Enna05's Recruitment at USC

[Enna05]

Hey there!

Like chloe173, I'm going through rush this year at the University of Southern California. My circumstances are a bit similar, yet different. I'm also from Texas, but I'll be a sophomore this next year. I skipped my senior year of high school to come to USC early, so age-wise, I'm a freshman. I decided that I needed to wait a year before I got involved in Greek Life because I was worried that I would just collapse under too much stress. (I'm also in the honors program at 'SC and a member of the marching band) I'm glad I waited because I feel like I'm approaching this decision from a much more mature and well-informed viewpoint. Most importantly, I have a much better grasp on time management. I know how to maintain a good gpa while staying involved, and I feel like I can really contribute to the Greek community. While I've heard all of the stereotypes of the sororities, I'm keeping an open mind about the whole process. To be honest, I'm just really excited about meeting the girls.

As a refresher, here are the sororities at USC:

Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Phi
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Gamma
Gamma Phi Beta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Pi Beta Phi

I went to the Greek Life meeting on Sunday and met a few really nice girls. The presentation was short, but sweet. They just went over a few of the times and assured us that 85% of PNM got bids. That statistic made me feel a lot better my chances of getting a bid.

Rush starts tomorrow at 5. I'm skipping two band practices to go through recruitment, but thankfully we already ran the complete drill a couple of times already. I don't think I'll miss too much, plus I marched the same show last year. Now, I'm just worried about making sure I look decent!

I'll be sure to update, and fight on!

[AOII_LB93]

Best of luck! I'm sure you will find a home there....you are young and it seems like you have a lot to offer all of the sisters there. :)

[aggieAXO]

yea!!!! Another recruitment thread and from a fellow Texan :) I dodn't know Chloe was from Texas also-I must have skipped over that part. Good luck and can't wait to hear your story.

karen

[pbpck]

I am antipating every detail. :)

[AOIIalum]

Oh Yeah! I'm so glad you're going through recruitment Enna and that you're sharing your experience with us! I can't wait to hear all about it, it sounds like you're ready to get involved with a sorority.

Good Luck!!!!
Christin

[KDHoney]

Best of luck to you! It sounds like you made a really mature decision with waiting to join. I'm sure you'll do very well with recruitment. Keep us all updated!

[violets]

Enna,
I'm so glad that you've decided to go through recruitment!
First, let me say that I am very impressed with the thought you have put into this decision. I'm sure any sorority would really benefit from having a member as organized and thoughtful as you are.
I'm sure you've read the other rush threads here on GC, they are a fabulous example of women keeping their minds and hearts open and as a result, being led to the right home for them.
I would also recommend reading some of the rush threads from last year as well, there is a lot of good advice contained in these.

I can't wait to hear every detail of your recruitment at USC! I love these rush threads to death!!!!
Good luck, keep an open mind, and we'll be here waiting for each and every post,
violets
:)

[bearal]

That's super, Enna05! I'm glad you put alot of thought into your decision. You sound very mature.

Now, I'm a big fan of "that other school" ;) , but I'll definitely be rooting for you as you go through recruitment.

Best,
bearal

[chloe173]

Good Luck Jen!!!!
I can't believe we start today!
See ya there!

[RockChalk]

Woohoo! More rush stories! They should have rush story rehab at Betty Ford. :D

[aephi alum]

Lots of luck, have fun, and keep us posted! :)

[Silverblue]

Best of luck, Enna, and enjoy the experience.

[NewGirl]

One of my AXO sisters transferred to USC last year!!
woo hoo
let me know if u meet those axo's!
love
ashley

[RxyChrldr]

Good luck! I'm excited to read all about your experience :)

[Enna05]

I just finished with the first half of the Unity Round, and I'm so excited! We met at McCarthy Park, where the members of the Panhellenic Executive Board were introduced and gave a speech. The Rho Chis performed a few skits about the rules of rush, and then we broke up into our Rho Chi groups. I have two really sweet Rho Chis, although I didn't meet one until a bit later in the evening because she had class. We decorated our name tags, and then headed to the Row!

We went to three parties today; here are a few of my impressions.

House #1: I came in with totally different expectations. This is one of the more prestigious houses at 'SC, but I have to admit, I was really surprised at how much I liked it here. I saw a girl from my classes last year, and the three people that talked to me were all really sweet. The room was REALLY crowded and small, so the noise volume was out of hand. However, the conversation flowed all the time, and each girl that talked to me seemed genuinely interested in listening to my questions and to my concerns. I asked about the philanthropy, and I got the feeling that service was not the main focus of the house. I'm very interested in the philanthropic aspect, so I'm not exactly sure how to react to this information. However, overall, I was pleasantly surprised, and to be honest, I was very impressed with the girls here.

House #2: The first thing that struck me about this house were the beautiful dresses. Every girl wore something different, but similar in color tones. I liked that feeling of individuality. The first girl that rushed me also joined as a sophomore, so that put me at ease. I had a great conversation with all three girls, ranging from USC housing to professors to football games. We also talked about food... evidently the house mother is a great cook! Scholarship seems to be very important to these girls, something that I have in common with them. Again, everyone was very sweet, although the water had more ice in it than water! I was a bit confused by that incident. However, I had a good feeling when I left.

House #3: This was my favorite when I started rush, and again, I was impressed. I had an excellent time... the first girl who rushed me was a bit brash and loud. She actually reminds me a lot of my best friend from home, and I loved that. None of the girls who rushed me *looked* like sorority girls, which I really appreciated. The room was just the perfect size for the girls, so it wasn't half as loud as the other two houses. Two of the girls were on the crew team, so we talked about sports the vast majority of the time. I talked about the joys of being on Silks and supporting the teams, and they talked about how much they liked the band and the Trojan school spirit. I had trouble hearing the last girl, but she was just really sweet. She answered a lot of my questions about the philanthropy and then told me about a few of their exchanges last year, which sounded like a lot of fun! Again, I liked the house a lot.

I have to visit six more houses tomorrow. At the rate I'm going, I won't be able to narrow down my list. I feel like I'd be honored to be in any of these organizations!

Thanks for the support, guys!

[aggieAXO]

Sounds like you are having a good time :). Looking forward to hearing the rest of the descriptions of the houses tomorrow.

Karen

[DRau]

i want to rush again!

[KDHoney]

Sounds like you had a great night and I'm glad you're keeping an open mind. Can't wait to hear more!

[mmcat]

just keep up the open mind, the good attitude, and being sincerely you and you should be hugely successful.
lol
:D

[AOIIalum]

I agree with DRau, I want to rush again too!

Enna, it sounds like things are off to a great start for you. Have a great time today and thanks for keeping us posted. Can't wait to hear about today's parties!

Christin

[maggieaxid]

Reading these stories make me want to rush again too! But i don't know if i could still deal with the "what ifs" again! But i wonder what it would be like if i had had something like GC or knew what i knew now....guess we'll never know.

[Enna05]

Today was a really long day. We visited the rest of the houses, six in total for our Rho Chi group. We met near the row at two, but half of our group thought the meeting time was 2:30, so they were really late. When we finished calling roll and got to the first house, the girls were already coming out to greet us! Whoops.

My impressions of today:

House #4: Every girl I talked to was immaculate. Conversation flowed well with everyone, and the cheers were really cute. However, when I mentioned that I was a sophomore, they said, "You're not alone, a lot of sophomores go through recruitment." However, they never said that they offered bids to upperclassmen, which makes me a bit unsure about my own chances of receiving a bid. As a whole, I liked the house, but I'm not sure if I'm the best fit for them.

House #5: I'm in love! I absolutely adored EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT TALKED TO ME! The first was my best friend at 'SC, so naturally that was great, especially since I haven't been able to talk to her since the "silence" period started. The house was just beautiful... I had a big comfy armchair that I just melted in. And it wasn't as loud as houses 1 and 4, so I carried on a better conversation with the girls. I just have really really good feelings about this house... everyone is just really special.

House #6: Again, I'm just amazed at how much I loved these girls. I felt like I totally bonded with each girl I talked to. We just gabbed about Sex and the City and grades and classes and coffee. Then the entire group sang a song for us, which was just the cutest thing I've ever seen. The girls were so enthusiastic and sweet. I'm just in awe of the bonds of their sisterhood. And I loved how diverse that house was!

We had a long break, where I went to Del Taco and gabbed with a couple of the other girls from our group.

House #7: I wasn't expecting very much from this house, to tell you the truth. But I was, quite frankly, shocked by how well I got along with the girls. I really liked the girl who was rushing me. We gabbed about Anna Nicole Smith and her show, the Osbournes, Jerry Springer, as well as a bunch of other completely random things. I met a LOT of girls, and the sisters seemed so excited to see each other. I loved that closeness.

House #8: This was one of my favorites coming in, but to be honest, I wasn't completely won over by the girls that rushed me. Both were sweet, but the first one, I felt like I was making more of an effort towards the conversation. The second girl was just really really cute, so I liked meeting her. However, one of my good friends from 'SC is a member of this sorority, and she just raves about the girls... could it just be the two I talked to? I don't know, but while I had a lovely time, I'm not entirely convinced that I'd love it here.

House #9: When I was coming in, this was my all-time dream sorority. And while I still just love, love, love it, I'm not sure if I could get in. I had great conversations with all of the people that talked to me, especially one fellow sophomore. I'm just not sure if they loved me as much as I loved them. They also sang a REALLY cute remix of a song, which I greatly enjoyed. It was my last house, so while I was glad that the day's over, I'm also sad.

Anyhoo, I've got to run to my meeting. Writing this down has really helped me clear up some of my thoughts about what I'm going to choose tonight. We have to narrow it down to six.

Bye and thanks! :)

[GPhiBLtColonel]

Sounds like it was an exhausting day for you and now there are some tough choices -- you have a good head and I'm sure you'll choose what's right & best for you. I'm a little partial;) especially since my actual collegiate chapter is one of the 9 houses you've visited! Thanks for keeping us all in the loop and DO tell us what happens next! I (and many other GCers, I'm sure) are waiting on pins and needles to hear from you again!!

[squirrely girl]

i think that it's so great that you're writing all of this down, it will be a great memory maker for you. plus it really does help you narrow the groups down when you've got your thoughts right in front of you. best of luck with the rest of recruitment!!! just bummed that AGD isn't there!

marissa

[KDHoney]

Sounds like you had another great evening! Just FYI, I don't know how it is there, but chapters here aren't allowed to say anything about giving bids to you guys during the recruitment process, so that could explain what happened at House #4. Still keep an open mind and keep smiling. Can't wait to hear more!

[Enna05]

Hey everyone!

I went to pick up my invites for the second round. I was severely cut, which I wasn't particularly shocked about. With so many girls rushing, it's certainly understandable. However, I got invited back to my three favorite houses! So, I'm really excited about my parties this afternoon.

I'm going to see House #5, House #3, and House #6, in that order. I was disappointed that I wasn't invited back to House #2 and House #7, but c'est la vie, it's all good. I just felt so comfortable in the ones I *was* invited back to. That in itself is the most important thing.

I'll update you after my parties this afternoon!

[KDHoney]

Wow! You have such a great attitude and I'm sure you'll do very well! Update us when you can:)

[Silverblue]

Enna, you have the best attitude a rushee can have. You realize that what's important is that the houses you really clicked with invited you back. I can't wait to hear how this round goes. The actives will pick up on your positive attitude.

[LeslieAGD]

Glad you're having fun and keeping a positive attitude! Good luck!

[Enna05]

To be honest, I had a few second thoughts about the whole recruitment process, but I decided to stick with it, especially after I talked to my parents and my rho chi. It was tough to be so severely cut, especially when all of these other people went to visit six houses. I thought I did everything right, by getting good recommendations to seven of the nine houses, by having fun conversations, by truly enjoying myself during the first round... but rush is such an arbitrary process. It's still just a bit demoralizing. Sometimes it's hard to separate my self-worth from my acceptance level, but I think that's a hard process for anyone. And at the very least, I'm getting great fodder for my "Great American Novel," due in stores in 2015. ;)

My impressions:

House #5: I liked the house, again, but not quite as much as yesterday. The girl who gave me the tour didn't click with me as well as the girls from yesterday. I'm thinking this will be my "stretch" house, so I don't feel assured of being invited back. I'm a bit sad about that, though, because I REALLY do like the house in general.

House #3: I liked this house even more than I did the other day. The only problem was that the other PNM that toured with me was REALLY loud. I'm not such a gregarious person... I do better with one on one conversations because I hate fighting the loud one for attention. Hopefully they notice me and will want to invite me back, because I still just really really really love this house.

House #6: The girl that gave me the tour was just really sweet. Again, I feel like I clicked with all of the girls. Although, when she asked me how rush went, I teared up a bit. Maybe I'm not as strong as I think I am... however, it's understandable, due to the stress. But again, I'd be completely honored if I were invited back.

Right now, it's all in the hands of the houses. I'm just hoping for an invite, and if I don't have one... well, then, I guess I saved four thousand dollars. I'm hopeful, though, and I AM thankful that my three favorite liked me enough to invite me back for the second round.

That's all!

[KDHoney]

Enna05, I am so impressed by how well you're doing...you're being very mature! It's understandable to be upset about being cut, but you do love the houses you went to. Getting cut can be an arbitrary thing, but I'm sure the stress and exhaustion have to be taking their toll. Just keep at it because I think that you'd make a wonderful sister at any chapter! And when you do write the great American novel, you'll have to let all of us know;)

[Enna05]

Alright, I just got back from my meeting with my rho chi (who, btw, reminds me of an angel...she's sweet, pretty, and delicate) I was invited back to 2 sororities, which is what I was expecting. And thankfully, they were my favorite two!

So, today, I'll be visiting House #3 and House #6. #5 dropped me, which saddens me, but doesn't shock. I just didn't click with the girl who took me around the house. She was nice and all... but we didn't have a thing in common, except for the fact that we both rushed as sophomores. So, while I wish I could've been in the same sorority as my best friend, I'm not heartbroken about it.

On a side note, this morning has been rather interesting... I got food poisoning last night! I didn't get very much sleep, to say the least.

And Chloe173 is really sweet. We didn't really get to talk for very long, probably compounded by the fact that we were both just really tired from the whole recruitment process.

Thanks guys!

[Aphigal]

Enna! Keep going strong you have two great houses who want you you back. Just smile and have a great time!

[Starlet]

Keep up your positive and upbeat attitude! The important thing is that your two favorite houses invited you back...so enjoy your time there today! I'll be awaiting your next post!

[KDHoney]

Congrats on your invites and on keeping up the great attitude! Hope you're feeling better from the food poisoning...yucky! Can't wait to hear more about your adventures:D

[violets]

Enna:
You are doing so incredibly well. You are really, truly thoughtful about this whole experience, I know you will make a great sister wherever you end up!
Being cut early is the theme of the rush threads on this board, go back and read some of them. But in the end it has absolutely no bearing on finding the right fit for you. You were invited back to places you loved and that is all that matters.
Good luck, keep posting we are all behind you!
violets

[Silverblue]

I think at least one person gets food poisoning every single rush. If you're still able to go to the houses today, you are one tough cookie!

I rushed as a junior, and I know some houses cut me just because of that. I just didn't let it bother me. It's hard not to, though, when you're exhausted and sick. This is the hardest week you'll ever have connected to being in a sorority. If it makes you feel better, the actives are dog-tired, too. After you go back to your dorm, they have to stay up for hours to vote! Life does get back to normal after this, I promise, and it's all worth it. The most important thing is that your two favorite houses invited you back -- and in the end, you only need one!

We're all pulling for you! Go, Enna!

[Enna05]

So, I just came back from all of my parties, and I'm really confused on where I want to go. Both were SO amazing. We watched the videos today, and they all highlighted the fun, great things that the sorority does throughout the year.

House #3: The door chants were really nice at this house. I was really impressed by the songs - there are some good singers here! Everyone was really enthusiastic, and I know that several of the girls were excited to have me back. So many of the girls remembered my name without glancing at my nametag, and the girl that led me to the table to see the video was just a doll. We had a funny incident when I was getting a drink. They had these miniature Coke bottles lined up, with a couple of bottle openers lying in front of them. My rusher couldn't figure out how to open it, though! Neither could another girl... finally, after many minutes of struggling with the opener, another girl managed to pry the cap off of the bottle. Then we sat down to watch the video, and it was a blast! It was a parody of MTV and TRL, intercut with snippets from movies. The music was great, the girls were singing along and dancing, and I enjoyed it tremendously. Then after the video, I talked to my rusher a bit more... I mentioned a friend of mine that graduated last year and how she convinced me to rush... turns out that Justine was my rusher's big sis! That was a fun surprise. Overall, I really enjoyed my time here.

House #6: The door chants were so loud and spirited! Instead of just flooding from the door, the girls ran in from around the entire building. No one was expecting that, so it was a fun surprise. The girl who rushed me at the first round was my rusher again, so I was really excited. I absolutely ADORED her before, and she was so kind and ingratiating again! I got a "VIP" seat in the very front, and Abbey got me this beautiful berry plate. They were perfectly ripe! Then we watched the video, and I absolutely loved it. Two of the girls last year got pinned, so they showed snippets from that ceremony, and I just nearly started crying. Then, after the video was over, the girls started singing "Lean on Me." I'm such a stickler for sappiness... I was tearing up so much. Then a few girls from the marching band and my classes came over to say hi. I met so many people, and I felt like such a special person at this house. I really feel at home here.

Hopefully, I'll be able to go to prefs for both of them tomorrow. Maybe that will make my choice a little bit easier... I just go back and forth in my mind. I have a mandatory meeting tonight at 7:45, but I'm meeting with my rho chi at 7:10.

I had such a magical time today... Either way, I would feel completely at home at these houses. I just can't say enough good things about them.

[XOMichelle]

Oh, I hate reading these rush threads of sophomores when they get cut for no reason other htan that they are sophomores. Stick it out! You are a good person, everyone gets cut!
ll,
Michelle

[Angels&Arrows]

Enna05,

I am so thrilled for you and Chloe... I wish you the best of luck and look forward to logging on late tonight/early tomorrow morning to see your prefs!!! (*** fingers crossed that you tell us the names of house 3 and 6 going into prefs***)

Good luck!!!!

A&As

[KDHoney]

YAY! I am so happy for you! I can't wait to hear about the invites! Pref is such a special night and will hopefully give you an even better insight into the groups and their sisterhood. Best of luck...we're all pulling for you!

[mmcat]

private message from me, sweetie.
:D

[Peaches-n-Cream]

GOOD LUCK!

[GPhiBLtColonel]

...with you XOMichelle -- I am truly saddened by all the sophmores who are cut merely because they are sophmores --
actually it pisses me off!!! Enna05 -- you are a wonderful, talented girl whom I'd be proud to call sister - so keep your chin up girl -- we are all rootin' for ya!!

[Enna05]

Well, I have bad news. I got a phone call in the middle of practice from my Rho Chi, and I wasn't invited back to any pref parties. She was shocked, I was shocked, all of my friends were shocked, my parents are shocked... It stinks.

I think it's worse because I LOVED ADPi, and they really rushed me hard yesterday, too. I met tons of girls from the house, and I really felt comfortable. My Rho Chi is letting me know about COB options - if ADPi is doing COB, I'll be there. I'm really upset about everything... but life goes on. There's a football game tonight, and I'll be on the field, smiling away. (I'm in the marching band)

Thank you guys SO MUCH for being so awesome. I think, overall, I'm glad I did this. It's tough being rejected, especially when I felt I connected so well with one particular house. However, I'm a beautiful person... I have great grades, I'm active, I'm ambitious, and I don't need a sorority to validate my own worth. It just seemed like something that I would've loved.

[RockChalk]

I'm so sorry, Enna. *hugs*

[valkyrie]

Oh, Enna, I am SO sorry. Please let us know if you do COB and whether you do or not, I hope you'll keep posting here. You are a very cool person, and I hope you keep in touch!! :)

[EagleChick19]

I'm so sorry, Enna! :( We're all here for you if you need anything!

[sbhill2]

Good luck with recruitment and keep us updated especially after bid day....Its an exciting time and good luck!

[ChiOmega4Me]

Enna, I know how hard this is- trust me! I went through rush last year and was cut by all three houses the first day due to my GPA. It sucks really bad to be cut over something like that...but at least you know they didn't cut you because they didn't like you. I transferred schools and went through rush again just last week and I didn't get cut from a single house....did I expect that? NO! My point is, everything happens for a reason. In my case, had I gotten in a house at my first school I would have been unhapy. Now I am at a school I love and in a house I love. In your case, maybe greek life isn't a part of the plan. There is something more out there for you. Perhaps marching band holds something greater for you...you never know. Just remember that everything happens for a reason, and if you were meant to be greek, something unexpected will come up (such as COB) and if not, well then, there is something even better for you. Keep your chin up!!
Holly

[pinkyphimu]

enna,

you have such a great attitude. definately keep smiling! give cob a try and see how that goes. keep us posted on how you are doing!

[KillarneyRose]

Enna, I'm so sorry :( Rush is so arbitrary sometimes; I know there are ADPi's who wanted you at pref who are at least as disappointed as you are. Rushees and sisters both suffer disappointments during rush.

You are absolutely right, you don't need to be a greek to feel worthwhile. It sounds like you're making the most of your college career with all of your activities and, what's more, you sound like a great girl who got caught in a numbers game.

If you decide to give COB a whirl, please let us know how it went!

[carnation]

Enna--I pmed you.

[mmcat]

sweetie..
you are totally right. you are talented, beautiful and shouldn't let this speed bump in life wreck your college career. it stinks, but move forward. there's a long football season ahead and a great chance to shine. what's your instrument?
lol
:eek:

[AOIIalum]

Enna, I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope you do give COB a chance. Hopefully things will work out for you, it sounds like you are taking this so well. You're right, and from your comments it really sounds like you would have been a great sorority member. Hopefully you'll have the opportunity to find out sometime in your future.

Best of luck with band! My son has started band this year in intermediate school. He's playing clarinet with the hopes to switch to sax as soon as we'll allow him to do so. Please keep in touch though, your insight and comments are always welcome here.

All my best,
Christin

[Silverblue]

Clearly, any of us here would be thrilled to be able to call you our sister. Rush can just plain old stink. One of my pledge sisters was a legacy to two other houses and got cut by both after preference. (Pi Phi has a wonderful rule that if you're a legacy and we invite you back to preference, you're on the first bid list.) She was the roommate of the girl who became my big sister, and we snapped her up. In the end, it all worked out the way it was supposed to. It will for you, too, whether or not you go Greek. You need to go buy yourself a stack of magazines, some new makeup, whatever makes you feel spoiled, and pamper yourself.

[Aphigal]

Enna - thanks for letting us know what's going on. I know it is really hard right now but don't let this affect how you feel about yourself.

You seem to have a lot going for you are welcome here even if you do not ever pledge a sorority while at USC.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Enna, I'm sorry that you didn't get invited back to any pref parties. I'm happy to read that it hasn't shaken your confidence. Unfortunately, it happens to some outstanding young women. I strongly encourage you to go to all of the COB parties. You can still get a bid. Many of my sisters came through COB. :)

[aggieAXO]

Enna,

you have such a great attitude-I admire that. I am sorry things did not work out for rush but again maybe you can COB if possible :) keep your head up!

[bearal]

Like everyone else in the GC community, I'm really saddened by your last update. Thank you for sharing your recruitment story with us, but I encourage you to stick around GC. I also hope that you will go COB. Keep your head high; your attitide has been nothing short of admirable!

From a former marching band member,
bearal

[GPhiBLtColonel]

...life is incredibly unfair -- you deserved better and I pray you don't give up on sorority membership -- Do COB, okay?
http://216.40.241.68/contrib/edoom/puppy_dog_eyes.gif
I PM'd you too, sweetie.
Hugs.

[sbhill2]

Sorry to hear about not getting back to pref parties. Like the message before me said, I too strongly encourge COB events if you are sitll interested in sororities. COB events are less formal than RUSH and a great chance to meet the sisters in a more casual atmosphere. Its good that you didn't let the RUSH experience down you too much as there are plenty of other ways and times to join a sorority or other organizations on campus.

[KDHoney]

Enna, I'm SO sorry to hear that! Their loss, honey! I'm glad you're still open to COB...I think you would make an awesome sister anywhere!

[sweetie adpi]

Originally posted by KillarneyRose
Enna, I'm so sorry :( Rush is so arbitrary sometimes; I know there are ADPi's who wanted you at pref who are at least as disappointed as you are. Rushees and sisters both suffer disappointments during rush.

this is so true. i'm so sorry to hear about prefs... but i know that greek life is the one who is really missing out here! no matter what, you are an amazing woman -- good luck with cob if you choose to do it... i really hope it works out for you whatever you decide!

[Enna05]

First of all, I want to thank all of you for your outpouring of support. That really means a lot to me, especially in such a completely shocking situation like this. I'll definitely keep you updated if I decide to COB... and if I don't.

Yesterday was a really hard day. Nothing turned out like my expectations... but I'm thinking it'll be okay in the end. I decided to completely ignore the whole situation and just have fun... and I did. I'm a tall flag in the band, so I just went out there and performed my best. It was great... a camera guy followed me around on the field, I had a nearly flawless show, and I had a blast. And most importantly, I didn't hurt quite so much.

I'm not completely giving up on Greek life, but it's nice to know that I can have an amazing time outside of it as well. Thank you guys so much, again.

Fight on,
Jen

[violets]

Enna:
Let me say how sad I am as well about your situation. You are a wonderful writer and would make a fabulous sister. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Please let us know if there is COBing in your future.
violets

[Floridagirl]

O.K. I can't take it anymore. I have to say something. The way rush is run at most schools is totally unfair to the rushees. At my school, U.C.L.A. , every rushee is quaranteed a bid to some house if that rushee goes to every party that she is invited to. These rushees can sometimes push a house's quota up by a couple of people, but isn't it the fairest thing? When I was rush chairman at my house, every night I would get a call from panhell around midnight asking me if I would take so and so the next day.These were rushees that had been dropped out of rush but didn't know it yet. I ALWAYS SAID YES. Since these additional girls were freebees in addition to our numbers we were allowed , why not? These were great girls. How can a system let a girl go totally through rush and then have no invite to pref or worse.. no bid after going to pref parties? We as greeks need to rethink this situation. This is how greeks get a bed reputation. Don't we tout our good deeds and philanthropies? Are not we humanitarians? If we are... should we start with our selection process first?

:(

[sbhill2]

Enna -
I am so glad to hear that you are involved in something else on campus as that will help a lot. Sounds like being the tall flag will help in taking your mind off the whole greek system until you decide if you want to do COB. I went through RUSH last year at Kentucky and recieved no invites back for third round and was devasted. I didn't have the high spirits that you did and all in all really didn't enjoy the last year while all my friends were in sororities. Good luck with the flag thing and just meet people through that and talk to your friends and family about the whole COB system. Greek life can be awesome but some people end up not liking it as much. Just show all of them that you are a cool person and they should be sorry that they don't have you as a part of their sorority. But it sounds like you have the right attitude about the whole thing so go with it! Congrats by the way on the flawless performance in front of the camera guy! Thats not something everyone can say they have done!!

[AlphaSigLana]

Just remember not getting invited doesn't mean you're a nobody. I can guarantee you that there are sisters of ADPi that are sad that you are not at their pref. I remember when girls were cut from my house that I wanted to be at our pref really badly.

[amycat412]

Enna-
I am so sorry to hear your Rush turned out as it did, but your attitude is amazing. Silks will keep you busy, and hopefully ADPi will have COB.

Good luck!

Fight on!
Amy

[GPhiBLtColonel]

...but I hope & pray that Gamma Phi has COB for Enna05!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIGHT ON!!!

[XOMichelle]

I agree 100% with FloridaGirl. I had no idea UCLA did that. Good deeds.

Enna, if you went to my school, I would want you to be a Chi O.

I watched part the football game thinking about you!

-M

[GPhiBLtColonel]

...I hope my fellow USC Trojans won't hit me but I agree with that UCLA Bruin, FloridaGirl -- y'all do rush right and I can only hope your lead is followed by other campuses...maybe we GCer's can start a revolt & make it happen!

[CutiePie2000]

Hang in there Enna, and I hope that you will give COB a go.
I know first hand of what a disappointing Rush can feel like.
I'm sorry for that, so try to hang in there...we are all here to support you.

[AchtungBaby80]

I know you can have an awesome time without being Greek, but that doesn't mean you should give up (as a lot of people have said!). It probably wasn't YOU--you most likely didn't do or say anything wrong, but sometimes class ranking can hurt you. I thought it totally didn't matter at my school, but I recently found out that it does and that's probably why I was cut from certain houses even though some of their girls were rushing me pretty hard--but hey, I'm thrilled about where I ended up and I really hope the same happens to you! Good luck. :)

[bruinaphi]

Enna,

Good luck in COB. It is my understanding that there are a lot of COB opportunities in the system at USC right now b/c only 4 chapters made quota. A lot of women dropped out of Recruitment yesterday.

Laura

[Floridagirl]

I didn't mean to bash USC. It's just these rush threads make me crazy. Some the girls that panhell would ask me to take back we had dropped by mistake. Some we thought wanted their legacy house and then they were dropped. Some had best friends in another house and then got dropped. Some had spoken with the wrong sister (eventhought we rush 4th we have "unique" sisters).Some had dropped us and then were dropped by their other houses. They were thrilled to have our invite even if they hadn't been at our house for the previous day. We pledged some of these girls. Shouldn't every panhell make midnight calls to houses to obtain invites for girls once they realize these girls will get dropped out of rush? Isn't it easier to do that then cob or snab bid after weeks of rush prep and rush? Isn't it ridulous that only 4 houses at USC made quota? Isn't this situation an example of what needs to be fixed with rush?

[GPhiBLtColonel]

...you are bashing the system and I agree 100% with you!! You should read the thread -- buried pretty deep in the forum I think now -- about the travesty of Rush at UGA!!! I wonder how to make the system do things the way you describe?

[Floridagirl]

I think it is a complete travesty that a rushee can go to two or three pref parties and then actually not get a bid. I think if a rushee has gone to all possible invites all week and does not suicide then she should be guaranteed a bid from a pref house even if that house goes over quota. This is only fair. And you all know what is said and the feelings that are conveyed at pref parties. The sentimental and traditional ceremonies that go on that night are beautiful and every rushee at those parties feels very close to those sisters. I can not imagine a situation where a girl then does not get a bid the next day from one of those houses. We can fix this. Every panhell can adopt this as a rule on every campus. Also, there is no reason why panhell can be more interactive during the week with girls who might get dropped out of rush. Every night get a computer report of who has no bids and then hit the phones. Call back the houses that dropped her from that day and offer them this girl as a freebee to their numbers if they have her back. If this doesn't work, call back houses that she most recently dropped to get a reinvite. She may now go to this house. In the end I think more houses will get quota and more girls will pledge and be happy.

[KDHoney]

I agree...we had girls at Pref last year that, come bid day, we just assumed went to the other sorority that they were Preffed by. We later found out that a lot of them weren't offered bids and some were understandably fed up and wanted nothing else to do with Greek life. You can lose some great people that way...

[sassykd]

It really amazes me sometimes at how different some of the schools Panhell systems can be. At my school, the way the numbers were set up, as long as you didn't "suicide" and didn't drop out of recruitment, you more than likely would get a bid (over 95%). When I see that 15-20% of the PNMs who go through PREFS do not get a bid, I think that maybe too many girls are being invited back to prefs to begin with. I know some larger schools are very competative and have large numbers going through, but this should not be allowed to happen.

It sounds like the panhells at USC and UGA both need to investigate other ways of running numbers OR seriously look into inviting another organization to colonize.

I ditto what was said about it being the Rho Chi's/Gamma Chi's job to investigate all PNMs who were totally dropped. Mistakes do happen, houses sometimes feel that a girl is uninterested in their house when she is painfully shy, etc. When I went through, one of the first things that my Rho Chi told us was that if we were dropped by a house and felt that there was a huge mistake, she could approach the house to double check.

~Melissa

[carnation]

I agree with what FloridaGirl said about how rushees who go to the maximum number of parties should get a bid--with one caveat. Somebody in PH should monitor the sororities to make sure that the sororities haven't asked back more than they should have. Without that, we all know of some groups on our individual campuses who would cheat by saying, "Oh, whoops, we asked back 10 more girls than we should have and whoops! I guess we'll have to take 10 more than quota!"

Betcha that all you ladies can name the exact groups that would try to pull that on your campus.:rolleyes:

[Floridagirl]

I am glad that lots of you think we need to re-evaluate the rush and bid situation. Under my scenario the cut fiqures would still be established by panhell for each sorority. And panhell would be the group to use discretion when calling houses to get re-invites for girls. Of course the emphasis would be on trying to fill the smaller houses. But if a rushee had two large houses on pref, and assuming these houses had stayed with the cut numbers required by panhell, then the rushee should get one of these houses on bid day even if that house goes over quota. My scenario does not guarantee a girl any house of her chosing. If after calling around, panhell might only get reinvites to houses the girl has dropped earlier in the week. But at least the girl has something to be reinvited to. Then it is her decision to drop out because of the selection of reinvites that she has. She may drop out, but at least she can do it with dignity. It should be the goal of every panhell to be sure that every girl has something to be invited to everyday. Remember, most of these girls who rush tend to be the better looking, more involved, more social women on campus. Surely there is a place for them in the greek system.

[33girl]

How do y'all know that women are up for snap bids/open bids?

For us bid matching ended around 3...pickup was not till 6...that gave us several hours to decide whether to open bid the women who had not found a place. We received a list when bid matching was over, that's how we knew was still on the market (for lack of a better phrase). I know we were a small school but isn't this basically how everyone does it, just with more names?

You have to be very very careful about saying "everyone gets a bid" and things like that, because the women interpret it as "I will get a place I want" instead of possibly getting a bid, but a bid to someplace they don't want to go. Also some groups have clauses that say if they are forced to take people for parity, everyone getting bids etc they will pull out.

[KappaKittyCat]

For us, all women who attended at least one party are elligable for snap bids. We actually make 3 lists after Pref: first list is alphabetical above quota line, second list is ranked below quota line, and third list is ranked and consists of women who did not attend our Pref but came to at least one other party. That third list is our Snap list.

Our campus's problem is the suicide/COB issue. There should be a rule that if a girl suicided and did not receive a bid through bid matching, she shouldn't be allowed to COB that group. Most of the girls who don't bid via bid matching decline Snaps from other groups because they're sure they'll be picked up in COB.

Grr...

[aephi alum]

This is why Panhels and sororities need to use release figures!!! I've seen women at my school get strung along and then get cut before pref or fail to match even though they've followed all the rules. :(

Enna, I'm so sorry this happened to you. Don't let it get you down. Definitely look into COB if you're up for it. Take care. :)

[Enna05]

Well, I ran into my rho chi this morning on the way to school. (Coincidently, she's a Theta - I guessed it!) She was really sweet, and told me that she thinks that several sororities didn't quite make quota, including ADPi, AXO, and Gamma Phi Beta. She said that she was going to ask around today, but she had my name and number if she found out anything. She honestly seemed really concerned about my welfare, and she was really excited when I still seemed interested in the COB process. She said that she was just heartbroken when I didn't get a bid. Evidently, I was "definitely one of the sweetest girls in our group," which I take as a big compliment. Other than that, I haven't really heard too much. Right now, it's just a waiting game.

I'm really excited for another friend of mine who's now a Gamma Phi Beta, and I'm SOOO thrilled for Chloe, who's an ADPi (as you all know!)! There are definitely a whole lot more success stories than disappointments.

I'll keep you updated on what's going on.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Enna that sounds great! COB is a wonderful way for you to get a bid. I hope it works out for you. :D

[sassykd]

Enna,

Any GLO would be thrilled to have such a positive woman such as you in their organization. As I am sure you have hear from all of us, strange things can happen during recruitment. No one ever really knows what goes on during bid matching. I am su impressed with how you have approached this situation, you have kept your head up and didn't let it turn you into a Greek-hater.

We all have our fingers crossed for you!!

Greek love,
Melissa:D

[maggieaxid]

Enna, I hope you find your place!Whether it is greek or not!
-Maggie

[AXO_MOM_3]

Enna - I went through COB, and really enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere (compared to Formal) I hope everything goes well for you and please keep us posted!

[RockChalk]

Keep us posted, Enna! You'd be an asset to any organization.

[33girl]

Enna, definitely try and go for it with COB!! Sometimes things have a way of working out even if they take a lot of twists & turns on the way... :D

[AlphaSigLana]

Listen to 33girl-she gives great advice! I'm proud to call her a sister!!!!

[bruinaphi]

I think that it is really interesting that you are all so quick to jump on USC Panhellenic for what you consider unjust treatment of PNM's. While I agree that it would be great if we could place everyone in the system on every campus, it is my understanding that USC usually pledges the highest percentage of registered PNM's in the state each year.

A lot of you have PM'd me asking which chapters made quota. I don't think that it is my place to announce which chapters made quota at USC, but I will tell you that every group on campus had a FABULOUS recruitment. Each and every chapter on campus is doing very well and is a tribute to its national organization.

As for UCLA's policies on inviting back women who are released by all of the chapters, UCLA Panhellenic does not guarantee bids to anyone. There are women who wind up being dropped each year, some years more than others. Panhellenic cannot require chapters to invite women to Preference b/c everyone who attends Preference has to be on your bid list. I know that when I went through recruitment at UCLA the rho chis told us that if you went to all of your parties and didn't suicide it was virtually certain that you would receive a bid, but my best friend was dropped by all of the houses during recruitment. She just didn't rush well. She went through COB though and was invited to join several different groups. Some women don't do well in a formal rush setting but shine in COB. Enna, I think this is important for you to remember, especially b/c you have friends in several different chapters. COB is so much more casual and comfortable. Try it out, have a blast.

[Floridagirl]

I am really thrilled with the discussion that is going on. It shows our strength that we can critically look at ourselves and see where we can improve. Of course there will never be the perfect rush system. But I propose the following:
1. All panhells establish a courtesy invite system.
2. If a rushees plays by all the rules and does not suicide at pref then she gets a bid even if that house goes over quota. If a rushee goes to the maximum parties she gets invited to and pays the fee to rush then shouldn't she be guaranteed a bid to her pref house at the end? With computers and historical data we can determine the number of women that each house can invite to pref to be sure that houses don't go over quota by more than a couple.

Of course, some girls will drop out because they don't like their house selection. Also, unfortunately, some will get cut out. But I think the above 2 ideas are valid and fair.

Again, I didn't mean to bash USC. I have lots of friends and my brother who went there.

[XOMichelle]

Good luck to you with COB!
You should have gotten a bid in the first place. I hope they come to their senses and give you one now!
-M

[XOMichelle]

Hmm.. I have one counter point to bring up about all girls getting bids even if a house goes over quota.
Although I would love to see all girls get a bid, I do believe that quota exists for a reason, especially where there are big size differences in chapters. There are many chapters that by going over quota a little bit every year would crush the other, smaller chapters in numbers. You could try and even this out by not letting those chapters give extra bids if they are too large, but these rules already exist: chapters can COB until they are at campus total.
If you try and solve the numbers problem by requiring the smaller chapters give out extra bids, you take away their autonomy in choosing their members. I suppose you could let (not require) smaller chapters extend bids to girls who are not formally extended a bid after the lists have been compiled, but this is Snap Bidding and already exists as well.

Any thoughts?
-M

[KDHoney]

I agree that allowing groups to go over quota will create a huge problem. As a smaller chapter, we rely on the other groups only taking quota to at least keep the size somewhat in check. Also, I agree that we shouldn't be required to take girls on just because we're a smaller chapter. The system is imperfect, but with snap bidding and COB, chapters and PNMs retain some choice over where they want to go/who they want as members without letting numbers get out of control.

[Floridagirl]

Laura,
I agree I know nothing about the different panhell rules at different campuses.

What am proposing is that all panhells nationally set invite fiqures for pref on every campus for every sorority using historical data so that 1) the larger houses only take maybe 1 or 2 over quota and 2) when a rushee goes to a pref party and is exposed to the sentimentality of that event she gets a bid. I guess we can agree to disagree.

FYI: I was a rush advisor and colonized for my national.

[Angels&Arrows]

lauradav,

I feel you are just as quick to defend the system at USC.... When I do not think it is just the USC system that people are discussing. In the last two fall rushes, we have seen traditionally strong Greek systems have less then half their houses make quota. Fall 2002 Recruitment at UGA is one example... Another is FSU, last year Pi Phi did not make quota and this year Theta did not make quota; both of these houses have a strong history of being above campus ceiling and making quota during formal rush. At USM this fall recruitment four chapters out of eight did not make quota, all the chapters came within one or two NMs of making quota; but these are chapters who have made quota every year for the last 20 plus years. And now you are saying that only four houses at USC made quota... A school that according to the Daily Trojan did not had Spring recruitment for two years in the late 90’s, because all the houses made quota during Fall rush, putting them at or above campus total and only had three houses participate in Spring rush in 2000,. Then there are other schools like TX A&M, where people have posted that everyone made quota (for the first time in X years).

I think people are just curious, opening up discussions on how or what is being done at schools like A&M... and what went wrong at schools like UGA.

I have my theories in some instances... I think one problem is that chapters that traditionally held on to girls then dropped them before pref, leaving many PNMs without a pref party... Now are releasing too many too quickly with the release figures being followed... a balance needs to be found. In systems like UGA many houses are competing for the same 150-200 girls, with quota at 50+/-, and five houses competing, someone’s not going to make it. I am sure there are many theories, for which people wish to discuss; which, is one reason we post on GC. There is probably not a right answer, but maybe there is a “best out of the choices” answer. I can wager a guess that what works at Ole Miss, is not going to work at U of Maine.

Also, I understand not wanting to list those chapters that made quota or not... but out of defense of other GC and myself who PM’d you… It is not that we want to know who didn’t make quota, but rather did our GLO make quota. Yes, there are ways for us to find out, but since you seem to know, I am sure that people thought you would be the quickest contact.

In the Greek Bond,
A&As





Originally posted by lauradav
I think that it is really interesting that you are all so quick to jump on USC Panhellenic for what you consider unjust treatment of PNM's.....

A lot of you have PM'd me asking which chapters made quota. I don't think that it is my place to announce which chapters made quota at USC, but I will tell you that every group on campus had a FABULOUS recruitment. Each and every chapter on campus is doing very well and is a tribute to its national organization.

[bruinaphi]

FloridaGirl,

I didn't say that you didn't know anything about the rules on other campuses, I said that you can't understand what happened on an individual campus until you've participated in their rules creation process. No one can.

I agree that we are having an open discussion about the problems with the system but I am being defensive of USC b/c they are being undeservedly bashed in the process. These problems exist at all large campuses.

Laura

PS: If you PM'd me about your chapter and didn't get a response please PM me again b/c I accidentally deleted several PM's last night before I had a chance to respond.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

There's a lot of talk about guaranteeing bids. That is RIDICULOUS. What if a girl didn't have grades? What if a girl was rude at every house? If you want to guarantee bids, she can be in your chapter, not mine.

[FuzzieAlum]

I don't agree that bids should be guaranteed either, but what I think they were saying, DeltaBaby, was that bids should be guaranteed to girls who made it through the preference round. If she didn't have grades or was rude to everyone, she ought to be cut long before preference (and the house crazy enough to invite her to pref probably deserves her!).

[Floridagirl]

Fuzzyalum, You are exactly right. Basically the houses shouldn't invite anyone to preference that they don't want to bid. It might be a different way of thinking for some panhells. Pref would not be simply another party round. It would be an invitation to join subject to bid matching.

Any woman that a house finds not a match would have to be cut earlier in the rush process. HOUSES WOULD NOT HAVE TO INVITE OR BID ANYONE THEY DON'T WANT.

This is my feeling anyway. I don't know how rejected I would have felt if, after being told by 2 sororities at pref how much they liked me, I had not received a bid from one.

We need to consider the negative public relations that this kind of situation can cause on campus. These women are on campus among the very pnms that we want. How insincere is it be told how wonderful you are at pref and then get no bid?

Does anyone else think this is a problem?

[Floridagirl]

Then clearly what we need is National Panhellenic to take up this discussion about getting all campus panhells to agree to use release figures for the pref round. If all of the NPC groups agree at the national level then each campus panhell will do it. No one wants the big houses to be successful at the expense of the smaller ones.

[maggieaxid]

Ok, I was thinking about this...and if you look at this mathematically gaurenting a bid to any girl who even goes to pref. doesn't work for larger greek system schools.

and this is just from my experience:

Say suzie is going through recruitment. there are 499 other girls going through recruitment with 6 NPC sororities. her GPA is a 2.8, she has minimal extra-curricular activities, no recs, and is not a legacy to anywhere. she has not gotten to meet any sorority women prior to recruitment.

first round, she attends all 6 parties. ABC, DEF, HIJ cut her based on grades/ extra-currics, no recs, and she doesn't know anyone who will go to bat for her to keep her because their are sooo many girls going through. KLM, NOP, QRS invite her back. She must go back to 4 parties, but only can go to 3. so she is forced to go to all 3 even though she did not like QRS at all.

During this time, 50 rushees drop out. leaving a total of 425.

Suzy goes to second round she goes back to KLM, NOP, and QRS. KLM cuts her because she was low coming back on their invite list to second round, KLM has lots of legacy's that they CAN NOT cut yet, and all the reasons that are listed above. She can only go back to 3 for 3rd round, but only has 2 to go to, and she still does not like QRS.

After second round, another 100 PNM's drop out, leaving 325. Qouta is set to the number of girls invited to third round divided by 6. Qouta is set at 54 new members, plus a possibilty of qouta addition, which would be a total of 56. You would think that this would gaurantee most girls going through to 3rd round that they would recieve a bid, but then this happens....

suzy goes to third round at NOP and QRS. She is trying really hard at NOP bc she likes them, and gets a long with them pretty well. She still isn't crazy about QRS and thinks she is wasting her time. her attitude is starting to show a bit, but because QRS is under chapter total, they have to invite her back to pref. so that their numbers won't drop dramatically. Suzy is invited back to Pref at NOP and QRS.

However, another 100 girls drop out of rush going into pref. leaving 215. Qouta is set at 34 + the option of qouta addition.

Suzy goes to pref.. Suzy ranks NOP first, and QRS second. She believes that because she has made it through this far, she will most likely get a bid from somewhere.

NOP ranks suzy at the end of bid list B, they fill qouta +2 before getting to her on Bid list B. Because of Suzy;s attitude during Round 3 at QRS, they rank her low on their Bid list B bc they figure she would prefer being elsewhere, and most likely get a bid from that org.. Suzy then becomes that 6% of girls who did not recieve a bid or were cross-cut that year.

suzy is a nice girl, she's cute, has ok grades...so how do we combat this....add more NPC sororities? change the legacy policies? change the way we do insane sorority math?

[33girl]

Originally posted by maggieaxid
but because QRS is under chapter total, they have to invite her back to pref. so that their numbers won't drop dramatically.

as someone from a smaller chapter I just want to say that I do know sororities are sometimes forced to do this, by either the national or panhel, and it is bull...I don't care if you have 3 members, if a girl shows up to your parties and is rude, inconsiderate and disinterested, you should be allowed to cut her loose. I can't think of anything that would be more wearing on the self esteem of a sorority that's already worried than having to put up with jerks at your parties where neither of you wants to be there.

OK, I just had to vent on that. :p

What's the solution? Well if I knew that I would get a big gold medal, but one thing I can say from reading these "big school rush" threads is, a good start would be to destigmatize informal rush and/or COB. It seems like at some schools if you have to open bid everybody acts like you are wearing your underwear on your head. Let's face it, some chapters suck at formal, but they can pull in big numbers in COB. Plus I think the focus should be on member RETENTION, not member gathering. Who gives a crap if you get quota every time if half those girls aren't active by their senior year?

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally posted by 33girl


Well if I knew that I would get a big gold medal, but one thing I can say from reading these "big school rush" threads is, a good start would be to destigmatize informal rush and/or COB. It seems like at some schools if you have to open bid everybody acts like you are wearing your underwear on your head. Let's face it, some chapters suck at formal, but they can pull in big numbers in COB.

Plus I think the focus should be on member RETENTION, not member gathering. Who gives a crap if you get quota every time if half those girls aren't active by their senior year? *

**snap*snap*snap***

[valkyrie]

Originally posted by Angels&Arrows
In systems like UGA many houses are competing for the same 150-200 girls, with quota at 50+/-, and five houses competing, someone’s not going to make it.

Here is something that has been driving me nuts when I think about it. A&A, I'm not sure if you mentioned this same topic somewhere else -- I know I've heard of it before. I'm talking about houses competing for the same 150 or so girls. Why is this? Who are the 150 girls that everyone wants? Why are there some people who are so appealing that they are the ones everybody wants? I know that it's true -- I'm not questioning the observation at all because I agree with it. I just want to understand it. What is it about those highly desirable rushees that everyone thinks they would make better sisters when there are plenty of women outside that 150 who would be just as good if not better?

I know we're getting off track of Enna's recruitment, so Enna, I'm sorry about that. I also wanted to tell you that I think you are just the coolest person, and I have been impressed by your attitude and your posts from the start. I hope that COB goes well for you, and whatever happens, I hope you'll keep posting because you are awesome!!! :D

[PsychTau]

My chapter has ALWAYS done much better with COB. We felt more comfortable, and our new members always said that is what made them accept their bid. . we were comfortable and they didn't have to pretend to be anyone else with us. COB was great for us, formal rush usually wasn't. I too know what it feels like to be the chapter that always COB's, when another one is at/above total. But it worked for us. We just kept plugging along.

I've not been involved with bid matching, but I don't think our campus has been too consistent with using release figures(if we used them at all!). I wonder what recruitment would be like if we adhered to all the formulas. I do remember the largest 2 sororities inviting back like 75% or better of the rushees to pref EACH, when they could only give bids to 25% (We had 4 sororities on campus). That was definately not fair, because the PMN's could only go to 2 prefs. . .guess which ones they DIDNT go to, and DIDNT put on their bid list.:rolleyes: (and guess how many went bidless, until the invention of snap bids). This is my impression, I have no idea of the actual numbers.

This is the same campus that has way less than 100 girls signed up for rush this year. Lord, help us.

Enna. . .go do COB. I've personally seen it work for many girls over...and over...and over... and over again.

[Floridagirl]

That is what I am afraid of. Women going bidless after being at pref parties will result eventually in less women being interested in rush. The large houses shouldn't use pref as just another party round after which they cut people. They need to cut these rushees before this round. Again, if the houses use release fiqures for pref invites this would be for the maximum number that each house could invite. Houses could always invite less. This way no house would ever have to invite anyone who has been rude etc. to them.I have seen situations at Florida schools that when the rushees begin to get heavily dropped they leave rush. Its not that they don't like the houses at all that they have invites to, they think that by the end of the week they may not have any invites or even after pref they may not get a bid. They don't want to go to the rest of the week to maybe be left with nothing at all. This hurts the small houses the most. So how do we keep these women in rush longer? I think by making sure that if they stick it out through pref they will get a bid. The rushees need to know that there is a reasonable chance they will get a bid to somewhere, NOT A PROMISE, BUT A REASONABLE CHANCE.

[MoxieGrrl]

Originally posted by Floridagirl
That is what I am afraid of. Women going bidless after being at pref parties will result eventually in less women being interested in rush. The large houses shouldn't use pref as just another party round after which they cut people. They need to cut these rushees before this round. Again, if the houses use release fiqures for pref invites this would be for the maximum number that each house could invite


Yes, yes, yes! I totally agree with you! Because of the lack of utilizing recruitment figures, Bethany's Panhell is all screwed up. We do not have very many women going through recruitment every year, so all 4 of the houses were competing for the same, oh, 25 women. When quota is usually around 13, this is v. v. bad. The big houses will not cut until after pref, leaving a huge number of PNMs whose hopes are up, suicide, then don't match *or* who figure they aren't going to get their first choice (they see that everyone and their mother was also invited to the same prefs) so they just drop out.

In the past few years, we have seen more and more women with the attitude of "If I don't get XYZ, I'm not pledging" and houses acting on "Oh well, we'll string them along and pick them up in COB, they'll wait." The result is less and less women are going through formal recruitment and less women are showing even less interest in Greek Life.

I do not think that every woman needs a bid for the reasons stated in other posts, but if you make it to a pref....you should be somewhere good on someone's bid list. I do think that the quota+ thing should be based on recruitment figures. Otherwise, big houses will just keep on getting bigger while the others die.

[maggieaxid]

i've also wondered about legacy policies. As grandmothers become great grandmother's the legacy line grows longer and longer. Requiring chapters to take most, if not all legacies, lessens the number of bids to be given out to women who are not legacies, but may be great greek assets. my family is a perfect example of this:

my grandmother is a KKG, a founder at a college in New Jersey in the 1930's. She had 4 daughters, 2 end up KKG. Those 4 daughters have a total of 7 female children, all legacies to KKG- still, some double legacies. Even though none of the grandchildren (well, we have one more to still go through recruitment) have went KKG. Now, my one cousin just had a baby, does that mean now that the baby is a KKG legacy?

[KappaKittyCat]

Yes. If that baby's mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, or sister is a Kappa, then she is a Kappa legacy.

Kappa still has a very narrow description of legacy. In this age of "nontraditional" families, I'd like to see step-mothers and sisters, as well as aunts and cousins, count as legacies. That's on the one hand. On the other hand is that some chapters of Kappa have more legacies come through Recruitment than they have total spots in the house. So do we need to add even more legacies to that number?

[Floridagirl]

I don't know of any NPC groups that require their chapters to take legacies. So many get cut. I am o.k. with that as long it is before pref.
I also want to say that I think a colony has a different pref situation and if they want to cut after pref then it is appropriate. A colonization pref party is more like a typical rush party in that it is not as initimate as an established house's pref.It is more like a formal rush party with some traditions. Also a rushee's expectations are different. They know that they have one shot. It is either this house or no house. There is usually no fee to rush a colony either. A colony must be allowed to ask as many as it wants to pref because they have no idea how many will show up the next day to pick up a bid. It is a more iffy situation for them.

Sorry Enna for hijacking your thread. Pm me if you would like me to see if my group got quota, and if not, if they are snab/cobing. As you can see from the number of hits on this thread, your story has started a debate.

[Floridagirl]

Moxiegirl, the smaller campuses feel the bad rep thing first because they are in a smaller environment. The larger houses on every campus should be required to use release numbers going into pref. Even if the smaller houses use the release numbers, their numbers will be much more liberal than the large houses.
On a small campus here in Florida only 8, yes I said 8, girls showed up for formal rush. Last year it was 40. Now both houses are going to have to do cob. What a hassle!
UF, which is a huge campus with 15 NPCs and 1200 rushees had a fabulous rush. All but two houses got quota. And those two just missed it. I hear that there is a very active snap situation at one so I am sure they will have quota this week. What did UF do right? I don't completely know. But I do know that they have a very active Rho CHi outreach program to encourage rushees to stay in rush after they get cut by their fav house. Also I don't of any rushees who went to pref and didn't get a bid. The greeks' rep on that campus is so good that DZ will have their pick of several hundred women. I have seen some of these women. They are good looking, smart, active and would be an assest to any greek org. This is what a good rep will do for a campus.

[maggieaxid]

why do we hold rush this way? i mean, why do we have qouta? does IFC have qouta? why is there rush period set up so differently?

the more i think about it, why can't the PNM's go to the houses they are intereseted in, not forced to go to the ones they don't like. And why can't the sorority just take the girls that they like. One house may take 35 girls while another house may take 10...as long as they are above campus total, i don't see why we all have to have equal numbers of members.

[FuzzieAlum]

The reason sororities are all fighting for the same 150 girls is the same reason the rushees are all fighting for the same few houses! We pick on them a little for being poor, gullible freshmen, blinded by the glamour of the "top" houses, but we turn around and do the same thing right back to them.

I think part of the problem is that because we do formal rush en masse it leads to a herd mentality ... "all the girls in my group like Psi, so I should, too." "They say Mu Mu sucks .... what do they know that I don't?"

That's one place where the men have an edge (or informal rush does, too). Yeah, there are other people rushing with you, but the peer-to-peer pressure and competition is lessened. And spreading rush out over a couple of weeks gives you more time to think about your choices. The one advantage formal rush has is that is forces women to look at all their choices. I mean, our campus had 17 fraternities, and no man went to more than a couple of houses during rush. The upperclassmen had the excuse of knowing guys in most of the houses, but not the freshman.

So if Panhel let me redesign rush (when pigs have wings!), I'd start off rush with something similar to first party. Girls are required to go to all houses for tours or something similar. But after that, they go back to where they want to over a period of two weeks. The houses have events, not "parties." (When you have a choice of going to turkey bowling vs. rock climbing, the personality of the house shows a lot more than in a "Grease" vs. a "TRL" skit!) Let them have an invite-only event at the end where they do preference. Go to as many as you want, but naturally time will put a limit on how many you go to. And then, let houses give out bids to whomever they want. So yes, you can get multiple bids, like in informal. No one gets cross-cut, and if you didn't get a bid, it really means something - it's not a problem in the system. (Either Greek life isn't for you, or you had no idea where you really fit in.)

The immediate objection is that everyone will go Pi Pi and no one will join Du Du. One could put a cap on the number of bids given out, I suppose. But the guys seem to manage fine with houses of varying sizes. And because of that, the stigma of being *slightly* smaller disappears. Sure, being a house of 12 when the others have 50 is noticed, but having 40, who cares?

The biggest thing I can say to recommend this is - at almost every campus I know of, except women's colleges, there are more fraternities than sororities, and more Greek men than women. How many women do you know who hated formal rush and took their chances on COB? Or who don't go Greek at all because the thought of formal terrifies them? So - what is it they are doing better than us, especially given that there are slightly more college women then men?

[PsychTau]

Fuzzie,

I think your idea of redesigning rush could work on the smaller campuses that just seem to struggle with formal. I've had no experience with larger campuses so I can't speak to that. However, I can see how the system would almost fall apart the first year or two after the switch. It would take changing current member's attitudes towards rush and membership, and also the campus as a whole. If ALL the groups stuck with it, even if they have only 5 members returning to school, it has the great potential to work. (I'm thinking of my campus with only 4 sororities and 5 fraternities).

It seems like on my campus, there are girls who are all about going into a sorority, and are prepared for rush, know all about it, etc. and love every minute of it. Then there are others who come to campus not knowing what they want to do, take their time looking around, and see that "those sororities are cool, and they do lots of things I like". Then they decide to rush, usually after formal is over. What's left is COB, which works out well for those girls.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Enna, any updates on COB???

[FuzzieAlum]

Sure, I think the switch would be way easier on campuses that are already used to doing informal/COB. It would be very hard if you always got quota/ceiling with formal and had never rushed informally - you wouldn't know how to do it.

I just think about my campus where formal has been getting less and less popular every year. (Quota is down as is the number of chapters even coming close to getting quota.) Every single chapter, even the big ones, do informal, but there's no coordination. If you're a rushee - and you're not dead set on one chapter - you have no idea when any chapter will have rush. If you like two chapters, only one will hold informal, so you have to decide, well, do I rush this one now, or wait until the other chapter does theirs in a few months? A system like this could make it lots easier.

But on a big Southern campus with a tradition of strong formal rush, I'm not so sure how they'd take to it! Maybe in my system I'd let schools who wanted to try it as a pilot program for a while first.

[Cloud9]

FuzzieAlum, I'm a strong advocate of that system, mainly because that's how rush has always worked at NYU, with very successful results. Girls begin rush with "Round Robin" where there is a tour of all the sororities on campus, an overview of what each organization stands for, and a brief introduction to all the sisters. After that, it's up to the individual. A sorority's "personality" shines through in the widely varied array of rush events.---in fact, the student usually knows right away just from reading the event flyers what each sorority is about. Plus, orgs have no restrictions on numbers of new members. There have rarely been any huge gaps between members from one org to the next, and when there is one sorority with a small pledge class one semester, the next it will shoot up. This is a GREAT system because you know that the girls who return to your events are truly interested in joining, and every org ends up getting the best girls for their house. Alas, this year it's different. With a new national org colonizing(making a total of 3 NPC orgs), our campus is now required to have a Panhellenic Council here. This is looking like disaster for NYU greeklife, because we are so different from other colleges. The student body is very scattered and made up of very independent people. People know what they want, and already have 20 other things going on. And I dunno how it is at other institutions but here there is no coordination whatsoever regarding scheduling and class times. One person will have classes from 10-5, another will have then from 4-9pm. Girls here just don't have the time or the patience to go through the rush that say, a heavily greek-influenced Southern school requires. So I dunno, I hope it won't be that bad, but I'm very worried. But my point is, from what I've learned here about Panhel rush, it seems to commercialize greek life too much for my taste...of course I have a biased opinion. What do you guys think?

[SoCalGirl]

Fuzzie~

The type of system your talking about is called "Structured Informal Recruitment". The last time my school had it was Spring 98. That's when I joined.

There was an informational Panhellenic night where you could meet a handful of girls from each chapter. Then you were given a schedule of all the events. The only thing I disliked about is that the Pref nights weren't cooridinated that well. I got three invites but decided to decline Theta because I liked SK better and their parties were at the same time.

The reason my school held Structured Informal is because all the chapters were below total. In fall 98 they lowered total and that meant only a few houses need to do cob let alone informal in the spring.

Structured Informal is a great system and should definitely be used if all houses are below total.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Cloud9, I see you point. I went through informal rush as a first semester freshman and selected which sororities to rush. I went through formal rush as a sister four times. First round with seven sororities was tiring. With more sororities it must be exhausting. With formal rush and fewer sororities, NYU shouldn't have that problem. Panhel should make sure that NYU has parties at times when there would not be a class scheduling conflict such as on the weekend.

I think part of the job of panhel is to advertize and promote greeklife not 'commercialize' it. The benefit is that more women might show up for rush than would without panhel's involvement.

[Floridagirl]

Fuzziealum
I think you have a valid argument. I have always thought the guy's rush looked more fun than the women's. Maybe if we didn't herd the women in big groups of 40-75 around the campus then they wouldn't develop herd mentality. They end up having hours of free time together and the group mentality can take hold. Even if you like one of the less glamorous houses are you going to tell the herd? Probably not. You are going to sit there and listen to the rumors and keep your mouth shut. And then you are not going to want to wear those greek letters around on campus. So instead of pledging those houses when the glamous ones drop you, you are going to drop out of rush instead. Maybe we have created the very problem we want to fix.

[maggieaxid]

I only know about Panhellenic Formal Recruitment and nothing else for a small school with a large greek system. The thing with NPC is that it has to apply its rules to a wide number of colleges all sizes and shapes, while respecting the schools greek life, the individual NPC group and take into consideration any locals that may be at the college. The rules set by NPC (as i understand it) are blanket rules to cover the average college/greek life system.

really the only people who can change this system is NPC delegates. the only way you can let them know how you feel is to write them or talk to them. they can change the rules in the "green book".

As for people saying that NPC "commercializes" recruitment, IMHO without NPC, IFC, and NPHC greek life would most likely not exsist even on the local level. So without NPC's support and promotion, in essence, you would not have a sisterhood. And there are many advantages to having NPC, IFC, or NPHC on your campus, such as: they pay an annual fee to your school, thereby helping the institution financially, they have rules, guidelines and regualtions that keep orgs. from going insane and hazing people to death (and ya can't say it doesn't happen cuz it does, but if NPC weren't there, I believe it would be more prevelent), and they support the community by helping individual chapters with philanthropic charities.

My only beef with rush/recruitment (and can we please just call it rush so we don't have to type as much!) is that i don't believe a PNM should be forced to go to a house she doesn't like after 1st round. If there are 6 houses on campus, and she only really likes 1 of them and is invited back to all, and she drops all but 1, thats her fault if she doesn't get a bid. but then again, i also believe in ISPing too.

but thats just my 0.2 cents.

[Glitter650]

Yeah Fuzzie's idea sounds very similar to what I went through spring semester last year. We had open house... where you learned the rules.... and you met each org. Each org. then had a party you could go to every night for three days. You chose which ones to attend or not attend and they could be off campus. My chapter went to dinner one night, did a philanthropy of card making combined with movie night, and an ice cream party. It was a lot more relaxed, and def. let the chapter's personality show through a little more because you were hanging out with these woman in the way you would if you were part of the sisterhood already, going out to dinner, hanging out watching videos etc. There was no bidmatching or invitation round, and at the end of the week girls could receive bids from multiple organizations, which made it VERY hard sometimes on PNMs. NPC still had the no contact rules in place as well as no bids, or promise of a bid before bid day... ( I know my friend went through something similar but orgs. could give bids before the end of the week.) I'm still not convinced about how well a system like this would work at a large greek school though. The idea of formal and the way it's set up is to keep all the NPC sororities alive by letting each get at least some members. If it was more every org. for themselves, some of the "unpopular" houses might cease to exist, because girls would just go to "the one" everyone wants, and if they got dropped never think about joining another house.

[canadajen]

Originally posted by Cream
Enna, any updates on COB???

That's just what I was wondering?!?

Jen, any word on who is having COB events at USC?? Please keep us posted - we can't wait to hear how your year turns out :)

- Jen :)

[chloe173]

Hmmm...here is what I know....
As most of you know, I went ADPi at USC and although I really wish Enna would have been in my pledge class, I do think that there is a chance that we will be doing COB, and maybe she can join through that. My pledge class is 43 and I know some of the larger houses had at least up to 55, so quota is right around in the mid to high 50's.

From what I have heard, there really arent that many COB events but occasionally a spring informal rush is held if the houses so desire. However, the last few years spring rush has not been held.

Also, Enna, many of the houses at SC are allowed to take "free juniors" meaning that they can take a certain number of junior girls that do not count towards quota to replace girls that transfered or left or whatever. So maybe, if you could get up the energy, rushing as a junior might be a little easier than as a sophomore.

And as for the discussions over "the system" apparently 85% of girls at USC are offered bids. It is awful that a girl like Enna fell through the cracks this time, but she is a great person and if she decides she still wants to go greek, I think she would make a good member of any house.

[Silverblue]

Chloe, find out for sure if your chapter is doing COB; then find Enna on campus and make sure she attends!

[Aphigal]

Fuzziealum
What you propose is called Modified Forms of Recruitment and has been on the NPC table for a while now. Minnesota had been using the system but went back to a more 'traditional' system. My own undergrad RPI went to it and I need to tell you its a disaster. Recruitment is three almost four weeks long and at a highly rigorous academic school. None of the members or pnm's can get any real schoolwork done for a month! Imagine having four weeks of formal recruitment and that's how my chapter members feel. Just because the environment is more casual for the pnm's does not mean less effort or prep on the chapter's part.

RPI is scaling back this year its only two weeks.

It may work on some campuses but the two I have seen it on it has not worked.

[doubleblue&gold]

Well I went thru rush at a large school and am now an advisor at a small one. I still believe formal recuitment can work and there does need to be quota. Why? To have a strong Panhellenic, each member group needs to be strong too. If you don't have some restictions on numbers, that can't happen.

But when I went thru at my university, we had the right to refuse to go to any party we didn't want to and not be hassled about it. Sure, the counselors tried to encourage us to go to as any as possible but we were allowed to make up our own mind. Now, this rule about having to go wherever you're invited just makes for bad feelings when you're forced somewhere you don't want to be. Many women have no clue what to do during he process and how to react. Maybe the solution is that first semester freshman can't pledge and formal rush should take place in the Spring. I have helped on a campus where this happens and the women are ready to go thru it all and find the right place for them.

[Enna05]

Still haven't heard anything *official* about COB, except for what Chloe has said. My rho chi never called me back, but I've been talking to a few of my friends who are in ADPi, and I let them know that I'm still interested. Right now, I think telling them that I'm around is vital to any chances of COBing.

I don't think I'll do formal recruitment again, even if the "free juniors" thing is applicable. It was just too stressful, especially since the fall is such a busy time for me. However, if ADPi has spring rush, then I'd be up for it. And as soon as I hear anything about COB events, then I'll definitely attend those.

But like I said in a previous post, I'm not too worried about it right now. Football season is in full swing, my classes are getting crazy, and I need to go grocery shopping for a big potluck that I'm holding on Sunday. ;) So, I'm just being a normal college student.

BTW, did I mention that GCers are great? Because you are! :)

~Jen

[valkyrie]

Jen, you are TOO COOL!!!

Good luck with whatever you do, and have a great time with your potluck. Keep us posted!!! :)

[KDHoney]

Your attitude is amazing! I love it! Enjoy yourself and make the most out of college because the time really flies!

[aggieAXO]

I haven't read the responses yet so forgive me if I repeat something, but on big campuses there is usually a large house to pay for. Fraternities on my campus had different sized houses-some had fancy ones (the larger fraternities) and some had small regular houses. We had a sorority row and all the sororities had huge houses-if you only have 30-40 women in your chapter that is not going to pay the rent and there is no way in hell you will be competitive with the larger chapters that have 140 women. It depends on the campus but on mine you could not just be the *smaller* house and survive. i think comparing fraternities to sororities at least on my campus is like comparing apples to oranges-you just can't say well we have 20 frats why can't we have 20 sororities and why can;t some of them be small and some be large.

Originally posted by FuzzieAlum

The immediate objection is that everyone will go Pi Pi and no one will join Du Du. One could put a cap on the number of bids given out, I suppose. But the guys seem to manage fine with houses of varying sizes. And because of that, the stigma of being *slightly* smaller disappears. Sure, being a house of 12 when the others have 50 is noticed, but having 40, who cares?

The biggest thing I can say to recommend this is - at almost every campus I know of, except women's colleges, there are more fraternities than sororities, and more Greek men than women. How many women do you know who hated formal rush and took their chances on COB? Or who don't go Greek at all because the thought of formal terrifies them? So - what is it they are doing better than us, especially given that there are slightly more college women then men?

[aggieAXO]

That is why we have rush before school starts-that is how we make the time.

Originally posted by Cloud9
Girls here just don't have the time or the patience to go through the rush that say, a heavily greek-influenced Southern school requires. So I dunno, I hope it won't be that bad, but I'm very worried. But my point is, from what I've learned here about Panhel rush, it seems to commercialize greek life too much for my taste...of course I have a biased opinion. What do you guys think?

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Enna/Jen, I think that you should definitely continue to try to get in touch with your Rho Chi or another Rho Chi if that is possible. There is no reason why you can't try this semster if the sororities are having COB. You have absolutely nothing to lose. I continue to wish you the best!!! :D

[LeslieAGD]

Enna, we're so proud of you for being so strong and continuing to look into Greek Life after a hectic Structured Recruitment experience! Are you considering COBing anyone other than ADPi?

[Enna05]

ADPi is up there right now, but so is Gamma Phi Beta and Alpha Chi Omega. I know I really liked those three sororities, and my rho chi said that all of them made just below quota. I'm definitely keeping my options open here.

About COB info - I think I'm just going to call the Panhellenic Office on Monday. My rho chi still hasn't gotten back to me. I don't know if she forgot about me or just couldn't find out any information and is waiting until she knows. I'm thinking it's the latter, especially because she seemed so concerned about my situation.

[Silverblue]

Absolutely call the Panhellenic office Monday. You have three fabulous choices, Enna. You could close your eyes and point to pick one, and you couldn't go wrong.

[LeslieAGD]

Enna, definitely call the Panhel office, but remember that sometimes they won't tell you that certain chapters are COBing if they are very close to ceiling. This is because those spots are usually filled up quickly by friends of sisters and NMs. If you know any of the NMs of these houses, have them ask their recruitment chairs about COB. Best of luck with COB...it sounds like you'd be an awesome addition to any of these chapters.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

I know that on my campus, calling/e-mailing the membership directors of the individual sororities would be perfectly acceptable.

[violets]

Jen,
I'm so glad that you're contacting Panhellenic, I think other GCers would agree with me when I say that you have an wonderfully open-hearted and accepting personality. Your friends are lucky people. And any chapter would be fortunate to count you among their sisters.
Good luck with Football season!
violets

[SC_Honey]

I didn't spend much time at AChiO this rush, but I have friends from my rush group who have gone there and are thrilled to be there. I know my rho chi was from there and she was just the most stunning girl and so I think you have a great selection.

As for the other two, I loved the girls at ADPi, and when I went through the unity days, while I loved all the houses and all the girls, the girls at ADPi seemed like the most sincere and geniune. I loved them, and they were so great to me.

Lastly, Gamma Phi, is a fantastic house. They went out of their way to be nice to me, and I really felt welcomed there. I haven't seen any of the actives since rush ended, but I hope to because there are so many girls in that house that I would love to stay friends with.

You have three wonderful choices and wish you the best of luck. I'm so sorry that you were cut, but just like everyone else has said - you have a great attitude and sound like a great girl. Let us know how COB is going. I don't think my house is doing any unfortunetely. I think Quota was 54 at USC this fall, and we took 60!

I still don't know how this all works though, and don't see why girls don't get bids if some houses take 60 and others 43?? I think it's all too complicated, but wish you the best of luck. If you need anything please PM me, because I'm always around for you.

Honey

p.s. I just rushed as a Junior, and found the girls were very open to me!! So don't dismiss it just yet. But please let me know about COB, and hound your Rho Chi!! :)

[mmcat]

sweetie...call panhellenic as quickly as you can monday to find out what's going on. then, go for it. you are too good to not battle through this if possible. plus a heck of a flag, which we know.
lol
:D

[RockChalk]

Good luck with the Panhellenic office, Enna! I can't wait to hear what happens next!

[NewGirl]

" but so is Gamma Phi Beta and Alpha Chi Omega. I know I really liked those three sororities, and my rho chi said that all of them made just below quota. "

I know they'd LOVE to have you! i think COB is a great idea since rush is such a hectic and emotional time. ( and alittle BS too!)
So, best wishes for COB!
i cant wait to hear how it goes!
have u met any one named Victoria? :)
Love
Ashley

[CutiePie2000]

Enna, Please come back and give us an update!

[violets]

Yes, I know we'd love to hear from you and see how your semester is going. I'm sure you're giving 'em hell at half time!
Go FLAGS!!!
violets

[mmcat]

bumpty ...bumpty...boo
i pm'd you.
:)

[southerncalgpb]

i happen to know the COB process didnt work out for her either....




did you guys ever think that, regardless of your good intentions, telling her to keep thrusting herself in front of the USC recruitment firing squad was actually BAD advice?


i rushed the same year as she did, so i had no concrete means of helping her....
but even if i had been able to try... i now know that rush here is RUTHLESS.

likely my hands would have been tied.




(besides, contrary to what others have said, gamma phi does not C-O-B.)

[Unregistered-]

Originally posted by southerncalgpb
did you guys ever think that, regardless of your good intentions, telling her to keep thrusting herself in front of the USC recruitment firing squad was actually BAD advice?

There are too many overzealous rush fanatics who like to blow sunshine up a PNMs ass. I'm serious.

[southerncalgpb]

no kidding (http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?threadid=42312&perpage=15&pagenumber=1)

[Unregistered-]

Originally posted by southerncalgpb
no kidding (http://greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?threadid=42312&perpage=15&pagenumber=1)

I don't know what's more appalling -- the sunshine committee or the fact that they were getting excited about a psycho PNM.

Don't know if you searched through dnagirl's 12 posts, but she ended up forming her own sorority--ODB. RIP ODB.

Every year during rush it's the same -- the same people will keep on encouraging a rejected PNM to keep going. At first it was "you could always COB". Now some people are friggin ridiculous when they suggest "you could always AI". :rolleyes:

It's so easy to blow sunshine up the ass, but unless they're 100% familiar with the campus (and I know at least 3 GCers here are familiar with USC rush as current/former advisors), then everyone else should just shut the fcuk up.

[amycat412]

ditto OTW.

Look, if you did not go to the school, or have a good friend who did, you have NO IDEA what the rush process is.

USC is EXTREMELY competitive by any standards. People who rush again and again are not exactly looked at as prime rushees. That's just the way it is.

[33girl]

Originally posted by OohTeenyWahine
Don't know if you searched through dnagirl's 12 posts, but she ended up forming her own sorority--ODB. RIP ODB.

bumping this thread is like making me live through ODB's death all over again.

I'm sad. :(

[Unregistered-]

Originally posted by 33girl
bumping this thread is like making me live through ODB's death all over again.

I'm sad. :(

I'm sorry, Sheila. I didn't mean to make you sad.

We should observe another moment of silence for the late great ODB.

[adpiucf]

Ghetto Superstar, that is what you are... Come away with me ... To another place...

In all seriousness, to all PNM's: sorority life is wonderful and fun, and we'd be very happy for you if you all join sororities.

BUT ...

As with all extracurriculars, some people are just a better fit for sororities than others. Before you go flaming me for that statement, also consider that some people are a better fit for the school newspaper, Student Government, the dance team, school choir, etc. All are worthwhile activities where you'll make wonderful friends. But you have to be right for the organization, and it has to be right for YOU. (You'll learn the same is true of a professional career-- if you're not a good fit with the people you work with, it doesn't matter how plush your office and 401K-- you still have to get up every morning and play with people who you view as challenging.)

The POINT: If you've gone into sorority recruitment a couple of times and it hasn't panned out, TRY ANOTHER ACTIVITY! If you're cut multiple times, take it as a sign to give something else a try. There's no shame in not being a member of a sorority. There's nothing wrong with you. Every chapter of every sorority varies. Seriously! (You might want to read the book "Maybe He's Just Not That Into You" and apply it to your sorority situation.)

You're in college to get an education. There are dozens of extracurriculars that will give you a sense of belonging and lifelong sisterhood. You don't need to transfer universities just to get into a sorority, nor do you need to beat yourself up over why you were cut from recruitment.

Throughout your life, you will experience both great joy and great rejection. Allow yourself to experience those full range of emotions and move on. Rejection hurts. But get up and get over it -- you have too many great gifts to share with the world. So get out there and discover your passion-- and be happy! Just quit beating yourself over the head, and badgering us for "why was I cut" scenarios. We don't know. No member of the sorority that cut you is going to tell you. So just have your cry, get over it and get on with your life. Carpe Diem!

ETA: Also take a step back before you go posting on GC. You're probably not a psycho, but somehow can come off that way when you ask the same question 37 times. So to be kind yet firm: Get over it offline or take the speculation to your best friends, who will while away the hours, pouring over your every move at recruitment. WE are not your best friends. We're an online community-- we shouldn't be your primary support.

[ZTAngel]

Yes and yes again.

I'm so glad that everyone on GC is so encouraging to the PNMs that go through recruitment. Recruitment is an exciting time BUT I think that some GCers become overzealous when it comes to the GC PNMs and, in effect, become almost blinded to what is best for this PNM. Recruitment can be a heartbreaking experience for some and to encourage someone to go through rush, COB, or to tell someone to become an AI can be futile. There are people out there who have rushed several times and they eventually become a member of a sorority but we all know that that is rare. Like amycat said, PNMs who go through recruitment several times are not looked at as prime rushees. In all honesty, while I was a collegiate member (and I know adpiucf can vouch for this), we had many girls who would go through recruitment over and over and over again even after being cut from every sorority during formal recruitment and not getting a bid during COB. Whether it was because of grades or reputation, these girls were obviously doing themselves a disservice by rushing every year. For us to encourage some girls to keep trying over and over and over again at competitive schools or when they're GPAs are low is doing them a disservice.

Be encouraging to these PNMs but know when to back off and realize that not everyone is cut out for a sorority. It's the honest truth. If a sorority were for everyone, then we'd be a club that didn't have any sort of recruitment and we'd let anyone in.

[James]

This is like from two years ago lol.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Originally posted by James
This is like from two years ago lol.

I was about to post the same thing.

[33girl]

tell miss bump de bump who had to get her two cents in. :rolleyes: I guess telling a message board full of strangers that someone else had an unsuccessful rush gave her a special feeling or something.

[kddani]

Originally posted by 33girl
tell miss bump de bump who had to get her two cents in. :rolleyes: I guess telling a message board full of strangers that someone else had an unsuccessful rush gave her a special feeling or something.

i was kinda thinking that, too.

[valkyrie]

Originally posted by 33girl
bumping this thread is like making me live through ODB's death all over again.

I'm sad. :(

Baby, I got your money don't you worry. :(

I would've sponsored ODB for alumna initiation if he were a woman. And alive, of course. I could see how he might not do well in formal recruitment, but really, any sorority should be honored to have the chance to snap him up!

[PKTKKG]

Originally posted by James
This is like from two years ago lol.

I was having a blonde day yesterday and read all the way through this thread (somehow I missed it the first time around) before I realized it was two years old! Duhhh. I was looking for an update and all kinds of stuff and then saw the dates. Chalk one up for the blonde day!

[southerncalgpb]

i know it wasnt exactly timely to bump this thread... except perhaps in terms of references to the beloved and dearly departed ODB, but...


i hadnt read this thread and when i did a few days ago i realized that i KNOW this girl, really well actually. she eventually joined APO and loves it....

so it wasn't about sharing the gory details of her particular story. i was just pretty shocked at how many people told her to COB, AI, etc... when in reality at USC that is a recipe for futility. i just wanted to gently admonish the well-wishing smoke blowers who protracted her suffering.... yes, maybe it did give me that special feeling (!)

sorry if it was more than a little belated.

[Unregistered-]

Originally posted by southerncalgpb
i know it wasnt exactly timely to bump this thread... except perhaps in terms of references to the beloved and dearly departed ODB, but...


i hadnt read this thread and when i did a few days ago i realized that i KNOW this girl, really well actually. she eventually joined APO and loves it....

so it wasn't about sharing the gory details of her particular story. i was just pretty shocked at how many people told her to COB, AI, etc... when in reality at USC that is a recipe for futility. i just wanted to gently admonish the well-wishing smoke blowers who protracted her suffering.... yes, maybe it did give me that special feeling (!)

sorry if it was more than a little belated.

Pay no attention to those giving you crap for bumping a two year old thread. People do it all the time. :rolleyes:

Thank you for giving us an update about your friend. We're glad she found a home in APO!

I think bumping this thread is a great reminder of being mindful and knowing when to back off, especially at a campus like USC. amycat, who's been through USC sorority life both as a collegian and an alumna, knows all too well about successful and disastrous USC rushes.

So don't apologize because you didn't do anything wrong. In fact, I think you've done us all a favor.

[33girl]

Well, in light of the tone of your previous posts, your motives just didn't seem all that altruistic.

and if you think THIS was a blowing sunshine thread, this is NOTHING.

She went through rush once, it didn't work out, and we - including women who are USC alums and still know what is going on with the system - told her to stay open to COB. It wasn't like this was her third or fourth time going through. And I don't think anyone on this thread called the Greek Life office to see what happened (yes, this has happened on GC before).

I am very glad that Enna is now one of my APO brothers. :)

[Sister Havana]

I am glad she found her home in APO. Yay for happy Brothers!

[sdblonde07]

I read about half of this thread without noticing it was 2 years old...but it read like a book! I enjoyed reading about her experience since I'm going to do informal rush this spring at my school...