Univ of Texas at Austin Rush Story fall 2009

[hookem2013]

Rush 2009

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by hookem2013

Hey all! I've been reading greek chat since I first decided I wanted to rush in March, and have read a lot about what everyone thinks about rush at Ut Austin, and since I just wen tthrough it, I decided to share my experience with everyone and shed some light on the whole process here at Texas.

Background information- I am the first in my family to go through rush. I went to a pretty large high school where many of the students go onto college at UT but only about 2 or 3 girls who go to UT each year end up going through rush. Many of the other girls who graduate from my high school rush and pledge at Texas A&M, Texas Tech, OSU, Oklahoma, TCU, and various other schools. I was very indecisive about the whole rush process, especially at such a large university like Texas, but I decided that it was smething I was interested in andwanted to do so that I could get a close group of friends at such a big school. I realized that there were a ton of benefits to being a sorority.

I spent a lot of time (and money!) getting together my rec letters for rush with printing out resumes, providing envelopes and stamps for my rec writers, labeling pictures, and printing pictures for them to send in. I ended up getting at least one rec and one letter of support (some 2, 3, and even 4 letters of support) for each of the 13 sororities here at UT. I thought I was pretty set and golden with my recs, because for a few of the sororities, I actually had women who were actually in the sorority here at UT write them. One was even the president of the chapter here in 2007-2008 (I got cut from them after day 2 even though I had one of the best conversations with the girl I was paired with on day 2). Another was written by someone who was an active who graduated just last year. (I was cut from them after day 1).

UT does a lot of dirty rushing throughout the summer. I was called multiple times by 2 of the "big 6" sororities over summer to hang out with them at orientation and various other events. At these events, the reality of rush really shined through. I realized just how intense it was. You could tell all of the girls were good friends with the actives and already knew them really well from high school, camp, and whatnot. Itwas intimidating, but I still knew I really wanted to go through rush.

When rush began, I believe 800-900 girls were there on day 1. It was so crazy that there were THAT many girls, because thereality was that most wre going to get dropped simply because theres not a enough room in 13 sororities for all of thesegirls. Day 1 went really well, and I was nervous about getting cut from several houses because I was not a legacy and did not have any close relationships with any of the actives. However, I was invited back to 9 houses out of a maximum of 10 invites, (4 being the "big 6") and I was really excited. Day 2 and 3 went really well. I felt like I had great convrsations at each house, and really connected and clicked with the girls I was paired with at 3 or 4 of the houses. However, I was cut from 8 of 9 of the houses the next day, and was only invited back to one, which had not been my favorite. Many of the girls had been talking about how all of the sororities knew who they wanted at the end and knew who they were cutting and inviting back at each round before rush even began. The last house I had was supposedly the #1 house here at UT and the eptiome of al of this "dirty rushing." They were the one house everyone knew that they knew who they wanted at the very end and were ony inviting girls back becausethey had to to reach their "quota" for each day. I ended up going to that house on skit night with a very positive attitude, since I did hang out with them over the summer and it was my only chance to be in a sorority. I tried my best at engaging in conversation with the girls I had, but I knew they were not interested and I had such a big feeling they knew I was being cut the next day. My Rho Chi called me the next morning saying I had been dropped form rush.

UT's rush is intense, and it really is what they say it is. Many of the girls who girl through rush here are double/triple legacies and are really good friends with a lot of the actives in the sororoities. Here, it's all about connections. Many of the girls I know who ended up getting bids were double/triple legacies and one of them was really good family friends with the sorority's rush captain and the other's boyfriend is the cousin of the rush captain of the sorority she pledged. It's all about who you know. I had great recs, but still it wasn't enough. I also know a girl whose mom was in a sorority here at UT, and she got cut from that sorority after just day 2.

Many of the houses really do who they want. On bid day, the actives come to decorate all the pledges' dorm rooms, and some of the big sororites hang posters with a blown of picture of the pledge and stating facts like what high school they're from and what acivities they were in and etc. on the posters as well as things like TOP GIRL! and MUST BE ONE OF US! and LEGACY! Supposedly they make these posters early in the summer and study them all summer.

Anyway, although I really wanted to be in a sorority, I am upset about not getting a bid, but I am not bitter about it, because the majority ofmy friends rushed and did get bids and are still amazing friends and great girls who are happy and still the exact same. Greek life is a big part, but it defntiey does not dominate UT. There are so many opportunities at a large university like UT, and there's always something going on around here, wheter you are greek or not. I just wanted to share my experience with you all, and best of luck to anyone going through rush here at Texas in the future or anywhere else! Hook 'em!

A couple of things, you mentioned that you had legacy friends who were cut from their mom's chapters. That's because a legacy is not guaranteed a bid, particularly at a big school like that. Also, every PNM likely has recs, having a rec doesn't typically keep girls from being cut.

UT is a tough recruitment though and I'm sorry you didn't get a bid. Hopefully you can get involved elsewhere at UT. Good luck.

[Zillini]

To the OP, I'm sorry things did not work out for you and you are hurt. I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to use your post to make a general point and I hope this does not pour salt in your wounds. To be crystal clear I am not directing my comments specifically at you, rather at so many PNMs who come here heartbroken when they were dirty rushed all spring/summer long.

I am tired of all the claims of dirty rushing. "I was dirty rushed all summer, my friend was, a girl on my dorm floor, etc., then they dropped me! It's not fair!" Does dirty rushing happen? Yeah, I'm sure it does. Does it happen with every Chapter? I doubt it. But the numerous accusations about dirty rushing can make everyone think it is the norm and perhaps even acceptable. It is not.

Dirty rushing can be stopped and the best people to do that are those PNMs who were hurt by it. Turn those Chapters in to Panhellenic. Tell them what they did, what they said, when they contacted you/your friends, etc.

J-Board and Rho Chi's (or whatever they are called on a campus) cannot be everywhere. They can only look into issues they know about or see right in front of them. Chapters are hesitant to turn in others because maybe: they are doing something wrong too; they fear retaliation; they fear being labeled a "snitch"; they don't know infractions occurred; or they don't have any/enough concrete info only rumors. Sometimes a Chapter doesn't even know what their own individual members did.

I would like to see more people stop complaining about a problem and instead be willing to be part of the solution. Often it just takes seeing one Chapter being held accountable for the others to fall in line because they do not want similar sanctions. While it will not change your Recruitment outcome, it might prevent similar heartbreak for PNMs who go through in the future.

[gee_ess]

Hugs to you Hookem2013. You sound like you have really handled this disappointment well, and I commend you for picking yourself up and moving forward. At the time, being dropped from recruitment does seem like the end of the world, and you do feel terribly hurt. But, as you are beginning to understand, this does pass.

Regarding the dirty summer rush, I think, (and defer to LadyLonghorn et al) that the summer activities are allowed at UT. Being invited places by various sorority women is the norm, not the exception and if it is illegal, then someone very high up in the Greek Life organization is pointedly turning a blind eye to it.

I also am wondering about the posters you are mentioning that say, "Legacy, Top Girl, etc." I do not think you meant to imply that those are posters that are put up in the dorms after Bid Day. I think that needs to be clarified.

Best of luck with your college career at UT. What a great school and what a great opportunity for an education!

[srmom]

Wow, there's both alot of truth and alot of misconceptions in that post, I hardly know where to begin...

I went to Memorial, my kids went to Stratford, so I am extremely familiar with both - Just because you went to those highschools (or Highland Park), does NOT mean you automatically get a bid. I personally know about 5 girls who were dropped, including one whose mother attended UT in a top 6 sorority so was a direct legacy, and went bidless.

I also know girls who went to Cy-schools (there are about a million of them ), or Katy schools who got bids - shockingly there are even out of state girls who got bids!!

Yes, there is no denying that knowing people beforehand will give you a leg up - but, it doesn't mean you are guaranteed anything! NOR, does not knowing people guarantee that you WON'T get a bid.

As for knowing who they are going to bid before school starts - yes, they have an idea of who they'd like, but often houses are competing for the same girls! So, just because they'd like "Susie Q" from Camp Mystic, Susie Q may want another house!! There is flexibility during recruitment, there has to be - because the houses do not get together and have some master plan in place (collusion) before rush week!

Regarding the "dirty rushing" - UT has a history of summer events during the orientation weeks, and they aren't considered "dirty rushing" - ALL the houses do it, I'm not just talking "top 6" houses - ALL of them do it. How can I attest to this? I know people who are the rush captains of smaller houses - guess what they did all summer... It is the custom there, and while it may be considered "dirty rushing" by panhellenic rules, it goes on and I guess is overlooked because it's just the way it is.

Regarding the posters she's talking about - Yes, girls make posters for their "Rush Crushes", but just because they have a poster doesn't mean that girl is going to pledge that house! Maybe SHE wants to be in another house - the posters are just wishful thinking!!

I know recruitment was tough this year (as it always is). I have friends whose daughters were cut hard, but got bids, and I have friends whose daughters went bidless. But, there are also many success stories - they just haven't been on here posting their happy results! I have pictures of moms handing flowers to their daughters at bid day, both crying with happiness - so it does happen, we just haven't had a recruitment story from any of them!

I probably shouldn't get my nose out of joint, but all the negativity surrounding UT rush is starting to kind of p*ss me off...

[gee_ess]

Originally Posted by srmom

I probably shouldn't get my nose out of joint, but all the negativity surrounding UT rush is starting to kind of p*ss me off...

In the words of my teenagers, "I'm feelin' ya, sr mom."

I think that since UT is the mother of all mothers regarding tough nonSEC state school recruitments, it does get a little roughed up in the discussion boards! But, I think the same applies for Bama, etc. It is just UT's turn on the wheel this week.

Sometimes it just gets overwhelming to try, once again, to defend sorority recruitment, sorority life, fight sorority stereotypes, etc that it is easy to feel defensive.

[RhoGamma09]

Thanks for posting your experience! I am sorry it didnt work out for you. I dont know if they do any COB or winter recruitment, but sometimes PNMs find that those enviornments are a lot easier to deal with....but, considering that school is so big I am assuming maybe they dont do that. (I come from a lot different greek life environment)

If you genuinely feel there was dirty rushing going on, go talk to the Panhel president or the director over in Student Life/Affairs.

But, you have to remember too, recruitment is hard, cuts get made, sometimes really really great girls slip through the cracks because of one silly reason or another. Getting a bid is so magical because the stars have to practically align for both you and the sorority (sororities dont get their first choices often too!)

I am glad youre being so positive about staying involved in campus, good luck with everything!

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by srmom

Wow, there's both alot of truth and alot of misconceptions in that post, I hardly know where to begin...

I went to Memorial, my kids went to Stratford, so I am extremely familiar with both - Just because you went to those highschools (or Highland Park), does NOT mean you automatically get a bid. I personally know about 5 girls who were dropped, including one whose mother attended UT in a top 6 sorority so was a direct legacy, and went bidless.

I also know girls who went to Cy-schools (there are about a million of them ), or Katy schools who got bids - shockingly there are even out of state girls who got bids!!

Yes, there is no denying that knowing people beforehand will give you a leg up - but, it doesn't mean you are guaranteed anything! NOR, does not knowing people guarantee that you WON'T get a bid.

As for knowing who they are going to bid before school starts - yes, they have an idea of who they'd like, but often houses are competing for the same girls! So, just because they'd like "Susie Q" from Camp Mystic, Susie Q may want another house!! There is flexibility during recruitment, there has to be - because the houses do not get together and have some master plan in place (collusion) before rush week!

Regarding the "dirty rushing" - UT has a history of summer events during the orientation weeks, and they aren't considered "dirty rushing" - ALL the houses do it, I'm not just talking "top 6" houses - ALL of them do it. How can I attest to this? I know people who are the rush captains of smaller houses - guess what they did all summer... It is the custom there, and while it may be considered "dirty rushing" by panhellenic rules, it goes on and I guess is overlooked because it's just the way it is.

Regarding the posters she's talking about - Yes, girls make posters for their "Rush Crushes", but just because they have a poster doesn't mean that girl is going to pledge that house! Maybe SHE wants to be in another house - the posters are just wishful thinking!!

I know recruitment was tough this year (as it always is). I have friends whose daughters were cut hard, but got bids, and I have friends whose daughters went bidless. But, there are also many success stories - they just haven't been on here posting their happy results! I have pictures of moms handing flowers to their daughters at bid day, both crying with happiness - so it does happen, we just haven't had a recruitment story from any of them!

I probably shouldn't get my nose out of joint, but all the negativity surrounding UT rush is starting to kind of p*ss me off...

I was really hoping you'd come in here and post.

We've had like 5 posters come on here saying the same stuff about UT and I feel like it's getting a bit of a "bad rap" for being a place where everyone dirty rushes and no one gets a bids. That's likely not the case.

I would imagine that most PNMs do though (as long as they are well prepared).

[srmom]

We've had like 5 posters come on here saying the same stuff about UT and I'm kind of over it.

And, unfortunately, not one about a happily ending recruitment. I could post happy stories (I've heard enough at the grocery store in the past week ), but it's not my place to do so.

Where are all the SEC horror stories this year? Is it on a rotating basis, and UT is up this time?

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by srmom

Where are all the SEC horror stories this year? Is it on a rotating basis, and UT is up this time?

You know, we've talked about this before on GC, but EVERY year there's a school or 2 that we tend to hear the most about. It really is kind of a rotation. It's weird. Like one year, we'll get a ton of posts about LSU, then the next year it's all about Auburn or Ole Miss. I think this year, we've heard alot from FSU, UT, Bama and maybe Auburn.

[srmom]

Oh well, if it's UT's time in the line of fire, then we'll take the heat. But, next year, somebody else needs to take a turn! LOL

it's getting a bit of a "bad rap" for being a place where everyone dirty rushes and no one gets a bids.

Everyone does "dirty rush" if that's what they want to call it. There are no promises made, there are no gifts proffered, etc. Summer is just used as a time to get to know the girls when they come to town for orientation; they might go out in a group to dinner, or accompany a group of pnms to a fraternity event - that's the extent of the dirty rushing.

As for people not getting bids - at least 46 girls per house (quota) got bids, plus numerous quota additions, depending on the house, so there are a lot of happy girls wearing newly acquired Greek stuff around the UT campus these days.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by srmom

Everyone does "dirty rush" if that's what they want to call it. There are no promises made, there are no gifts proffered, etc. Summer is just used as a time to get to know the girls when they come to town for orientation; they might go out in a group to dinner, or accompany a group of pnms to a fraternity event - that's the extent of the dirty rushing.

That's the impression that I was getting. They all do it to get to know the girls, and it's nothing that promises girls a bid.

Question: Do you think the dirty rush accusations come more from PNMs who are not familiar with UT and summer events thinking "Oh I went to dinner with XYZ! That means they must really like me and I'm getting a bid!" whereas girls who are familiar with UT know better than to think that a summer invite = a bid (because they know how common it is?)

Also, I assumed that most girls get bids. I mean, if most of them weren't, then every chapter wouldn't have matched quota. I said this before, but I find that unfortunately, here on GC, we hear a disproportionate number of unhappy endings from bigger schools for a number of reasons.

[ComradesTrue]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

Also, I assumed that most girls get bids. I mean, if most of them weren't, then every chapter wouldn't have matched quota.

My limited knowledge of UT extends back 20 years, so I won't even pretend to know percentages that match. However, the 2 PNMs who posted prior to recruitment, and then these 2 that have posted since were all released after 2nd or 3rd rounds. Therefore all those released early would not have factored into quota. In other words, hundreds (theoretically) of girls could have been released early and yet all chapters still make quota.

Or am I missing something?

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by Blondie93

Or am I missing something?

No, you're not, I'm just an idiot, lol. You're exactly right.

But still, I think their placement rate (of the girls who stay in recruitment) is in the 90% though. Hardly a "no one gets bids" placement rate.

[srmom]

Question: Do you think the dirty rush accusations come more from PNMs who are not familiar with UT and summer events thinking "Oh I went to dinner with XYZ! That means they must really like me and I'm getting a bid!" whereas girls who are familiar with UT know better than to think that a summer invite = a bid (because they know how common it is?)

Honestly, I don't know. Maybe the reason we are reading the "dirty rushing" allegations on GC is because these girls have done some research, have read the threads, know that "silence rules" exist, and that there are rules against contact.

I would imagine that most girls rushing don't really have a clue as to what is kosher nationally and what isn't, they just know that at UT, you and your friends might get a call before your orientation from different houses asking you to do something with them. I doubt very seriously that they are reading the fine print on the website as they sign up for recruitment (although their moms may be ).

Gone are the days where you would get a formally printed invitation to attend a luncheon at some well heeled alum's house in your city (that's what it was like back in my day). Now, it's just, "Hey, I hear your orientation is June XX. A bunch of us are going to go eat at XYZ, then hit up the party at ABC, wanna come?"

It is totally about getting to know girls before they show up for the first round party 15 minute meet and greet. Many girls wouldn't have a CHANCE if they didn't have the opportunity to get on the radar before formal recruitment - because of the "highschool, camp, hometown" connection/networks that are complained about - if they didn't get some face time during the summer. (awkward sentence - but do you know what I mean?)

And yes, a large percentage of girls end up with a bid, maybe not where they were hoping for or expecting, but most get a bid. Some unfortunately get released from all the houses, and it is really sad. I wish I knew the answer - if I did, I'd be sure to tell my friend whose legacy daughter got released. Noone knows but the girls in the chapters.