Thread: Rebel Mom
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Old 09-07-2017, 10:22 AM
NYCMS NYCMS is offline
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Hi Rebel Mom!

First, best wishes to your daughter...while Ole Miss rush is super tough, as others have noted, she can indeed have a good rush and find a home if she is open minded and accepts every invitation she gets. I've had several friends whose daughters have rushed at Ole Miss over the past 5 years, including two who rushed last year so perhaps my experience can help. Apologies for the length of this but there are many points I think are important.

Note: I don't know if you're from out of state (or even in-state) with no connections or if you're heavily connected, so I will write in generalities, mostly toward anyone rushing without connections since connections are so key at a Greek-intensive school. Some tips are general, some are Ole Miss specific.

1) Be open-minded as everyone says. Because Ole Miss is so competitive, every house has great girls and many mid-tier and lower-tier houses would be considered top-tier at a less competitive school. But you do have to "work harder" to get noticed at Ole Miss due to the sheer numbers of girls going through rush and that most girls also have great resumes, grades, etc.
2) Ignore the tent talk - she will hear girls bashing every house on campus - saying rude things about the Miss. Houses (top tier), saying rude things about lower-tier, and everything in between. This is super true at Ole Miss.
3) If she is out of state or even in-state with no connections, she should realize that her odds of getting into a top tier house (Chi O, DDD and KD) are greatly reduced since they have to cut the fastest and they already know the girls they're interested in; this can also be true for some mid-tier houses. I say this not to be negative but because a friend's daughter who rushed last year - from way out of state with no connections - was devastated when DDD and KD cut her after the first round. She said "But they were so nice and liked me". Yes, the best rushers make everyone feel welcome and wanted - that's their job! And it's not personal. Anyone without strong connections are almost always cut although there are a few exceptions.
4) IT'S NOT PERSONAL! Cuts are almost never personal...there are so many reasons girls are cut - they didn't impress enough girls in the house so they don't have girls pushing for them to get to the next round. Perhaps they were a bit quiet and didn't leave a strong enough impression. And it's a numbers game. This is really, really true at Ole Miss.
5) Take every single invitation she gets...she will see girls drop out because they didn't get back to top and even mid-tier houses. DON'T DO THIS!! She will also see girls who don't think they have a connection to anyone in a house, so they won't want to accept a bid or even go that house for pref. With 300-400 girls in every house she is bound to find girls she likes. You meet so few girls during rush due to the huge number that it's sometimes hard to really get a sense of connection. Again, this is super true at Ole Miss where Greek life is so valued.
6) Don't pay attention to the number of parties she gets back to. Let's say that Round 3 has a maximum of 7 parties and that your daughter only gets back to 5. Yet she knows girls getting back to all 7. IT DOES NOT MATTER! All that matters is that she keeps going to parties. It only takes ONE house that wants her to get a bid. My friend's daughter from last year had fewer than the max parties for a few rounds yet she got into a house she loves.
7) ACCEPT A BID even if she's unsure. So many girls wind up loving the house they got in, even if they weren't sure. Rushing as a sophomore is rarely ever successful at OM, especially since many houses have a "once cut, always cut" policy (some girls think they would work so they drop out).
8) Lastly, she can find a home. The out of state girl with no connections got a fantastic house and even though it's considered a "lower tier" house, it is packed with great girls and all that matters is that she loves it.

I wish you daughter all the best. Please keep us posted, we're rooting for her!
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