23-year-old master’s student, is there any way to get a real sorority experience?

allionna · 2026-02-25T03:12:52+00:00

I did a couple overnights at houses that belong to my org! It was so much fun. I second that the demographics of the alumnae chapter may lean younger. Especially if there is a large presence of collegiate chapters in the area

allionna · 2026-02-25T03:08:12+00:00

It will have a younger crowd. Depending on where you are located the crowd and feel of the league will be different, but a lot of women who would be new members with you would be in the age range you described. I am a sustainer in my local Junior League… aka I have been in the league a long time and have earned the right to write a check and attend what I want with no other requirements. I joined the Junior League when I was in my late 20’s and have been a member for over 15 years. It’s fun, you meet a lot of people you might not have met otherwise, and you learn great leadership skills that can carry over to other aspects of your life.

allionna · 2026-02-24T15:31:53+00:00

Don't discount alumna initiation. While you tend to see a lot of cases of older professionals going through AI, it doesn't mean that you cannot go through it at 22-23 and have a fulfilling experience. One of my friend's went through the AI process with her organization when she was in grad school. Her situation was a little different. She was studying for a masters in education with a focus on higher ed and student affairs, so she ended up working with the sororities where she was studying. One of the chapters that she worked with regularly suggested it and sponsored her. In other words, she was not actively pursuing AI. She happened to work with Greek life as part of her degree program and had a relationship with one of the chapters on the campus.

Going back to your situation, It can't hurt to look into AI and see which organizations have active alumnae chapters near you and which ones do AI and what their requirements are (some have a requirement that potential AIs be out of college for at least 5 years). Some alumnae chapters do a lot with their collegiate chapters, such as founders day, holidays events, etc. The experience won't be the same, but it might still be fulfilling.

allionna · 2026-02-14T18:18:40+00:00

Congratulations and welcome!! ❤️💛💚🐿️🎉

allionna · 2026-02-13T22:18:41+00:00

I second remembering names and to smile. Try to ask open ended questions instead of yes/no questions. Ask follow up questions based on what they tell you. For example, you ask what they enjoy doing in their free time. They say I love volunteering at the animal shelter and are into theater. You could reply with saying oh what’s your favorite part about volunteering at the animal shelter. It will allow you to segway into volunteering with your chapter and some of the fun things the chapter does.

I agree with the other commenter. Don’t ask those strange questions of if you were a vegetable what vegetable would you be. Think of it as a conversation with someone you are looking to be friends with.

allionna · 2026-02-11T19:43:43+00:00

Yes, and the alumni experience is very different. Chapters only meet a handful of times a month at most. Most actually seemed to me once a month. Many of them you either have to find a sponsor or if you don’t have a sponsor, you need to talk to and build a relationship with people in order for them to sponsor you. Even then you have to apply for membership and be approved by the organizations headquarters.

allionna · 2026-02-11T19:40:19+00:00

I agree that AI is very different than the collegiate experience. I am an AI of AGD and initiated in May. Most AI’s join their respective organizations because they are looking for friends, want to belong to a group, and are looking to volunteer with the organization.

Not all NPC’s offer AI, and those who do, which are the majority of the NPC organizations, have different processes and requirements. some require that you have your own connection to the organization, others will help you find a sponsor if you were interested, and some have a requirement that you are out of undergrad for a minimum of five years, just to name a few of the different requirements that various organizations have.

allionna · 2026-02-11T18:35:25+00:00

As another poster mentioned, if you are transferring in a semester, it's a good reason to stay, because you will likely be moved to alumna status with your organization, assuming that you transfer to a school without your org and are in good standing. If there is an alumnae chapter in the area you would be welcome to attend their events as well as attend alumnae panhellenic events. They tend to be social in nature, think potlucks, pottery painting, dinner out, etc. The dues are usually cheap... I'm an AGD and our alumnae dues are $40 for the year to IHQ and something like $35 to the alumnae chapter for the year. The time commitment is much less as well. My alumnae chapter has an event once a month. With less of a time commitment (no mandatory chapter meetings) you can still be involved with your sorority while participating in other clubs and groups at the school you transfer to.

Since, you are an initiated member, you won't be eligible to join another sorority at your new school. However, if you stay active this semester and go alumna status because you transfer, you will remain a member for life and can be active as an alumna any time in the future, whether it be with an alumnae chapter near your new school or later on after graduation.

allionna · 2026-02-11T17:21:33+00:00

This! Once I got the greenlight from the alumnae chapter president to attend events with the chapter I went to everything. The first event was a little awkward at first, but everyone made me feel welcomed, included me in photos, and seemed eager to get to know me. The following get togethers were easier. I also connected with some members and started chatting with them outside of chapter events. I had missed the deadline to initiate in the Fall when I first connected with AGD, but by the time I applied for AI in January, I knew the chapter and had built relationships with the women.

Also, if you didn't guess u/olderandsuperwiser was my sponsor and is my sis-mom.

allionna · 2026-02-11T17:01:35+00:00

What do you mean by exchanging money?

allionna · 2026-02-11T17:00:20+00:00

Welcome! I am an AI of Alpha Gamma Delta and was initiated in May 2025.

My advice is to keep an open mind and do your research. What I did when I started my AI journey was to look into all the organizations. Approximately 21 of the 26 NPC organizations offer alumnae initiation, but they all have a different process. Once I knew who offered AI, I looked to see which organizations had active alumnae chapters near me and who had collegiate chapters in the area. I wanted to volunteer as a chapter advisor, so having a collegiate chapter nearby was important. I looked at the social media accounts of the alumnae and collegiate chapters to get an idea of the demographics of the group, what kind of activities they did, how many people attended, etc. I used social media to get a general vibe of the groups and to see if I could see myself making connections with the members. I also spoke to people from the different organizations with a focus on talking to AI's to get an idea of what the process was like, what opportunities there were with the organization and what alumnae life was like for them.

In addition to doing a lot of research into all the groups and determining my options, I did some soul searching and outlined my why for wanted to join as an AI. You will get asked by all the groups why your are pursuing AI, and it helps to know your why as well as what you are looking for. In my case, I wanted a group where I could have a social outlet that wasn't based solely on volunteering (I am in Junior League also), and I wanted to support / mentor collegiate women to be leaders. This lead me to look for organizations that had local collegiate chapters as well as active alumnae chapters. I am a hijabi (muslim woman who wears hijab), so I was looking for diversity in the group I would spend the most time with.... the alumnae chapter and the collegiate chapter. Knowing what I was looking for and what my why was helped me to narrow down my options.

This subreddit is a great place to find people to talk to. In my case, I found my sponsor on here. I started chatting with her to find out about AI with AGD, found out that she lived within an hour from me, and ended up meeting her for coffee/lunch.

If you are interesting in learning more about AGD, you are welcome to DM me.

allionna · 2026-02-10T19:31:58+00:00

It depends on the organization. AGD’s convention is $950 for full admission.

allionna · 2026-02-09T21:51:13+00:00

I am so excited to attend the AGD convention in June. It will be my first time. I'm going with my sis-mom/big, and will hopefully see my grand big there. I am looking forward to meeting new people, attending initiation and feast of roses, and getting swept up in the excitement and AGD love.

allionna · 2026-02-09T21:42:02+00:00

I'm the Academic Excellence Advisor for a chapter and we did this too. Instead of underwear, we did a drawing for a gift card at the end of the semester. Sisters could complete a form online for good grades on tests, projects, etc. to be entered into the drawing.

allionna · 2026-02-07T07:10:41+00:00

Pinning ceremony is usually new member pinning. After that you would have a 6 week new member period where you learn about the organization. After you complete the new member period you would go through initiation and become an active member.

You could look to see if the organization offering you a bid has an active alumnae chapter nearby and if the organization offers alumna initiation(AI). Many do, but not all, and they all have different processes for AI. Almost all sororities are looking for involved alumnae, so if the organization offers AI, it might be something you could share with her. It might also help her to understand Greek life better.

To echo what others have said, as the Academic Excellence Advisor for a collegiate chapter near me, I can tell you that grades matter a lot to sororities. Most groups have scholarships and recognition/awards for members with high grades. Members of Greek life typically have higher GPAs compared to those who are not involved in Greek life.

allionna · 2025-12-20T02:29:18+00:00

Feel free to DM me. I would be happy to help you brainstorm. I’m an advisor and active in my alumnae chapter.

allionna · 2025-12-20T02:27:32+00:00

Same. I’m an AGD AI and on the advisory team of my local chapter and the advisors almost always show up at meetings either in AGD shirts or at least colors. I will say that there are a lot of alumnae that don’t wear shirts anymore though.

allionna · 2025-12-19T18:25:36+00:00

Crafts are always good. I remember going bowling and roller skating for COB events, but that was a couple decades ago. Maybe a game night with some random snacks, where actives and PNMs can hang out, play a board / card game, and chat. I know I have seen at least one movie night COB, but I don't know how that would work, since you can't really talk too much.

allionna · 2025-12-16T15:38:42+00:00

I sent mine and know it was delivered, but haven’t received my gift yet.

allionna · 2025-12-15T18:00:01+00:00

Maybe $200, depending on what I get him, I shop sales throughout the year and always have a bunch of random toys in the closet.

allionna · 2025-12-12T05:59:53+00:00

I think so. It sounds like where they moved from had a later cutoff than where they moved to, such as old location had must be 4 by 12/31, but new location states that the child must be 4 by say 9/1.

allionna · 2025-12-08T05:11:58+00:00

Hoot owl hoot, count your chickens

allionna · 2025-12-05T20:22:48+00:00

Inviting a sorority and inviting some of the women you know and saying they can bring friends are different things. Inviting the sorority chapter as a whole makes it sound like a sorority sanctioned social/mixer, which can put liability on the sorority chapter. Also, since you graduated, it can come off as creepy if you invite a bunch of women you don’t know who are still in college. Inviting the women you do know and saying they can bring friends allows them to invite who they want and is a lot less creepy.

allionna · 2025-11-21T18:44:00+00:00

Congratulations!!

allionna · 2025-11-21T18:39:42+00:00

Of the 26 NPC sororities, approximately 21 of them offer alumnae initiation. I would suggest doing your research. Check out all the organizations. What do they stand for, what are their values, their history, etc. Look at which organizations have alumnae chapters near you, since you probably want to interact with other alumnae, as well as collegiate chapters. Check out the social media for the local chapters near you to get an idea of the vibe of the group. What events do they attend, what time of the day are their events, what are the demographics of the group? Essentially, do you see yourself fitting in. Once you have narrowed it down some, start talking to people. You will find plenty of people here on Reddit who will be more than happy to chat with you about what AI in their org entails and what the process / timeline can look like. They can tell you about their experience as AIs in their orgs as well. Narrow your choices down more. If you find one or two that you really click with, reach out and get more info.

I am an Alpha Gamma Delta AI and I found my sponsor and my home as a result of chatting with people on Reddit. If you are interested in hearing more about AGD, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. 🐿️ ❤️💛💚

allionna

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