<p>Howdy, I've been accepted to Texas A&M as a part of their Blinn TEAM program. This is the first year that Panhellenic has opened up sororities to Blinn TEAM students and I was very excited at first to hear this. Now, I'm weighing the pros and cons about joining a sorority on top of an engineering major. I'm a little concerned about the cost as well. If anyone is currently in the same boat or has any advice I'd love to hear from you! Thanks :)</p>
<p>check with Panhellenic - they usually have an approx. cost sheet- not all sororities operate the same way, some include more things than others on their cost sheet numbers. You can control some of the costs based on what you participate in ( formals, semi-formals, activities, souvenirs) others are fixed, like dues & recruitment outfits.</p>
<p>Regarding time commitments, first semester you will have new member education on Wed nights, and normally reduced attendance at Monday night meetings. You will most likely have mandatory study hours too depending on the house rules. Generally you will spend some time socializing with your new sisters, so yes there is a time commitment involved. After your first semester you’ll just have Monday night meetings. If you managed to be involved in HS and get good grades, then it is also doable in college. It does force you to be organized, and they do push academics thus, some houses won’t let you participate if your grades start to drop. Sorority GPA is higher than the school average GPA.</p>
<p>There are tables at NSC and a session about Greek Life - you should attend those if you have not yet gone to your NSC. If you have already missed them - you can always call & find out when that session is & just show up (they don’t monitor the sessions to see who is in them) to get your questions answered or ask on the phone. You’ll need to apply by July 15 or the cost goes up. You also will need to gather recs for the 12 houses, so don’t wait too long. Both of my kids are TAMU Greeks (sorority & fraternity), my sorority one just graduated-- she loved it! It was a great way to meet people & truly helped her gain some skills that put her ahead in getting a job. She was a business major but there are many engineers in sororities too. You get out of a sorority what you put into it, so the more involved you become the better your overall experience. </p>
<p>AGmomx2, if rushing for a sorority as a freshman in college, what grades will they look at it? My high school grades? </p>
<p>Yes, your HS grades & test scores. If you are going thru recruitment, you should also send in your recs & have applied through Panhellenic (they ask on the forms for grades etc.). </p>