Another try?

[tennisgirl16]

Hi guys! I go to a school with a very large greek system that rushes a couple of weeks after school starts. I'm currently a freshman and I rushed in the fall, but it did not go well for me. After the first round, I only got 2 houses back that I could see myself in, and got neither of them for the second round, and dropped. I was never that into joining greek life, so I didnt really care. Now, however, I really want to be involved! A lot of my friends have joined and I seem to have more in common with those in greek life than those outside of it. I know that some chapters do informal, but I have a feeling that those are the chapters where I really dont feel like I'd fit in. Its not that I want to join the most "popular" houses only, but I just feel like the ones I connected with during rush are the ones lots of girls like, too. I think that my "i'm not really sure" attitude during rush was what got me cut from so many houses, but will it be weird going back to the same houses that rejected me in the fall? Common sense would tell me that if they didnt like me the first time, they arent going to like me a year later, but I have a lot of friends in the greek system telling me otherwise. Plus, a lot of girls do rush as sophomores at my school, but most had not rushed before. Will the fact that I rushed the previous year hurt me? How can I help my chances of getting into a house that I really feel is right?

[PenguinTrax]

I would give a shot, because your impression of any of the chapters could be drastically different (and positive) from your impressions during Formal. If you go in with the attitude that you only want to be an ABC or XYZ, then you are probably going to be disappointed. Keep it light and open and see where it takes you. There are a ton of threads on this very subject in the forum - do a search and you'll see a lot of good advice.

[FSUZeta]

tennisgirl, go for it!!

in addition,if your sorority friends should invite you over to their house for a meal, or just to hang out, do it. it would be a great opportunity to see the sorority as they really are and it might help your chances of receiving a bid from them because more sisters will know you.

good luck.

[cutie_cat_4ever]

I think you should do it and be positive about it. I got cut that way too because I wasn't too sure about it. (not to mention I only rushed for one, I was small greek system school) Not to mention that you have friends in sororities that can help you ease your nervousness too.

Good luck!

[BamaBelle1987]

Originally Posted by tennisgirl16

Hi guys! I go to a school with a very large greek system that rushes a couple of weeks after school starts. I'm currently a freshman and I rushed in the fall, but it did not go well for me. After the first round, I only got 2 houses back that I could see myself in, and got neither of them for the second round, and dropped. I was never that into joining greek life, so I didnt really care. Now, however, I really want to be involved! A lot of my friends have joined and I seem to have more in common with those in greek life than those outside of it. I know that some chapters do informal, but I have a feeling that those are the chapters where I really dont feel like I'd fit in. Its not that I want to join the most "popular" houses only, but I just feel like the ones I connected with during rush are the ones lots of girls like, too. I think that my "i'm not really sure" attitude during rush was what got me cut from so many houses, but will it be weird going back to the same houses that rejected me in the fall? Common sense would tell me that if they didnt like me the first time, they arent going to like me a year later, but I have a lot of friends in the greek system telling me otherwise. Plus, a lot of girls do rush as sophomores at my school, but most had not rushed before. Will the fact that I rushed the previous year hurt me? How can I help my chances of getting into a house that I really feel is right?

First, I think that you wanting to be part of the Greek community is awesome and it is a wonderful community to join. Depending on your school rushing as a sophomore might be extremely difficult. I go to a Southern school and sophomores who rush as far less likely to join (I am not trying to discourage you). I don't think the fact that you rushed the previous year would necessarily hurt you because I think you could use it to your advantage- hint, I am really excited about rushing again this year because I realized how important it was to me to be involved in a community of girls who I can relate to and count on at college. The fact that you are older though does not help due to the fact that you will only be paying dues for three years instead of four. The bottom line is- follow your heart and make sure that you are doing this for you. If during the week you decide again that a sorority is not for you- that is ok. Just be yourself and be happy with who you are no matter what happens! Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[AChiOhSnap]

Originally Posted by BamaBelle1987

First, I think that you wanting to be part of the Greek community is awesome and it is a wonderful community to join. Depending on your school rushing as a sophomore might be extremely difficult. I go to a Southern school and sophomores who rush as far less likely to join (I am not trying to discourage you). I don't think the fact that you rushed the previous year would necessarily hurt you because I think you could use it to your advantage- hint, I am really excited about rushing again this year because I realized how important it was to me to be involved in a community of girls who I can relate to and count on at college. The fact that you are older though does not help due to the fact that you will only be paying dues for three years instead of four. The bottom line is- follow your heart and make sure that you are doing this for you. If during the week you decide again that a sorority is not for you- that is ok. Just be yourself and be happy with who you are no matter what happens! Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

BamaBelle, what you're saying is absolutely true for some schools, but at some schools the whole paying dues for four years thing isn't really a big deal at all -- at some schools, the benefit of having a sophomore or junior member might outweigh the financial "disadvantage" a sorority would have by bidding her. It really depends on how big the chapters are at tennisgirl's school, what percentage of the student body goes Greek, and how competitive the recruitment is. Anyone rushing as a sophomore or junior should take a hard look at their school's Greek culture and decide for themselves whether or not they have a shot. But your advice is sound: tennisgirl should follow her heart in any circumstance, even if her recruitment promises to be difficult.

[dgdramadawg]

Originally Posted by BamaBelle1987

Depending on your school rushing as a sophomore might be extremely difficult. I go to a Southern school and sophomores who rush as far less likely to join (I am not trying to discourage you).

This is so true... depending on the school, sophomores rushing can range from no big deal to a really difficult experience... and even still it can also depend upon the chapter within the school. Tennisgirl, I would really encourage you to look into the houses that do informal whether or not your school is one where a sophomore might have a difficult recruitment... it will give you more insight into the participating chapters as a freshman and maybe you will enjoy one more than you did in the fall, but if you don't find a house during informal you can still rush again in the fall.

[lbk_kpd]

As someone who was once in a position similar to yours, I wholeheartedly encourage you to go through Recruitment again. As a first-semester freshman, I went through Recruitment somewhat haphazardly; I had a very limited prior exposure to Greek life and the Greek experience and honestly only registered for Recruitment upon the insistance of one of my new friends in my dorm. I went through the entire week, but never really found a connection with any of the organizations I considered (My campus has an informal style of Recruitment- PNMs are free to visit or not visit any organizations they're interested in for the entirety of the week, with the exception of Prefs). I opted to not attend Pref, and decided to spend some more time considering if I genuinely wanted to be part of Greek life. I found that I really wanted to go Greek, and that spring I went through formal Recruitment a second time. To be honest with you, there were very few awkward instances the second time around, even though my school has a very small Greek system and a relatively low number of PNMs who go through Recruitment; I'm sure people must have recognized me, but no one ever made me feel uncomfortable about my situation. If I was ever questioned about the circumstances, I simply said that I hadn't been sure about what I wanted the first time around and left it at that. As an active sister, I know that I would never want to make a PNM feel awkward by pushing that subject. Anyway, the moral of the story is, I found my home and am absolutely dedicated to my sorority. I encourage you to go through Recruitment again if you feel that Greek life is right for you and simply relax and be yourself; be honest about why you dropped out last time, but don't feel pressure to apologize or offer a million and one reasons. Best of luck to you!