Rush Process

TFaddish · #1 10-03-2007, 05:24 PM

I'm currently going through Rush at my school and I'm wondering if its the same for everyone. Here (I wont disclose where so that I don't upset people) it is a very judgmental system. We have 8 chapters and the first day you visit all 8 houses, then you pick 6 that you would like to revisit using a computer program, which sounded fine until I got my schedule for the next day. Apparently chapters decide who they see again and who they don't after one girl meets with you for 15 minutes and gives you a house tour. This doesn't seem like a welcoming process and its very hard to pledge here, did anyone else have to go through this? It's kinda got me down a little...

SthrnZeta · #2 10-03-2007, 05:28 PM

I hate to tell you this, but that sounds completely normal. You have to remember that recruitment is also called "Mutual Selection" and the organization has to want you as much as you want them for a match to occur. Don't let it get you down though - just be yourself, have fun, and try to get to know as many people as possible with an open mind. You'll end up where you belong in the end, I promise

#3 10-03-2007, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TFaddish

I'm currently going through Rush at my school and I'm wondering if its the same for everyone.

As far as experiences go, no, it is not the same for everyone. If you're talking about the structure (visit all sororities on Day One, visit x number on Day 2, etc.), then you get some similarity. It all depends.

Quote:

Here (I wont disclose where so that I don't upset people) it is a very judgmental system. We have 8 chapters and the first day you visit all 8 houses, then you pick 6 that you would like to revisit using a computer program, which sounded fine until I got my schedule for the next day. Apparently chapters decide who they see again and who they don't after one girl meets with you for 15 minutes and gives you a house tour. This doesn't seem like a welcoming process and its very hard to pledge here, did anyone else have to go through this? It's kinda got me down a little...

Judgmental? Please explain.

Recruitment is based on mutual selection. 15 minutes really isn't a long time to get to know someone, but that's why it's called "rush".

adpiucf · #4 10-03-2007, 05:36 PM

This is the rush/recruitment process at every university in North America. It's like a job interview-- they don't have to invite you back/you don't have to accept a final job offer.

Stick it out-- you have nothing to lose by seeing what your options are at the end of the week. If you are invited to pledge an organization, give it at least a month before you decide to throw in the towel and quit. If you do quit, do it before you are initiated so you have an opportunity to possibly join another organization. (Once initiated, even if you later quit, you are ineligible to join any other sorority/fraternity, unless it is a Greek academic honor society, Greek pre-professional group or Greek service society)

Fleur de Lis · #5 10-03-2007, 05:47 PM

I am guessing you're experiencing what most college freshman go through - you are no longer the smartest person in your class or the most popular, well-rounded, successful, etc. Sorority recruitment compounds this, and it's not just on your campus. Yeah, it hurts, but sometimes sororities know that you will fit better somewhere else and invite another girl they want to get to know more. First round cuts can really sting, but hopefully you will find the right sorority or other group for you to grow in and serve. Good luck!

DGTess · #6 10-03-2007, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TFaddish

I'm currently going through Rush at my school and I'm wondering if its the same for everyone. Here (I wont disclose where so that I don't upset people) it is a very judgmental system. We have 8 chapters and the first day you visit all 8 houses, then you pick 6 that you would like to revisit using a computer program, which sounded fine until I got my schedule for the next day. Apparently chapters decide who they see again and who they don't after one girl meets with you for 15 minutes and gives you a house tour. This doesn't seem like a welcoming process and its very hard to pledge here, did anyone else have to go through this? It's kinda got me down a little...

It's the way Rush works, but it sucks if you're going through as a freshman, this early in the year, when you haven't had a chance to meet many people or see the houses in action. It's a terribly antiquated system. In 15-30 minutes, you can't possibly meet enough of the members (at least in today's houses of 50+ women) to let either side make an intelligent decision. This is what causes women to be selected on looks at many places.

texas*princess · #7 10-03-2007, 06:40 PM

You also need to understand chapters might be basing their decisions on other factors like GPA, involvement, etc to make the cuts, and not just the 15-minute house tour. You will never know why you were cut because that is MS, but the sororities have to narrow the field down somehow and they use several criteria for making those decisions.

Like someone else already said, stick it out, have fun, meet people, and hope for the best.

violetpretty · #8 10-03-2007, 09:44 PM

Also, most campuses use a system to place the most potential members as possible. Basically, groups that historically attract more potential members have to cut more women EARLY to give women a more realistic look at their choices. Back in the old days, chapters could invite as many potential members as they wanted, but they were still only allowed to take quota (# of potential members / # of chapters). As a result, lots of women ended up without a home. Stick it out, you might fall in love with a chapter you thought was so-so.

AOII Angel · #9 10-03-2007, 10:19 PM

So far, this is the most streamlined process anyone has been able to come up with for recruitment. In places with smaller greek systems, they may be able to still have more time to get to know PNMs and chapters before making this huge decision. Unfortunately when you have to accomodate several hundred PNMs and multiple chapters, decisions are often made with very little information. I agree that wonderful women fall through the cracks...it's not always the chapters' fault, though. Many women fall through the cracks because they can't see past the "top" groups on campus. The best improvement to the process that anyone has suggested that actually can and does work is the return system everyone has been talking about.