Can You Leave A Sorority? A Guide To Dropping Your Sorority

Has it come across your mind to drop your sorority? Learn the steps to officially resign from your sorority.

Let’s be honest–sorority life is not as magical as Instagram and sorority recruitment makes it seems.

And when your sorority experience doesn’t meet your expectations, there is a strong chance you may think about dropping your sorority.

If you are seriously considering this, then listen up because this blog post is for you. In this blog post, we will be discussing the process of leaving your sorority and what happens after you drop your sorority.

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How to drop your sorority

The process of leaving your sorority will vary chapter by chapter because each chapter has its own policies and procedures for terminating sorority membership.

In general though, the process will start with you writing and sending your Chapter President or Membership Vice President a formal letter of resignation stating why you are dropping your sorority.

*If you are a new member, meaning you have not been initiated yet, you may be able to drop out simply by talking to your New Member Educator or Chapter President. Meaning, no sorority resignation letter required.

Then you may have a one-on-one meeting with your Chapter President or Chapter Advisor where you will further discuss why you want to drop.

At this meeting, your president will ask you to stay or try to negotiate something with you to make you stay. She will also ask you for feedback regarding what the sorority could do to improve on. You may also be asked to sign paperwork that officially terminates your membership.

And finally, you will be expected to turn in your membership badge or pin, your sorority house key (if you lived in the sorority house), and any membership card or certificate.

One requirement most, if not all, sororities have for dropping is that all sorority dues and fines must be paid before membership is officially terminated. If you are experiencing financial hardship, they may be able to offer you a payment plan or waive some of the money.

The YouTube video below is a short, but great explanation by Zoe Calsyn on how to withdraw your sorority membership as a new member or an initiated Sister.

What do you say when you drop a sorority?

Dropping a sorority is like quitting a job. Meaning, it needs to be done in a formal manner, especially if you have already been initiated.

If you’re a new member, and don’t know any better, you can probably get away with informally talking to the President or Membership Vice President before or after Chapter or just through an email to leave your sorority.

In your sorority letter of resignation, or email, to the Chapter President or Membership Vice President, you’ll want to state, as honestly as possible, why you want to terminate your membership.

You don’t have to tell the entire truth, as that is your own personal business, but have to have some justification to why sorority life wasn’t for you. The information you provide in the letter can also help make the chapter better for other Sisters.

Sorority resignation letter example

Dear Madam President,

Please accept this letter as my formal resignation of membership from the Zeta Zeta chapter of the Gamma Alpha Zeta sorority at Academic University.

Due to financial reasons, I am unable to maintain my membership in Gamma Alpha Zeta.

I have greatly enjoyed my time as a member of Gamma Alpha Zeta. And I appreciate the experiences and opportunities Gamma Alpha Zeta has provided me to grow not only as a better Sister of the chapter, but as a woman as well.

Until my official resignation date, I will continue to be a loyal Sister of the chapter and do whatever I can do make the resignation process as smooth as possible. Please let me know the next steps to complete the termination of membership.

I hope nothing but growth for all the Sisters of Gamma Alpha Zeta, and I hope to continue my connections with the Sisters of the chapter even after my resignation.

Best regards,

Jane Doe

Why should you drop your sorority?

For many girls, a major reason for dropping their sorority is due to the cost.

Joining and being part of a sorority is not cheap on top of having to pay for your tuition, rent, groceries, gas, and more.

So for many girls, once they realize they cannot keep up with sorority dues and extra expenses like events, t-shirts, and sorority big little, they drop.

Related: How Much Does It Cost To Be In A Sorority?

Other reasons to drop your sorority may include:

  • Not making friends
  • Falling grades
  • Work schedule making it difficult to attend sorority events
  • Sorority not meeting your personal expectations
  • *Experiencing hazing or bullying
  • Desire to go through the recruitment process again to join a different sorority
  • Moving away
  • Dropping out of college
  • Internship or job opportunity
  • Pregnancy

*If you are experiencing or are witnessing hazing or bullying in your sorority please contact your university’s Department of Greek Life or Department of Fraternity and Sorority Life to report the incident and get help. Please also visit either StopHazing.org or HazingPrevention.org for more information and resources.

What does it mean to disaffiliate from a sorority?

Disaffiliating or resigning from a sorority means to give up the letters of your sorority.

You may hear this term more around sorority recruitment when girls temporarily disaffiliate from their sorority to be a recruitment counselor, also called, Pi Chis, Rho Gammas, or Gamma Chis.

However, in regard to dropping your sorority, disaffiliation is permanent and cannot be reversed unless under special circumstances.

The YouTube video below is by Elizabeth Willey and she explains why she dropped her sorority and what she gained after dropping.

When can you drop from your sorority?

All sorority members are able to drop from their sorority at any time as long as they are in good financial standing. So choosing when you want to drop your sorority is totally up to you. We’ll discuss three common scenarios where new members or Sisters may consider dropping.

Dropping your sorority after bid day

For some girls who go through sorority recruitment they either:

  • Do not get a bid to their dream sorority
  • Find out that this specific sorority chapter is not for them
  • Find out that sorority life, as whole, is not for them

In these cases, they may opt to drop their sorority after Bid Day or soon after, like before or after their first new member meeting.

It’s actually pretty common to see girls drop immediately after Bid Day.

When I first joined my chapter of Gamma Phi Beta, there were at least 10 girls who had dropped before our first new member meeting.

If you want to withdraw your bid after Bid Day, you’ll need to talk to your New Member Educator and she will help you complete the process of dropping.

Drop your sorority before Initiation

One crucial thing to know about sororities is that if you’re initiated, you are literally stuck with that sorority for life.

Meaning, you can’t go through sorority recruitment ever again. So if you’re getting cold feet for your sorority before Initiation, you need to drop before you lose this opportunity.

When I was in my sorority we even had girls drop the day of Initiation before the Initiation ceremony even happened.

Dropping your sorority senior year

Sometimes girls may decide to drop their sorority their senior year to free up time to take upper-level classes, do an internship, job search, or simply have more time on their hands that being a sorority would take up.

However, dropping your sorority and getting early alumnae status are two different things.

When you drop your sorority, you are not allowed to wear your sorority letters or attend sorority events.

But if you go early alum, you can still wear letters and attend sorority events like formal, with permission from the chapter. You’ll also be eligible to receive a graduation stool for your sorority.

This YouTube video is by Kate Wismer and she explains why she dropped her sorority her senior year of college.

What happens after you drop from a sorority?

The first few days after dropping your sorority may feel awkward especially if you see your formal Sisters around campus.

Luckily, those feelings will subside and you’ll find yourself investing your time in other places like your school work and in other extracurricular activities.

You may even feel relieved that you don’t have to attend another 2-hour chapter meeting ever again or attend recruitment workshops in the summer.

But besides gaining more free-time, what else happens after you drop from a sorority?

Wearing sorority letters after dropping

If you withdraw your membership from your sorority you are not suppose to wear sorority letters on campus or in public. It’s not like anyone would know that you had dropped, unless it’s a formal Sister, but it is frowned upon.

But most likely if you dropped, you won’t want to wear those letters anymore anyways.

Once you drop you should remove any sorority letter decals from your car, laptop case, etc., and sell or give away any sorority shirts to Sisters of your chapter.

If your sorority has an official t-shirt swap page on Facebook you can also sell your sorority shirts and related items to Sisters from other universities on there.

Can you join a sorority after dropping?

Yes and no.

YES, you can another sorority join if…

If you want to join a sorority after dropping your original sorority you would need to drop before Initiation and you have to wait until the next Formal Recruitment due to the MRABA you signed at the end of Preference Rounds during recruitment.

NO, you cannot join another sorority if…

If you have been Initiated into a sorority you cannot go through recruitment again, and therefore, you cannot join another sorority.

Can you come back to your sorority if you drop it?

Every sorority chapter will vary on when and if they allow Sisters who disaffiliated to rejoin.

Usually the criteria to rejoin is difficult to meet unless you’re planning on attending college for over 4 years. For instance, you may not be able to come back to your sorority until 2 years (or more) have passed since you withdrew your membership.

If you want to rejoin you also shouldn’t have any outstanding sorority dues to pay and you will have to be voted back by the chapter.

And if you were a new member when you dropped, you may not be eligible to be invited back to the sorority you originally accepted a bid to. But hopefully will get a bid to another sorority and love it even more!

Concluding thoughts on dropping your sorority

Making the decision to leave your sorority is a serious, and sometimes irreversible decision.

If you do consider dropping be sure to talk it over with your sorority family, especially your sorority big, or a trustworthy sister, and with someone outside of sorority life who can help you determine if this is the right decision for you.

In today’s blog post, we talked about how to drop your sorority, what to say if you want to drop your sorority, different times you may consider leaving your sorority, and what happens after your resign from your sorority.

I hope you found this blog post informative and useful as you continue through your sorority experience. Good luck!

Related posts to leaving your sorority

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