How do sororities look at commuter students?

Hello,

I commute to my school. It's only 15 minutes away from my condo (I live by myself), 20 when traffic is bad. I have always wanted to rush and I am signed up for it. I transferred in the fall, but due to the credits I was taking I couldn't rush informal in the Fall. I was wondering how sororities look at that, even though I'd be at whatever house in a heart beat?

[AXID2006]

We had about 3 or 4 commuters in our sorority. We don't look down upon it at all! Some of the most amazing sisters were commuters, no one should hold that against you. At my school we had to move into the house (and who wouldnt?) but the commuters didn't have to since they already didn't live on campus!

hope that helps alittle, PM if you have other questions =]

Alright thanks for your help My rush starts next week, I've been looking forward to it for a while

[DrPhil]

That depends on the campus and whether the sororities' events are geared toward a majority that lives on campus. (The formal component of recruitment aside) this can shape how they interact with the prospectives, how well everyone knows each other, and how readily available people are expected to be. This can matter on some campuses and with some GLO chapters.

(I assume you attend a residential campus and not a commuter campus. If you attended a commuter campus you probably wouldn't think to ask this question because living off campus and driving 15-20 minutes to campus would be what a lot of students do.)

Yes it is a residential campus.

[ADPiTigergurl]

I would say its a big deal at all, I went through recruitment last fall and I'd say roughlya third of my sisters (PC and sisters) commuted. The only difference that i really noticed is on bid day the sisters decorated our room door in the dorms, where as the new girls that didnt live on campus didn't get decorations with the exception of a few that lived like next door to a sis or something like that.

[KSUViolet06]

I went to a school where students were mostly commuter. So this sort of situation didn't matter much.

In terms of being at a more residential school, I think it CAN work as long as you are aware of your expectations in terms of being available and being on-campus (and know that you will be held to the same participation standards as those girls who reside on-campus). So, for example, missing meeting because "I didn't want to waste gas" or something like that, isn't going to cut it.

Also, it's important to note that even when there is NOT a required event, sisters will likely hang out together on-campus and such. I've seen it happen where members say "I feel left out because I commute" when they really only come to campus for required things like meetings. Not saying that members who commute need to be on campus every minute of the day, but make it a point to hang out on campus with girls, eat meals at the house (if the chapter is housed), etc.

[agzg]

At my school, I have known commuters to have a successful rush, however, many of them move on campus after joining (or "off-campus" but w/in walking distance) because they don't want to miss anything.

Thanks so much

[ZetaGirl22]

I know you're probably in the swing of recruitment now but I just wanted to let you know that I was a commuter during my new member period, and yes, it can be done, and yes, I feel I got just as good of a new member experience as anyone else. The chapters on our campus were housed, so it the house also gave me somewhere to hang out between classes. Keep in mind though, that if your chapters are housed, I guarantee you there will be some sort of live-in requirement. For us it was one year, and I ended up living in for three. Just something to keep in mind if your plans include keeping your off campus place. I will say though that the room and board in the chapter house will probably be SIGNIFICANTLY less than your monthly rent/grocery bill where you are living now.

[honeychile]

I was a commuter when I pledged (I was also 16!). The campus itself was very commuter-friendly, and my sorority even had a commuter hallway with sleeping bags and basically a dressing room.