Sororities

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of South Carolina
1

<p>My d has expressed some interest in rushing, but I am skeptical of Greeks in general.</p>

<p>Some of my concerns do not really have much to do with the Greeks specifically -- ie, the extra expense (dues, housing, dresses, etc) and the time commitment.</p>

<p>Others have to do with some of the stereotypes I have heard about Greek life -- drinking, selection of sisters based on superficial criteria, practices (such as "Little Sisters") which do not lend themselves to positive role models for male/female relations, focus on Greek life instead of more intermixing with general campus life, etc.</p>

<p>Do these stereotypes hold true, or am I out of touch?</p>

<p>Is it common for students to rush and then not pledge?</p>

<p>What will my d be missing if she decides to remain an independent?</p>

2

<p>D rushed and thinks it was the best decision for her.</p>

<p>Each House has its own personality and character and looking back at her experience during rush it really is true that 99% of the time a candidate really does end up at the right house. That 1% usually is the result of a sorority making a mistake more than someone blackballing a person, though it does still occasionally happen. D made it to the last day really having a hard time deciding which of the two final houses was best for her. The last day (before bid day) really sealed it for her and she hoped that she would be selected by the house she felt was the best fit (which incidentally didn’t start out her top choice) but after the dust settled she knew that they and she had made the right decision.</p>

<p>Sororities have the highest GPAs on campus; higher than the overall student body and higher than the rest of the Greek system as well. Her sorority places a high level of importance on GPA and honors those with high GPAs at their annual Parent’s Cocktail in the fall and also throughout the year with gift cards and other things. They won’t even consider a girl during rush if her HS GPA is below some fairly respectable number that I can’t remember right now but it is at least a 3.0.</p>

<p>She LOVED her big sis and has great relationships with both her “littles” as well as the whole extended “family of grand bigs” etc which I never had seen before and probably am calling by the wrong names as well. :)</p>

<p>I was somewhat concerned about the whole rush process at first and rush week is traumatic for parents, I can tell you that for sure but it has been a very good thing for her, especially being an OOS student. That said, at the same time she has managed to have a number of non-Greeks from freshman year in the dorm remain among her closest friends and in fact, one is a roommate. She has managed to keep the balance very well.</p>

<p>Fraternities cannot have mixed parties in their houses and in all honesty I am not sure that there is any more drinking going on among the sorority girls than there is among the general population. In Columbia the bars close at 4 AM…except on Saturday night/Sunday morning when they close at 2 AM due to Blue Laws so the opportunity is definitely there. The authorities do seriously police the hot areas like Five Points and work hard to catch or discourage the underage drinkers.</p>

<p>There is a new person who oversees Greek Life that was hired in the last year or so who has really clamped down on many things that were allowed to take place in the past. His new stricter policies cost one fraternity many of its pledges last year because they decided it wasn’t worth it. It hasn’t impacted the sororities except for reducing the number of fraternity sponsored off campus parties that had been held in the past.</p>

<p>The Greek scene at USC is fairly strong but not as intense as it is at places like Ole Miss, Bama, Tennessee or even UT Austin. In retrospect I know it was the best thing for my D and really helped to make her transition to being so far away from home much easier.</p>

<p>The problem with not rushing freshman year is that it is virtually impossible to get a bid sophomore year because the way the rules work, a sophomore counts as two girls, so they have one less they can offer a bid to. When they offer a bid, they hope to have a girl remain active for all four years and collect dues for all four years. Historically if there is going to be any fall out with girls going inactive, it takes place senior year. Therefore a sophomore offered a bid costs them another person and they also run the risk of having them active for only two years. From a purely business perspective, and it IS a business when you consider having to support those truly grand houses, offering a bid to a sophomore is not a good decision.</p>

<p>Let her go through rush and decide for herself; that way she can’t hold it against you down the line.There are girls who get bids that do turn them down. If that is the case it is usually the best decision for all. </p>

<p>I hope this helps.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for your thoughtful reply.</p>

<p>What was it about the sorority that made it a good fit for your daughter?</p>

<p>Is there a certain type of student who does / does not go Greek?</p>

<p>Do they tend to be politically conservative students, for example?</p>

4

<p>She is home for the summer. I will talk to her and see what she has to say about these questions; I may ask her to respond to them for you.</p>

<p>I am sure you have posted this elsewhere but where do you live?</p>

5

<p>If I may add to the op’s questions, my daughter is thinking about rushing, but one of her concerns was the requirement that she would have to eat every lunch/dinner at the sororiety house. What if her schedule conflicts with the normal eating times (as it does this fall)? </p>

<p>At orientation she was told by the panhellenic representative that “sororieties encouraged pledges to schedule classes so they could eat all of their meals at the house”.</p>

6

<p>You dont have to always eat at the house, they have late plates where you can swing by when your free and make or get a to go plate.</p>

7

<p>Also rush for girls is a really good thing for them being oos and all, they get to meet a lot of people through the process.</p>

<p>some of the stereotypes are true, personally i think they are a little superficial in handing out their bids. Drinking wise, honestly there is probably a little more drinking and partying but nothing that much more extreme than the independent girl</p>

8

<p>I’m in a sorority and it really was the best option for me. I came from very far out of state and didnt know anyone at the university which made rushing really exciting for me. I met a ton of great girls in the process and am absolutely happy i made the decision to join a sorority. the whole process is similar to the college selection process in that you dont really know what you want until you experience it, and if a house is right for you, you will know. </p>

<p>as far as the “little sister” thing you mentioned, our campus is VERY different than many other southern universities. i know at many schools fraternities have a “little sister” associated with their fraternity, usually for negative reasons, but that does not happen at USC…the only little sister we have are the ones we select within the sorority and then shower with presents for a week! I am very close with my sorority sisters but my best friend and roomate is non-greek and i do not seem to have any problems mixing my greek and non-greek friends (we’re all pretty close!). </p>

<p>I know that many parents hear the horrible things about greeks because there is so much stereotype out there, but none of the good things ever get noticed: we have extremely high GPAs & are rewarded for our hard work, we are more involved in other campus activities than the average student (i believe 100% of my chapter is involved in another organization on campus outside of sorority), and we have alumni bonds and connections for the rest of our lives! </p>

<p>as far as the meal plan: freshman do not eat at the house until second semester, and the meal time is a large enough window of time that usually you have the ability to stop by and eat at some point or grab a late-plate and head to class! </p>

<p>i agree that if your daughter is interested, let her figure out for herself if it’s right that way she cannot blame you later-on. and financially–every sorority has the ability to work with you privately if money is an issue. I know we have payment plans, lower rates available based on financial need, and scholarships available…your D just hast to talk to the leaders of the sorority! Hope some of this helps!</p>

9

<p>OH and other than the fact that it’s the south and people TEND to be more conservative…i can promise you that it doesnt matter when you’re in a sorority! my sorority has a good mix of conservative/liberal/moderate opinions!</p>

10

<p>here’s a link to the Rush Guide so you can look at campus involvement info/gpa info etc as well as pictures/information about each campus </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.sa.sc.edu/greeklife/docs/SCAR_RG_FINALweb.pdf[/url]”>http://www.sa.sc.edu/greeklife/docs/SCAR_RG_FINALweb.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>and if she decides to rush, the link for recruitment application is at the bottom of this page–due aug 15! If you/your daughter have any other more specific/private questions, feel free to private msg me! </p>

<p>[USC:</a> GREEK LIFE](<a href=“http://www.sa.sc.edu/greeklife/recruitment.htm]USC:”>http://www.sa.sc.edu/greeklife/recruitment.htm)</p>

11

<p>Thanks for the helpful replies.</p>

<p>eadad, we are from Massachusetts.</p>

<p>That is interesting about eating at the houses, I had no idea!</p>

<p>How much more does it cost to be involved with a sorority in comparison to living in the dorm with a meal plan?</p>

12

<p>The average cost for a sorority in terms of dues is about 600 (not including the 50 dollar ones) and thats per semester then living in the house is 3500 which is basically the same as dorm living with a 10 meal week meal plan</p>

13

<p>I thought I remembered that you were from Massachusetts. There’s a fairly good representation of OOS students from the NE and New England at USC.</p>

<p>It depends on the house. Dues vary from house to house but in our case it was very close to the cost of living in Capstone and if I remember correctly it was less than the dorm she was going to live in sophomore year before deciding to live in the house that year. The costs are usually spelled out in the Greek Life materials that are available online.</p>

14

<p>Fendrock,
To help you compare, the 2008/09 housing fees for Capstone per semester were $2065, and a 10 meal plan cost $1088 per semester. At USC, housing rates jump after freshman year, because upperclass students live mostly in apt. type campus housing. South Quad (a typical soph. housing unit) was $3090 per semester last year, then the meal plan would be in addition to that. Greek housing is very much in line with campus housing costs.</p>

15

<p>I was a bit surprised when my D expressed interest in rushing last fall as a freshman – but boy am I ever glad she did! Being a member of a sorority has been a very rewarding experience for her and has enriched her college life. I concur with eadad’s first post on this thread. That being said, Greek life is not for everyone – D has lots of Independent friends as well. College is a time for exploration, so I encouraged my D to do just that, despite my initial reservations.</p>

16

<p>I am reviewing the Rush Guide (thanks USCTexan for the link).</p>

<p>I noted this in the Greek Alcohol Policy:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Is this policy followed and strictly enforced?</p>

17

<p>Yes, even more than before under the new Greek Life person.</p>

<p>The sororities used to have a bid day party as well but are no longer allowed to do that. It has been pushed back at least a week if I am not mistaken.</p>

<p>I realized that I didn’t answer another question when you asked what made her sorority a “good fit” for my daughter so I asked her.</p>

<p>The answer has many aspects but first and foremost she said that it was because they were so laid back as a group; confident without being pushy and the fact that they said (and definitely meant) that they don’t want to change the girls they accept. They were selected because of who they were not who they thought they would become. My D says there is one other sorority that she feels is also very much like that.</p>

<p>To be completely honest, if being laid back, not pushy and quietly confident is a stereotype then I have no problem with that one. By quietly confident I am not inferring stuck up or rude. The girls I have met are mature and possess a confidence in the way they speak and present themselves both qualities I look for when hiring a new employee.</p>

18

<p>no it is not…</p>

19

<p>Not to be that guy, but I’d say that questions about how well the Greek life policies are enforced are better answered by students and not the parents. I don’t feel the need to list specific sororities or fraternities, but for parents to state that parties, drunkenness, and hazing are things of the past is kind of silly. There are without a doubt a number of positive aspects to the fraternities and sororities, but it’s easy to paint a very pretty picture of Greek life without actually knowing what goes on. </p>

<p>There’s a reason that new recruits still paint paddles, and a reason why sorority girls still paint coolers (I don’t even get this one) for their favorite fraternity’s mountain weekend retreats. I don’t mean to burst anyone’s bubble or call anyone out, but alcohol is a very big part of the lifestyle. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind about that. I know I haven’t told my parents all of the less politically correct things that I’ve encountered in my time at USC, and I think the same would be said for many others. Oops… my mom posts here.</p>

<p>I didn’t rush and I have no regrets. I have never felt left out, had difficulty making friends, or felt as if I needed the stability of the Greek system to meet people and fit in. Students who actively get involved on campus will meet a wide range of people, especially if they become involved in organizations with different objectives and purposes. And I’m very far from home, too. NY -> SC</p>

20

<p>ohheyitsmatt
watch out for the slings and arrows that will now be coming your way…
theres a reason I havent commented on this topic…</p>