How to Choose a Sorority Big Sis

Getting a big in your sorority is an exciting and fun process because of the way each chapter speaks about these special relationships during recruitment. Your big becomes your “college mom” away from home, your built-in bestie, and someone you can always look up to. Navigating sorority life and college life can be difficult to get used to, so your big is someone who makes those things easier. In most cases your big will be someone who is at least one grade ahead of you, which means they have had many experiences to learn from in their time so far. They are someone to guide you through the challenging moments you may face in college and share their experience with you to help when making decisions. Now how do you find that perfect match to be your big?

1. Think about what you would value in a big. For some people, they look for a big who will be their best friend and for others they look for someone who is a person they look up to as a mentor figure. Figuring out what type of relationship you are looking for will help you find your perfect match.
2. Make connections! From the moment you walk into your new home on bid day, start making connections with sisters. Talk to anyone and everyone you can, and make lunch plans and coffee dates to get to know girls. Go to as many sisterhoods and chapter events as you can to put yourself out there. Big/little pairings usually happen pretty quickly into the new member process, so don’t wait too long. The more girls you get to know, the better your chance of finding your perfect big.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice and guidance during this process. Your new member educator is there for support along the way. If you are having trouble deciding who you want as your big, reach out to her for some advice. If you are having trouble meeting sisters, that is something she can help with too. Joining a sorority doesn’t mean you will automatically gain 100 new best friends. You still need to put in effort to make genuine connections. Ultimately, you are in charge of making your sorority experience amazing, so don’t sit back and hope it will just happen without trying.
4. Be open minded. Big/little pairings aren’t always going to go perfectly for everyone. Even if you end up getting someone other than who you wanted, trust that your chapter paired you with your big for a reason. At the end of the day, you don’t need a “big and little” title to be close with a sister.

At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong way to be a big/lil. Just be excited to have this special one of a kind relationship, because there truly is nothing like it. I hope these tips help!

XOXO,

Sarah