I am planning on going to Alabama next year, and I’m interested in joining a sorority but I am nervous about rushing. I am from from the north (Vermont), and I have no sorority affiliation. My uncle and grandfather were in frats but no one in my family has ever pledged a sorority. Coming from the north, there aren’t many schools around me that have big greek life scenes, so I think it will be hard for me to letters of rec. I have a 3.3 gpa and I consider myself to have good social skills and I can make friends easily. Do you think I would be able to rush and receive a bid? I’ll have to save up a lot of money if I want to rush and I don’t want to go through everything if I’ll be cut. Also, is there another way to get letters or recs from people that you don’t know?
Did you read through the responses to your earlier thread here, @bwinter2?
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/19883414#Comment_19883414
This one discusses fees and is worth a read too:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1856491-greek-life-costs-p1.html
Just put “sorority” into the search engine in the UA forum here and you’ll pull up a lot more information.
One other thing: If you’re having to scrimp and save to afford Greek Life, I hope you’ve already gotten the go-ahead from your parents about attending UA as a full-pay student. The out-of-state COA is $40,000+ year.
The recruitment fee is small compared to the sorority initiation fee, dues and meal plan costs. You can go through the process and then decide to not pledge even if a sorority wants you. If you decide to attend Alabama and go through recruitment, you must have letters of rec submitted on your behalf to be a serious candidate at most UA sororities. Ask anyone and everyone you know. Consider it a pre-test of your social networking skills. Being from Vermont should be an obstacle.
In the words of Wayne Gretzky: You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. If you want something badly enough, you can find a way to make it happen.
Hi. My niece just went through recruitment without sending in one letter of recommendation and not only got a bid but pref’d her top 3 houses. We also know another girl who had a very successful recruitment without recs as well. Both were advised that you need recs for every house in order to have a successful recruitment but they like you didn’t know anyone and also weren’t sure if they wanted to pledge so they just went in blind. They aren’t the norm but I just wanted to put it out there that things may be loosening up a little. Rec or no rec if a house wants you they will make it work.
Of the number who started recruitment this year, more than 90% got bids on bid day. That number has been true for the past several years. Most of the ones released - not all, but most - had borderline or lower grades. Anyone can sign up and go through recruitment - Panhellenic does not restrict anyone because of grades…BUT…individual sororities DO have their own grade floors. Panhel does warn that those with a 3.0 or less run a real chance of being released early.
No, you don’t HAVE to get recs. You don’t HAVE to study for an exam, or wear nice clothes. But to give yourself the best chance, why wouldn’t you prepare the best you can?
You need recs, everyone needs recs. I’m going to be honest your GPA is a 3.3 which is on the lower end. The easiest cut to make after round one when you’re having to cut a large amount of women is to start with arbitrary items such as a lower GPA or not having recs. There are thousands of women going through and each chapter does make use of the recs they receive.
The sororities are all members of the National Panhellenic Conference, they have alumni associations that you can contact for help in finding recs. This link is to their map of their groups, there are a few in Vermont so I’d start there.
https://www.npcwomen.org/map/default.aspx
Please make sure you take the time to really look into Greek life and it’s associated costs. It’s not just the mandatory fees, it’s things like t-shirts, crafts, event photos and a million other little things that add up faster than you think. It’s a big financial decision. You don’t want to be a position where you can’t afford your dues.
Are you going to be visiting campus?
On that NPC map…it’s a number of years old. Panhellenic alumnae groups are only as active as their volunteers, which means they wax and wane. If there is no direct link to a website, or if the link goes to a “not found,” try searching for the group on Goggle. Type in “Town Name Panhellenic”. Lots of these groups have abandoned websites for Facebook pages. There are also non-NPC alumnae panhellenics - not registered with NPC but organized to help with recs.
Vermont and New England just doesn’t have many alumnae groups - either Panhellenic or associated with particular sororities. But do try to get the recs you can. You should be able to find a majority of the 15 sororities that participate in formal recruitment. Maybe not all, but at least 7 or 8 of them.
I have been finding some more connections for letters of recs, I’m sure it will be hard but I think I can make it work. You said being from VT should be an obstacle, may I ask why? Other than the lack of Greek Life, are there other problems?
Also, I’m not sure if this makes a difference, but my GPA is a 3.3 unweighted, however I have taken many honors level courses. I am working on converting it into a weighted GPA, since with my SAT scores I would be able to receive merit scholarships. And yes, I visited campus this July. Thank you all for the help!
@bwinter2 The UA Panhellenic recruitment registration requires an official transcript from your high school; I can’t emphasize enough how much grades matter before anything else. In my experience with PNMs from the Northeast, a 3.3 will give you some – but not all – options. Strongly encourage you to attend Spring Teas in March if you can. If you are admitted to Honors College at UA that will help a lot.
My Daughter just went thru Rush and received a bid, we are from NY. There are many ways to get letters of ref. start with family, friends, parents co-workers, teachers, etc. when all else fails you can write sorority chapters and ask for ref’s. We didn’t know have many family or friends that were greek but still managed to get at least one letter for every chapters. Start early by going to the Spring Teas and getting your packets together and GL. MY D is loving the school and Greek Life.
How does one go about getting invited to the spring teas?
9 - I think maybe the poster meant to say: "being from VT should NOT be an obstacle" ........... not sure, but I think maybe that was a typo.
@jeepgirl The UA Panhellenic website has a lot of information – and each UA sorority website has a “recruitment” page with info on how to contact their recruitment officers about Spring Teas. I also encourage you to familiarize yourself with the UA recruitment guide Greek Chic which is also available on the Panhellenic website. Suggest you also post on your FB page that you will be attending Alabama and are hoping to secure alumnae recommendations. I would NOT suggest contacting the UA chapters for recommendations.
Thanks @higheredmom
Being from Vermont and New England might be an obstacle only because there seem to be fewer sorority women in that area of the country, which makes it harder to find recommendations, especially from sororities that may not have many chapters in that area. That’s the only reason! Generally the sororities take the GPA that the university takes, which is weighted. You’ll probably just fine on grades!
@bwinter2 The University of Vermont has had fraternities and sororities for over 175 years! Currently, there are six NPC sororities active on that campus – you must have high school friends attending school there-- and belonging to sororities. Reach out to them and ask if they can help secure recommendations from the Vermont alumnae for you.
Okay thank you so much! I also live about 20 minutes from Dartmouth College, so I’m hoping I can connect there too.