LOW GPA
 

I have a 2.8 gpa but I think it is going to be a 2.9 at the end of my senior year. I know that to get into a sorority that is pretty low. However, I have over over 700 hours of community service, I'm involved in a lot of clubs and I have many rec letters. The college I am going to is not competitive and I've heard like 99% of girls receive a bid. Will I be fine or will my GPA restrict me from getting a bid at all?

I would strongly recommend you delete some of the identifying info in your post. Also, I know you're well-intentioned, but the club you mention is just too "try hard" and I think it will backfire if you list it on your resume or other application materials. Your GPA is likely to be an issue with some groups. Keep a very open mind to all groups -- your recs and volunteer efforts will be a plus.

If you have the opportunity to retake any classes that you made a low grade in (either this semester or in the summer), it would be an opportunity to wipe that low grade off & raise your gpa. Hit the books HARD this semester & see if you can get your gpa up to a 3.0.

Even if the rush itself doesn't seem competitive, there may be national policies to follow that will prevent chapters from giving you a bid - no matter how much they like you - if your GPA isn't high enough.

YES.

There are schools at which quota is like, 7 and chapters still release women for grades because they are required to do so. As in, they will release you the first day because they cannot extend you a bid.

Keep in mind that if you are coming into recruitment straight out of HS (incoming freshman), the GPA requirement is at times higher.

Example: There are chapters at which the required GPA for non-freshmen is 2.75, but incoming freshmen must have a 3.2.

The thing is, numerous studies have shown that there is a grade decline for many incoming freshmen as they get adjusted to all that college life offers. The studies include all students, from Div 1 athletes, to students who have no obligations at all but to attend class. Add on a major commitment such as Greek life, or a job, and well...you see where I am going.

Sororities have to take those studies into consideration in membership selection. It's not just that the student whose 1st semester college gpa is lower than the HS gpa, it's that if there is a significant drop in gpa, the student should spend the majority of her time studying and/or being tutored. At that point, She is not getting much out of her membership nor is she able to devote the time the chapter expects all members to give.

Yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes! Of the chapters I have worked with, the HS gpa requirement was higher than returning or transfer students. So keep that in mind if things don't work out for you freshmen year. No matter what, work on your grades in college, and join one or two campus organizations.

It won't hurt to try, but realize that the first question that popped into my head when you said you had 700 community service hours and were involved in a lot of clubs was, "Why did you not limit your activities to focus on your grades?" Activities and service hours are like the icing on the cake, but if the cake (your GPA) is bad, no one will want it no matter how good the icing is. If recruitment doesn't work out, kill it your freshman year and try again Sophomore year.

And by your username, I am guessing what your school is. It's more competitive than you think.

The problem today, is there is so much pressure placed on Greeks that IHQ's feel there is a need to show just how good we are!!!
Granted we are in College to learn and graduate. And, here in lies the problem!! Chapters are expected to participate in so many other activities to show WE are GREEKs and better.

For an example, My Chapter has a Brother who has been very active in many positions and because of this, his grades lacked THE PROPER GRADE GPA! By our rules, he should have been expelled=Kicked Out! Needless to say, I raised 10 kinds of hell! Finally decided since his last semester to suspend him and grant Alumni Status! I call that a win win deal! Common sense always wins out!

Few sororities will make exceptions to anyone with a GPA below 3.0, and many sororities allow chapters to have even higher standards.... meaning some chapters within a national organization with high return rates may choose not to consider anyone with a GPA below 3.5 from high school.

The rare instance where I saw someone with a GPA below a 3.0 be kept was when the woman was an in-house legacy (meaning her sister was currently a member of the chapter) and was well-liked and respected by her sisters.

While alumnae may be willing to write you rec letters, even if they write the most glowing rec, the GPA is considered as a heavy part of the overall weight. A rec will help tip the scales in your favor if it is between you and another girl with similar qualifications, but rarely will it put you higher on a list over a girl with a better GPA, connections and similar activities.

If your friends who are freshman now are telling you that your GPA isn't a big deal and they will help you get in.... they haven't see the other side to recruitment, and they are in for a shock too.

One other thing worth mentioning -- at schools where recs are necessary (I know nothing of the OP's campus, but also thinking of another recent thread on this topic):

An alum will often offer to a write recs for PNMs she knows, and in these cases, the alum probably has a good idea about the PNMs' scholarship (and other qualities) before she offers.

But in the course of gathering recs (especially multiple recs in large Greek systems), PNMs may ask alums they don't know as well for recommendations. When the alum agrees, the PNM assumes a positive rec will be written, and rightfully so.

When the PNM (with a low GPA) then passes along her recruitment resume, this is what jumps off the page to the alum:


Which can be awkward for the alum if she knows that her group cannot or will not (perhaps sans some special circumstances) extend a bid to the PNM with a GPA anywhere in that "2" zone, because that rec form also has an area where the alum must endorse/recommend (or not) a PNM for membership.

If an alum does not know the PNM well, she will not be aware of any mitigating circumstances surrounding a low GPA (if any), or of any special connections (if any) a PNM has in a chapter. She may not even make the PNM aware that her GPA is an obstacle in recruitment in general, and just complete the form as an info only/courtesy rec but without an endorsement for membership.

So potentially while the PNM may believe that she has a positive rec to this alum's chapter, she actually didn't receive a recommendation for membership. An alum can also send a "no" rec (not recommending a PNM for membership) based on a low high school GPA - she may not feel a PNM is quite ready for college-level coursework AND chapter obligations.

Most alums will do what they can to help a PNM, including passing along special circumstances if these exist, but there isn't much most alums can do to overcome a low GPA when their chapter has higher selection criteria.

Speaking generally here... not specifics of this PNM's school.

There are PNMs who get bids with 2.9 GPAs. Sure... a sub-3.0 GPA is an issue with some groups... but that doesn't mean that the PNM will definitely not get a bid.


Your GPA will prolly restrict you from getting a bid to some groups. If it will restrict you from getting a bid at all depends on other factors also.


If it were me... I'd probably try recruitment as a freshman and maximize my options. If I got a bid... I would take it and run. If I didn't get a bid... I'd pledge the library and do recruitment as a sophomore. My two cents.


At the end of the day though... you're going to college to study and fixing a low gpa isn't rocket science...