What’s a sorority?
Posted by ApprehensiveHall9849@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 51 comments
Sororities - what exactly are they? What’s the point of a sorority, and what do members do? What are the different sororities you can get into, and are they ranked? What determines which sorority someone gets into? Is there a specific process for joining?
I’m from Australia, and we don’t have sororities here, so I’ve always been curious
OldBat001@reddit
I was briefly in a sorority, but couldn't take the mean girls vibe after the first bid meeting where they get together to decide who to invite to join.
All I got out of it was memorizing the Greek alphabet.
Alphabetagammadeltaepsilonzetaetathetaiotakappalambdamunuxiomicronpirhosigmatauupsilonphichipsiomega
All together now!
oligarchyreps@reddit
it’s a group that some women join in college and then they talk about it the rest of their life like it means something.
Hayes-Windu@reddit
To add-on to everybody's answers here, it is as close you can get to being in a cult within an education institution.
MomRaccoon@reddit
I went back for my masters in my 30s and the major thing I know about sororities is the pledge week nonsense. I don't recall noticing it during my undergrad years, but I would see these young women practically in tears and looking anxious and asked what was going on. They would get morning emails telling them what they had to wear that day (ex: plaid skirt) and if they didn't have one they had to find one to borrow. And they couldn't walk anywhere without another pledge with them. So they might have to wait for someone to come from a far away building who was going to the same class they were. I realize that it's just a week but it sounded like boot camp as far as the stress level. I know there are benefits but at what cost?
cherrycuishle@reddit
Yeah, idk, I pledged a sorority and I also did boot camp, both were about 8 weeks. Boot camp was far worse.
MomRaccoon@reddit
I expect so 😂
CaddyDaddy12@reddit
Fraternaties and Sororities are miserable organizations that suck a ton of money from families just so their daughters and sons can sleep around, get irresponsibly drunk, and party more than educate themselves, all in the guise that they are "networking".
Yeah come at me yall. Idrc, this perspective is nothing but 100% true and even those in these organizations know its true if they actually are honest with themselves. I'm not necessarily even hating, im just saying what it is rather than submitting to the coverup that is constantly pushed haha.
PrimaryAny6314@reddit
It's usually like a fraternity but for women. My college was in a state with antiquated laws about multiple women living together in the same house ("brothel") so sorority life wasn't as popular as fraternity life. Mind you this was 40yrs ago
Few-Might2630@reddit
Cult 101 teaches you to be cunty forever
OldCompany50@reddit
Girl club and most not invited
Patient_Number_4922@reddit
Except the better sororities on a campus are the bigger ones. A small sorority is a sign of a weak house.
cherrycuishle@reddit
Just depends on the size of the school. I went to a big university, most sororities had about 300 members, regardless of “rank”.
Patient_Number_4922@reddit
Yes, and the ones that couldn’t bring in a pledge class and maintain roughly that size ultimately fell.
“We only pledged 10 girls” means weakness, not exclusivity.
cherrycuishle@reddit
What?
I’m saying every sorority on our campus was large, the “best” and the “worst” sororities had similar numbers. There are more girls interested than there are spots, so every sorority is essentially “full” and size does not reflect “weakness”. Every sorority could maintain a large pledge class. However from the standpoint of a sister, a large sorority does not necessarily mean a better experience.
Also that’s not what the original commenter was trying to say. He’s saying that all sororities in general are exclusive compared to no sororities. While “most not invited” means nothing and is not how recruitment works, he’s not talking about individual ones, he’s talking about the concept all together.
Wii_wii_baget@reddit
Part of the word for sorority means sister in Latin it’s basically a group of people that you join and have this family dynamic with it’s hard to explain without being in one or never having it properly explained myself but that’s what they want to to seem like however it’s girls you hang out with and party with.
Frito_Goodgulf@reddit
Fraternities (for men) and sororities (for women) are ‘Greek letter organisations’ on (mostly) American and Canadian university campuses. “Greek letter” because they use the Greek alphabet for names (e.g., Gamma Phi Beta).
As the other comment states, ‘social club’ isn’t inaccurate, but it’s incomplete. This Wikipedia article has decent info:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraternities_and_sororities
If you want a list, follow the references from that article, as there is a rather large number. But a key will be which ones are present at whatever university you’re attending. Most are chartered across (mainly) the US and Canada, but there are smaller ones or some isolated to a single or a few schools.
Each usually holds a ‘rush’ at the beginning of the academic year, and interested students attend events at sororities in which they’re interested during ‘rush week’. It’ll differ among each, but as a rule, the established members evaluate the interested ‘pledges’ and either invite them in or pass. Students who had a parent who was in a frat or sorority are ‘legacies’ and tend to be approved more readily. As these are generally ‘secret’ societies, their precise reasons for accepting or rejecting applicants is meant to be somewhat mysterious.
As to ranking, there is no answer. If you ask a Gamma Phi sister and a Tri Delta, they’ll both tell you theirs is ‘best.’
To close, beyond just being social clubs, both frats and sororities tend to perform philanthropic work, offer social events, maintain lifetime networks to assist members in finding jobs after graduation, and some provide heavier focus on academics (see the article, but members tend to graduate at slightly higher rates than the general university population. As an opposing point, since Greek membership tends to be students from wealthier backgrounds, they often have higher academic bases than other students.) Many frats and sororities also own properties and offer housing to some number of members.
o93mink@reddit
Mostly good, but you only become a pledge after you join, not while being evaluated. According to the National Panhellenic Conference those are just “potential new members”
KR1735@reddit
To elaborate: In my fraternity, prospective members were guys who came around the house interested in potentially joining. Once we decided we liked a guy, we offered him a "bid" card. If he signed (accepted) it, he instantly became a pledge.
Pledges are trial members. They can participate in certain activities but they may have restrictions, such as no drinking (i.e., forced to play sober cab). They can't participate in rituals. They're still being evaluated. Being a pledge doesn't mean you're automatically going to be a new member. Though, at my fraternity, I never encountered someone who got kicked out as a pledge (I did know a guy who dropped out because his Muslim father refused to help him pay dues given there's alcohol in the house).
The pledge period for us was one semester. It involved attending our weekly formal ("brotherhood") dinner, followed by an hour of discussion with the pledgemaster (member responsible for teaching pledges about the fraternity). We had to interview each member 1-on-1 and get their signature. Mine had 50-60 members, so it could get time consuming. I was spending 3-4 hours each week with random guys. But it was also fun and I made a ton of friends.
Initiation happened the first week of the next semester.
Dr_Watson349@reddit
This might be semantics, but you don't really join then pledge.
Pledging it kind of like try-outs. If you don't make it you aren't in, and you never were in.
JesusStarbox@reddit
Usually called rushees.
DarkSeas1012@reddit
As a member of one of those societies, this was absolutely spot on. Well put!
Some organizations are further afield than just US and Canada, but most are just US and Canada. (I get to be a little proud here and share mine very much isn't just limited there, we have elders associations as far afield as Singapore, and chapters at two of Europe's great university cities + UK and Ireland.)
Sleepygirl57@reddit
I’m an American and I do t get the point either.
Dr_Watson349@reddit
Because its fun to be in one, and you do a ton of cool shit you wouldn't normally get to do. At least we did in our fraternity.
Cock--Robin@reddit
The posts calling them “social clubs” have to be from people who were in one. People who weren’t in a sorority tend to have a more negative view of sororities.
paulrudds@reddit
Pretty much a club for women in colleges/universities. They are usually a part of some form of Greek Life. The other one is a Fraternity, which is for men.
I've never been in one, but I've been to parties and had friends in them. Each Sorority and Fraternity is a little different. Some focus on partying and other focus on academics, some do community work, etc.
They aren't necessarily bad, like movies make them out to be sometimes, but some of aren't very nice either. For me personally, I nearly joined a Fraternity, but didn't have the time to do all the things they wanted me to do, and study for my classes.
blipsman@reddit
They are a social organization, the female version of fraternities. Mostly plan social functions for members. There are dozens of sororities nationally, with colleges/universities typically having 10-25 or so on campus depending on their popularity at that school, overall size of school, etc.
There is typically some sort of hierarchy on coolness/popularity, but also other personality/reputation that differentiates them from other sororities on campus. These don't necessarily carry from campus to campus, eg one that's known for the prettiest/coolest girls on one campus might be a nerdier chapter on another campus.
Joining sororities and fraternities typically involves a process called rush, where there are a series of events to meet members and have them meet you, then both you and the houses rate/rank or cross out after various rounds of events. At the culmination, bids are offered to prospective members.
ThePurityPixel@reddit
Do you not have fraternities either?
Sea-Limit-5430@reddit
They’re almost exclusive to the US, and to a lesser degree Canada. I think there’s maybe a handful in Europe that I know of
TheBlazingFire123@reddit
It’s a female fraternity
jastay3@reddit
A female fraternity. Sometimes with all the Greek stuff.
jessek@reddit
The woman equivalent of a fraternity. Started off originally as clubs on campus for academic support and networking but a lot have become excuses to party, as you see in movies like Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds.
In real life there’s a mix of both extremes. Some campus Greek organizations were serious, academic/business focused ones, some were devoted to specific groups like black Americans or Christians, some were just excuses to party. I saw all of these at my university.
im-on-my-ninth-life@reddit
Look up the word "fraternity" for the general term. The word "sorority" just indicates that it's for women instead of men/mixed.
The point is to (1) buy friends, (2) have connections that can help you get good jobs after college
The sorority picks its members
asil518@reddit
Sororities and fraternities are social clubs in colleges where you pay to have a group of friends
Wolfman1961@reddit
A female fraternity, basically.
frederick_the_duck@reddit
The process for joining is called rushing and is very intense
TopperMadeline@reddit
I went to a college that has a reputation of being a party school. It feels like half the girls on campus were apart of one.
TopperMadeline@reddit
If you’ve heard of fraternities/frats, it’s the female equivalent of that.
abbot_x@reddit
As others have said, sororities are basically residential social clubs for women attending college. They are the female equivalent of fraternities. Some people deride them as a means to pay to have guaranteed friends. Other people really had great experiences in them.
The process for joining a sorority is called rush. There is a documentary about the process called Bama Rush (about joining sororities at the University of Alabama) that you can probably stream. That university has one of the most highly developed sorority systems.
notadamnprincess@reddit
It’s a social group for women. The chapters I was part of (same sorority at different schools) would have social events, study halls, compete in intramural sports as a team, do service and philanthropy projects, and the like. It was a surprisingly good education in basic marketing, branding, networking, and public relations. It’s been more than 20 years since I was in a sorority but I can’t trace most of my business development skills back to my time there and I had no idea I was learning it at the time. I was just having fun with my “sisters”.
ZaphodG@reddit
It’s a housing arrangement where a nonprofit owns a house near a college and admits tenants in a discriminatory way that bypasses non-discrimination law by being a club. You have to be admitted to the club to be able to live there. You can be rejected from joining the club for any arbitrary reason and you have no legal recourse.
TheJokersChild@reddit
Frat for girls.
Appropriate-Food1757@reddit
Like a fraternity but for chicks
MrLongWalk@reddit
They are more or less social clubs for women in college.
make friends, network, have fun
Party, socialize, charity, it depends on the sorority in question, some have a more academic basis, others are charitable, some are political, some are a straight up party club
There are dozens, if not hundreds, with no formal ranking
This varies immensely by university and by specific sorority
FrauAmarylis@reddit
Rush week is when Fraternities and Sororities recruit their new members. It’s a whole process of selection and initiation.
Some people end up living in the Sorority/Fraternity house together.
Members pay dues. New members are little sisters and are assigned a Big sister to help them navigate the transition to university and help with the sorority life integration.
There are traditions and annual parties and events hosted by the Sorority/Fraternity. Sometimes they wear special colors or clothing and many get a tattoo of the logo/symbol. They also typically do charity work/donations.
Even after Graduation from university, there are many alumni events and many people link up with people from their national sorority who live in their hometown regularly for the rest of their lives. The local chapter of their sorority holds regular events too.
CupBeEmpty@reddit
And even as a son/brother/family member of women who were in sororities and still maintain ties and do charity work with them, it is often a topic of conversation with people I meet. “Oh you were in XYZ? My sister was too.”
FrauAmarylis@reddit
That’s what networking is. Some other comment mentioned the networking.
little_runner_boy@reddit
Generally they're just a big house on college campuses where girls pay for friends. Usually there are planes social events and what not but isn't all that exciting. There are too many to list and nothing really to rank. But each school is going to definitely have some that are absolute babes all around and some that are full of girls who couldn't get into those ones.
To join, you spend a lot of time your first semester going around to see the different houses and what the vibe is. Then one day, each house extends bids to the girls they want to invite to join. If the girl joins, they pay thousands of dollars per year for their cult membership
purplepeopleeater31@reddit
Sororities are mostly social clubs. While there are some focused on academics, they stereotypical sorority you hear about is a social and networking club.
Members have to pay dues to be in it.
most sororities have houses that people can live in together, there’s weekly meetings, they do charity work, go to social events with their house and other greek houses (both sororities and fraternities). They have weekly meetings called chapter where they practice rituals that have been in place since the founding of the sorority. they also have extensive alumni networks and ways to connect.
There are way too many sororities to name. Not all colleges have sororities, and the sororities on each campus vary widely. Also, the rankings for each sorority varies widely on each campus. Some of the bigger named sororities, however, are Alpha Phi, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Delta Gamma, to name a few.
The process for determining sorority membership is extensive. First, people interested go through what’s called rush week or recruitment week. It’s a very, very fake and superficial version of speed dating almost. The chapters rank the potential new members (PNMs), and the PNMs rank the houses. Ultimately, the PNMs have a bigger say in who can join.
Once PNMs receive a bid on what’s called bid day, they have to pledge the sorority. This is often a month long process. they take classes on the chapter, can go to the meetings and social events, and learn about the chapter and its people.
Eventually, if everything goes smoothly, they’re initiated into the chapter and full blown members. But someone can be kicked out of the chapter at any point.
Overall, sororities and fraternities are declining rapidly in popularity in the US due to their lack of inclusivity and absurd rules. A lot of people feel that it’s just paying for friends. They’re more important to join for a healthy social life in southern schools than anywhere else.
I personally was in one, and I wouldn’t do it again. While I gained friends, leadership experience, networking opportunities, and volunteer experience that all looked great on a resume, I hated the traditions and strict lens you’re under while representing your letters. It’s also expensive as hell.
RastaFazool@reddit
Fraternity brother here
Fraternities and sororities are Social club mostly, but some have academic or professional focus.
Admittance is done in stages.
Rush is like an open house where applicants can meet the members, usually through some social events.
The members will then vote on who they want to join and extend a bid. The big is a formal invite to an applicant to become a pledge. Not all who rush will get bids
Pledging is done over several months where you learn fraternity history, spend time with the members, and basically work to prove yourself to members that you deserve admittance. Some groups haze their pledges, others do not. But pledges are at the bottom of the social order in Greek life.
After edging is complete, members vote on which pledges to admit as full members. In my frat all votes were unanimous, one NO vote could keep someone out.
CupBeEmpty@reddit
It’s a women’s social group in college. Some are based on a theme like academics or diversity but most are just a general interest club.
They usually have a house that you can join and that is where you live and get food. That isn’t always the case but that’s the most obvious feature on or near campus.
They do social events and volunteer work as well.
There is a specific process for joining and it can vary a bit from school to school but generally they follow a similar process. I’d have to defer to more knowledgeable people for the specifics. I have two sisters and a mom that were all in sororities. A few of my aunts and cousins were as well.
I never had anything to do with Greek life (term for sorority and fraternity life) other than visiting some friends that were in frats and my sister who was in a sorority (technically I was breaking the rules with my sister because men weren’t allowed to stay there).
darcmosch@reddit
Pretty much a social club for women in college. It's pretty much a networking thing but for friendship.