How does expansion work?

[mellymoo]

I am curious on how an expansion works. Two of the schools I am considering will be getting new sororities. That made me wonder how it works. Does that mean it will be mostly freshman the first year, freshmen and sophomores the second year, etc.? If so, how do these girls learn traditions and rituals without upperclassmen?

[Always AlphaGam]

Originally Posted by mellymoo

I am curious on how an expansion works. Two of the schools I am considering will be getting new sororities. That made me wonder how it works. Does that mean it will be mostly freshman the first year, freshmen and sophomores the second year, etc.? If so, how do these girls learn traditions and rituals without upperclassmen?

Colonies typically include members of all class standings.

What usually happens is the Expansion team will come on campus to do their own special recruitment. The team can include women from HQ, volunteer officers, or nearby alumnae. Still, colony recruitment can vary between the different sororities.

They'll go through a new member education led by someone from the organization -- a Leadership Consultant, someone from HQ -- again, this varies by sorority. Nearby collegians and alumnae often attend during ritual ceremonies.

AGD has Pearl Sisters, a program that pairs an alumna member to a colony member. I became a Pearl Sister for the first time with our most recent colonization at Austin Peay. Even though we're thousands of miles apart, we got to know each other very well and I offered my help if she ever had questions about AGD and sent her a small gift right around Initiation time. Since they don't get the traditional big/little sis experience, it's a nice way to help make our colony members feel extra special.

[DubaiSis]

Do a lot of reading here about colonies and expansions. There are a LOT of threads. It's the one place where a colony at Alabama and one at teensy weensy college will work almost exactly the same, except for variations in scale of course.

As you consider the colony, you need to think about your leadership potential and capability. Being a colony member comes with its own rewards, but I think they have to work quite a bit harder for those extra personal rewards. If you consider yourself a true follower, then you probably are not a good candidate for a colony. If you don't KNOW if you are a leader or a follower, you should be finding that out now.

There are a lot of colonies scheduled for next year, so I don't know if yours has been discussed at length here, but I'd look because you might get some great information without having to share too much of your story. Also, the colonies typically have a facebook page. I'd find it and Like them. That doesn't commit you to anything, but it does put you on their radar. DON'T overshare on that page, and from the moment you Like them, make sure your Facebook page is sorority rush-ready. You don't have to be committed to that school already to Like them. I have Liked every colony facebook page my sorority has posted and needless to say, I'm not rushing!

[AOII Angel]

Colonies generally take a normal chapter sized number of women divided with women represented by all classes so that you get a regular mix of women. The last thing they want to do is have the majority of a chapter graduate four years after installation by pledging only freshman.

This, however, does not teach the freshman ritual and traditions. The older women won't know any more about the sorority's rituals and traditions than their younger sisters. The older sisters just may be more mature and ready for bigger leadership positions in the chapter. Each sorority has a colonization plan to help the new chapter develop it's character, traditions and programs. This may include an on site consultant, alumnae advisors, headquarters staff, etc.