Can someone tell me what the reputation of the two asian sororities (alpha Kappa Delta Phi and Sigma Psi Zeta) at Penn are?
I went to open rush for both so here’s my opinion. Both have very close sisterhoods, much closer than the Panhellenic sororities because they are much smaller (40-50 members v. 200).
alpha Kappa Delta Phi: The girls are really chill and most of them are super nice and outgoing. Their looks range from cute girl next door to drop dead gorgeous. There is a good mix of American born Asians and rich international girls. Their presence is also bigger on campus than Sigma’s . They have a lot more philanthropy events than Sigma Psi Zeta. They are also affiliated with the Asian Interest Fraternity (Lambda something) and mix with them a lot. So if you join akdphi, you will get a big (sort of like a mentor/ big sister/brother) from both the sorority and the fraternity. I also heard they are more exclusive, they accept fewer members each year than Sigma but I also heard that for asian sororities there is no quota so I guess it just depends on how well you click with the girls.
Sigma Psi Zeta: The girls here are also super nice and pretty (there are a few that legit look like Kpop stars) but sort of bland? They are definitely more uptight and some of the girls seem a little awkward and boring. Maybe this is because there are more FOB/ international kids so it was harder to hold a conversation? They definitely seem toinvest a lot less time into philanthropy events than akdphi. As a freshman I knew going into rush that akdphi supported Breast Cancer Awareness. I had no clue what Sigma’s even was (something about fight against domestic abuse I later learned). They are also not affiliated with any frat but they do also mix with Lambda.
Regardless, you will have a close and amazing sisterhood no matter which one you join. Be warned that the pledging process for both are rumored to be equally tough and time consuming. Also these are just my opinions of both and you should really attend some open rush events for yourself. Good luck with everything!
All I’ve heard is that Sigma is much more pre professional/ career focused while aKdphi is more social event focused. I have friends in both and they are all really nice and amazing people. You really should check out both for yourself. Joining a sorority is all about how well you like and mesh with the people there. It shouldn’t be on other people’s pre conceived notions because they are often biased anyway!
@Vienrose Also remember that there are asian women in all of the sororities. If you are asian, you don’t have to only consider the asian sororities.
Yeah, but I saw how girls that rushed Panhel had to wait in the freezing cold and make small talk for hours and I’m not really down with that. Also Panhel is about 2-3x more expensive that the Asian Sororities and I don’t think I could justify paying that much to hang out with people.
@Vienrose That is fine. There is no one-size fits all answer, and you are right that it can be somewhat expensive. The key is to find the group of women that you feel the most at home with.
Good luck!