Hi all! I saw a few posts here about conventions. Just curious, if you’re not a voting delegate, especially as an AI who probably would not be reuniting with friends there, is there any point of going to conventions? If so, what’s the main draw?

Thanks!

Hi everyone -

I’m posting here because I am currently taking the plunge and reaching out to alumnae chapters near me about the AI process. I’m super nervous yet I’m also very excited.

For context, I graduated from college as an NCAA athlete that offered Greek life, but my coach was vehemently opposed to us rushing. Although it was a bummer, I would still say I had a great college experience. My younger brother had a chance to compete as an athlete and rush a fraternity so you could say I was jealous for sure.

Cut to years later and I am living in a new city with not a lot of roots or connections beyond my work and volunteer time. It’s given me time to think and reflect on what if I had done Greek life and learned about the AI process. Heck, there are chapters near me since I work nearby a larger university!

I’ve put some inquiries out and I’m hoping to connect with a chapter that will be the best fit for me. If anyone has advice I would appreciate the support!

Update: thanks to everyone who has replied here or reached out via DM. It truly means the world to find a group of people who have support and wisdom to share.

For more context, I’m based in Orange County, California working near University of California, Irvine so I’ve looked at their chapters (Alpha Chi Omega, Tri Delta, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta) while also looking at the university chapters near where I live (Zeta Tau Alpha, Kappa Kappa Gamma).

I’m still in the research phase while making inquiries, but I am passionate about using my experience as a high level athlete to develop girls from ages 9-18 into not just strong athletes, but upstanding young women. I’ve also done volunteer work previously and am also looking into how the alumnae chapters remain involved in their philanthropy locally. Thank you everyone for everyone’s help!

Hi everyone! So I've been researching sororities with alumnae initiate programs, and I have come across both NPCs and Non-NPCs. For an alumnae initiate, what would the differences be in terms of joining one over the other? I imagine the non-NPCs likely have a smaller infrastructure/less reach, but other than that, are there any notable differences in terms of the experience an alum initiate would have being a part of one over the other? Thanks!

Has anyone here joined a sorority through alumnae initiation rather than during college?

I’m curious what you’ve actually gotten out of the experience as an alumna—friendships, community, networking, volunteering, events, etc.—especially if you don’t live near a local alumnae chapter.

Was it still worthwhile, and were you able to feel genuinely involved without having a chapter nearby? Do you think certain age groups or stages of life tend to get more out of alumnae membership than others?

Hello! I am someone who’s very interested in Alumnae Initiation into a sorority here in Alaska. I have done a lot of digging, and I cross-referenced the sororities that both offer AI and have a chapter here. Those are:
Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Phi
Alpha Sigma Alpha
Delta Zeta
Kappa Delta
Sigma Sigma Sigma
Zeta Tau Alpha
(Hopefully I didn’t miss any!)

Do I approach this as a conversation with all the chapters or just the ones that have caught my interest through online research? I don’t know any sorority women in-person, so this is all Greek to me (ha). And for the chapters that don’t have any contact info for their local group, would I just reach out to headquarters? Thank you all in advance!!

Hi there, I am currently in school for my second bachelors. I tried to rush at my current campus but it didn’t work out for me. I was hoping to AI into a sorority. I understand that most have the requirement that you cannot be currently enrolled as an undergraduate student. (Are there any that do not have this requirement?)
But after graduation, I was wondering if there were any chapters that really try to involve AI’s or have some sort of fun “bid day” make-up experience for them. I know that local alumnae chapters will greatly vary one’s experiences, but i also know that some chapters mostly just give you a letter in the mail saying you’re now considered an alumnae member, whereas others really try to give you somewhat of a nme, match you with an alumnae big, and give you more engagement than others. Are there any chapters that stood out for you all that focus more on the AI experience than others do? Thanks :)

I decided to pursue AI after randomly encountering it on the internet (including lurking around this subreddit, thank you all!). My undergrad did have Greek life, but it was quite small, and I’m more than a decade out from college and live several states away now, so I did not put too much stock in what my experience was with the organizations on campus back then and casted a pretty wide net regarding reaching out to sororities.

I have now narrowed it down to three sororities. All three meet my personal preferences of a few idiosyncratic things that are important to me, and they’re similar in national reach. All three have a strong local presence (which is also very important to me) and I have met and enjoyed meeting some/all of the board members of the local groups. All three are willing to sponsor me should I be interested in continuing with the process with them (very grateful). Two of them were on my undergrad campus but both have since gone inactive, so there’s no real difference there either.

First world problem, I know, but I am having a hard time making a final choice between them. I have asked to attend some local events if possible, but understand events may be limited to members only, so I’m not sure how feasible that would actually be before I make this final decision.

Did anyone here face a similar situation? If so, how did you make the final choice?

TIA!

Can someone from AGD inbox me? Looking to go alumnae initiate. Funny story, was an AGD pledge back in 1988. Didn’t make grades so never formally went active. I currently now have a bachelors and two masters degree. One is from the college I originally make grades. Completed masters with a 4.0!!! Quite the opposite when I was a pledge. Always regret not going active… thank you! ❤️💚💛

Last night, I was formally initiated into Kappa Beta Gamma International Sorority as an alumnae member! The whole process, from inquiry to bid to initiation, was just so special and totally felt right from the very beginning. I’ve grown close to a couple of the women already and it seems like we’ve known one another forever. I guess the old saying is true - when you know, you know!!

IMO, there are so many advantages to alumnae initiation. First, it’s really cool to be coming into a sisterhood as a fully-formed adult. (I’m 42.) You have life experience to share and really know who you are as an individual. I’m also really passionate about giving back and there are lots of opportunities to do that as an alum. For me personally, I don’t have kids but I do want to help mentor and guide young women and sort of be that “big sister” that I needed when I was younger.

If you have any questions about my experience, I’d be happy to answer them. Also would be happy to connect any interested folks with our Alumnae Officer! Sisterhood has no age limit, and “running home” doesn’t look the same for everyone. So happy to have found my forever home in Kappa Beta Gamma!!

Good morning! This process has gone at lightning speed! I received my invitation to join Tri Delta this morning. WOW! In case anyone else is wondering how long the process took from inquiry to invitation, mine took about 10 days. I don't know if that's average or very fast. Anyway, I'm really excited about this journey.

Hi everyone! I plan on submitting my interest form to Alpha Chi Omega within a few days and was wondering if anyone here could share their experience with rushing AI or wouldn’t mind helping me out with a recommendation form!

A little about me: I attended university in Texas years ago, and never quite found home through the rush process. I’ve been moving around with my fiancé, and plan to go back to school for an online paralegal certificate (not an undergrad program) and move to Lubbock by summer next year.

Alpha Chi Omega really stood out to me because of their commitment to domestic violence awareness (something that’s very close to home for my family) and empowering the women in their sisterhood.

Bit of an odd one - but does anyone have experience becoming an AI from another country? Or think it would be worthwhile?

For context, I studied abroad in the USA, rushed and was offered a place in a sorority but ended up dropping before initiation because it was my 2nd choice (even though the girls from my 1st said they were waiting for me to run home to them!). I really wished I had single-pref my 1st.

Anyway, now that I'm back in my home country I'd really love to connect to that community again. I'm hoping to return to the US in a couple of years but I truly valued the community so much and I'd be eager to start building that network sooner rather than later.

Am I crazy for thinking they would accept internationals? Or that I'd even be able to contribute at all in a fully online capacity for now? Thankyou!!

I had the video call this morning with two members of the AI committee with Tri Delta. It was really lovely and not as nerve wracking as I anticipated. Both women were kind and welcoming. They asked some standard questions but the conversation flowed. They explained what the next steps would be. I'm hopeful to make it through the process and to initiation!

Hello all. I am wondering if any others have experienced starting this process and then had a difficult time contacting their local Alumnae Chapter? Or, if you started the process of getting to know the women of a local Chapter but discovered they were not very active in your local area? I am going through this myself and I would like to get some perspective/ compare notes with others who have gone through similar.

The sorority I initially pursued has a local Chapter near me, but they have just started to become active again, only have a few gatherings a year, and don't really participate in service to the local community. I adore this organization and their philanthropy and have enjoyed meeting the women a few times, but beyond this there has been no real talk about next steps in the process.

At over a year into this process, I have started to look into other sororities who might have slightly more active Alumnae communities in my state, as I am very focused on volunteering in my local area. I feel like I am "cheating" on this initial Chapter by even reaching out to others, though? Perhaps that is an odd way to look at it, but I am in no way trying to pursue this just for the sake of getting letters, and contacting more that one org kind of feels like doing that. Maybe I am looking at this incorrectly, however, and I would love more perspective from others.

When going through your own journey, did you find it most helpful to connect with your local Alumnae Chapter as a whole, or individual members? Did you ever connect or get recommendations from women from other parts of the country? Did you ever expand your search if you were not in an area with many active chapters?

Thanks in advance for your advice and insight.

I’m really wanting to become an alumni initiate for one of the sororities who’s philanthropies I align with, but I’m curious what other people’s experiences have been like. I’m also curious how difficult the experience was, because I see that many require you to have a recommendation letter from a current member of the sorority.

Hi everyone. I’m currently a junior at UIUC and graduate in May 2028. I transferred here and have now gone through primary recruitment twice. I went into both experiences because I genuinely wanted sisterhood, community, philanthropy, leadership, and friendships that could continue beyond college.
This year was difficult for me personally. I completely understand that recruitment is selective and that no chapter owes anyone an invitation or a bid. I also know that there are so many women who have wonderful experiences in Greek life. For me, though, I sometimes felt like people knew more about my past than they knew about who I am now, and that was hard to navigate.
My life has changed a lot. I’m now the president of a social women’s organization, a media journalist for the Marching Illini, and I was recently accepted for an opportunity with Illinois women’s basketball. It feels surreal because I’ve found so many meaningful communities and leadership opportunities on campus, while still feeling like sorority sisterhood is something I would value.
I know COB is an option, and I have nothing against it, but after going through primary recruitment twice I’m not sure I want to put myself through another recruitment process right now. I think I would rather focus on the communities I already have and keep growing throughout the rest of college.
That’s what made me interested in learning more about alumnae initiation. I definitely don’t see it as a way around collegiate recruitment. I graduate in May 2028, so I’m thinking much more long-term about whether there could eventually be an organization whose values fit mine and where I could genuinely contribute as an alumna.
I’m from the northern Chicago suburbs, so I’m near schools including Lake Forest College, Northwestern, Loyola Chicago, Elmhurst, and farther away Eastern Illinois, as well as many Chicago-area alumnae groups.
For anyone who pursued alumnae initiation, especially after participating in collegiate recruitment, I’d love to hear how you approached it. Did you reach out to a national organization or local alumnae group first? Did your recruitment history matter? Does having collegiate or alumnae chapters nearby make a difference?
I still have a lot of respect for what sorority membership can offer. I’m just realizing that my path to sisterhood might look different than I originally imagined.

Hello! I made the decision to pursue alumnae initiation and reached out to Tri Delta and Delta Gamma. I have a video call with Tri Delta next week and I'm curious to hear from others how their first contact with a sorority they were interested went. What kinds of things were your asked? What were the initiation coordinators curious about? I sort of feel like I'm going in for a job interview! I'm very excited with how quickly they responded to my application.

Question, if anyone knows the answer to this.

If I go back to college for grad school, and have a job or assistantship on campus, can I be a staff advisor, volunteer, or something similar for an undergraduate chapter at the same institution? I feel like I cam give big sister or mentor vibes if I participated in such a way.

I am an AI and will be an early or mid 30s student when I might go back. I wouldn't mind making friends with seniors or 21+ sisters in a new town, but will also be a student at the same time so I would love the understanding that comes with befriending other people on campus.

Hi! I’d love to hear from anyone who joined through alumnae initiation later in adulthood.

I recently learned that alumnae initiation was an option and am excited to explore whether it might be the right fit for me.

I’ve found some helpful information through older Reddit threads, but I’d really appreciate hearing from women who have gone through the process and would be willing to share their experience or insight with me via DM.

Thank you!

I wanted to ask about people experiences when they don’t have any chapters close to them that they resonate with. The org I wanted to join as a student does not have any active alumnae groups in the state. The incredible organization that feels perfect, that I discovered via this page, doesn’t have any presence in my state.
I don’t plan to stay here for very long, but I don’t have a definite location on where I am going to move in a few years. I’m just kind of at a standstill on this process and don’t know what I should do.

I've posted in this group before about my journey with AI. Here is my Greek life backstory.

I was in undergrad 2012-2016. My school was not SEC, and as such, its Greek life was not as big a deal as it is at other schools. There were no sorority houses. I did not go through formal recruitment my freshman year, as I was a music major at the time and concerned that I wouldn't have time for it.

In my sophomore year, I decided to do formal recruitment. It was very last minute; I applied the day before applications closed (which was the day before recruitment started). I was cut by all houses right before preference. But coming out of that week was like coming out of a hangover; I couldn't remember a thing about it and wasn't able to put the pieces together until about two weeks later. Looking back, I know exactly what happened: I was in a manic episode, with undiagnosed mental health issues, and my behavior during recruitment was erratic.

I had been having mental health issues since the start of my freshman year. Panic attacks, a seizure, hospital visits. Over time, I built relationships and became friends with some of the women in the Panhellenic community. I was starting to get better and was even considering going through recruitment again! However, the summer before I was set to do so, my diagnosis worsened from Bipolar II to Bipolar I, with additional diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder and PTSD. I made the difficult decision to skip out on recruitment.

The option for COB was there. One of the advisors for an organization I was involved with on campus was an alumna of a sorority that had a chapter on campus, and more than once offered to write a letter of recommendation for me. I turned her down because my boyfriend at the time did not want me joining a Panhellenic sorority. (I stupidly ended up marrying that boyfriend; I divorced him earlier this year.) The only one that he was remotely okay with was the only organization I attempted COB with, and every time I was denied a bid. (They were a struggling chapter and had a hard time keeping members; I learned last year that they have since closed.) What upset me about it was that it felt like that old State Farm commercial with the fisherman and the dollar: "I got you a dollar...oh, too slow!" I would be invited by the girls to events and would then be denied by the chapter. I was accused of letter chasing (which made no sense; I was in one professional fraternity, yet about a third of the girls in that group were also Panhellenic and in that particular chapter, so how was I "letter chasing" and they weren't?).

Eventually, I gave up and opted instead to assist with the chartering efforts of a service organization; they said yes to anyone who was willing to help, and honestly, my heart couldn't take more rejection.

I know the benefits of Greek life, and with my ultimate career goal of wanting to work at a university as a professor and/or student affairs officer, getting to know that aspect of the college experience would be extremely helpful. I especially believe that Greek organizations at their best, whether social or professional, can carry great benefits for neurodivergent students (a structured schedule, required study hours, support systems, and something that can serve as a way to connect with others). In my personal experience, I probably wouldn't have graduated without the support of my professional org.

I am currently pursuing graduate school with the end goal of becoming a professor and/or student affairs officer. But if I could go back and redo my college career, I would in a heartbeat. I'd start by being an English major with a music minor, take no more than 15 credit hours (ideally 12), get diagnosed sooner, and go through Panhellenic recruitment my freshman year.

Hi! New here. Background: I went through recruitment at a very small Southern liberal arts school in the late 1990s, the first year the local chapters went national. It was delayed recruitment and a very country club-like environment in the pre-RFM days, and I went into it very naively and ended up dropping out before pref when I lost my top two houses. I ended up joining a national music sorority my friends started my junior year, which was great because we had people across campus and from NPC groups. But I was only part of it for a semester. I did join Junior League in my 20s, which was great for a while, but I got burned out and also had to drop for financial reasons during a divorce. But I had several leadership roles, have always been an active volunteer, etc.

I had a few friends go through AI back when it was an honorary thing, so always assumed that was the only process. But now I'm reading about AI and wondering if it's right for me. I'm a freelance writer and editor, and we had a summer intern at my main gig this summer, and I really enjoyed working with her and mentoring young people in general. Especially because I don't have kids of my own.

Why did you decide to start AI, and what was your first step? I'm open to chapters, but am looking into TriDelt because it was my favorite chapter at my college, I have several close friends who are members, and also have connections there and am drawn to the philanthropy and national initiatives around health and wellness (my area of expertise). I did freelance PR for the local philanthropy here for several years and met someone who is on the national board (she did the marketing, so we worked closely together for several years). And the local alumnae president is part of my track club. Did you reach out to a chapter president or recruitment officer first? Just fill out the form online? Connect with a sponsor? I'd feel odd asking that person who's involved nationally to sponsor me since it's been a few years since we spoke (she moved away), but I could reach out to ask about the process. Or just connect with the local alumnae president, as I think we have some mutual friends. I wasn't sure which was the right move! I'm also open to other chapters, but I know there are two active TriDelt chapters in my state (one in the city). I'm also open to Kappa Kappa Gamma (a co-worker is active with the alumnae group here) and Gamma Phi Beta, as I'm an active Girls on the Run volunteer (and there are three chapters in my state, including two in the city). I know all three have an AI process. I think mostly I'm looking for a group of like-minded women and a philanthropy I care about. I'm in a big city in the Southeast, so I think all groups will have a large range of ages and backgrounds.

Anyway, would welcome any advice and am curious how you approached this process to decide if it was right for you.

Hello Sisters!!!

Long time!

Hope you all are doing well. As for me, I am doing okay.

I’ve gotten a message from a Redditor who is interested in rushing Tri Delta and she is at a university in Texas. She was really nice and she asked me for a letter of recommendation or referral. Though I’m flattered, I don’t know her and don’t know what to do. What would you do if you all were me? Any and all advice is grateful accepted and appreciated. Thank you so much!

Has anyone started their own alumnae chapter in their area? Would love to hear your experience regarding any organizations, but specifically Tri Delta would be especially helpful! I was initiated almost 2 years ago. I joined for a number of reasons, but the closest chapter is 2 hours away from me, unfortunately. I really want to be more involved. I did remotely volunteer for the closest collegiate chapter for some time, but struggled to connect and feel in-person experiences are best for me at this time. Open to any other ideas as well regarding being able to stay/get connected, if not through an alumnae chapter. I’m excited about Tri Delta!