Rush questions
 

I will be a junior at a large southern school. I went through Rush last year as a sophomore and got cut from 8 out of 10 chapters after the first day of parties. This seemed very unusual because I had recs, I have high grades, was very involved in High School, and as far as I can tell, am not grotesquely ugly. I dropped out of Rush on Pref night because I was fed up with the whole thing- I never pledged. In spring, a friend wanted me to go through informal rush for her chapter. After the first party, she said they cut me "because I had rushed in the fall."

I called Panhellenic to ask what happened. I was told that because her chapter cut me during formal rush, I was ineligible to ever become a member of that organization. Is this true? I was considering rushing again, but don't think its worth it if 9 out of 10 chapters will have to cut me.

Thanks!

There is no NPC regulation that if a chapter cut you during formal recruitment, you would be ineligible for membership during informal recruitment (COB). However, that particular organization may have such a rule.

You may have gotten cut only because you were an upperclassman, I don't know. Some things to consider:

Did you ask questions and appear interested at the events or did you sit there and let the chapter try and'wow' you.

Are you active on campus? If you rushed as a sophomore, but haven't become active in any campus group, even if you were active in high school, that would be a negative in the eyes of the sorority. If you've been on campus for 2 years and haven't event joined a club that's geared for your major, you appear unmotivated. There is more to sorority life that parties and pins - almost every member is going to be involved on campus in one or more other campus groups.

Is there anything in your past that you thought no-one knew about, but would reflect negatively on you? For example, one year I helped a chapter with Rush and there were these 3 really nice girls - high grades, lots of activities, very outgoing, etc. Perfect new members, or so it appeared. Turns out, these three girls were also involved in some nasty attacks on other girls in their high school to the point they were taken into custody for assault. They were released with a warning and suspended from school. None of this information made it's way onto their Rush applications of course, but the advisors for this chapter checked the background of every girl going through Rush - many of them were teachers in the same city.

If you are truly interested in Greek life, I would spend some time getting to know the backgrounds of the chapters on campus. Be prepared with many questions about each chapter - both general and specific questions. Be prepared to tell the members what you can offer the chapter - maturity from being an upperclassman, grades, etc. Act interested during each party, even if you are bored stiff. Smile and be outgoing. Dress neatly and appropriately - make sure your appearance is tip=top. You DO NOT need to go out a buy a new wardrobe - just make sure your clothes are clean, pressed and fit well. The other thing I can offer is that you find out if any of your relatives or friends of your family are members of one of the sororities on campus and ask them to send in a letter of reference for you. This is not a guarantee that you will be offered membership.

Feel free to e-mail me privately - I'm curious to know what school you attend.

Barb

I too had a similar experience. I too am a sophomore and thought things were going great and then I did not get invited back to 3 out of the 4 sororities at my college on the last day of rush. I had been totally forthcoming with the sisters in each of the organizations, and your post has caused me to wonder if maybe I got cut because I had rushed before. I do realize it could have been for other reasons, though. I was thinking about rushing this fall, but I don't know if it will be worth my time if i am going to get cut because of my rushing before. How can I figure this out? Any ideas? Email me if you would want to talk about this at herhighness78@hotmail.com

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Hey Barb--

Just had a thought..are there any rules stating that if you have been cut from a sorority during formal rush once that you cannot ever become a member, even if you go through the formal rush process again? Thanks.



[This message has been edited by JellyBean00 (edited May 15, 2000).]

There is no NPC rule to that effect, however individual sororities may have membership restrictions that would not allow them to pledge someone previously cut from their lists. I've known women that went through formal recruitment a second time and received bids from a house that cut them the first time out. It doesn't happen that often, but it can happen.

You said you were cut from 3 out of 4 houses? Did you drop from Recruitment or did the 4th house not extend a bid to you. Just curious...

Barb