I have been in my sorority for a little while, and although I like the people I’ve made friends with there, I don’t think it’s worth the time or money and I want to drop out. How can I break it to my sorority without any hard feelings?
They might have me consider other payment options, but I am set on dropping at this point and just want to bow out nicely where I can still maintain those relationships I’ve made.
I presume sororities and fraternities both operate the same as any other organization in which a letter of resignation would suffice as a notice of intent to withdraw from said organization. I left a school-based group before by just drafting a formal letter stating my intentions to withdraw from the group. No harsh feelings and I’m still friends with the people in the group.
But then again, I always maintained sororities/fraternities to be cults so I don’t know if that will bode well with them.
Every sorority and fraternity is different. You must have a handbook that talks about withdrawing. That would be the place to check.
You should have rules that govern how to drop your sorority, you can probably check within your nationals by-laws. Typically its a letter of resignation. You could also see if they could let you go alumni status rather than dropping it all together. I know that some sororities depending on the situation may allow a person to go alumni early.
I was in a fraternity many years ago. It was also a living group in that you lived in the house. We had a couple of members drop out; one became just a social member so he could still get invited to our parties the rest just totally left. There were no hard feelings, it just didn’t work out.
My daughter, on the other hand, quit a sorority and the president was a real pain about it. It wasn’t pleasant.
The difference isn’t one between fraternities and sororities but in the people within those groups. And every one can be somewhat different.
If you want out, just write the letter of resignation and leave. Learning to deal with such situations is part of becoming a mature adult. The sorority organization, and I mean the people involved, also have to learn to deal with such situations.
Your mistake is in thinking you have to explain why you’re leaving. You don’t. Just write a nice letter saying that you’re dropping your membership as of July 31, 2019 (or whatever date you choose).
They don’t want “sisters” who don’t want to be “sisters”. You don’t owe them an explanation. However, you may just fall back on the theme of “it’s just not for you, no hard feelings, just not your thing.” Expect some to be petty about it, but who cares? They’re probably the reason it’s not your thing.
I actually don’t think it’s as simple as just submitting a resignation letter. Sororities aren’t the same as other college organizations; they’re ritual-based organizations and sisterhoods, so there may be a little more of a process.
Check your sorority handbook, or policies and procedures, as that’ll have the information you need. You can also ask someone on your executive board or standards board. Most likely, you start with either a letter of resignation or filling out a form for disaffiliation. You may have to have an interview with a member or a meeting with a board to ensure that nothing bad happened to you to make you leave. Someone will sign your form.
Some houses are also going to want you to return items to them - like your pin and/or badge, and perhaps anything with letters on it.