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  #1  
Old 04-28-2006, 08:44 AM
Scandia Scandia is offline
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Alumna Initiation Sorority Search

Hi everyone!

I am interested in being initiated as an alumna into a social sorority of the Panhellenic Council.

I graduated college several years ago and obtained an advanced degree last year. I was in a service fraternity during my college years and enjoyed it very much.

I did try sorority rush, but it did not work out. The timing just was not right on my end. I did not know what I wanted to major in or do as a career back then. But now I am very successful in a career I enjoy very much. So I would like to give Greek life another chance.

How did you find the right sorority for you?

Should I pick one that was present in my undergraduate institution (which is 2 hours away from where I live now)? How about one present in either my graduate university (close to my apartment) or the university across my job (which I have never attended)? Would you recommend a sorority with a chapter within driving distance? One that was present at any of the institutions that you have attended? I did take some courses at a third university in my state, but not for a degree- just professional enrichment.

Should I pick one that invited me back during rush back then? One is still present in my undergrad school but does not have a closer chapter. Another one is not at that school anymore, nor where I got my Masters.

I have gone to the homepages of all the sororities that were in my undergrad school back then, as well as read the information about them in Greek Chat and other websites. One of them that appealed to me back then still appeals to me due to its focus being very similar to my personality. How much would you count this? How much did you count the philantropies? The intellectual backgrounds, and interests of the founders?

Any other factors I should consider? Any major restrictions that you know about? Anything that has changed since I was an undergraduate student?

Finally, what are the involvement opportunities for someone in my situation?

Thank you so much for all your help.
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  #2  
Old 04-28-2006, 10:51 AM
SmartBlondeGPhB SmartBlondeGPhB is offline
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Make your choice based on the ALUMNAE Chapter, not the collegiate chapter. The alumnae chapter is who you will have the most contact with and they are the ones who will decide whether or not to extend an invitation to you. If volunteering with the collegians is something you would like to do then yes you'll want a chapter close to you but that shouldn't be your first priority.

Once you are invited to join, there will be many opportunities available to you. Helping the alumnae chapter, advising collegians, helping on an international level almost anything you want to do.

If one of them appeals to you then I would start with that one. Just be warned, it might be one that doesn't do Alumna Initiation (or rarely does) so it might be harder to get a foot in. Not all of the groups do AI and those that do vary in their processes.
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  #3  
Old 04-28-2006, 11:11 AM
LouisaMay LouisaMay is offline
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Although I cannot say that I've actually taken my own advice , I strongly advise that you set aside your past rush experience when making your decision about which sororities to approach. For one thing, you do not know why you were not invited back to a particular sorority. The factors that excluded you before might not be factors any longer (ex: climate of Greek Life on your campus). Also, by only looking at the sororities that were on your campus, you are seriously limiting your search. Again, I'm not following this advice because I began the AI process with the precise goal of joining an individual organization for very personal reasons. Although I've learned enough to know that there are many wonderful NPC orgs, I have chosen to follow through with my original search until I am sure that the door is closed. If you don't have a connection to a particular group, then I suggest that you research all of the organizations before choosing one to approach.

Best wishes for a successful journey.

LM
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Old 04-28-2006, 11:29 AM
Scandia Scandia is offline
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Wow, you people are very insightful. I am so glad I posted.

SmartBlonde- I would have never thought of that. Volunteering with collegians is not a top priority for me. Networking with alumnae is more of my focus now (I'm in my late 20s). I can give advice and participate in some college programs, but that is not an absolute necessity for me. I have wanted to belong to a sorority due to the ideals and the friendship. Some of the sororities that have chapters in all the schools I have been to do not seem to do AI according to the Greek Info Pages. Most of those don't seem to call my name as loud as some of the ones that do.

LouisaMay- I hope they are not factors anymore. Would rules change a lot? Would things that happened 10 years ago count? Would you strongly recommend one that was not in my campus and thus I would have a completely clean slate with? Also, if I tried informally with one specific house but due to X or Y reason (NPC/National/School's Panhellenic/House) they could not accept me- would it be a bad idea to try again?

I have been doing a lot of research. I don't remember most of Rush to be honest- hey, it was 10 years ago. I have matured a lot since back then. I had friends/female frat brothers in more than one sorority, but the one that called my name the loudest I only had acquaintances in. A friend recommended me one that was not in my campus, but that highly welcomes AIs.

Thanks again. Let me know everything that I need to know about this.
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  #5  
Old 04-28-2006, 01:23 PM
SmartBlondeGPhB SmartBlondeGPhB is offline
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What do you mean by Greek Info pages? Are those the pages for the collegiate chapters (i.e. on the University website)? The collegiate chapters are most likely not going to have any mention of the process.

And if you know people in the group you want to go with, make use of that person/people. The process may go easier.

Some groups require the person coming in to be recommended/sponsored by someone in the group already just to get started.
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  #6  
Old 04-28-2006, 01:48 PM
33girl 33girl is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by SmartBlondeGPhB
What do you mean by Greek Info pages? Are those the pages for the collegiate chapters (i.e. on the University website)? The collegiate chapters are most likely not going to have any mention of the process.
I think she means the Greek info pages that one of the posters here (is it ariesrising?) put together.
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  #7  
Old 04-28-2006, 04:38 PM
Tom Earp Tom Earp is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by 33girl
I think she means the Greek info pages that one of the posters here (is it ariesrising?) put together.

Good Point and have not seen ariesrising on much.

She has done a tremendous amount of research, not sure what if anything She touched on this point.

I lost Her Link when I updated ( ) and need to go back and find it to Keep!

Thanks 33girl for the thought!
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  #8  
Old 04-28-2006, 04:54 PM
LouisaMay LouisaMay is offline
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Well, I'm certainly not an expert, but if a friend made a suggestion then you might as well start there.

Ten years is a fairly long time. It's not like the National organization has a sign up with your picture on it saying DON'T INVITE THIS WOMAN!!! You don't have to rule out an organization just because you weren't invited during informal recruitment. I, personally, would feel a little uncomfortable, but that's just me. I tend to be shy.

I think it is a good idea to look beyond your campus. Unless you went to Penn State or another school with a huge Greek system, you only saw a small proportion of the NPCs. That being said, you need to find a sincere connection with an organization, a connection on which you can build a love for the group. For example, my first big connection was with the philanthropy.

Again, I strongly encourage you to follow your friend's lead. At least initially.

LM
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  #9  
Old 04-28-2006, 11:42 PM
Scandia Scandia is offline
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LouisaMay- I did go to a university with a large Greek system. Let's say I would run out of fingers and would have less than one foot worth of toes if I were to count them on my digits.

I am not shy. I am a pretty gutsy person. But I do fear rejection just like every other human being in this planet. I have no idea what nationals keep in their records- but I never got any bids or pledged.

And at first the philanthropy did not seem to stand out as much as a couple others which have more direct relevance to my life. However, now that I think about it, this philanthropy is very unique and does involve the main focus of this sorority (not in an obvious way, but it sure is intuitive). And this focus- which also showed in the kind of girls it got back in my undergrad campus- is what is attracting me to it the most.

SmartBlonde- Yup, that website is called Greek Info Pages. And I have gone to the official sites of these sororities.

I did investigate the website of the local chapter of the one I am interested in the most. The local chapter not only had a lot of activities, but the people in it seem very down to earth and friendly. They do have involvement with my undergrad school, but also many local activities.

Everyone- I plan on contacting the organization (nationals? local chapter?) after I return from vacation in late May. That way I can have some contact with them before fall rush starts- don't know how relevant that is. The new member program of the sorority I am interested in is rather lengthy- again, I do not know if it takes the same length for alumnae initiates. But I can handle it.
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  #10  
Old 04-29-2006, 12:03 AM
ms_gwyn ms_gwyn is offline
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it seems like you have found the organization that you would like to pursue....

Your next step is to contact I/NHQ (Inter/National) Headquater for that particular group. Explain your siuation and that you are interested in possible AI, from there they should tell you how to proceed.
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  #11  
Old 04-29-2006, 07:34 AM
Scandia Scandia is offline
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I will contact the National organization.

I am seeing conflicting information about this particular sorority's AI. A previous post (3 years old) here in Greek Chat says that you need sponsoring by alumnae in good standing. However, Greek Info Pages says nothing of the sort- and mentions it of several other sororities. The official website does not mention alumnae initiation explicitly.

Does that mean you simply need to get in contact with the Alumnae Chapter after you contact Nationals and they can vote on you? Or that someone from that chapter has to nominate you to Nationals and you cannot even contact them?

Why I usually am not a shy person, if there is anything that I am shy about, it would be approaching people to get recommendation letters or similar favors of the sort. And I honestly do not know anyone in the local alumnae chapter. Nor do I really remember any of the people who were in that sorority 10 years ago.

As you can see, I have a lot of questions. I don't want to jeopardize my chances of achieving this goal. It does not have to be in this specific sorority- but this one has always appealed to me.
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  #12  
Old 04-29-2006, 09:16 AM
LPIDelta LPIDelta is offline
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Scandia--What you may want to do is private message ONE of the organization's alumna initiates on this board to ask your questions. The listing at the top of the forum called AI roll call might give you a place to start (I would link to it but I am defective at that sort of thing).

We also used to have a list somewhere of people who were willing to be contacted about AI for their org--I think its in the AI roll call as well.

In this public forum, we can really only answer generally. In a PM, they can be more specific about the process for their organization.

Good luck!
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  #13  
Old 04-29-2006, 06:04 PM
Scandia Scandia is offline
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Heather17- Thank you. I will look in it. The thread was not in AI Roll Call, but in that sorority's specific forum.

And I just found a thread explaining how friendly and welcoming the sorority I am interested in was to an AI of that particular one. It has curbed a lot of my fears. They seemed very proactive in it.

I will PM that person later today. She seems very friendly and knowledgeable.

Last edited by Scandia; 04-29-2006 at 06:13 PM.
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  #14  
Old 05-01-2006, 10:44 AM
LouisaMay LouisaMay is offline
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Scandia,
I understand your concerns. Shy or not, it is awkward to approach people in a way that is going to seem "out of the blue" no matter what you do. So, I definitely here you on that!

You seem to already have a clear idea of the organization that you hope to join. I think that is great! To me, it is even better that hunting through lots of orgs because you are truly invested in a single group. I felt the same way.

Just try and see what happens.

LM
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  #15  
Old 05-01-2006, 11:35 AM
Scandia Scandia is offline
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I have narrowed my search down to five organizations. I can see myself in them. All seem to do AI. All have chapters in my state. All but one had chapters at my undergraduate school- and 3 of those still do.

I have decided to call them by names of stars. Here they are, in alphabetical order:

Aldebaran
Betelgeuse
Mintaka
Rigel
Vega

I have been visiting the websites of collegiate and alumnae chapters, as well as reading the posts in the GC and Livejournal communities for them. I have PMed people from two different organizations, but have not made public posts in their specific forums.

And I have a high fever involving joint pain today, so you bet I will be doing a lot more of that during the day. However, I do have a busy and odd week at work this week, and next Wednesday I head out for my brother's vet school vacation. But when I come back the other Monday, I will be contacting the organizations. I do not know if to contact all 5 of them simultaneously, or do so in order of those which appeal to me the most.
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