Picking up a little

depressedgrl101 · #1 07-05-2015, 01:22 AM

Just a quick question! How is it determined who picks up a little for the next year? Is it usually by seniors first?

Titchou · #2 07-05-2015, 07:52 AM

It can vary from chapter to chapter of every org. You'd have to check with your group to see how they do it. Am sure your new member educator could explain it to you.

AZTheta · #3 07-05-2015, 11:23 AM

Hey~ did you get a bid from the colony? I am guessing yes you did by your question. So - congratulations!

ETA I think this should be in a different forum, no?

thetalady · #4 07-05-2015, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by depressedgrl101

Just a quick question! How is it determined who picks up a little for the next year? Is it usually by seniors first?

In my experience only, seniors are the last to get a little sister UNLESS there is a strong desire by the potential little. Seniors are very busy, about to graduate and preparing for careers after college. Their priorities are often elsewhere.

It is better to pair new initiates with actives who will be around for a few years, if at all possible. Sometimes a small number of sophomore & junior chapter members will not allow that to happen, though.

As for specific matching, as Titchou said, everybody is different.

DeltaBetaBaby · #5 07-05-2015, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thetalady

In my experience only, seniors are the last to get a little sister UNLESS there is a strong desire by the potential little. Seniors are very busy, about to graduate and preparing for careers after college. Their priorities are often elsewhere.

It is better to pair new initiates with actives who will be around for a few years, if at all possible. Sometimes a small number of sophomore & junior chapter members will not allow that to happen, though.

As for specific matching, as Titchou said, everybody is different.

It also depends, on some chapters, on the age of the NM's. A woman who pledges as a junior is far more likely to want a big who is a junior or senior in some chapters.

depressedgrl101 · #6 07-11-2015, 04:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZTheta

Hey~ did you get a bid from the colony? I am guessing yes you did by your question. So - congratulations!

ETA I think this should be in a different forum, no?

Yes I did! Thank you!

And is there a forum for this? Because I couldn't find one..

Alpha O · #7 07-11-2015, 11:04 AM

Like everyone has said, it really depends on your chapter and how they prioritize getting littles. In my experience, most chapters prioritize having sophomores and juniors as big sisters so that the new members have more time to bond with their Bigs. I'd recommend talking to your chapter's New Member Educator and leadership about how they are planning to match up Bigs and Littles.

Factors other than grade level that would influence whether seniors could get littles would be when recruitment takes place and the size of the new member class. If your school has recruitment in the Fall, I could see a possibility of seniors getting Littles. However, if your school has deferred recruitment, I think that there wouldn't be much of a point in having seniors be Big Sisters since they're graduating at the end of the semester. Additionally, if there is an overwhelming number of new members, some seniors may get a chance to be Bigs or some girls who are Bigs could take twins. Likewise, if there are more sorority members who want to be Big Sisters than there are new members, then the process of becoming a Big will likely be more competitive.

Some GLOs give their colony members "twins." This happens when colony members get matched up with someone else in their pledge class to do Big/Little-type things. That is one way that older members can still feel as if they're getting a Big/Little experience and being part of a family within the chapter. To my knowledge, this occurs in the colonization semester.

I don't know if I should mention this, as I've only heard of this happening once, but, technically, just as there is a possibility of a Big Sister getting "twin" Littles, it could be decided that a Little Sister could get "twin" Bigs. It is technically possible to pair the seniors who want to be Big Sisters up with a younger sister to be "twin" Bigs. I thought this was a pretty creative solution, but, like I said, I've only heard of this happening in a special situation at one chapter so don't get your hopes up.

Lastly, even if you don't end up technically being a Big Sister, that doesn't mean that you won't have the opportunity to get to know the new members and form deep friendships with them that can last your whole lives. Whether you form friendships that you maintain after graduation with current and new members is completely up to you.

Titchou · #8 07-11-2015, 12:28 PM

Since this forum is about sorority recruitment and your topic has nothing to do with recruitment, other forums that might fit would be Greek Life or Chapter Operations.

AZTheta · #9 07-11-2015, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alpha O

I don't know if I should mention this, as I've only heard of this happening once, but, technically, just as there is a possibility of a Big Sister getting "twin" Littles, it could be decided that a Little Sister could get "twin" Bigs. It is technically possible to pair the seniors who want to be Big Sisters up with a younger sister to be "twin" Bigs. I thought this was a pretty creative solution, but, like I said, I've only heard of this happening in a special situation at one chapter so don't get your hopes up.

Lastly, even if you don't end up technically being a Big Sister, that doesn't mean that you won't have the opportunity to get to know the new members and form deep friendships with them that can last your whole lives. Whether you form friendships that you maintain after graduation with current and new members is completely up to you.

Hey! I had twin bigs. I'm still in touch with one. It was really unusual, but it sure worked for me and both of them. We three had much fun. I adored both of them and learned so much from them. One of my bigs was a senior when I pledged, and she and I totally clicked - she was the big deciding factor in my going Theta. Yes one active can tip the scales in either direction. You never know.

As for your last paragraph, *perfectly stated*. You're pretty awesome, your user name should be "awesome alpha o" IMO.

Alpha O · #10 07-11-2015, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZTheta

Hey! I had twin bigs. I'm still in touch with one. It was really unusual, but it sure worked for me and both of them. We three had much fun. I adored both of them and learned so much from them. One of my bigs was a senior when I pledged, and she and I totally clicked - she was the big deciding factor in my going Theta. Yes one active can tip the scales in either direction. You never know.

100% full disclosure...I was the person I know with twin bigs! It was awesome to have two people to look up to like that and I honestly see no drawbacks to the whole scenario. I didn't know this happened in other chapters, because whenever I've told others about my twin bigs I've gotten confused looks. That's why I didn't say it was me originally. I think I'm a little too worried about internet privacy sometimes.

Both of my bigs were actually seniors, but they were such wonderful women and I love the fact that we were able to connect and have a lot of fun together, even though they graduated at the end of the year that I joined. I keep in touch with one of them, as the other one has kind of fallen off the face of the earth (though I should try to email her and see what she's up to). I was in pretty regular contact with them while I was in college, though, even though they had both graduated and moved.

I was probably too harsh in my last sentence of that one paragraph, but I just didn't want to get the OP's hopes up to have them dashed!

OP, I definitely think that you could present this idea in such a way that it would be seen as positive and could be implemented. Some pros I can think of off the top of my head: (1) the littles will have more love/even more people to support them and (2) the costs for the presents could be shared. Like I said, I can't think of any negatives and that's speaking as someone who has been through it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZTheta

As for your last paragraph, *perfectly stated*. You're pretty awesome, your user name should be "awesome alpha o" IMO.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the compliment. I've been a lurker on this forum and know that you give great advice. You should definitely consider going by "AzTheta the Awesome."

depressedgrl101 · #11 07-16-2015, 05:22 AM

Thank you for that! We weren't able to get "twins" between my colony sisters, but we were all given bigs from different chapters close to us. I am close with my big and we talk pretty often. I should also ask, because this year will be my senior year, will grades be a factor in getting littles? Assuming that I don't meet the cutoff for whatever reason, would I be able to talk to an advisor to see what I can do about it?

Titchou · #12 07-16-2015, 07:29 AM

WE don't know. Ask someone in your chapter. You are allowed to talk with your adviser or the officers about ANYTHING to do with the workings of your group. In fact, that's your best bet as none of us are in your chapter!

As we've said before, we have no idea what your chapter's rules and procedures are. Is there some reason you are so hesitant to ask within your own chapter about all this? Maybe it's just me but I find all this very odd.