GreekChat.com Forums  

Go Back   GreekChat.com Forums > Greek Life

Greek Life This forum is for various discussion topics regarding greek life. If you are posting a non-greek related message, please do so in one of the General Chat Topic forums.


Register Now for FREE!
Join GreekChat.com, The Fraternity & Sorority Greek Chat Network. To sign up for your FREE account INSTANTLY fill out the form below!

Username: Password: Confirm Password: E-Mail: Confirm E-Mail:
 
Image Verification
Please enter the six letters or digits that appear in the image opposite.

  I agree to forum rules 

» GC Stats
Members: 325,124
Threads: 115,503
Posts: 2,196,044
Welcome to our newest member, znathanhulzeo24
» Online Users: 1,307
2 members and 1,305 guests
Cookiez17
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 06-10-2011, 11:13 PM
san10 san10 is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 1
Transferring Sororities

I know this is a little early, or a lot, but I was wondering the rules about transferring schools and staying in the same sorority.

I'm going to be a sophomore at my current college and I'm pledging in the Fall. I really want to transfer colleges but I'm stuck in a lease which requires me to stay at that school till summer 2012. So my junior year 2012-2013, I was hoping to be at a different college.

How does transferring sororities work? Like if I was to pledge and get a bid and join XYZ sorority, how would I go about joining XYZ at my next college?


:/ please help!

(there's also the good chance I could love my sorority and have it affect my decision to stay at my current college!)

ALSO! any ideas on how hard it is to get a bid as a sophomore? I don't want to psych myself up, if I don't have a good chance because of my grade level :/
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 06-10-2011, 11:24 PM
thetaj thetaj is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Florida
Posts: 884
I would worry about all of this later, seeing as how uncertain everything is right now. You don't know that you will receive a bid in the fall, you don't know if you will be transferring, you don't know if there will be a chapter at your new school. Cross these bridges as you come to them.

Good luck in the fall. There is no way of telling what your chances are as a sophomore without knowing anything about your school (region, conference, etc). Your class standing could definitely affect you at larger, more competitive institutions, or it may not be much of a factor at all, at a smaller, less competitive school.
__________________
WWBLHD?
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 06-10-2011, 11:49 PM
violetpretty violetpretty is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: A state with a North-South identity crisis
Posts: 3,199
If you join a chapter and initiate at school #1, you will become an alumna when you leave. Upon arrival at school #2, if they have a chapter of your sorority, you are eligible to affiliate. By eligible, I mean it is possible, not an absolute instant guarantee.

Assuming you're a member in good standing, you'll notify the new chapter and they'll let you know where to go from there. Policies vary by sorority and by chapter, but generally, you'll hang out with your sisters a bit. You'll get to know them, they'll get to know you, you'll decide if you want to affiliate, and the chapter will vote on you.

Some chapters do not accept transfers at all. These are in the minority, and are generally "top tier" chapters at schools where Greek Life is a big deal.

Some chapters have a lengthy and formal process akin to a second recruitment, where they have a lot of prospective transfers. LoveinZTA told her story about transferring from Baylor to Texas. Also in the minority, also common at competitive chapters at big Greek schools, especially flagship state Universities.

Make sure you want to affiliate with your new chapter. They might be completely different than your chapter of initiation and unlike what you are looking for in a sorority. If you affiliate, you don't get a chance to change your mind and go early alum before graduating if you decide you don't like them. You'll be financially bound the rest of college.

Some questions/things to think about:

Why are you planning to transfer if you know you might end up staying?

As to how hard it is to get a bid as a sophomore, your chances don't get better the longer you wait (unless there were drastic changes). I don't know anything about your current school, so I can't comment on that.

If you do transfer, you might not fit with the chapter at your new school (whether that is your perception, theirs, or mutual). Would you be ok with having one year of collegiate activity and then alumnae status?

If you wait until you are a junior and go through recruitment at your new school, you are more likely to find a good fit---if chapters at your new school are friendly to junior PNMs. In this scenario, you have more of a risk of not being Greek at all. Would you be ok with that?

If you get a bid at school #1 and don't initiate, you are a "free agent" at your new school. You are not bound to the sorority you pledged, and they are not obligated to take you.

Also, it's probably too late now, but if your housing spot could be filled, is there a way you could have gotten out of it? I.e. if you found someone personally to fill it.
__________________
Sigma Kappa
~*~ Beta Zeta ~*~
MARYLAND

Last edited by violetpretty; 06-10-2011 at 11:58 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 06-11-2011, 02:23 AM
33girl 33girl is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Hotel Oceanview
Posts: 34,489
You're staying at a college because you're stuck in a LEASE?? I have never heard of such a thing. If this isn't a school you want to be at, you're pretty much wasting your money. Especially if the second school has already accepted you.

I would consult a lawyer about breaking the lease ASAP.
__________________
It is all 33girl's fault. ~DrPhil
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 06-11-2011, 08:42 AM
FSUZeta FSUZeta is offline
Super Moderator
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: naples, florida
Posts: 18,410
or try to get someone to sublease.
__________________
I live in Fantasyland and I have waterfront property.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 06-11-2011, 09:03 AM
AZTheta AZTheta is offline
GreekChat Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: N 37.811092 W -107.664643
Posts: 5,295
Caution: every NPC member organization has its own individual constitution and bylaws, and those will govern/address affiliation. Can't make any generalizations whatsoever about the process. You need to ask the sorority(ies) specifically: what is your affiliation policy?

What violetpretty wrote about considering affiliation carefully is great advice. I've seen some heartbreaking affiliation scenarios play out. For example, a member transfers from one region of the country to another and affiliates with the new chapter; subsequently discovers that she is NOT a good match or fit for that particular chapter's culture or the Greek culture at the school and is miserable. Hard choice: stick it out (including paying $ for the remainder of her college attendance), or resign membership entirely. No middle ground. Moral: Take Your Time and Be Absolutely Certain you want to affiliate at the new chapter.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 06-12-2011, 12:54 AM
aephi alum aephi alum is offline
Moderator
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Crescent City
Posts: 10,014
Quote:
Originally Posted by san10 View Post
I'm going to be a sophomore at my current college and I'm pledging in the Fall. I really want to transfer colleges but I'm stuck in a lease which requires me to stay at that school till summer 2012. So my junior year 2012-2013, I was hoping to be at a different college.
How do you "know" you will be pledging a sorority this fall? It's June.

What violetpretty said. If you pledge, initiate, and transfer to a college with a chapter of your sorority, you could become a member of that chapter, if you like them and they like you, or you could choose to become an alumna. If you pledge, initiate, and transfer to a college WITHOUT a chapter of your sorority, you immediately become an alumna of your sorority and you are ineligible to join any other NPC sorority. If you DO NOT initiate, you can rush at your new school as (as violetpretty put it) a free agent.

All of this is assuming that the sororities in question are NPC sororities.
__________________
AEΦ ... Multa Corda, Una Causa ... Celebrating Over 100 Years of Sisterhood
Have no place I can be since I found Serenity, but you can't take the sky from me...
Only those who risk going too far, find out how far they can go.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Transferring... AlphaRose Alpha Omicron Pi 4 01-05-2009 08:33 AM
transferring? nicolee103 Kappa Delta 2 10-17-2008 11:50 AM
transferring blondelicious13 Sorority Recruitment 2 03-26-2007 02:22 AM
Transferring trideltadarling Delta Delta Delta 2 06-29-2006 10:03 AM



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:41 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.