How is Sorority Rush going?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dd at uva said it looks like tri sig got six pledges, which is better than last year at least. I hope some girls COB and get them back to a decent size.

It was like 3-4.

Honestly, I put those girls up. It takes a lot more courage and independence to join a sorority like that than follow the herd to some cookie cutter top tier house.

I do too, I give them a lot of credit and I hope they stick it out.

+1
And the 3-4 happened because every PNM thinks they belong in a mid to top tier “cookie cutter” chapter and when they get to the last night and have only a mid tier and “lower tier” left, they will ISP (only put the mid tier on their pref card at the end) because most girls are very insecure and don’t have the strength of esteem to join a sorority that they are told is lower tier. In reality, the girls in every house are great—but there is just a stigma about joining a “less popular” house that makes girls decide they’d rather not join at all because they just don’t want to deal with that.
But the reality is that when you have 10 chapters to choose from, there are going to be groups that people consider to be on the top , in the middle, and on the bottom. But it’s all superficial because in the end every group has women who are amazing and will make great friends and incredible leaders, philanthropists, and support system for anyone looking for sisterhood.
So I hope those girls hang in there and thrive!

[Anonymous]

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.

They say it.
But it still matters. Just depends on the involvement of the legacy connection.

What kind of hooks?

Connections, whether she is a legacy, older girls from her high school who can vouch for her, at some schools, being on the dance/cheer team is an advantage.

Legacy doesn’t really matter anymore. Most sororities specifically say so in their rules now. The only real “hook” is being friends with girls currently in the sorority.

[Anonymous]

But to remind: those girls chose to go through the process. UVA is only 26-30% Greek. My DD never showed any interest and never attended any parties. She had (and still has) a large group of UVA friends from her activities in other areas.

I'm the PP you responded to and this is 100% correct. There are so many opportunities in C'Vill to get involved and find your people. Greek life is just one option and honestly, may not be the best one for many kids, which is totally fine. DH & I would be bummed if DD didn't continue to explore non Greek related interests and meet new people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dd at uva said it looks like tri sig got six pledges, which is better than last year at least. I hope some girls COB and get them back to a decent size.

It was like 3-4.

Honestly, I put those girls up. It takes a lot more courage and independence to join a sorority like that than follow the herd to some cookie cutter top tier house.

I do too, I give them a lot of credit and I hope they stick it out.

+1
And the 3-4 happened because every PNM thinks they belong in a mid to top tier “cookie cutter” chapter and when they get to the last night and have only a mid tier and “lower tier” left, they will ISP (only put the mid tier on their pref card at the end) because most girls are very insecure and don’t have the strength of esteem to join a sorority that they are told is lower tier. In reality, the girls in every house are great—but there is just a stigma about joining a “less popular” house that makes girls decide they’d rather not join at all because they just don’t want to deal with that.
But the reality is that when you have 10 chapters to choose from, there are going to be groups that people consider to be on the top , in the middle, and on the bottom. But it’s all superficial because in the end every group has women who are amazing and will make great friends and incredible leaders, philanthropists, and support system for anyone looking for sisterhood.
So I hope those girls hang in there and thrive!

Yes and frankly many of those who had tri sig left, should’ve gone tri sig, meaning they would fit there beautifully. But it’s the rumors and negative talk that kept them away.

[Anonymous]

To be fair, joining a house with a dozen or so members is a very different sorority experience than joining one with 150 or 200 members.

[Anonymous]

Adding, I can think of shy women who very much wanted to be part of a large group in a limited sort of way, and it was a wonderful experience for them. The sorority helped them acquire social skills and much needed confidence. However, these were not young women with the wherewithal to rescue a struggling group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dd at uva said it looks like tri sig got six pledges, which is better than last year at least. I hope some girls COB and get them back to a decent size.

It was like 3-4.

Honestly, I put those girls up. It takes a lot more courage and independence to join a sorority like that than follow the herd to some cookie cutter top tier house.

I do too, I give them a lot of credit and I hope they stick it out.

+1
And the 3-4 happened because every PNM thinks they belong in a mid to top tier “cookie cutter” chapter and when they get to the last night and have only a mid tier and “lower tier” left, they will ISP (only put the mid tier on their pref card at the end) because most girls are very insecure and don’t have the strength of esteem to join a sorority that they are told is lower tier. In reality, the girls in every house are great—but there is just a stigma about joining a “less popular” house that makes girls decide they’d rather not join at all because they just don’t want to deal with that.
But the reality is that when you have 10 chapters to choose from, there are going to be groups that people consider to be on the top , in the middle, and on the bottom. But it’s all superficial because in the end every group has women who are amazing and will make great friends and incredible leaders, philanthropists, and support system for anyone looking for sisterhood.
So I hope those girls hang in there and thrive!

+1

I was in a third-tier sorority and had a great experience. Still connected with many of my sorority friends all these years later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To be fair, joining a house with a dozen or so members is a very different sorority experience than joining one with 150 or 200 members.

+1 It’s also a different experience to be a member of a house that gets called names like a PP mentioned. And then wear letters on your body that might subject you to mean comments. You have to be a Pollyanna or mean to not understand this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To be fair, joining a house with a dozen or so members is a very different sorority experience than joining one with 150 or 200 members.

This is true. The problem with having so few members is that the focus is constantly on recruiting and becomes the whole focus and many girls just aren't that into it and will eventually drop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dd at uva said it looks like tri sig got six pledges, which is better than last year at least. I hope some girls COB and get them back to a decent size.

It was like 3-4.

Honestly, I put those girls up. It takes a lot more courage and independence to join a sorority like that than follow the herd to some cookie cutter top tier house.

I do too, I give them a lot of credit and I hope they stick it out.

+1
And the 3-4 happened because every PNM thinks they belong in a mid to top tier “cookie cutter” chapter and when they get to the last night and have only a mid tier and “lower tier” left, they will ISP (only put the mid tier on their pref card at the end) because most girls are very insecure and don’t have the strength of esteem to join a sorority that they are told is lower tier. In reality, the girls in every house are great—but there is just a stigma about joining a “less popular” house that makes girls decide they’d rather not join at all because they just don’t want to deal with that.
But the reality is that when you have 10 chapters to choose from, there are going to be groups that people consider to be on the top , in the middle, and on the bottom. But it’s all superficial because in the end every group has women who are amazing and will make great friends and incredible leaders, philanthropists, and support system for anyone looking for sisterhood.
So I hope those girls hang in there and thrive!

Yes and frankly many of those who had tri sig left, should’ve gone tri sig, meaning they would fit there beautifully. But it’s the rumors and negative talk that kept them away.

How do you know this? This all sounds like speculation unless you are a member of that chapter and met the individuals involved.

[Anonymous]

UVA "Big 3" - Is this a common way of describing the sororities???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA "Big 3" - Is this a common way of describing the sororities???

I’ve never heard them described that way, but I’m willing to bet they’re the exact same three that were on top 30 years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But to remind: those girls chose to go through the process. UVA is only 26-30% Greek. My DD never showed any interest and never attended any parties. She had (and still has) a large group of UVA friends from her activities in other areas.

I'm the PP you responded to and this is 100% correct. There are so many opportunities in C'Vill to get involved and find your people. Greek life is just one option and honestly, may not be the best one for many kids, which is totally fine. DH & I would be bummed if DD didn't continue to explore non Greek related interests and meet new people.

+1. There are over 700 clubs offered by UVA and, if that is insufficient, it's easy to create your own. My DS went our for crew, debate, Larry Summers' Crystal ball, philanthropic vlub and writing for the student paper. Not one of his many UVA friends is Greek.

[Anonymous]

So let’s say you are truly joining a sorority to make friends and have social opportunities..it makes sense you’d want one with 100+ members, not 20 or fewer, given the cost.

I graduated from UVA ten years ago and there were a plethora of MUCH cheaper, more open clubs that offered access to tons of other students (First Year Players, Cavalier Daily, music groups, religious groups if you’re into that). Many of these groups have their own fun and traditions (parties, tailgating together, fundraisers, etc.) I was in a drama group one year and the group was really welcoming, had lots of parties and meetups, study groups…tons and tons of ways to meet people.

I could see someone saying screw it, I’ll pay $50 a semester to join the school newspaper versus a thousand a semester to be in a sorority that has three people in each pledge class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My dd at uva said it looks like tri sig got six pledges, which is better than last year at least. I hope some girls COB and get them back to a decent size.

It was like 3-4.

Honestly, I put those girls up. It takes a lot more courage and independence to join a sorority like that than follow the herd to some cookie cutter top tier house.

I do too, I give them a lot of credit and I hope they stick it out.

+1
And the 3-4 happened because every PNM thinks they belong in a mid to top tier “cookie cutter” chapter and when they get to the last night and have only a mid tier and “lower tier” left, they will ISP (only put the mid tier on their pref card at the end) because most girls are very insecure and don’t have the strength of esteem to join a sorority that they are told is lower tier. In reality, the girls in every house are great—but there is just a stigma about joining a “less popular” house that makes girls decide they’d rather not join at all because they just don’t want to deal with that.
But the reality is that when you have 10 chapters to choose from, there are going to be groups that people consider to be on the top , in the middle, and on the bottom. But it’s all superficial because in the end every group has women who are amazing and will make great friends and incredible leaders, philanthropists, and support system for anyone looking for sisterhood.
So I hope those girls hang in there and thrive!

Yes and frankly many of those who had tri sig left, should’ve gone tri sig, meaning they would fit there beautifully. But it’s the rumors and negative talk that kept them away.

How do you know this? This all sounds like speculation unless you are a member of that chapter and met the individuals involved.

I do personally know two members as they are friends of my DD. I'm just saying of all of the people who dropped, of which there are hundreds, there were more than likely 20 girls who would be their type of girl and who would have loved it. You might not know this but there was another struggling house "below" Tri Sig for many years, Gamma Phi. Last year was the first time they did not participate in formal rush and that's what made Tri Sig the "worst case option" for last year and caused all the drops and drama.

Also, they do not have 12 members. They are not as big as the other chapters but I'm sure they must have at least 30-50. I imagine alot dropped last year after the beating they took on social media and it's kinda hard to stay excited about your chapter when no one shows up for bid day. They had pretty normal pledge classes until last year and they picked up people in COB last year and in the fall. I have heard they now are up to 9 pledges and are doing COB so hopefully they will do more.