Daughter going through Mizzou rush 2014

[WalkintheWoods]

Hello all

My daughter is in the second round of Mizzou rush right now. I think this is more stress inducing for me as a Mom than it ever was when I was rushing myself! I'm a Mizzou alum and so she's a legacy at one of the sororities there. After one round my sorority is her first choice and they've asked her back (hooray). She also has several other houses she's really liking so we will see how she feels after she finishes 2nd round today. Wow it is competitive this year! Almost 2,000 girls. Crazy! My parents weren't Greek so I was pretty oblivious/unattached when I went through rush, which was probably good. She has an open mind though--she likes several houses so I hope she finds her perfect home, whether or not it is my old house.

Good luck to everyone who has kids going through recruitment this year, and good luck to all of the houses looking for great new pledges!

Sincerely,

"Walk in the Woods"

[ZTA1550]

Were the cuts heavy after first round?

[WalkintheWoods]

yes I heard the cuts were heavy. Some girls went back to 11 houses, but I think they were in the very small minority. That is all anecdotal though, based on conversations with our daughter and other moms. My daughter went back to quite a few houses but not 11. Some girls only got invited back to 2 or 3 houses. I haven't heard a number re: how many have been released or dropped out at this point.

[ZTA1550]

Thank you for the update and my very best wishes to your daughter! Please keep us posted on how it's going for her and her friends.

[NUalumMUmom]

I can sympathize, I graduated from Northwestern, and was Greek, but it was a whole different story there 25 years ago. I was clueless during rush and luckily ended up in the perfect house for me. My daughter is also going through Mizzou rush, I've tried to tell her what I remember, but SEC rush is an entirely different animal. Greek life is not popular in our home state and almost nonexistent at the large puplic university that most of her friends are going to, so she is blazing this trail alone, Good luck to your daughter, Walkinthewoods, hopefully neither of us will have to pick up the pieces on Sunday!

[WalkintheWoods]

Thanks for the good wishes NUalumMUmom and ZTA1550! I too hope we aren't picking up the pieces on Sunday! One thing I have noticed is that the structure is very different from when we rushed in that the girls keep going back to a larger # of houses than we did (we went right from 16 to 8, then 5, then 3. These girls go from 15 to 11, then to 7, then 5? then 3. What that means is that some girls keep going back to houses they may not be super excited about. Hopefully that encourages the girls to take a second (or third) look at houses that they my not have considered at first. Our daughter was pretty open minded going in but I know that a lot of girls are very set on one house or a very few before they even set foot on campus. NUalumMUmom, how is your daughter finding the process so far? I'm hoping ours enjoys today. Yesterday she had some houses she really liked as well as some where she just didn't feel comfortable at all. The girls were nice at all the houses but of course each of them have a different vibe. I keep encouraging her to look for things in common with people and if she is at a house she doesn't see herself pledging, to remember that she might still end up with friends there, or end up working with them in some organization. And, it's all good practice for life and career--and who knows how her mind may change as she goes through the week and meets more girls at each house.

[ZTA1550]

Good luck to your daughter, too, NUalumMUmom!

[NUalumMUmom]

Well, my daughter is doing well so far. She went back to 11 houses including the 3 she liked the best in round 2, we did not have any recs, because I was clueless, it wasn't a big deal at NU, I even had an friend who graduated from MU offer to write one last Fall, but I thought, well you don't even know my daughter, IDIOT! I'm kicking myself now. My sorority doesn't have a chapter at MU, so she is truly on her own. She was exhausted and overwhelmed after round 1, voice gone, but still has a great attitude. She and her roommate are interested in totally different houses, which I think is good. I keep telling her don't get attached to one or two houses yet, because if you get cut from them it will sour you to the whole process and you may overlook the place you really belong. She had 8 socials yesterday, which was brutal, but only 3 today, so I hope she can recharge her batteries a little before round 3.

[WalkintheWoods]

NUalumMUmom congrats to your daughter on being asked back to so many houses! Good for her! Please know that your friend can STILL write a last minute rec for your daughter. It's not too late! I have a sorority sister doing that for another friend right now.

[NUalumMUmom]

Thanks for the tip! Hope your daughter has a good day today, too!

[pearlalum]

Good Luck to NUalumMUmom and WalkintheWoods daughters!! I hope they have a good experience. I've been tracking the weather and it looks HOT. I know 5 girls going through this year. Haven't heard any updates on them. NUalumMUmom, I can relate to your story. My daughter went through recruitment at Iowa 2 years ago. I'm from the East Coast and was in a sorority 30+ years ago, so I was clueless too. She was very open-minded and had a great recruitment. She's a very happy Theta right now and has been a leader in her chapter. I wish the same for your daughter and WalkintheWoods' daughter!

[WalkintheWoods]

Thanks for the good wishes pearlalum! You're right it is brutally hot in Columbia right now! Summer had been unseasonably cool in Missouri until this week--I think it is supposed to get hotter each day. I hope the girls are all staying hydrated! It's great to hear that your daughter is loving Theta at Iowa. I do think that having an open mind through the process helps immensely.

[NUalumMUmom]

Thanks pearlalum! I actually lived in Iowa City for 4 years during my residency and loved it. I'm an alum of 3 Big Ten schools and of course my daughter goes to Missouri, a school where we don't know a soul. It will be blistering hot the next few days, but she wanted to escape the Midwest winters. She seems really upbeat, but grounded about the rush process and knows she may not get her first or even her 5th choice. I think she's keeping her mind open for now. I don't think she realizes how much networking goes on behind the scenes, but right now that is probably a good thing. We will see how it plays out over the next few days. :0

[mumom]

Good luck to all these girls! One thing to remember is to look around at the fellow PNM's at the parties. Those are the girls that will be pledge sisters and peers.
Hoping they don't melt as the temps are crazy and it will be hard to be cheery in the heat! It really only does take one to see something great in each girl!

[WalkintheWoods]

mumom that is a great tip especially as pref day approaches! I will pass that along thank you b