How is Sorority Rush going?

[Anonymous]

What does Touse mean?
Kids are using it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is it harder at Indiana? I heard similar.

I’m from Indiana but now live in the DMV. Many of my high school friends have daughters who have recently rushed at Indiana. It is a very Greek heavy and focused environment. And the high school connections certainly were key for my friend’s daughters. The houses basically know before rush who they want.

Having said that I have other friends whose daughters didn’t rush and had a very social and fun time at Indiana.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is rush like at Wake; Duke; Vanderbilt and Northwestern?

It’s really difficult at Wake. There are definitely a good number of kids who rush and do not get the sorority/fraternity they want. Probably harder for boys because pledge classes are smaller, but the number of girls rushing has gone through the roof and there is no new houses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is it harder at Indiana? I heard similar.

Too few spots for number of girls rushing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is it harder at Indiana? I heard similar.

Too few spots for number of girls rushing.

I’m not sure that’s really true. The Nation Panhellenic board sets how many kids each house can accept based on the number of girls rushing. Therefore, there’s space for every girl. That said, a lot of the lower houses are seen as not as desirable and girls drop rather than join those houses.My daughter’s pledge class has 160 girls- so many!

[Anonymous]

Sounds awful. I would never have been able to do it. But good luck to any of your daughters going through it; perhaps they can make it smoother for the next pledge group and be a kind mentor to the new girls.

[Anonymous]

Sorority rush sounds so stressful to me, especially at a time when kids are just acclimating to college life, rigorous classes, etc. My dd will start college next fall and wants to rush. I already expressed my concerns, and hope she makes good choices if she wants to be part of that world. I have also heard business club culture is cut-throat at many schools. Everything seems so competitive these days...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's tough everywhere, OP.

The universal problem at every school is that all of the girls rushing want the same top, few sororities. If she can be happy anywhere, you'll be fine. If your daughter insists on being an XYZ, she's likely to be disappointed.

Depends on the girl and any hooks she has.

What kind of hooks?

Pretty, uber rich, skinny

Not enough. You need to know girls in the house already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As long as the girls are open minded they will find a home. The problem is most of them want the “top” house which is likely not nearly worth the reputation. My dd is in a mid tier house which was not on her radar when she initially rushed but it turned out to be a great fit. And no, most sororities don’t care where you summer or what you’re wearing, only those infamous “top” houses do. And do you really want to be part of that anyway?

This is not true in the SEC. Even “mid tier”
houses are hard to get into unless you know a few girls in the house already. Even triple legacy doesn’t matter.

No two schools are the same for rush.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's tough everywhere, OP.

The universal problem at every school is that all of the girls rushing want the same top, few sororities. If she can be happy anywhere, you'll be fine. If your daughter insists on being an XYZ, she's likely to be disappointed.

Depends on the girl and any hooks she has.

What kind of hooks?

Pretty, uber rich, skinny

Two out of three are often enough.

All three often isn’t enough at the really competitive schools. A celebrity parent will do it, but often you need a connection to that sorority, I.e. a legacy or knowing older girls from high school or a college activity.

Summer camp too.

[Anonymous]

The need to belong……

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The need to belong……

Yes, we all have it.

[Anonymous]

There's a lot of negativity on this thread, but my DD joined at Arizona in the Fall. She knew 1-2 random kids from here, but was otherwise going in without knowing people. Rush was intense- there were more girls this year than ever before. She got dropped from some houses, but also felt great in others. Being out of state and not knowing people didn't see t be a huge negative for her. She found a house that is great for her. It is actually pretty highly ranked, but that is not why she pledged there- it was where she fit in best. There was zero negatives during her first semester. She has met so many people and as there is a mandatory food plan, she also always has people to eat with.

I was not in a sorority myself and wasn't sure what to expect, but it has been wonderful for my DD as she has started school and has such a great group of friends.

I would encourage any girl who wants to go through the process to do it. If they don't feel like it's a good fit, they can always drop but then they won't wonder "what if."

[Anonymous]

I rushed at UVA in 2010 (wow...how is that possible) but did not pledge a sorority. Not going to lie, it was...difficult.

I never really thought about/wanted to join a sorority prior to college - it was not on my radar, but I signed up for rush because it was such a big thing at UVA. I was out of state and didn't know anyone. Long story short, I ended up getting dropped from most sororities and getting a bid from what those on campus called the 'fat', 'loser' sorority (I may have been a loser, but I was not fat!) I declined the bid and decided not to be in a sorority at all.

EVEN AS someone who didn't really care that much about being in a sorority and went on to have good friends and a good college experience, it really stung. I remember telling my mom that 'a third of the girls at this school must not like me' after getting dropped nearly everywhere, and I always felt a bit insecure wondering what it was. In class, I'd wonder if I was sitting near a girl who dropped me or had talked badly about me during the decision-making process. Even looking back today, I wonder what was wrong with me at the time. And some people took it even harder - a girl in my dorm was so devastated her parents had to come up, and she nearly withdrew from the school (she ended up staying, fortunately, and getting really involved in a cool hobby group where she ended up meeting her husband, so all worked out).

Anyways, I find the system problematic and wouldn't support my daughter joining a sorority or rushing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I rushed at UVA in 2010 (wow...how is that possible) but did not pledge a sorority. Not going to lie, it was...difficult.

I never really thought about/wanted to join a sorority prior to college - it was not on my radar, but I signed up for rush because it was such a big thing at UVA. I was out of state and didn't know anyone. Long story short, I ended up getting dropped from most sororities and getting a bid from what those on campus called the 'fat', 'loser' sorority (I may have been a loser, but I was not fat!) I declined the bid and decided not to be in a sorority at all.

EVEN AS someone who didn't really care that much about being in a sorority and went on to have good friends and a good college experience, it really stung. I remember telling my mom that 'a third of the girls at this school must not like me' after getting dropped nearly everywhere, and I always felt a bit insecure wondering what it was. In class, I'd wonder if I was sitting near a girl who dropped me or had talked badly about me during the decision-making process. Even looking back today, I wonder what was wrong with me at the time. And some people took it even harder - a girl in my dorm was so devastated her parents had to come up, and she nearly withdrew from the school (she ended up staying, fortunately, and getting really involved in a cool hobby group where she ended up meeting her husband, so all worked out).

Anyways, I find the system problematic and wouldn't support my daughter joining a sorority or rushing.

Same experience, same school, but in the 90s. If I could go back and choose a different college, I would pick one where there was no Greek system. It really soured my time there.