View Full Version : Rush Before School Starts?
AOX81
02-07-2002, 04:20 PM
I have read a few places on this board where organizations at some schools hold rush/recruitment before the semester starts. I'm just curious if they think this works to their advantage or not and how they go about organizing this.
Thanks, have a nice day :)
RTZTAS
02-07-2002, 04:42 PM
When Auburn University was on the quarter system, school started in late September and Rush week was usually mid-September with rush work week beginning after Labor Day weekend. I always thought this worked very, very well. It gave the chapter the chance to do a great deal of preparation for an entire week during the daytime without having to worry about classes, tests, etc., etc. It also allows the rushee and chapter members to participate in rush during the daytime without having to worry about skipping classes, tests., etc. The only big downside I can think of is that rushees would drop out of rush if they didn't get the group they wanted, drop out of classes at Auburn, get a full refund on tuition, then enroll somewhere else, join the group they really wanted, and sometimes try to affiliate into Auburn's chapter in a year or so. A really minimal disadvantage if you asked me, since this was a pretty rare situation.
Auburn moved to the semester system about 2-3 years ago and I think there is a week between the end of Summer period and the beginning of Fall sememster and I think rush is held that week. I'm not sure when they hold rush work week. It may have been cut down to just a day or so, not sure.
I advised a chapter for a couple of years where the Panhellenic has struggled to find the right time to hold rush. They have tried for having it within the first 2 weeks of school to avoid exams and tests from conflicting w/ rushee's schedules, but they have also found that rush numbers go down by having rush too early in the year (i.e. not enough time for publicizing rush to incoming freshmen). This year I think rush was held maybe 3-4 weeks into the schoolyear. It gives the chapter more time to prepare and the groups more time to push going through rush to unaffiliated women. Depending on how your campus calendar operates, its pretty difficult to come up with a schedule that meets the needs of the rushee, chapters and advisors if you have to do rush while school is in session.
AchtungBaby80
02-07-2002, 05:03 PM
Yeah, my school (U of K) does it, and I think it works REALLY well. It's an established thing--everyone knows that the week before classes start is Fall Rush Week, and there's usually a pretty nice number going through, around 400-600 women. (The only bad thing is that all the crazies and bad people know this is when there are tons of young girls running around, so you have to be careful.) No tests to deal with, no conflicts with classes, so all we have to concentrate on is rush--and believe me, it's a big enough job as it is. I don't see how anybody could do it AND have to juggle classes, etc.
During the summer, registration forms and booklets detailing each sorority are sent out to all incoming freshman girls, which is pretty much how the word gets out to new students. There are almost always upperclassmen rushing, too. Rushees move in their dorms a day or two before rush starts, and they go to an orientation that explains bid-matching, what each function will be like, etc. Then rush begins. It's very organized, and in my opinion, is a pretty good way to go about what can be a confusing business!
LexiKD
02-07-2002, 06:00 PM
ECU used to do this and I LOVED it. I feel that with the right PR prior to Recruitment, that numbers are the same and it is so much easier for the PNMs and the NPC groups.
Everything is over by the time school starts and you already have a group that you identify with on the first day of school. It's the best!
What I would like to hear about is schools that do it over 2 weekends during school, that seems so hard to me!
BrandiDZ
02-07-2002, 06:41 PM
Northern Kentucky University used to have sorority recruitment the three days prior to school starting with bid day on the first day of school. This system was great.
This year, they changed it to the first weekend after school started. The idea was that more women would be aware of recruitment and come out. It didn't work. Numbers of pnm didnt go up, and I think it may have hurt the smaller sororities on campus because pnm got a taste of what the reputations were like of each group.
The major downside of doing recruitment after school has been in session for a week was that most of us had homework. I don't know how everyone else works, but in my chapter you are preparing for recruitment everyday from 8 in the morning and you dont get out until around 11 in the evening. This didn't leave much time for homework and was very stressful to the recruitment chairwomen (myself being one of them.)
I favor having recruitment a couple of days before school starts.
HeavenslilAngel
02-07-2002, 08:10 PM
At my school we do rush before school starts and we have the freshman sign up to receive packets like on senior day and everything and they receive them in the summer. I have never participated in formal rush as a rusher or rushee so it will be interesting to be on the rusher side. Speaking of rush, my sorority will be doing an open bidding here in a few weeks and I was wondering if any of you had ideas for philanthropy activities and get to know you games, particularly ones that would get the shy crowd to open up because we are interested in each girls personality and what she would bring to the sorority.
33girl
02-07-2002, 09:12 PM
I think rush before either fall or spring semester (I think Cornell does it before spring - BRRR) will work, IF you have a big interest in Greek life at your campus and you know people will come back in advance to rush. If you are struggling to get people to rush when they are already present at school, it could be very difficult to persuade people to come back a week earlier to do it.
ZTAngel
02-07-2002, 09:21 PM
We do rush before school starts.
I think it's better because you can rush without the added stress of your classes. Rush is the only thing on your mind.
When I went through rush, I liked it being before school started because on the first day of classes I already had someone to walk to class with or sit next to in a 400 person lecture hall.
aephi alum
02-07-2002, 10:36 PM
MIT holds rush in August, about 2 weeks before classes start. It works pretty well. All freshmen arrive on campus a day or two before rush starts, and rush is about all there is to do for those 4-5 days. On the day that rush starts, all the freshmen are gathered together for the class picture and a motivational speaker... upperclassmen quietly wend their way through the crowd, striking up conversations... then at a signal from the IFC president, rush officially begins, and surprise, all those upperclassmen are suddenly wearing letters. :)
Since there's nothing happening except rush, and since almost all the rushees are first-semester freshmen who haven't already budgeted a thousand and one extracurricular activities into their schedules and feel they don't have time to join a GLO, rush numbers tend to be pretty good... deferred rush would definitely hurt the system.
Aphigal
02-07-2002, 11:00 PM
Actually, MIT is moving to a deferred recruitment system beginning Fall 2002, meaning first year students will not be eligible for recruitment until J-term in 2003.
PinkRose1098
02-08-2002, 01:52 PM
Here we hold formal rush the week before classes begin for the fall. It works great. There are no distractions and its fair for the pnm because there is no one saying "Oh, they're the . . . ." It's also helpful because there are usually over 1000 girls going through!
aephi alum
02-10-2002, 02:01 PM
Originally posted by Aphigal
Actually, MIT is moving to a deferred recruitment system beginning Fall 2002, meaning first year students will not be eligible for recruitment until J-term in 2003.
That's true... I'm talking about the system as it was when I went through and as it was through this year. When last I checked, the new rush schedule hadn't been finally determined.
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