Should I join a sorority at Georgia Institute of Technology?

Hi everyone,

I am an incoming freshman at Georgia Institute of Technology majoring in Biochemistry with a focus on research. I have also elected to live in the EXPLORE LLC my first year. I have never considered joining a sorority before, but recently I have been thinking more and more about it.

What makes joining one worth it? Should I be worried about anything before planning on rushing? If I am doing an LLC now, should I wait until next year to rush? What are the benefits and drawbacks of being in what, especially in such a rigorous environment as Tech?

I probably have loads more questions, so feel free to provide more answers in your replies. Thanks for all your help!

This is the very best kind of summer question, because you can get all kinds of opinions, and spend time reading up on and asking questions about the different councils-and not make any decisions until you actually get there in the autumn! You can get started here: https://greek.gatech.edu/content/how-join

Only about 1/4 of students at GaTech are in Greek life, so it’s a real choice, that will come down to you. The main advantage of a sorority is that it can make a new, big, unfamiliar place feel smaller faster, with a group of people that share some values / characteristics with you. For some people Greek life shapes their whole college experience, while for others it is a big element for their 1st/2nd years, and then they move away from it, and for still others Greek never touches their experience.

Read about the different options and think about who you are, how you like to socialize, etc. Do any of the sororities seem to fit you from their description? If so, check out the recruitment process for each of them- that process will help you discern whether this is interesting to you- or not.

Sorry I can’t help you about Georgia Institute of Technology, but, just a little advice, check twice, in some colleges is prohibit greek life for first year students.
Good Luck

I recommend sororities for the support they can give to women who are in fields usually dominated by men. My daughter was at a school with ~70/30 men/women. She found a lot of support from her sorority sisters. They came to her athletic events, they encouraged her to get good grades. The woman who was president was also president of the mechanical engineering society, was in the jet car racing group, and had all A’s. She received full scholarships for an MA from GT, Columbia and two other schools.

My sorority just highlighted 30 women under 30, and they are very impressive.

If you have any interest at all, why not just go through rush, learn more about it and see if you click with any of the chapters? At the very least you’ll meet a bunch of girls outside of your LLC and widen your social circle just from being in a rush group with them and sharing that experience. If at the end, you decide it’s not for you, then you can withdraw.

My daughter is in a LLC at another southern school, and in a sorority. She liked that she had a couple of social bubbles (also her club sports team) so she could move between groups when one got too much. I remember @twoinanddone saying her daughter felt similar about her varsity team and her sorority. Diversity of people in your life is good!

A lot of these are up to you!

First thing to note is that there are three councils with sororities in them at Georgia Tech. This is important because each council - and each chapter - has a different way of bringing people in, and not all do that through the NPC-style Rush week or two in the beginning of the year. See below.

I’m in a sorority, although I joined at the alumnae level and not the collegiate. In many ways, joining a sorority is pretty similar to joining any other social club based on interest - you get to meet a lot of other people, some of whom you may not have otherwise met; you get to do lots of fun activities, including community service or philanthropy for a cause you care about.

In a lot of other ways, it’s different - sororities are a sisterhood of people bonded by the same rituals and rites and secrets. If you join a national sorority, any time you meet a member of that sorority - at work, on travel, etc. - you can form an instant bond. I’ve met and hugged and happily chatted with sorority sisters I met at work conferences, in airports, in restaurants, in places all over the country and the world. There’s something really beautiful and moving about the rituals - all wearing your special attire for special events, witnessing new sisters’ initiation and reflecting on your own, singing the same songs and knowing there are other sisters all over gathering and doing the same things.

Greek life can also often give you a community within a community - socializing with the other folks who are Greek. Yes, that includes parties, but also other kinds of social events that are fun and can enrich your college life. There’s a lot of social support that emanates from your chapter and your community, and that can include getting through tough patches (academically and personally).

Only you can decide whether that kind of experience is worth it. And of course, there are other things it comes with - staggeringly expensive fees, a never-ending parade of events that need to be planned and managed and executed, lots of clothes that need to be purchased (apparel with letters, special colored attire for specific events, event t-shirts, etc.), sometimes requirements to live somewhere specific and perhaps expensive, etc. And it’s difficult to get yourself out of these requirements and expectations once you are in. (Yes, you can temporarily deactivate, but it can be emotionally and socially difficult even if it’s technically easy).

If you are interested in an NPC or MGC sorority, I’d advise that you go to Rush/Recruitment Week and attend some of the events. There’s no obligation to join, and the point of Rush/Recruitment is for you to find out what the life is about and evaluate if it’s for you.

If you are interested in an NPHC sorority, you have more time - I think only the AKAs allow you to join as a second-semester freshman. You do need to decide ahead of time which one you’d like to join, so do some research - read the websites, talk to some members. Once you’ve decided, attend some events to see what they’re all about. (Our NPHC sororities have some arcane and, to be frank, sometimes silly unspoken “rules” about interest and how to show it, so it’s best to talk to a member to get some guidance. If you are interested in an NPHC sorority drop me a PM and I’m happy to chat with you more.)

There’s the Collegiate Panhellenic Council, with 8 chapters that are National Panhellenic Council (NPC) sororities and 2 associate chapters - one of which is a smaller national Christian sorority and the other which is a social/professional sorority for women in technical and engineering fields. There’s the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), which has four sororities (and four fraternities) that are historically black but have members of all races. There’s also the Multicultural Greek Council, where there are three sororities - one Asian interest, one South Asian interest, and one Latina interest - with members of all races and backgrounds. (There are also four fraternities in this council).

This is important because the council and specific chapter you want to join affects when you can join and how. For example, NPHC chapters do not admit first semester freshmen - the earliest you can join is in the second semester of your freshman year, and for most chapters you can’t join until your sophomore year. They also don’t have the traditional NPC RUSH where you meet all of the chapters in your first couple weeks and then choose; NPHC sororities ask that you do research first to decide what sorority you want to join, then pursue membership with only that chapter.

MGC sororities are all over map and it kind of depends - it looks like Delta Phi Lambda has a process that’s more aligned with the NPC’s, in that they have a variety of free events during Rush, but they also ask you to fill out an interest form (which is available on their chapter’s website).

Make sure you understand the amount of time and money required for your sorority. Some require many gifts for “big” or “little” sisters and outfits and dues etc.

Make sure you understand how much time it requires…you have to do well in school but still attend sorority activities.