i can’t pretend to give you a fantastic answer because there’s still a lot i need to figure out first hand (i guess that’ll happen during rush week), but i guess i can try to explain how i arrived at my decision to rush:

1. an opportunity to meet a diverse group of people - i look at joining a sorority a lot like i do joining any other club. most of the clubs i’m in have pretty specific interests; wib, for example, is for women interested in business, whereas aaa is for people interested in what it means to be an asian-american in terms of culture, education, and politics. in a sorority, i’m likely to encounter a much broader pool of interests and backgrounds (essentially the only certain similarities are that you are a girl and that you are likable and friendly enough to make the cut), and i think it would provide me with a really nice chance to meet people i might not have talked to otherwise. 

2. career benefits - it’s pretty well-established knowledge that sorority sisters will give preference to each other when it comes to hiring. networking never hurts. there are very few national organizations on campus (they’re not allowed for some reason or another), so the panhellenic groups are unique in that they connect you to people beyond the harvard bubble.

3. encouragement - i’ve heard really great things about relationships within sororities. sometimes it’s the little things, like sisters offering to turn in psets for each other or sisters bringing each other coffee/food when they know someone who’s got an exam coming up, but i think what i hope most is that i’ll meet people who push me to try new things. one of the things i really want to do is run a half marathon, and while i don’t have any friends at school who are interested in that right now, i feel pretty confident i could find some people to train/run one with me in a sorority. 

4. philanthropy/service - i do a number of activities in college, but i guess somehow i never managed to find a service organization i liked. i think it’d be good for me to participate in some philanthropic events from time to time, and being in a sorority could be a pretty fun way to do that. 

5. why not? - i know there are some pretty negative stereotypes of sororities out there, but i want to make those calls on my own. when it comes down to it, i think that being in a sorority could be a really good thing for me in terms of meeting new people, stumbling upon new opportunities (not only career-wise), and overall just having a fun college experience. 

i also want to remind you that i have only thus far made a decision to rush. joining requires that i a) am offered a bid and b) determine that greek life really is a good fit for me. we’ll have to see how everything goes, i guess. :)