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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I would love to find a way to be more open minded, but this all sounds like a horrible way to spend my hard earned dollars.

It is hard enough for us to pay for college and to give our kids a good start toward a professional career.  Wasting money on an activity that diverts effort from that...

Sounds crazy.

[/quote]

You might be surprised to learn that it's actually not a diversion from these aims at all for most sorority women. As several other PPs have indicated, GPA and academics are very, very important to most women in sororities. And it's important to their alumnae too. Joining a sorority also gives women a support system to succeed b/c they are surrounded by other like-minded young women who influence each other to do well (they have a scholarship chair who recognizes members with weekly incentives to go the library...they have pledge class programs where older members mentor younger members on how to effectively study, where to apply for scholarships/internships--sometimes through networking with sorority alumnae in their field; they educate women on campus safety/safety in numbers, responsible drinking--and require members to uphold certain standards of behavior if they do choose to drink. Binge drinking is a problem across all campuses. And it's a prevalent problem whether you're in a sorority or not--but sororities do not allow alcohol inside their houses (insurance prohibits it) and they do have programming that will teach your daughter how to navigate social drinking (if she chooses to engage in it) responsibly and to look out for her sisters. An all-women's social space like this is an incredible opportunity to gain experience in leadership, voluntarism, fundraising, and planning and executing meetings and large and small events. Older adult professional women advisory boards advise the women in the chapter on finance, housing, scholarship, standards, marketing, and education. They provide leaderhip opportunities and connect women to other leaders on other campuses through attendance at conventions or leadership conferences where they will meet and learn from alumna women of all ages across the nation. The professional world is FULL of sorority women, PP. (And I don't mean the kind you think of from Animal House or MTV. Real sorority women are just...women who are attending college and looking for support and connection from a group that will lift them up and who they can lift up and lean on for mutual friendship and support.)

It's a pretty cool thing, PP. You are right to not want to "waste money on an activity that diverts" from your daughter's goal of getting a good start on a professional career. I just wouldn't be so quick to discount sorority membership as one of those diversions when it can be and often is so much more aligned with what you have said you want for your DD.   :) [/quote]

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