Why is Rush so Cut-throat on the Sororities' End at Big Greek Schools?

[twinstars]

I think it can be cut-throat among the top sororities, competing for certain rushees, because even though there are plenty of girls rushing, there is always that top 20% of the pool (or so) that any of the best houses would love to have. If you do succeed in getting those rushees, it's a big ego boost. It means your house beat out the competition (other very good houses). Guys talk about it.... "oh, did you hear theta (or whoever) got so-and-so? Her dad's the president of .... whatever"

It's so competitive because the top tier of sororities are all going after the same set of rushees. There aren't enough of those "cream of the crop" rushees to go around... someone's got to get them, and it might as well be your house.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally posted by twinstars
Guys talk about it.... "oh, did you hear theta (or whoever) got so-and-so? Her dad's the president of .... whatever"

Wow, never in my like have I wanted a gifl in my chapter because of what her dad does for a living.

[twinstars]

Originally posted by DeltaBetaBaby
Wow, never in my like have I wanted a gifl in my chapter because of what her dad does for a living.

That's not what I was saying...

If a sorority snags a really high-profile freshman (for whatever reason she's known on campus), then it can look good for that sorority. Especially if people know/think she could have had her choice of the top houses.

I go to a small school, and we all know each other's business. If someone has a notable background you can be sure everyone knows about it. The dad thing was just an example. I doubt any sorority anywhere would give a rushee a bid solely because of what her dad does... come on now.

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by twinstars
I think it can be cut-throat among the top sororities, competing for certain rushees, because even though there are plenty of girls rushing, there is always that top 20% of the pool (or so) that any of the best houses would love to have. If you do succeed in getting those rushees, it's a big ego boost. It means your house beat out the competition (other very good houses). Guys talk about it.... "oh, did you hear theta (or whoever) got so-and-so? Her dad's the president of .... whatever"

It's so competitive because the top tier of sororities are all going after the same set of rushees. There aren't enough of those "cream of the crop" rushees to go around... someone's got to get them, and it might as well be your house.

But the not-enough-of-the-great-girls-rushing is true at EVERY school, not just the big Greek schools . . . so why does it only make things so cut-throat at certain schools?

I think you may have hit on something later in your post, though. My school is competitive, but definitely not cut-throat, and here, none of the fraternity men would ever care which sorority's pledge's dad is the president of something . . . unless he's the president of the U.S.! So depending on how much a given school cares about status, that would make a difference as to whether or not a rushee would be willing to pledge a house that's not one of the Big Three . . . or Top Half, or whatever. And it's not surprising that so many of the cut-throat schools are in the South, where your perceived "status" is much more important than in, say, the Midwest.

I also think that the amount of influence Greeks have on campus and how well-known they are makes a difference, too. If everybody on your campus knows the reputation of every sorority, you're probably going to be less likely to pledge a sub-par house than if the individual sorority stereotypes on your campus aren't known by anybody outside of the Greek system.

[cuaphi]

Okay, I know what you mean by that. Colorado had the daughters of two very well known NBA coachs come thru rush. It was a very big thing to discuss who they dropped vs. who dropped them. There were, of course, voices of reason who didn't care about them just because of their last names... but once something hits the campus rumor mill it takes on a life of its own.

[Texas-Gal]

here, none of the fraternity men would ever care which sorority's pledge's dad is the president of something . . . unless he's the president of the U.S.!

Hey, the US President's daughter DOES go to my school! She had no difficulty at all during rush...

[UF56]

Originally posted by sugar and spice
But the not-enough-of-the-great-girls-rushing is true at EVERY school

I disagree with this. The problem with my school in particular which makes it cutthroat is that there are too many of the great girls rushing that only want to be in certain houses and are not willing to go to other houses. And these certain houses can only take so many girls. I mean during first round almost all of these certain houses have to cut their numbers in half that means going from 1300-1400 down to 650. And our campus is one that many a girls feel that its better not to be greek than to be in a house that isnt considered one of the best.

[mmcat]

who is going to turn down a bush or two???
i'm glad the twins are legal now...they can buy their secret service guys a drink.
good girls though.

[DGMarie]

Originally posted by Texas-Gal
Hey, the US President's daughter DOES go to my school! She had no difficulty at all during rush...

I can only imagine how rush was that year. Probably a little crazier than usual.

I recall a common topic of conversation when I COB'd was what your parents did for a living....

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by UF56
I disagree with this. The problem with my school in particular which makes it cutthroat is that there are too many of the great girls rushing that only want to be in certain houses and are not willing to go to other houses. And these certain houses can only take so many girls. I mean during first round almost all of these certain houses have to cut their numbers in half that means going from 1300-1400 down to 650. And our campus is one that many a girls feel that its better not to be greek than to be in a house that isnt considered one of the best.

That's what I'm saying. The problem at your school isn't that there are only a limited amount of "desirable" rushees going through. The problem at your school is that the rushees are more concerned with the perceived "status" of the sorority than, say, the rushees at the University of Minnesota are. So the girls at UF would be less likely to accept a "lower-tier" sorority than the girls at U of M would be.

It will be the case at every school that there will be not enough awesome girls so that every sorority will get a pledge class full of them. That's not a problem unique to schools with cut-throat rushes. The problem at your school is that so many of the rushees appear to have unrealistic standards as to the "tier" of groups they will allow themselves to belong to, as the "tier" of the group matters a lot more than it would at many other schools.

[Angels&Arrows]

Originally posted by DGMarie
I can only imagine how rush was that year. Probably a little crazier than usual.

I have an odd feeling that recruitment was handled a bit differently for Jenna Bush.. but I could be wrong. maybe Texas-Gal could tell us. I can not imagine her with her secret service in tow during recruitment. That would not be fair to her and quite a distraction for others.

Originally posted by DGMarie
I recall a common topic of conversation when I COB'd was what your parents did for a living....

This was actually a question on my recruitment registration form in the early 90's. Your father's name and occupation, your mother's name and occupation.

I helped my little proud Miss State KD cousin fill out her recruitment registration form about this time last year for Fall '02 Formal Rush at State and it was there too... As the question is on many of the recs I obtained for her!

Of course this could be just a question only asked in the south and by certain GLOs!

[OUKate]

Hey, the US President's daughter DOES go to my school! She had no difficulty at all during rush...

Of course not -- not only is she the President's daughter, she's also a double Theta legacy!

[Peaches-n-Cream]

I am a little confused by the definition of cut throat rush. My school wasn't a big greek school. We had seven sororities including one local that has since closed. About half of the rushees wanted one of three 'top' groups. The ones who were not invited back to them often dropped out of rush. That was 15% to 20% of the women who went through first round. The other four sororities had to COB, and sometimes still didn't make quota. Is this cut throat?

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally posted by sugar and spice
It will be the case at every school that there will be not enough awesome girls so that every sorority will get a pledge class full of them.

I totally disagree. I have a very hard time believing that there are many girls who do not have something to contribute to a sorority. Sure, some of them may not shine as much during formal recruitment, but women change a lot over four years.

[ajuhdg]

This reminds me of my last rush. There was a girl who was the niece of one-time VERY popular celebrity. It was VERY obvious by her unique last name. So, of course, EVERYONE was kissing her butt. I guess we all thought her uncle would come if we needed him, he's not really doing much lately! LOL!

Anyways, she ended up being a total...not very friendly person...so nobody wanted her to come back. She ended up going to another house, but we got over the star-struckedness real quickly! I can see how your background can make you a tad more desirable! But, most times it'll come down to your personality!

AdrienneDelta Gamma