Being from the west coast and rushing in the South
 

I recently chose to go to UA for college and I was wondering what rushing was like for someone that isn't from the South. As I understand it the Greek life at Bama is very traditional and they value kids that are familiar with Southern culture. But assuming that I'm not a fuck, is it still possible for me to get a bid being from Arizona? I recently toured the campus and talked to several kids involved in greek life and they told me that the majority of rushing goes on during the summer. Do they save bids or leave room for out of state boys who can only attend formal rush? I have no connections to any of the fraternities at Alabama. Also, I have a 3.6 gpa and got a 30 on the ACT if that is important.

No one can speak how recruitment will go for you. People go to out of state schools all the time, this isn't something new.
One thing you need to do is keep your grades up and clean up your image. For example saying "assuming that I'm not a fuck", probably not the best thing. The chapters will probably check your facebook page as well, so clean that up too.
Also, stop making assumptions about people in the south, that doesn't get you anywhere.

Formal rush for fraternities is really a joke at Alabama. Most men pledge at parties during the summer or the week or two before classes start (when the sororities are working on rush).
That said, you hear a lot about the big fraternities, but not a lot about the smaller ones that may not have been on campus forever, or may not even have a house. They will pick up a few members through formal rush.

But listen - you will be going to freshman orientation AKA Bama Bound. A week or two before you leave, e-mail the fraternities and tell them you'll be in town for orientation and tell them you'd like to drop by and meet some guys. You may get invitations to come by for a party or just to hang out.
Fraternities tend to have the attitude of "pledge 'em all and sort 'em out later," so you will probably pick up a couple of bids right away. If you like the fraternity, go ahead and pledge. Or ask how long you have to decide...and try to stay in touch.

You're probably not going to be able to visit all the fraternities, so troll their websites and pick out a dozen or so to e-mail.

And it's not such a big deal for guys to pledge second semester or even as a sophomore. So if you decide to hold off for a while so you can meet more guys, you can do that.

Personally, the non-structured approach just infuriates me and seems unfair to men who don't already know members. But it is what it is. Nobody seems to be hurting for members....right now, anyway.