[We scoured the country to find the ultimate sorority girl to share her sisterly expertise with you. After reading through tons of applications followed by hours Facebook-stalking all the candidates (which proved difficult thanks to FB's privacy settings....), we found her. She gave you the lowdown on what happens if you get cut from a house and the rules of the sorority date party. And now it's time to talk about sorority house politics.]

To run, or not to run – that is the question. Sorority exec elections are right around the corner for most chapters, putting a lot of girls on the fence about whether or not to run for a position.  Going for any title – from new member educator to secretary to president – can cause drama and tension between sisters and put friendships on the rocks in the house.

So, to run or not to run?
Answer: debatable.

Let’s take a closer look at what chapter elections involve to see if an exec position is right for you:

It Gets Personal:
You and a close friend are running for the same position. Obvi an issue. What happens if you win? What happens if she does? What happens if neither of you do? I don’t have an answer for the first two questions, but clearly for the last, you’d curl up together with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and admit to each other how much the other one would have been better at the position anyway. Ahh, sisterly love.

My best advice: keep your chapter’s best interest at heart. Win or lose, feelings are going to be hurt. One of you is going to feel disappointed and embarrassed or happy and a little guilty for winning. Don’t let a title come between a friendship. That chapter voted for who they thought would best serve them, so while it seems personal, it’s all business.

It’s a MAJOR time commitment:
Attention all pre-meds to chemical engineers and everyone in between – this one is for you. You don’t have time! Unless for some reason you are a God-sent, genius-freak who has a 4.0 and too much time on your hands, running for an exec position could get a little overwhelming! Please, please, please think it through before running. Not having the time to dedicate to the position means that you won’t have time to fulfill your duties… aka you are going to make sisters really angry, especially seniors. Don’t overload yourself- no extra time = no exec!

It’s Up to the Chapter:
It’s been a lifelong dream of yours to take diligent notes at every chapter meeting, send detailed and well thought out minutes to members who miss chapter, and one day be named chapter secretary … but your so-called BFF doesn’t quite agree with your dream. How dare her, right? Your got an A in handwriting all through elementary school – you  were born to be a secretary.

My advice: go with your gut. If you would benefit the house by being the secretary – then go for it! Every house is different, but the sisters will either vote you into that position or an election committee will place you into that position. Either way, if you end up there it is because other sisters think you can do it. So if you want it, go for it.

It’s Great for your Future:
Not only does holding a chapter position look fantastic on a resume, but you will learn a lot about leadership, responsibility and time management – all things you wouldn’t be able to learn from your typical college course load and all things that will benefit you in your post-grad life.

What else do you want to know about sorority elections? What CRAZY things have happened in YOUR sorority during elections?

Want more Greek Speak? Click here

Joining a sorority is a huge time, financial and social commitment. It’s more than choosing a place to live for the next school year; the chapter you join determines who your friends will be, what your social life will look like and even your life post-grad. (Seriously, I know so many girls who have gotten a foot in the door at their jobs based on connections they have through their sorority!)

So should you do it? Why or why not? Is Greek Life right for you or should you spend your money elsewhere?

We asked a panel of sorority women (all from different schools with different backgrounds and experiences) to weigh in on that very question. Below, their reasons for joining a sorority…and a few reasons why you shouldn’t.

Ariana: Gamma Phi Beta, Penn State University
Joining a sorority provides you with an immediate social and professional network that is incomparable to any other organization. You are presented with the opportunity to get involved in a wide range of activities and events, and take on leadership positions in your chapter. However, if you are just looking for a social club, and don’t have any desire to get involved in anything other than partying, sorority life may not be for you.

Gabby: Phi Theta Chi, Winona State University
The number one reason I would give to join a sorority would be the amazing social life.  Being greek guarantees that your calendar will always be full and the opportunities to get involved on campus and in the community are endless. Honestly, though, don’t join a sorority if you can’t handle conflict, because with this many people involved a difference in beliefs and opinions is unavoidable.

Lisa: UCLA
The best reason to join a sorority house is probably the food. OK, so that’s not the best, but having a cook to prepare your meals and getting to live in a beautiful house with a bunch of girls like you is definitely a perk. At the same time, Greek Life is a major time commitment and it takes time to learn how to juggle everything you will have on your plate.

Rachel Cerrone: Chi Omega, Indiana University
Being in a sorority is the most fulfilling experience someone can have at school, both socially and academically.  Sororities provide a wide array of community service opportunities, tutors, study aids, exposure to many other student activity groups (the girls are always involved in tons of things outside of the sorority), and the chance to make life-long friends.  However, if you do not enjoy getting woken up at 3 A.M. due to a random club-music dance party in the hallway, I suggest not joining a sorority.

Kellyn: University of Michigan
The best reason I can give for joining a sorority is that you truly make your best friends. The friends that you make in your sorority are the friends that you will have for the rest of your life. These are the girls that will go abroad with you, the girls that will help you get ready on your wedding day.

A reason to not join a specific sorority is reputation.  If you hear that one house is the “hot sorority” or the “party house,” do not let this affect your decision.  Join the house that you feel comfortable at.  Chances are, if you join a house just because you think the sorority has a good rep, you’ll drop in the first week because you will feel no connection with the other girls in the house. If you are considering joining a sorority, look to the houses where you don’t have to change who you are to fit a stereotype.  If you have to change yourself at all, you won’t be happy.  And if you are yourself, chances are you’ll meet your best friends for life.

Megan: Chi Omega, Purdue
I would say one of the best reasons for joining a sorority is the study buddies!! It is a lot easier to go to class and be productive at the house studying when you have sisters in the same classes! What sucks about Greek life in general is all the negative, false scrutiny we face as Greeks that just isn’ true.

Kit: Alpha Chi Omega, Ohio State University
Joining a sorority gives you an opportunity to create connections and join a lifetime network of women which can benefit during college as well as after graduation. One reason someone might decide not to join a sorority is that the time commitment may put a strain on friendships outside of Greek Life.

What do you think? What are the biggest reasons to join a sorority and the biggest reasons not to?

[Got a question for our Panhel Panel? Post it below and come back the last Tuesday of every month to hear what they have to say.]

We have incredibly exciting news coming straight from the CollegeCandy headquarters. This just in: CollegeCandy is  launching  a brand new column this fall for sorority girls across the country. We’re looking for the ultimate sorority girl, a Greek life die-hard willing to dish out an honest perspective on sorority life.

She needs to have strong writing skills, a sense of humor, knowledge on all things Greek (from rush etiquette to theme parties), and an overall willingness to give advice to sorority girls (and soon-to-be sorority girls) from all over America.

Does this sound like a girl in your house? Does this sound like you?

In 300 words or less, tell us why YOU’D be the ultimate sorority girl for CollegeCandy and send it to sororitygirl@collegecandy.com by August 17th. The chosen girl not only gets a weekly column on a blog with over one million readers, she also gets to bring home up to 30 pairs of Greek flip flops for her house from www.GreekForMe.com, an online store chock full of the cutest sorority apparel and gifts ever.

Sounds like a win/win to us.
So what are you waiting for?

Okay, so I guess I let Hollywood feed me that stereotype.

However, once I started freshman year I started meeting some great girls (who were none of those stereotypical adjectives) and who were also in sororities. The contrast baffled me, so I decided to investigate.

Sororities are pretty big on my campus and something like 35% of girls go Greek. That fact and all the nice girls I had met led me to sign myself up for the 2 week long process of rush. My floor friends all signed up too, but I was still pretty iffy about the idea. I told a few home friends and their reaction was…well less than enthusiastic. I got responses like; “Are you serious?” “Why would you do that to yourself?” and “You are not a sorority girl!” Even my mom, who went Greek in college, said that it might not be for me. These people were the people that knew me best, so I thought that they were probably right, and I prepared to pull my name off the list of about 700 girls.

I deliberated for a while and ended up setting everyone else’s input aside (where it should have been in the first place). While my friends meant well, what did any of them know about being Greek? It is simply impossible to judge such a huge population of college girls based on Legally Blonde. So I kept my name on the rush list, for the primary reason that if I backed out before I had given it a fair shot, I knew I would feel regret and always wonder “what if.”

So I rushed, which at my school is literally rushing around. You go from house to house, sometimes in heels, meeting tons of girls. There are four rounds, “Go Greek”, “House Tours”, “Philanthropy”, and “Preference Rounds”. At the end of each round you rank the houses and they, in turn, rank all the “rushees.” Not gonna lie: it was a little nerve-wracking and exhausting. But as I walked around the houses and met the girls it became easy to sense where I belonged and where I didn’t quite feel comfortable.

In the end I picked a house and they picked me and I got to meet so many people that I would not have otherwise. People that are now my best friends and sisters. At such a big school, going Greek provided me with a smaller circle, girls to have fun with and girls to study with, girls to take care of me when I needed help and a place to feel comfortable.

Rush, of course, doesn’t turn out the same for everyone. Some people find houses, others don’t. I have a friend who regretted not rushing freshman year and rushed as a sophomore. In the end she dropped out of rush, but at least she could now say with certainty that it wasn’t for her. Even if you rush and end up not liking it you will meet so many more people. You could meet girls you like and choose to be friends with, but not sisters with, after the process. Or you could meet girls that dislike rush just as much as you end up bonding over disdain for the process. Or you could rush and find a sorority that you want to be a part of. You could find yourself a place where you are comfortable and happy, and what could be better than that?

Either way, I encourage rushing because it’s something you don’t get to re-do later in life. Give it a shot and you’ll be regret-free either way.