Can someone please explain the whole frat thing to me? What goes in rushing and what is it all about

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The actual "rush" period (lots of parties and drinking) is about a week- maybe 10 days. Then the picking happens. With guys the actual "acceptance" is less formal- I think you are just told by your new buddies. For girls they have this horrific ceremony (at least at Carolina) where all the girls stand in the horseshoe (the main part of campus) and are given bags that they all open at the same time. Some bags are empty, and some have t-shirts. The t-shirt has the name of your sorority. You open you bag and either cry or go hug your new "sisters." In front of everyone. Kids (Greek and Non Greek) hang on the sidelines to watch.

That's awesome that he already has friends in the frat so he has an "in." Pleducation classes are usually one or two nights a week for about 2 hours. If he really wants to do it, it will be up to him to budget his time and produce the grades amongst the frivolity.

Ouch - empty bags?!

That is disgusting. Disgusting, cruel, mean.

The purpose of Greek organizations is to exclude and define who is "in" and who is "out." Why colleges and universities continue to think practices like these are acceptable is beyond me.

My DC is looking at schools with little or no frat life because he thinks they are stupid. Smart boy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I went to a big SEC school with over a dozen sororities. We toured houses for a week. We made our choices via a computer program that matches you (sororities choose you and you choose sororities). Your choices get narrowed down to 3 and then you rank those. On bid day we received bids from the sorority the computer matched us with. We were inside when we opened our envelopes and then we ran outside to meet our new sisters. No hazing ever happened and our GPAs were WAY above school average. You got kicked out if you went below a 3.0 and under 3.5 you would lose privileges.

Honestly, it was the best 4 years ever because of my sorority.

I was a fraternity sweetheart and I helped a lot with frat rush. There's was way less formal. If you were a guy you basically went around to the houses you wanted and saw if you fit in or not (called "rush"). There were SO many fraternities (nearly 30 I think) that you were guaranteed to find one that you loved and had lots in common with.

WTF

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh...popularity contests....

Or, you could look at it as a way to sort through the thousands of other students at a college and find a group who seem to be similar to you.

My information is dated but at my state school rush was a 7 day process the week before school began. First day all girls went to all houses, there were I think 12 on my campus (you were assigned to groups led by a rush counselor. Each rush counselor hid her own affiliation for the week and was there to help the girls sort through their options and lead them through the process).

Second round you went to maybe 5 or 6 max. Third round you went to two, it was a more dressy affair and ended with preference night. In each round, both girls and houses ranked ordered their preferences. There was always a cut line. After the first day of visiting 12 houses, you got to pick your top 8. Houses also had to rank order the girls coming through, it maybe a 75% rate. The narrowing continued until the final round when each girl ranked the top two, and the houses each ranked the remaining girls who came through that night. Matches were made. Bid Day, envelopes were handed out to each girl by their Rho Chis and then they all ran to their new sorority houses and the celebration began. If girls did not get a match, they were told privately.

The key really for girls was to rank houses based on who you really clicked with. It's not about popularity, it's about finding that group with whom you seemed to have the most in common. Yes, it's hard to tell in short visits, but think about a party. Who do you have an easy time having a conversation and you walk away "Wow, Larla was cool. I could have talked to her all night" versus getting stuck in an awkward conversation with someone with whom you have nothing in common.

At my school, even back in the 90s it was dry and pretty well-controlled. Now, the parties the night after Bid Night were a whole other story!

Then why have Greek organizations at small schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh...popularity contests....

Or, you could look at it as a way to sort through the thousands of other students at a college and find a group who seem to be similar to you.

My information is dated but at my state school rush was a 7 day process the week before school began. First day all girls went to all houses, there were I think 12 on my campus (you were assigned to groups led by a rush counselor. Each rush counselor hid her own affiliation for the week and was there to help the girls sort through their options and lead them through the process).

Second round you went to maybe 5 or 6 max. Third round you went to two, it was a more dressy affair and ended with preference night. In each round, both girls and houses ranked ordered their preferences. There was always a cut line. After the first day of visiting 12 houses, you got to pick your top 8. Houses also had to rank order the girls coming through, it maybe a 75% rate. The narrowing continued until the final round when each girl ranked the top two, and the houses each ranked the remaining girls who came through that night. Matches were made. Bid Day, envelopes were handed out to each girl by their Rho Chis and then they all ran to their new sorority houses and the celebration began. If girls did not get a match, they were told privately.

The key really for girls was to rank houses based on who you really clicked with. It's not about popularity, it's about finding that group with whom you seemed to have the most in common. Yes, it's hard to tell in short visits, but think about a party. Who do you have an easy time having a conversation and you walk away "Wow, Larla was cool. I could have talked to her all night" versus getting stuck in an awkward conversation with someone with whom you have nothing in common.

At my school, even back in the 90s it was dry and pretty well-controlled. Now, the parties the night after Bid Night were a whole other story!

Then why have Greek organizations at small schools?

I don't know the answer to that. I went to a large state school.

[Anonymous]

watch the movies Animal House and Revenge of the Nerds...explains everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh...popularity contests....

Or, you could look at it as a way to sort through the thousands of other students at a college and find a group who seem to be similar to you.

My information is dated but at my state school rush was a 7 day process the week before school began. First day all girls went to all houses, there were I think 12 on my campus (you were assigned to groups led by a rush counselor. Each rush counselor hid her own affiliation for the week and was there to help the girls sort through their options and lead them through the process).

Second round you went to maybe 5 or 6 max. Third round you went to two, it was a more dressy affair and ended with preference night. In each round, both girls and houses ranked ordered their preferences. There was always a cut line. After the first day of visiting 12 houses, you got to pick your top 8. Houses also had to rank order the girls coming through, it maybe a 75% rate. The narrowing continued until the final round when each girl ranked the top two, and the houses each ranked the remaining girls who came through that night. Matches were made. Bid Day, envelopes were handed out to each girl by their Rho Chis and then they all ran to their new sorority houses and the celebration began. If girls did not get a match, they were told privately.

The key really for girls was to rank houses based on who you really clicked with. It's not about popularity, it's about finding that group with whom you seemed to have the most in common. Yes, it's hard to tell in short visits, but think about a party. Who do you have an easy time having a conversation and you walk away "Wow, Larla was cool. I could have talked to her all night" versus getting stuck in an awkward conversation with someone with whom you have nothing in common.

At my school, even back in the 90s it was dry and pretty well-controlled. Now, the parties the night after Bid Night were a whole other story!

Of course it is about popularity. If it weren't, then there would not be rejections in addition to acceptances.

[Anonymous]

The answers will vary based on the school and even the specific fraternities within the school.

[Anonymous]

Wow this makes me so happy I am a nerd haha. I went to a top school that thankfully had no Greek life it was not even an option and if it was I can bet that I would not have been part of it.
I think the thing with the girls forming a horseshoe and all finding out publicly whether in essence are cool enough is humiliating, shocking and frankly shame on that school for allowing public ridicule like that.
Good thing its not my kids school I would be one of hose super embarrassing parents who would get a petition to stop it. Shame!

[Anonymous]

Greek life seems so high school to me. Like, this is US, this is how WE do things, and that's THEM.

[Anonymous]

Joining the Greek system makes a large campus feel a bit smaller. It gives students more opportunities to meet other students. It also provides a good social life (if you like that sort of thing). Some people like to be part of a large group and less independent, which isn't a bad thing. To each his own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to a big SEC school with over a dozen sororities. We toured houses for a week. We made our choices via a computer program that matches you (sororities choose you and you choose sororities). Your choices get narrowed down to 3 and then you rank those. On bid day we received bids from the sorority the computer matched us with. We were inside when we opened our envelopes and then we ran outside to meet our new sisters. No hazing ever happened and our GPAs were WAY above school average. You got kicked out if you went below a 3.0 and under 3.5 you would lose privileges.

Honestly, it was the best 4 years ever because of my sorority.

I was a fraternity sweetheart and I helped a lot with frat rush. There's was way less formal. If you were a guy you basically went around to the houses you wanted and saw if you fit in or not (called "rush"). There were SO many fraternities (nearly 30 I think) that you were guaranteed to find one that you loved and had lots in common with.

WTF

I'm sorry but I can't help envisioning the 'fraternity sweetheart' wearing pearls and heels like the sweethearts in Animal House. Though, I'm glad, seriously, that she had a good college experience. That's what it's all about! You find the experience that works for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The actual "rush" period (lots of parties and drinking) is about a week- maybe 10 days. Then the picking happens. With guys the actual "acceptance" is less formal- I think you are just told by your new buddies. For girls they have this horrific ceremony (at least at Carolina) where all the girls stand in the horseshoe (the main part of campus) and are given bags that they all open at the same time. Some bags are empty, and some have t-shirts. The t-shirt has the name of your sorority. You open you bag and either cry or go hug your new "sisters." In front of everyone. Kids (Greek and Non Greek) hang on the sidelines to watch.

That's awesome that he already has friends in the frat so he has an "in." Pleducation classes are usually one or two nights a week for about 2 hours. If he really wants to do it, it will be up to him to budget his time and produce the grades amongst the frivolity.

Ouch - empty bags?!

That is disgusting. Disgusting, cruel, mean.

The purpose of Greek organizations is to exclude and define who is "in" and who is "out." Why colleges and universities continue to think practices like these are acceptable is beyond me.

My DC is looking at schools with little or no frat life because he thinks they are stupid. Smart boy.

So does he want to go to some small, highly selective SLAC with no frats? I'm sure those places aren't the least bit elitist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The actual "rush" period (lots of parties and drinking) is about a week- maybe 10 days. Then the picking happens. With guys the actual "acceptance" is less formal- I think you are just told by your new buddies. For girls they have this horrific ceremony (at least at Carolina) where all the girls stand in the horseshoe (the main part of campus) and are given bags that they all open at the same time. Some bags are empty, and some have t-shirts. The t-shirt has the name of your sorority. You open you bag and either cry or go hug your new "sisters." In front of everyone. Kids (Greek and Non Greek) hang on the sidelines to watch.

That's awesome that he already has friends in the frat so he has an "in." Pleducation classes are usually one or two nights a week for about 2 hours. If he really wants to do it, it will be up to him to budget his time and produce the grades amongst the frivolity.

Ouch - empty bags?!

I don't believe this. We did occasionally have girls that wouldn't match anywhere. But they were told separately from everyone else. They kept only putting the top tier sororities on their cards when the others wanted them. It was pretty much their own fault if they didn't match. I didn't match with my dream sorority, but I'm SO happy I stuck with mine and was chosen there. It was a much better fit.

I agree. What year was this? I went to a big SEC school, and we were given bid cards in a classroom where we gathered with our rush group. You opened up your envelope and saw your match, or the card said that there wasn't a match. Then we went out side and found our group; they were near where the bids were given out.

Our bids were also computer matched, with you ranking sororities and them ranking girls, so most people did indeed get bids. But some girls, like me, "suicided." I only filled out one name on my bid card, so if I wasn't high enough on their list, I wouldn't get picked. But I was a match.

[Anonymous]

Rushing is a relatively quick process. It's pledging that you have to worry about, OP. That's when any hazing (I use that term loosely; there are mild forms of hazing), all-nighters, crazy stunts, and other madness happens. Expect him to be less in touch at that point. He could quite honestly drop off the planet during hell week. I remember my boyfriend at the time wasn't allowed to talk to anyone outside the frat, including me. Then he showed up in my room one night, hammered with a shaved head.

BTW, it is not all "popular kids" who are involved in Greek life. I met a lot of fun, smart interesting people--not all the most popular girls from their high schools. I certainly was not.

--top tier sorority girl, northern school

[Anonymous]

The horseshoe t shirt thing is true. And it's called (unofficially) the "running of the pigs." Google it.