Reasons you may be dropped during Rush

ilovemyglo · #1 04-19-2001, 01:24 PM

Okay, I recieved a lot of e mails about this, so let me explain... there are reasons you may be dropped during rush that are not because that sorority did NOT like you.

First off, during rush the panhellenic office at your school calls each sorority and tells them after each party how many women they can invite back. Each sorority has a different way of ranking the women they meet, and all NPC groups have the same ideas on legacies so they are invited first. Then they go down the ranked list and cut off at the number panhellenic tells them to. If your name was the next one on the list, you will not be invited back. Not because they didn't like you, but because they cannot invite everyone back.

That is the main way women are dropped DURING rush. THe bid sessions are different. If you don't get a bid from the house you wanted let me explain why... (possibly).
At my school, and many others, everyone has the same rules regarding bids. Panhellenic sets quota... say it is 30. The women are ranked by each sorority that have come to their preference parties. (all NPC sororities give special consideration to lagacies again). So, say there are three sororities on your campus and quota is 30. They go down their list to number 30 and draw a line. Then they take your pref card and say "Okay, Jane here put ABC down first," and ABC looks at their list, if she is above that line, then Jane gets a bid, if she is not but she is on their list they say "HOLD" and Jane is put to the side. Then they do this for all the women.

Say Tina put XYZ first, but she was number 10 on ABC's list, XYZ looks at their list and sees she is above the line, they say "Match" and then ABC crosses that Tina off of their list and moves the line down one. They come back to the ones put to the side and they say okay Jane put ABC down first, if Jane has made it above their line she gets a bid, ABC has made quota they go to Jane's second coice. They do this again for second and third choices.

This is computerized at a lot of schools, but that is why you may have been number 31 on someones list and they made quota before they could get to you. It isn't fair, I know, but that is the way it has been set up by NPC.

You may have been dropped for other reason, maybe a misunderstanding. It is never just one thing, but some of the lists include: include:
acting disinterested (things that clue us in are saying things about other sororities or looking at your watch a lot)
talking about the fraternities you know (Remember not always, but some campuses sororities and fraternities have close relationships and they think that by hanging out with TKE you like KKG better cause they are so tight)

See since we cannot invite everyone back we have to drop people in order to have those women we KNOW want to be there and we want there. It is nerve racking but it isn't easy for us either. We lose a lot of potential members because the line is right next to their name or because they didn't make the cut in bid matching. It hurts us too, because we wanted you there.

I hope this helps some of you!

dzrose93 · #2 04-19-2001, 01:31 PM

I couldn't have said it better myself!

PenguinTrax · #3 04-19-2001, 02:08 PM

Keep in mind, too that there are other considerations:

GPA:Even though the minimum GPA to go through Recruitment might be 2.25, some groups may cut off anyone below a 2.5 or 2.75.

Reputation: Don't assume a sorority will never hear about 'it'. The rec process can be very thorough.

Activities: If you only attended French Club once during High School, do NOT put it down on your list of activities. I'd rather see a list of 2 activities and hear that you were really active than a list of 8, only to find out your participation was minimal or non-existent in 6 of the clubs.

Want to stand out?

Ask questions..learn about the GLO before recruitment. All 26 NPC groups have national websites - utilize them.

Does the philanthropy or ideals of one group really mean a lot to you? Don't wait to be asked - tell them.

Be polite, always act interested, and don't complain (about anything).

When asked "What did you do in High School?" don't just say "I was in French Club", say something like "I was a member of French Club and served as President during my senior year. It really taught me the value of..."

Barbara

shadokat · #4 04-19-2001, 02:27 PM

To go along with ilovemyglo, let me explain things a little further why these rules are in place. Sororities are given this magic number based on the number of sisters they have active. Large sororities can invite fewer people back. This is so that the same sorority(ies) don't get all the people, and smaller groups survive.

As for the bid matching process, I would bet that 9.9 times out of 10, a sorority will not get all of the women on their first list. Most groups always get a few from the second.

Hope this helps.

twinstars · #5 04-19-2001, 06:44 PM

I just thought of something... you'll never find out if you were on the first, second, or third bid lists, or your position on the list.

Also, only a few girls in the sorority know for sure which rushees are on the first versus the second bid list. My house had a fantastic rush this january, and we only had to take 2 girls from our second bid list, but I have no idea which two they were. This year we were lucky enough to have lots of great rushees, way more than could fit into our pledge class. Our "favorites" list was a lot longer than quota, so I'm not sure which girls actually made the first bid list.

Also, the first bid list is not ranked in my house. The second bid list is where the girls are ordered by score.

Having experienced rush from the inside, I would just like to tell anyone going through the process NOT to take it personally. There really is an element of luck. It depends on how strong the rushees are that particular year (some years there are a lot of cool girls, some years not). This year my house couldn't give bids to girls who we loved and who preffed us. Any other year, they would have gotten in for sure, but this year we had tons of great legacies and it was very competitive. Also realize that at some schools, sororities pretty much know who they want before rush even begins, especially at places with deferred rush. If you are cut, it's not necessarily that the girls you talked to during rush didn't like you, it might be that there are lots of other girls that have gotten to know sisters before rush and they have to cut someone, so they cut you, who they don't know as well. For instance, after rush I met one of our pledge's friends, who was independent but had gone through rush unsuccessfully. She's a great girl, but I can't remember anyone knowing anything about her in the fall before rush. She just didn't make herself known, and that's probably why she was cut.

[This message has been edited by twinstars (edited April 19, 2001).]

DreamCatcher · #6 04-19-2001, 11:35 PM

I like this topic b/c it not only relates to the greek world, but to life as well.

The truth is, getting rejected hurts, but you shouldn't slam an organization and call them corrupt b/c you weren't selected. I've had people attack my decision not to interview them (non-greek related) and the only thing it does is assure me that they will not get an interview again if they apply at a later date. It's okay to inquire on how to improve, but don't act as if you deserved a job/bid/invitation/etc.

Sorry about that.

I've been dealing with this topic all week and I felt the need to say something.

D.C.

ilovemyglo · #7 04-20-2001, 04:42 PM

To go along with Twinstars, thank you , I forgot to mention that the first bid list is alphabetical so that no one knows where you were. The only people in my sorority that know where you are on the are the Recruitment chair and the membership chair and chapter advisor, no one else knows, not even panhellenic cause the computer does it all. It is hard. I know.
It sometimes is personal and sometimes isn't. The year I went through rush two sororities dropped me for personal reasons and one for no reason at all. I was kind of hurt, but I was a sophomore, everyone else was a freshman and there was tough competition. In the end every thing works out right!!
I am sorry for those ladies that had a hard time with rush, but believe me...

During rush you are fought for, literally. I dont know how many sisters I saw cry last year because we had to cut someone.. there was one sister who had already picked out someone she wanted to be her little and we had to cut her for #'s. So if you were not invited back to house, remember, we are just as dissappointed as you are.

33girl · #8 04-20-2001, 06:43 PM

I believe that when the "no frills" rules were put into place by NPC, they also advised about releasing women. Basically if you really aren't interested in someone, you're not supposed to keep asking them back just as "insurance." You're supposed to cut her loose so she can pursue something else.

I think it would be better to be released early, than strung along until pref night and then end up with no bid.

shadokat · #9 04-21-2001, 10:47 PM

33girl--

I can't tell you the number of times I've said this exact point to women at bid matching when they talk about why so many women went bidless. I explain that the groups who invite 100 of 120 girls back to their preference parties, when quota is 12, are really just stringing along some women who will end up disappointed. I wish more groups had you around to help

Quote:

Originally posted by 33girl:
I believe that when the "no frills" rules were put into place by NPC, they also advised about releasing women. Basically if you really aren't interested in someone, you're not supposed to keep asking them back just as "insurance." You're supposed to cut her loose so she can pursue something else.

I think it would be better to be released early, than strung along until pref night and then end up with no bid.

33girl · #10 04-22-2001, 03:40 PM

Hey shadokat - thanks girl

. Yes, I think that the asking everyone with a pulse back thing is what puts a sour taste in some women's mouths where greeks are concerned. The "prestige" sorority on my campus had no intention of asking me to pledge, so they didn't ask me back past first round. I respect them a lot more for doing that than if they would have made me think they wanted me. That happened to my best friend with another group and it totally turned her off as far as sororities were concernd.

juniorgrrl · #11 04-23-2001, 10:42 AM

I suspect this is what happened to me with the house that asked me to Informal rush twice. Apparently they like to pad their numbers and probably had no intention of bidding me. They probably just figured I was some desparate sucker....In retrospect, I'm *SO* glad I didn't join them. I don't want to be a part of any group that treats people like that!

juniorgrrl · #12 04-23-2001, 03:18 PM

Actually, this sorority DOES have a history/repuatation for padding, even during informal. They are the only group that didn't make quota, and this is the second year in a row. They're having a bit of trouble. And by the way they treat people, they're not going to get any better, I fear.

ilovemyglo · #13 04-24-2001, 12:28 AM

Junior, I remember reading about your situation. I have to say the reasons listed above are mainly for formal rush. Informal is SO different. Informal means that a chapter is not at total for their campus. Perhaps they gave out all the bids they could to be at total (you cannot over bid for total unless quota allows). It could be a million different things. I don't think many groups pad their numbers for informal, mainly informal is about getting to know women better and deciding if they are an asset to your chapter or if they would be a good sister. That is not always the case, though, and honestly I cannot think of a reason the group you informally rushed dropped you. But I am glad you are happier now!!!

ilovemyglo · #14 04-28-2001, 05:09 PM

The junior thing is more a campus thing.. at my campus most people wait til they are sophomore or juniors to rush (mainly cause at my school greek life is shown to be beneficial after your freshman year).

USFSDTAlum · #15 04-28-2001, 05:37 PM

I'm trying to figure out how to say this without coming off snobby because this is not my intention.
On that note, Look YOUR best. By this I don't mean look like a Supermodel when you normally wear birkenstocks and patchouli (sp?) what I mean is take the time to look nice, shower, spend a couple extra mintues with your hair and make-up. Do not run out and spend your allowance on Donna Karan when you don't normally wear it. I can not tell you the number of possibly great pledge's who were dropped because they showed up to Formal looking like they had just run a marathon. They might have been wonderful, amazing girls, but when we have groups going through with 3 girls to every active you are not going to meet a lot of girls therefore if your physical appearance is lacking (and by this I mean in terms of cleanliness) you're probably going to get dropped quick, it shows you don't care enough to be be there.