<p>Hey guys! I’m really really interested in University of Alabama, but I’m from long island, ny and have heard it’s a huge culture shock. I honestly have no idea what part of culture people mean so could anyone fill me in? I’m the typical pearl, hair bow, sperry wearing girl and I wanted to know if I would fit in that way? Also, do the upper sororities usually give northerners pledges? I’m sorry if there’s a thread like this already but I probably won’t be visiting until next march after I hopefully have gotten accepted and want to know a little bit more about the school than I’ve seen anywhere. Thank you!!!</p>
<p>lol…no Bama is not a huge culture shock at all. </p>
<p>There are at least two Long Island parents who post on this forum. </p>
<p>Have you visited? If not, you should.</p>
<p>Sure, you’ll fit in. Lots of the kids wear Sperry’s, and I’m sure a lot of the girls wear bows. </p>
<p>The sororities are accepting girls from all over. :)</p>
<p>There are a lot of threads wondering about culture shock…the only shocking thing will be that people will be very nice to you. lol</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Welcome to this forum!</p>
<p>My Long Island son doesn’t start Bama until fall so I can’t say for sure. However, I’m sure he will fit in fine with the other tshirt and track pant kids like him. My experience with visiting many colleges is that every style is represented.</p>
<p>BTW, with two boys I’m not an authority on what girls where here, but I would say that pearl, hair bow, and sperry is not “typical” for all of Long Island. Even in my very rich town, that’s not a common look (jeans and uggs everywhere). Still, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of girls dressed just like you at Bama.</p>
<p>At Bama, the girls come in all varieties of style…the sundress girls (bows, pearls), the Nike Tempo shorts girls (w/ Uggs when it starts to cool), the hippie/granola some with pink hair girls, and also just the regular casual girls. </p>
<p>Wear whatever you want.</p>
<p>When I asked my son if the girls in his school dress like that, he said no, sounds like St. Anthony’s. I see that’s your school. He met a few of your classmates on a cruise and remembered what they wore. He did talk up Alabama to them. Maybe that’s how you got interested?</p>
<p>mpch13…I would echo what has been posted above…BE YOURSELF :). The University of Alabama is a very welcoming place and yes you will see girls in pearls, hair bows and Sperrys…my D for one! It is likely you would see her wearing all that with a sorority t-shirt and a pair of Nike tempo shorts :). </p>
<p>Over 50% of the young women who went through recruitment last fall were OOS and if the numbers that are coming in hold true it will a little above that this year.</p>
<p>If you are not planning to visit until March '13 you might want to visit during Preview Weekend (although I have to tell you I would encourage you to visit prior to March is at all possible). Preview Weekend is usually the third weekend in March and is open to all young men and women who are interested in going Greek. There will be information sessions as well as an opportunity to briefly visit each sorority. I really feel it’s a MUST for any one considering Greek Life at Alabama. </p>
<p>I would encourage you to keep an open mind about all of the sororities on campus…each has many wonderful qualities to offer. I would not listen to “tent talk” or clump them together into “upper” and “lower” houses…each is a #1 sorority in its own right.</p>
<p>The best advice I can give you as OOS is to MAKE SURE you have at least 1 (I tell girls to get 2 if at all possible) recommendation on file for each house. You can find a list of the NPC sororities on the Alabama campus at <a href=“http://www.uapanhellenic.com/..click[/url]”>http://www.uapanhellenic.com/..click</a> on Chapter Profiles. Finding recommendations is time consuming. I would suggest you start in the fall of your senior year. You will also need to put together a Greek Resume. It is different that a normal resume you do for a job. </p>
<p>One line item on the resume is Philanthropy. You might look at what volunteer opportunities you have enjoyed and choose several more to focus on for the upcoming year. With summer quickly approaching now would be a great time to get involved in a volunteer capacity.</p>
<p>Finally…each year the University of Alabama puts out a publication called “Greek Chic”. It tells about recruitment at Bama and has a section that highlights each sorority. Here is the link…<a href=“http://issuu.com/alabamapanhellenic/docs/recruitment_manual_2011_....I[/url]”>http://issuu.com/alabamapanhellenic/docs/recruitment_manual_2011_....I</a> would encourage you to check it out. </p>
<p>My DD LOVES Greek Life at Alabama. We are OOS (the Midwest) and she had a very successful recruitment in '10. If you have other questions please feel free to om me :).</p>
<p>I’m from New Jersey, and actually know a girl from Long Island (who is in a sorority), and I can say with confidence that ANYONE can fit in at Bama.</p>
<p>I experienced some culture shock, but in a good way…very kind, polite people who are genuinely willing to selflessly help people, and have pleasant accents. :)</p>