<p>I was wondering if anyone that is in a sorority could give me an idea of the time commitment that comes with a sorority. The greek pamphlet I got in the mail said you should expect to devote 5 hours a week to your chapter. Is this accurate? Also, would your sorority expect you to attend EVERY event? and is there a difference in time commitment between a panhellenic vs. an asian sorority?
The reason I’m asking is because I’ve been debating whether I should pay the panhellenic registration fee. I want to want to try to see if greek life is for me, but at the same time I don’t want to end up dropping out of rushing and waste money on the fee. I’m a sophomore transfer so at this point I’m unsure how I will manage school, classes, clubs and possibly a sorority. Of course my grades are first and I (and my parents) don’t want my grades to drop in expense of having too much on my hands.
If I decide to assimilate to USC sophomore year and rush junior year, will this affect my chances of getting a bid?
Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>it depends on the house, I think. Some houses have more time commitments than others. I had friends pledging who had to be at their house pretty often for social functions, new member education, and so forth, and friends who didn’t have to be at their house too often, but went anyways because they enjoyed being there. Also, with pledge classes of something like 70, I don’t think they expect you to attend every single event (though you’re obviously encouraged to go to as many as you can), but ones like initiation and the new member retreat are obviously very important.</p>
<p>For a Panhellenic sorority, at a minimum, I’d say expect to budget an hour on Mondays from 5-6 for Monday Night Dinner and probably around an hour (maybe more, maybe less, depends on the house) a week for new member education. Then there are also other things, like social functions, the new member retreats (this year there will be a Panhellenic-wide one and each house will have one as well I believe), presents (over Parents Weekend), and the week leading up to initiation.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about the Asian sororities, but I have the impression that they’re more of a time commitment?</p>
<p>I’m personally super happy I joined a house, but I do realize that it’s not for everyone. I took it pretty easy extra-curriculars-wise my freshman year, and I plan on stepping it up this year.</p>
<p>There are always a few juniors who get bids through formal recruitment, but your chances as a sophomore are probably better than they’ll be as a junior. However, it is entirely your decision, and I wish you the best in making it!</p>
<p>^ I don’t think the Asian sororities are any more of a commitment than Panhellenic. If anything, they’re probably the same.</p>
<p>My roommate spent a good deal of time (especially in her first year) doing things for her house. There are the Monday night dinners/meetings – but the previous poster didn’t mention things like mandatory homework/study hours, which I remember taking up a lot of my roommate’s time. I do remember her going on one or two weekend-long retreats in that first fall semester as well.</p>
<p>Rush will take up a lot of your time, as will initiation week. I think you end up being at the house nearly every night until pretty late in the evening. (Again, this is what I remember.)</p>
<p>What the previous poster also didn’t mention (because I think she’s a little biased towards promoting Greek life, I’m just playing devil’s advocate here) is all the ancillary Greek-related activities that will also eat into your days – getting ready for parties, needing to go shopping for dresses or particular outfits for an exchange, nail/hair appointments, etc. </p>
<p>Not to mention all the other things like: preparing for events such as Songfest; planning/organizing/participating in the house’s charity fundraiser/activities; going to socialize with fraternity members at informal/formal exchanges; finding dates for and attending invites (will definitely eat up your whole day/night and the next day after too as I remember form attending my boyfriend’s invites), etc etc etc.</p>
<p>You should also consider the amount of money that is required to “keep up” with sorority life. I think the one negative point many of my friends in houses had was that they were constantly required to go out and buy new clothes for events, spend money on makeup and cosmetic appointments for formal events and to buy new sweatshirts/other themed items for sister gifts, etc. I know not everyone can afford to do that, so it’s important to know you might need to spend some money outside of the general house fees.</p>
<p>I’m not trying to dissuade you, but do know that being in a sorority is a huge time commitment. If you’re in a particularly demanding major or EC activity (band, athletics), it might be tough to balance Greek life and school life. You just have to evaluate what you want out of being in a sorority and if the time put in will be worth it to you personally in the long run. </p>
<p>If you’re good about balancing a filled schedule and finding time for HW, you might do well and probably should consider rushing. If you think it might be a problem, then you need to think about your future goals and what you want to get out of college. If your goal is to go to med school, it might be hard to be in demanding science classes trying to get straight As while doing sorority stuff – but that’s just my impression.</p>
<p>the reason I didn’t mention some of those things is because I didn’t have to do them in my house. 
The way it worked for us is we had new member education after chapter (which we couldn’t attend until after initiation), which follows Monday Night Dinner. So we had study hour during chapter, but that was only because chapter was happening and we all had to stick around for new member education. However, depending on the pledge class, that’s not always how we do it. And I did mention social functions a few times. I figured prep time for said functions was implicit but I guess not. So to be clear, there is a time commitment to prepare for social functions, though I’m guessing she figured that out for herself. </p>
<p>Also, I don’t think I spent much more money as a part of the sorority than I would have had I not joined a house–I managed to make outfits I already owned work, or I went to the Goodwill at the end of the Row for cheap costume pieces if need be. </p>
<p>I think most, if not all houses have at least one woman in band/athletics/a super demanding major (like a BFA, which has a huge time commitment). If the individual is willing to make it work, she can.</p>
<p>Yes, I am pro-Greek. I never thought I’d join a sorority, but I’m so glad I did. At the same time, I recognize that it’s not the right choice for everyone.</p>
<p>Rush week is a huge time commitment, though. But now that they’ve split convo days up over three days, that should make it easier on the PNMs.</p>
<p>Also, I managed to get a 3.85 the semester I pledged, and the two grades that weren’t As had nothing to with being in a sorority–I would have received the same grades not as a part of a house. Granted, my major is pretty easy, but if you know how to manage your time, I don’t think being in a sorority will interfere with anyone’s academics too much. You just have to know as an individual when to buckle down and do your work, regardless of whether or not you’re in a house.</p>
<p>Like I said, the time commitment varies from house to house. I’d recommend asking actives during recruitment if you’re genuinely interested in joining a house.</p>
<p>@wisdomsomehow what’s your major?
Thank you both for all of the helpful information! It sounds like a lot of work but at the same time I am very driven and know I will work hard. I contemplate both advantages and disadvantages with my parents and try to figure out what I want to do before move in day!</p>
<p>trojanlove,</p>
<pre><code> Do have a frank discussion with your parents about the financial obligations involved with Greek life.
In a recent thread I posted the majors of the Panhellenic officers. It is on the Panhellenic site. These women are in a chapter and hold positions in Panhellenic. The sorority GPA average is above the all women’s average. For the fall 2010 semester one chapter of over 150 women had a 3.5 GPA. The site lists the various chapters and their grade averages.
</code></pre>
<p>Oh, no offense wisdom! I was just offering the other side. I couldn’t have done a sorority because I was pretty bad at balancing my schoolwork with the other activities I was already involved in.</p>
<p>To be perfectly honest, the guys have it a lot easier. Frat time commitment is so less intensive, it’s almost not fair! From what I remember, boyfriend had Monday dinners/meeting and then setting up for the registered parties once a semester. They had invites too, but guys take 10 minutes to get ready! Haha…</p>
<p>I’m a BA Theatre, which isn’t tough academically. Creatively, it’s more so, but academically, at least from the school background from which I come, the papers and so on have been a walk in the park so far.</p>