Quote:
Originally Posted by Benzgirl
Waaay back in 1950 when my dad was at MIT, this is the way fraternities did it. The men were in temporary housing when they arrived and moved into the houses on bid day. I know not everyone went through fraternity rush but most did.
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That was still true in the 1990s when I was at MIT. All freshmen were given temporary housing in the dorms. Fraternity, sorority, independent living group, and dorm rush happened simultaneously. (ILGs are comparable to coed GLOs, but one (WILG) is all female and another (Student House) is only open to those who can demonstrate financial hardship.)
Yes, we had dorm rush. You were temped in one of the undergrad dorms, and during rush you were supposed to visit all the dorms and rank them. Every dorm had its own culture. You were then matched to one of the dorms. If you pledged a fraternity or ILG, your dorm assignment was irrelevant, because you moved into the house the moment you signed. If you pledged a sorority - only one sorority (out of 4 NPCs, a local, and an NPHC sorority) had a house when I rushed, and there weren't enough beds for the sisters, never mind new members, so you spent your freshman year in a dorm, so dorm rush was a must. If you were interested in joining a fraternity or ILG, again, dorm rush was a must, in case you didn't get a bid, or got a bid but chose to decline it.
MIT has since changed the rules. Freshmen can pledge FSILGs but must spend their freshman year living in an on-campus dorm.