Study abroad or greek life?

Applying to College
1

I am currently a freshman at LSU, and I am in a small sorority. however, I’m interested in doing fall rush my sophomore year. However, I also want to do a semester at the University of Hawaii. I know this isn’t technically study abroad, but it’s the same concept. I really don’t want to miss football season so I would have to do it in the spring, and my spring of junior year I have to go off campus for forestry camp which is not optional. That means I can only study abroad the spring of my sophomore year. If I stay in my small sorority, I can still spend the semester in Hawaii, but if I decide to rush, I would have to remain at LSU for that spring to fulfill active requirements (assuming the bylaws are the same for other sororities as my current one). God I really wish I could do both. It seems like an obvious decision to pick Hawaii because it’s HAWAII, but I still really want to be a part of greek life because it’s going to last three years rather than a semester and I will still be part of it after I graduate. Plus, there’s always the possibility of grad school at Hawaii, but still it’s not the same. Of course that’s assuming there’s an exchange student who wants to leave Hawaii for Louisiana.

Pros of GL:

  • be more involved in all three years
  • meet lots of new people who i will be at school with all three years
  • have a house as a central meeting place

Pros of Hawaii:

  • find out if i actually want to move there post-grad
  • it’s Hawaii

I would like to know:
a) whether i should do greek life or hawaii
b) if anyone has any information on if I can do both??

2

Lots of student join sororities and study abroad. Sororities excuse members from on campus duties if they are studying abroad, but it might prevent you from being an officer that year. My daughter studied abroad and it was great because she didn’t have to pay dues or worry about breaking a lease, and when she came back she just moved back into the house. Easy.

Are you sure you are eligible for membership if you already belong to a sorority?

If you are, and you join a sorority that also has a chapter at Hawaii, you might be able to do some things with that chapter while on campus.

1 Like
3

I looked i looked into greek life in hawaii, the only mutual sorority there is phi mu. I am eligible because my current sorority is not national as it is professional. I can’t access national bylaws for sororities because I am not a member, but I know for mine I cannot go anywhere my first year of being affiliated. The problem is I don’t want to miss football season, so I would study abroad in the spring, but my junior year there is an intensive and specific curriculum I have to follow and it is all off-campus. So my only option for study abroad is my sophomore year in the spring. I would imagine the bylaws are the same for most sororities, so if i join a sorority i would not be able to go to hawaii. I do think I am going to contact greek life about it just in case there is an option for navigating it because it seems a bit bogus that i can’t do both.