Will pledging a Service Fraternity have any effect on sorority recruitment?

[FAnne]

Hi there!

Quick question: Will being an active in a Community Service Fraternity have any effect on sorority recruitment (specifically Panhellenic)? Am I even allowed to join both?

I want to to participate in sorority recruitment again next fall, but I'm also interested in pledging this service fraternity this semester. Will that have a positive or negative impact regarding the chances of getting a bid into a sorority? Do sororities look down on that because then I would have some other commitments? Due to very personal reasons, I was unable to join a sorority last fall, and I definitely would love to part of it still. Also, my school has a large (and VERY competitive) Greek system...


Any advice would be absolutely wonderful.

[KSUViolet06]

I know that Panhellenic sorority members are permitted to join service organizations (i.e. Alpha Phi Omega).

Now whether you can handle the time commitment of being part of both organizations is up to you and your time managment skills. I was part of a service org in addition to a sorority in undergrad, and it was quite time consuming, but not impossible.

Be aware that if you get a bid to a Panhellienic sorority, they most likely will require you to attend certain mandatory events, some of which may conflict with service organization events. So you'll need to be able to manage that.

Being a member of a service group shouldn't negatively affect your chances of getting a bid, but that really depends on the attitude of sorority members at your school. There were a few girls in sororities at my school who were also in service and/or academic interest organizations. I would think that most sororities have members who have multiple commitments (whether it be work, school stuff, etc).

[33girl]

In addition to what KSUViolet said, it also depends on the chapter of the service group you are pledging. Some are super OK with their members pledging Greek orgs....others are very anti-Greek and look on it as a betrayal. Sometimes the same chapter flip flops attitudes in a few years.

I was in both, and it's possible to juggle them. You need to be sure, though, to give ample notice if you're not going to be able to make an event for one of the groups.

[KSUViolet06]

I did both as well.

I joined my service org before I joined my sorority, so I thankfully was not pledging in both orgs simultaneously. It was still very time-consuming.

There were many instances where events overlapped and I had to make a decision about which events were of the highest priority for each group, and which were things I could be excused from. For example, Initiation weekend for my sorority vs. out-of-town conference for my service group. Those are sometimes hard decisions to make, because you just can't attend everything.

Be aware of the expectations of both groups BEFORE you make a commitment to do both.

Often, there are girls who join a service org, then go through recruitment without knowing how time consuming a sorority is. So they join a sorority, and end up depledging because they couldn't handle doing both.

The opposite is also true. Girls who are in sororities pledge service orgs thinking "Well, I managed to join my sorority, how much more can this be?" They don't realize that many service org chapters have just as many, if not more, events than their NPC sorority has every week. So they end up dropping out of the service org.

I guess what I'm saying is really think about whether this is something you can realistically do, that way you don't make a commitment to something and find out later that you never thought it would be so much work.

[dancemodel6]

i cant wait, i am looking forward to joining Alpha Phi Omega and i will be rushing at the same time as well, im not sure if ill get a bid because i am a junior. does anyone have any information of the joining process of these service frats.

[HotDamnImAPhiMu]

At my school we looked at Alpha Phi Omega, etc. as a club, not really a GLO. Sounds like that's a HIGHLY inaccurate line of thinking, but that was the common mindset.

Nobody batted an eye if you were in Alpha Phi Omega any more than if you were in the chess club.

[DreamfulSpirit]

Originally Posted by dancemodel6

i cant wait, i am looking forward to joining Alpha Phi Omega and i will be rushing at the same time as well, im not sure if ill get a bid because i am a junior. does anyone have any information of the joining process of these service frats.

I'm not sure how APO works, but I'm in a service sorority, and it doesn't matter to us what year you are in school. A girl in my pledge class, we pledged in the fall, became active sisters in December, and she graduated that following spring. Just make sure you have the time and the commitment to give to both organizations, as well as your school work.

[Sister Havana]

I pledged APO as a junior. I had seniors in my pledge class. In my chapter at least it didn't matter what year you were.

I don't know of anyone in my chapter who was pledging APO and a social fraternity/sorority during the same semester, but we certainly had several chapter members who were also members of IFC/Panhellenic GLOs.

[FAnne]

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to let you know I am now an official pledge to Alpha Phi Omega and I absolutely love it!

Oh and I do want to clarify that I definitely would NOT be pledging both this and a panhellenic GLO at the same time since the APO initiation is in April. Panhellenic recruitment isn't until the fall. We will see how this semester turns out. Thank you for all your advice! I appreciate it.

-Fanne

[dancemodel6]

Originally Posted by FAnne

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to let you know I am now an official pledge to Alpha Phi Omega and I absolutely love it!

Oh and I do want to clarify that I definitely would NOT be pledging both this and a panhellenic GLO at the same time since the APO initiation is in April. Panhellenic recruitment isn't until the fall. We will see how this semester turns out. Thank you for all your advice! I appreciate it.

-Fanne

wait so u cant join APO in the fall ? and if u do ur not a "member" until april?

Dancemodel-

I'm sure that she could have pledged APO in the fall. Just like a social org, there is a new member period before initiation. If she would have rushed in the fall, I'm fairly certain that she would have been initiated near the end of the fall semester.

FAnne- Welcome to the brotherhood

[HotDamnImAPhiMu]

Originally Posted by FAnne

I just wanted to let you know I am now an official pledge to Alpha Phi Omega and I absolutely love it!

Congratulations! You'll have to know how pledging goes for you.

[Sister Havana]

Originally Posted by FAnne

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to let you know I am now an official pledge to Alpha Phi Omega and I absolutely love it!

Congratulations and welcome! Come on over to the APO forum and introduce yourself!

[dancemodel6]

yeah! i am also excited to be an A Phi O pledge!