[MDBamaDad]

I just wanted to add a comment. I want to thank everyone for the helpful advice that was received. I’ve also seen a lot of comments about girls who got cut or dropped and their parents’ responses.

As for my daughter, she is going to be fine (she already is.) She wasn’t ever really heartbroken – just disappointed. She is meeting girls in sororities now and making friends that will help her know which sorority she will really want to be in. She is also getting involved in a lot of different activities. And she is doing (and will continue to do) well in school – honors college, pre-med – and doing intramurals. All of these are things that will help her in recruitment. And there will be no problem with recommendations.

So, I don’t think she will have any trouble getting into a sorority that she will be happy with. This may take place through informal rush this fall or spring, or it may be next fall and formal rush again. I know she would prefer a more informal rush. But even if she waits until next fall, she will now be able to develop a much better idea as to which one she wants to be in.

(BTW: Does anyone yet know if any houses are going to do COR this fall? I haven’t seen the final numbers though some girls have mentioned informal rush it to her.)

At least from our experience, I almost think that an out of state girl should strongly consider waiting to rush. I kind of wish Bama did the formal rush as a delayed or spring rush as it is just seems like too much information to absorb if you are new to this. While I am sure 99.9% of the girls that pledged this fall will be happy with their choices, I imagine more than a few would have made a different choice if they had more time to adjust to college and make friends. But with the large number of girls, maybe that is just the way it is.

I know Bama won’t change the sorority recruitment process. And I just hope they never do for the fraternities – I like it the way it is for my son. Anyway, I almost do think they need to strongly suggest out of state girls waiting to rush. I looked at the rush list and it is pretty interesting to see the breakout of where the girls are from. What I’d really like to know is what percentage of out of state (really out of region – outside of TN, GA, MS, FL, AL, etc.) girls pledged. But maybe our experience is just different.

Still, it doesn’t matter. I’d say my daughter will be a lot happier and have a better experience now that she will know about the different sororities and they will know about her. She didn’t have friends and other classmates in Maryland to tell her about the different sororities before she got to Bama. And we didn’t know about this website either. (GreekChat is a very valuable asset!)

So, she’ll be great. And she won’t wind up settling for a sorority because no one knew her or she didn’t know them. I am not implying that there are any bad sororities at Bama – I just mean she will be better able to make the best match between her and the sorority.

I am very proud of my daughter and the way she has handled things. I know it is going to be just fine for her. And before long she will find the right sorority for her.

Again, I want to thank the people here for your help and advice. They should mention this website at the sorority informational meetings at orientation! It would prevent a lot of problems.