Semester at another school???

absolutuscchick · #1 12-05-2003, 09:35 PM

Hi,

I was talking to my dad tonight about how I wanted to take a semester and go to a southern school with a Kappa Delta house, live in the house, take classes, and learn a little bit about the south, since I've always been curious about it. My dad didn't think that this was something that was done, but thought that I could probably find a study abroad program instead....not really what I wanted to do..

Anyhow, I was wondering if anyone knew if a school will let you study for a semester at another university and if I would be able to be involved with Kappa Delta there? Does anyone have any insight on this topic??

33girl · #2 12-05-2003, 09:42 PM

Considering a lot of chapters (it seems especially in the South) require you to get to know the sisters for a semester or so before you can even affiliate fully, it might be somewhat fruitless.

Maybe you could do something over the summer - some schools have summer programs.

kddani · #3 12-05-2003, 09:42 PM

I think most people only do this thing for educational purposes, like if a certain school has specific classes/a specific program they're interested in.

I'm not sure if it would be best for your academic career. Your resume (thinking towards the future) would look pretty funky with 3 different schools on it- USC, ASU, and then some southern school. And if you told an employer that you did it because you wanted to see what a southern school was like.... they'd probably think that a little odd. So academically/professionally it might not be the best idea.

I don't know how affiliation would work if it was only for a semester, because i've never heard of it being done before. I'm guessing it would be similar to a transfer student, with voting, etc. However, since you'd be a "visiting student" i'm not sure- yo wouldn't necessarily be classified as a full-time martriculate of that university.

kdonline · #4 12-05-2003, 10:29 PM

It's not that easy to get to live in a sorority house in the South. It's all done on rank: year in school, office held, etc.

And affiliating is a whole other story...there are plenty of threads on here about that.

Most sorority houses are closed during the summer, anyway- renovation time, too - gotta keep them looking nice in time for Rush!

If you are interested in in a specific school, you should just email the chapter directly...ie, UF's KD chapter is betapi@kappadelta.org

GammaPhiBabe · #5 12-05-2003, 10:49 PM

There is a student exchange program that will let you spend a semester or a year at another school while still paying tuition/being enrolled at your old school. I considered doing that as an undergrad, but ended up not doing it because I got engaged... Anyway, there were lots of schools in the US that participated in it at that time. I always thought it would be a lot of fun.

I don't know how it would work as far as affiliating with a chapter of your sorority for that time. If I were going to do this, I would contact the chapter well in advance and explain the situation--maybe even go down there to meet some of the sisters. I doubt that you could live in the house, but they might let you participate in activities, go to chapter, etc. It would just depend on how well you fit in with that particular chapter.

GeekyPenguin · #6 12-05-2003, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by GammaPhiBabe
There is a student exchange program that will let you spend a semester or a year at another school while still paying tuition/being enrolled at your old school. I considered doing that as an undergrad, but ended up not doing it because I got engaged... Anyway, there were lots of schools in the US that participated in it at that time. I always thought it would be a lot of fun.

I don't know how it would work as far as affiliating with a chapter of your sorority for that time. If I were going to do this, I would contact the chapter well in advance and explain the situation--maybe even go down there to meet some of the sisters. I doubt that you could live in the house, but they might let you participate in activities, go to chapter, etc. It would just depend on how well you fit in with that particular chapter.

Pretty much what she said...one of my chapter sisters is going to UGa next semester because she's pre-vet and they're good at that. She considered affiliating with the Gamma Phis there, but then decided her schoolwork should come first that semester. She wouldn't have been able to live in the house since it was full, but they told her she's welcome at any and all activities of theirs.

absolutuscchick · #7 12-06-2003, 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kddani
I think most people only do this thing for educational purposes, like if a certain school has specific classes/a specific program they're interested in.

I'm not sure if it would be best for your academic career. Your resume (thinking towards the future) would look pretty funky with 3 different schools on it- USC, ASU, and then some southern school. And if you told an employer that you did it because you wanted to see what a southern school was like.... they'd probably think that a little odd. So academically/professionally it might not be the best idea.

I don't know how affiliation would work if it was only for a semester, because i've never heard of it being done before. I'm guessing it would be similar to a transfer student, with voting, etc. However, since you'd be a "visiting student" i'm not sure- yo wouldn't necessarily be classified as a full-time martriculate of that university.

Yea....I know I wasnt clear in my first post, but I didn't just want to see what a southern school was like, although I do. I actually wanted to go there so that I could take some history classes on the south because I have always been interested in it. As these classes aren't really offered in Arizona, or in Cali, I figured the best place to learn about the south is in the south.
In addition, I just thought it would be cool, if they had a space if I could live in, or even just be involved with another chapter of Kappa Delta while I was there.
I guess when it gets closer to a definite time that I wanted to do this (probably not for a year and a half or so), I will look into it further, email the Kappa Delta chapter and look more closely into the student exchange program.

Thanks everyone for your advice!!

kd_girl96 · #8 12-08-2003, 10:32 PM

Trust me. You don't want more than one school on your academic record. I've already been to four schools total and am having a hard time transfering credits. As far as I know there's not any schools with this type of program and in essence you'd be transferring.
As for being involved with the chapter? There's no guarentee that they'd let you affiliate. I tried to do that at the second school I transfered to and they didn't allow me to affiate and I had to go alum.
Hope that helps : )
em

Tippiechick · #9 12-08-2003, 10:49 PM

If you could go without financial aid, you could go for a semester as a NON-Degree seeking student. I know b/c I did that one summer. I took summer school classes at MTSU and applied them toward my program at Ole Miss (U of MS).

If you are looking for Southern Studies, Ole Miss has a load of classes on the subject. One of my sisters had Southern Studies as her minor...

More than one school is NOT such a big deal. I should know. I have two schools on my resume and was selected as a staff member under former Vice-President Al Gore. It didn't bother them. In fact, they commented on how I had a diverse background as a result and was not just limited to knowledge on Tennessee. (I am a native of Tennessee...)

Can it be a pain to try and transfer the credits? Yes. But, in my opinion, a bit more effort to truly accomplish something I value as important would be an INVESTMENT in my happiness and future.

If this will enhance your experience, GO FOR IT!!!

The KDs at Ole Miss are great. And, while I am SURE that the house there will be filled to capacity, there are other options available. For instance, there are probably at least a couple of sisters living off campus. You might be able to room with them for a semester.

And, if you are looking for the "Deep South" experience, Mississippi is definitely an excellent place to go.

Should you decide to pursue it, check out www.olemiss.edu! And, feel free to private message me about anything as I still have friends there.

Good luck. And, I hope this opinion gave you another perspective on the situation.

ThetaPrincess24 · #10 12-08-2003, 10:51 PM

Yes I must agree about not having too many schools on your transcript. I started off at a community college then transferred to UK. Not everything transferred and I had to retake some stuff which put me behind........then I decided that HR is what I wanted to study rather than just plain management, so I transferred to EKU because UK didnt offer that program.......different schools have different requirements so again, I had to take more classes and put me further behind. I dont regret the choices I've made academically, but transferring around will cause setbacks most of the time, so you have to take that into consideration about how long you really want to be in school, the costs etc.

About reaffiliating.......it would seem odd to me for any GLO to reaffiliate a sister for only one semester, and then have her go back and affiliate with her original chapter.......that just doesnt seem very logical or practical. However since you are an initiated sister, I dont think a KD chapter elsewhere would shun you from hanging out with them whenever and going to their events and even witness an initiation at another chapter (I've done this myself and it's actually pretty cool).

PhiPsiRuss · #11 12-08-2003, 11:12 PM

I graduated from a private prep school in Manhattan, and headed to Tallahassee at the age of 17 to attend college. Trust me, it takes far more than 1 semester to get a grasp of Southern culture.

Munchkin03 · #12 12-08-2003, 11:15 PM

I have three different institutions on my undergraduate transcript. It hasn't hurt me at all, let me tell you. It won't hurt you if there's something specific you want to do--the two schools I attended outside of my alma mater are the best in my field.

Little E · #13 12-09-2003, 01:55 AM

I also will have three schools on my transcript, which is such a mess!!! But this really only matters for a few years out of college. If you work for a few year, your college stuff isn't that important. Good Luck figuring it out!!

sugar and spice · #14 12-09-2003, 02:25 AM

As for programs like this existing, I don't know what people are talking about -- they definitely do. I'm not sure how many offer it, but I know my freshman year school, the University of Minnesota, offered an exchange program with a lot of other American schools -- including one in Hawaii, which sounded pretty good after your first Minnesota winter.

And when it comes to having lots of schools on your record, as people have said, it can either help you or hurt you. If the schools you have are great, or give you more experience or a more diverse background, why would they care? Transferring credits CAN be a pain, but it really depends -- when I transferred after my freshman year, all but 3 of my 45 credits transferred with me.

aurora_borealis · #15 12-09-2003, 02:37 AM

It is called the National Student Exchange. You will take classes that your home university AGREES to accept and you work out with your advisor what to take and how it will count. We had A LOT of students come to school in Alaska. Most of them wanted to stay and over half did. I believe a notation is made on the transcript about the exchange, and you can always explain the NSE experience for potential jobs and graduate schools.

http://www.nse.org/