<p>My girlie is a new freshman at Elon and seems to be loving it so far. She is already talking about signing up for a study abroad experience in January, but also very much wants to participate in rush so she can be part of a sorority. I know rush happens at the end of January: will the study abroad thing interfere? According to the study abroad website, this trip ends on January 29, which is when the Greek Life info session was held last year.</p>
<p>Hmmm…I wasn’t aware freshmen could study abroad in January. But if that is the case, I would think they would adjust rush accordingly. There is a week break, known as “fake break” between the January term and the spring semester, and that is when sorority rush is held. So, it is designed to be during a break. Maybe she could email the Greek Life office for clarification.</p>
<p>freshmen can study abroad if there is a space left on a trip. Make sure your D finds out immediately since most trips require an additional hour course a week of class or several meetings beforehand. </p>
<p>the global study website will tell you availability on trips. sorority rush is over fake break. have your D check with study abroad and with the Greek council for conflicts. your D will not be the only one on a trip who wants to rush.</p>
<p>I believe the study abroad trips will have returned before recruitment starts during “fake break.” My daughter, a current sorority member, did a winter term study abroad last year and she was home a couple of days before recruitment started. There will be a good number of girls on the winter term trips who are sorority members and need to be back to help with recruitment. The Greek Life office knows this and plans accordingly.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that recruitment can be physically and emotionally tiring, and coming back from a 3 week trip with major jet lag will not help. </p>
<p>Most study abroad trips are probably already filled, but your D can check the website to see if there are any openings. She will need to do this ASAP because the study abroad center will be purchasing plane tickets, etc, and because most of these classes have mandatory sessions during the fall semester (usually a couple of hours about a half-dozen times during the semester) and those will be starting soon. </p>
<p>If she can’t go this year, no worries. She has 3 more years to do a winter term. Most of the students on the trips will be older - it’s not common for freshman to do a winter term abroad. 90+% of Elon freshmen will return to campus for Winter Term - many students find it’s their favorite time of year at Elon.</p>