We have all seen the tables, the flyers, the group of greeks during our college visits. You've seen all the upperclassmen sitting at tables wearing their greek letters on their sweat shirts, T-shirts or hoodies, handing out information at freshman orientation, wanting you to sign up. I passed by all of them thinking to myself,” joining a sorority probably isn't for me” I was thinking sororities and fraternities are cliques, something you only saw in high school.
The fees would be too expensive, I wouldn't have the time to be involved, and I would have nothing in common with the other members. The most I knew about Greek life was what was portrayed on the “Lifetime” channel. You know -- sorority cheerleader writes a hate book of secrets about all the other girls in the school; or a sorority girl wants to get revenge on a girl and convinces everyone to laugh and make fun of her so she prints out that embarrassing picture that was taken of her with the boy she always liked, but never liked her back. Or the most famous movie depicting Greek life, “Animal House”: Drunk rich kids living in a frat house, avoiding college graduation and bucking the system, all while driving the sorority girls to a cliff to make out in their cars, or climbing ladders to peak into sorority houses. In reality this is far from my experience.
You may want to join a sorority or fraternity because of the social networking, parties and/or housing opportunities. Most Greek organizations also contribute to college life in other ways. They host academic speakers, hold family days and events with parents, engage in an enormous amount of community service, raise money for local and national philanthropies and have many campus leaders and student athletes.
You should know the reputation of your sorority or fraternity you are wanting to pledge with prior to going through rush or recruitment.
Do your homework, talk to other students, see what they have to say. Do they have a good, long-standing relationship with the school? Are they on probation? If so, what were the charges? You want to know all the dirty laundry before pledging because you want to make sure it's something you can stay loyal to.The bonds you form when you are a part of a sorority or fraternity can last the rest of your life. You don’t want to go through the rush process with people you don’t like to be around, so don’t try to impress the “cool” crowd if you don’t think they’re cool.
I had just started my Freshman year, and within a short time I started getting invited to rush different sororities. I started with two different Sororities in mind. I went to the events and met all of the actives. This was a critical time because this is where I found my future family. Most students join a sorority or fraternity their freshman year, but some people may wait until after. If you did rush as a freshman and didn't get a bid or invited to pledge your favorite organization, that's okay, because that obviously wasn't your mutual fit or bond. Other organizations will pledge you and will make you a priority.
Get as much sleep as you can during rush week.
Find the time to sleep and make it a priority. Do this in between studying and extracurricular activities. Make sure to keep up with your studies and classes. Rush week is just a small portion of the sorority or fraternity life. You will be extra busy after you join so you must learn how to manage now. I remember when I was rushing and pledging; I was tired and exhausted all the time.
Eat.
You will be so busy you will not have enough time to even think about eating. Try and make these basic needs a priority this week! No one wants a hungry, grumpy Greek member!
Make a good first impression.
Remember you can not take that back. Be yourself. You do not want to go into Greek life not being yourself. If you truly want to be in a particular sorority or fraternity you need to find out what the other members are like. What are their likes or interest? You wouldn't want to join a fraternity that enjoys playing video games if that is something you're not passionate about as well. If you are a cheerleader join a sorority that has members of your squad. Join a choir sorority or fraternity if you love to sing. There is a Greek club out there for almost everyone.
Hang in there, you will make it.
They want you as much as you want to be one of them. These will be the people you can rely on and lean on to make it through the toughest four years of your life.
You are a Greek now. You're a full member of the sorority or fraternity of your wanting. You have a Big, a frat uncle, frat brother and so many new sisters. Your friend base has just increased by many.
