It's that time again.....

You attended rush, received all the information that you need to apply for membership, received an application, and you can't believe the time has finally come. The time has come for you to fill out your application for membership in your desired sorority or fraternity. You're anxious, nervous and excited at the same time. The BEST advice that I can give you at this time? Double, Triple, Quadruple check your work. Make sure all your "I's" are dotted and your "T's" are crossed. The last thing you don't want is for you to be disqualified over a small error on your part. Make sure you have enough time to submit your application. If the organization requires you to mail it in, I would suggest spending a little extra $$ by using FedEx or UPS, with tracking information. That would at least give you confidence that the organization received your application.

Good luck to all of you, and once your application is off, the HARDEST part is....the waiting. You wait, and you wait, and you wait, and you wait. It was HARD for me, so I get it. TRUST ME! But as I said in previous posts, make yourself busy during this time. I know for me, I jumped every single time my phone rang, because I didn't know when or IF for that matter they were going to call. And the waiting can be a LONG TIME. This can depend on if the org has a set schedule, the number of applicants that submitted an application,  screening each app. etc. As for me, right when I was about to give up and came to the realization that wasn't going to receive a phone call, they finally did call at 1:35 am.  I remember how HARD it was for me to sleep that night because I was excited, yet nervous about my upcoming interview. I remember getting out of my dorm room bed, turning on my light, and laying out multiple outfits for my interview. I was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep.  I was a zombie going to my 8 o'clock class that next morning, but I was cheesing like no other. I GOT A PHONE CALL which meant I was one step closer to my goal. Now all I needed to do next was NAIL the interview.


Ciao for Now,
V

I'm a Legacy....so I have nothing to worry about!!!!

What is a Legacy? A Legacy is a person whose mother, grandmother, is a member of the sorority she wants to join, or who's father, grandfather is a member of the fraternity he wants to become a member of.

What's the deal behind being a legacy? Is it helpful? Hurtful? Does it guarantee you a spot in the organization of your choice?   Sometime it's helpful, and other times it does not matter. I would highly suggest that you do your research. There are some organizations out there that have a legacy, where there is a place that you can put that on your application. Alpha Kappa Alpha, has an application for legacies that can be found here:

http://www.aka1908.com/pdf/undergrad_legacy_app_5_07.pdf

For this organization, however, your mother/grandmother/stepmother being a member of AKA is not enough, according to their website, they must have a living family member must have been active for at least two (2) years immediately preceding the membership. Other organizations have guidelines behind legacy status as well. I have a few friends who according to them, became AKAs due to their legacy status. They were proud of that it, and I was happy for them. Becoming a member of these organizations is hard enough, so if the organization of your choice has a legacy clause giving you extra "bonus points" in becoming a member, I say go for it! More power to a ya! As far as Delta is a concern we do NOT have a legacy clause for membership. If your mother/grandmother is an active and financial member of DST, then you will have to apply and go through the same steps that other prospective members have to go through who do not have a family member in that particular organization. For some of my sorors, this is a bitter pill to swallow since there have been cases where their daughters did NOT make line. Some find being a legacy a problem because at several colleges and universities, they have a cap of how many people can be accepted into membership. If the organization have a legacy clause, then it becomes harder for prospects who are not legacy. For example, XYZ university has a cap of 50 members. 40 prospective members are legacy members. That would mean that there are only 10 spots left.

Some prospective members feel since their father/mother/grandfather/grandmother etc. is a member, and then they are a "shoe in" for that organization. That is NOT the case. None of my family members were Deltas when I went through MIP and even if they were, if I had the option, I would choose NOT to use their membership status to gain membership into the organization. I would have preferred to become a member through my merit! If you decide rely on your legacy status then I say go for it. No one will shame you for it, and it's really no one's business other than you, and the organization that you are trying to become a member of. 

In conclusion, unless that particular organization has a certain set of rules about legacy, I would NOT rely on the fact that your family member is a member to guarantee you a spot! Instead, I would use them to ask question surrounding the organization about the rush, interview, and any advice they can give you about becoming a member. My personal feelings about legacy? There is nothing wrong with being a legacy. If I had a daughter, I would hope she would follow my footsteps and become a member of my organization. I would hope to prepare her enough that she will be able to one day, share the other half of her mid, with my mid.