple of weeks to realize that I really wasn't comfortable in the sorority and definately did not have as much in common with the girls in it as I thought, so i deactivated my membership. I really did not want to be a part of this org. any more. The sad part about this is I loved Greek Life even though I didn't get too experience much of it. I am a really positive ambitious happy person who is a good friend. I have a lot of dedication and I feel I cold contribute so much to the right sorority I feel bad though because going into the second semester of my sophmore year It seems like it might be to late to join another one. Also I don't know what I should do now....... Does anyone have any advise for me?
I would really appreciate it!!!

James · #2 01-19-2002, 04:17 PM

I guess I'll ask you the questions everyone else is going to ask:

1. Did you drop after pledging but before initiation? If you are an initaited member you can't join another.

2. Did you go through formal Rush? If you went through Formal Rush and accepted a bid you have to wait for one calendar year before being able to join another organization other than the one that pledged you. You can rejoin that one if you both want it within that year.

Oh and your age being a factor is relative to your Campus. Some groups don't like pledging in older members, but realistically I wouldn' worry about it to much because if they like you they like you.

I am sure the Panhell gurus can chime in and give you more info than I have, Good luck to you.

aephi alum · #3 01-19-2002, 04:21 PM

It never hurts to rush again. A lot of us have found our GLOs through COB rush or by going through formal rush a second time.

I will assume you were never initiated. Once you're initiated into an NPC sorority, even if you deaffiliate, you cannot pledge another NPC sorority.

I'll assume you have formal rush in the fall... If there are any sororities holding COB rush this spring, check them out. Informal rush is usually a lot more laid back than formal. (As James said, if you matched during formal rush you can't accept another bid for a year, but it will give you a jump on next year's formal and informal rush.)

By all means, go through formal rush again this fall. You will have the fact that you'll be a junior (with only 2 years left to be active in your sorority) working against you, but at a lot of schools, juniors are "free", i.e. not counted as part of quota. And if you're enrolled in a 5-year program, mention that too.

Good luck

SATX*APhi · #4 01-19-2002, 05:20 PM

Don't worry about how far you are in school. One of my sisters joined as a junior and she has done so much for our chapter; it is great! Any chapter who wouldn't consider someone because they were already a junior is a little silly, if you ask me!

Good luck and keep us posted!

UKGOCATS · #5 01-19-2002, 05:33 PM

thanks to everyone who replied...
to answer the questions...
I did not go through formal rush....actually it was a wierd situation where the sorority was reestablishing on our campus and I went through the pledging but never initiated.
I really do want to be in a sorority just not that one. I really don't know much about any other ones on campus . Recently though, I have decided I want to look into one. I have never been through formal rush so I have no idea what to expect.
thanks

TriSigmaTX · #6 01-19-2002, 05:52 PM

If a year has passed then go for it and check out other groups. A great idea is to ask your Greek Advisor about your bid acceptance date. If you signed a bid, which I'm sure you did at the Panhellenic office, you are binding to that for one calendar year. Good luck, it is great to be greek!

UKGOCATS · #7 01-19-2002, 06:03 PM

i think it is sooooooooooooooooooooooo not cool I cant look into any other GLo's for one year because I was only in this sorority for a few weeks and it was really so disapointing...i feel like we were very mislead about the experience by the people who recruited us.
A year is a long time plus since our pledging took place AFTER everyone elses on campus, I cant even go through formal rush now?
WHat a huge disapointment

DeltaBetaBaby · #8 01-19-2002, 06:59 PM

Wait, I am not sure that is correct information. Did you ever sign a card saying that if you pledged your sorority it was binding for one year? If you did not, you are a free woman!

UKGOCATS · #9 01-19-2002, 07:02 PM

i remember having to sign something on bid day but noone ever said it was something that was binding for a year and i dont remember seeing it.....
i hope i am free that would make my life
i guess ill go talk to the greek affairs people this week

thanks to all you wonderful people

please feel free to tell me about great GLO's
thanks again

Thetagurl · #10 01-20-2002, 12:09 AM

I hate that no one told you when you signed a bid card you couldn't rerush for over a year. Have you talked to UK's greek advisor about this? Two years ago when I was rush chair we had a girl go through formal rush in the fall but she went through rush the previous year in the fall and pledged something and ended up depledging. Our greek advisor went ahead and let her go through rush that next fall even though it hadn't been "technically" a year that has passed. So if it has been really close to a year talk to your greek advisor at UK. I went to EKU so I was just down the road for you. I think I know what sorority you pledged because only one has reestablished itself since I began school years ago. I will not post who it is , I respect your decision for not telling and I think that is a great decision. Good luck and let me know how it goes, again talk to the greek advisor or the panhellenic president but I would probably go straight to the greek advisor.

33girl · #11 01-20-2002, 10:41 PM

Definitely ask UK's Greek advisor - this may be an exception to the 1 year rule. A sorority at my campus recolonized, and some of the women dropped out after a month or 2 (while it was still a colony) and were allowed to rush again the next semester. They had really not signed a "bid card" so they weren't bound for a year. Again, the Greek advisor is the one who would have to tell you what's up. Good luck!

dzrose93 · #12 01-21-2002, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by UKGOCATS
i think it is sooooooooooooooooooooooo not cool I cant look into any other GLo's for one year because I was only in this sorority for a few weeks and it was really so disapointing...i feel like we were very mislead about the experience by the people who recruited us.
A year is a long time plus since our pledging took place AFTER everyone elses on campus, I cant even go through formal rush now?
WHat a huge disapointment

UKGOCATS,

You can still check out the other groups on campus and get to know the sisters. You just can't accept a bid from a group until one year after the day you pledged your first sorority. There are very good reasons why Panhellenic requires that girls wait before re-pledging somewhere. One of the main reasons is to prevent a girl from being dirty rushed by another group into leaving her present sorority in order to join the other one.

So, my advice is to get to know the members of the other sororities on campus, find out which groups you fit in best with, and then go through rush again next year. You'll go into Rush older and wiser, and that may help to make your experience a happier, more successful one!

AO Cutie Pi · #13 01-21-2002, 04:47 PM

We had a girl in our chapter that went through formal rush and pledged another house. It wasn't the right one for her... but met someone at our house and was invited over to hang out. She went to alot of our events, participated in anything she could. They initiated her the next year. Everything was by the rules and she got to know everyone for a year before she officially joined. Now she's an active member of the house

AchtungBaby80 · #14 01-22-2002, 04:59 PM

Hi, UKGOCATS! I am a student at UK, too, so maybe I can answer your questions. I know which sorority you're talking about that you pledged, and I'm really sorry it didn't work out. Reestablishing is always rough (my chapter did it 2 years ago), and I'm sort of glad I didn't join right at the beginning when they were just starting up 'cause I know I would have been overwhelmed! But just because you had one bad experience doesn't mean you should quit trying (especially since you sound so enthusiastic about going Greek), and don't worry about being a sophomore--one of our most active members joined as a junior. The sororities at UK don't seem to discriminate on the basis of class, since juniors and seniors don't count in quota anyway. With so many sororities here, I know there's one for you. Many sororities are doing Spring Rush, so that would be a good way to get to know some of the girls and find out what some of the sororities are about, even if you aren't eligible to pledge. (By the way, I'd go talk to Dean West about that--if you weren't told what pledging your other sorority entailed, then maybe you can work something out.) Whatever you do, don't give up--trust me, you will be glad you didn't.

UKGOCATS · #15 01-22-2002, 08:40 PM

It is so cool to have so much support just from posting a message here. I plan on going to talk to D West ASAP so I can get an idea of whats going on with this situation. I am looking really forward to finding the right place where I can be the most helpful and have the most fun....
I just wanted to say thanks for being so supportive after I had a not so positive experince that rocks thanks