But it doesn't necessarily matter whether Mommy & Daddy are rich. My parents pay full tuition for me to go to a private, liberal arts school, but they don't pay a cent of my sorority dues. I know a lot of people at many schools who are in that boat.

I think that this is just another one of those cultural differences between Southern rush and rush in the rest of the country. Up here in Wisconsin, it would be simply TACKY to ask anything about your parents and their professions, be it during rush or for a recommendation. One sorority up here DID ask what your parents did for a living and all of us rushees were just :eek: after the party. It's just not done.

I think that outside of the South, you're a lot more likely to find girls who are paying for their own sorority dues (I do!) instead of having their parents pay for it. In the South, where going Greek is more expected, it makes sense that more parents pay their kids' dues. I know that at least a third of my chapter pays for their own dues, so we'd never think of asking a girl what her parents do for a living in order to confirm that she can indeed pay her dues. At least half of the staff at the local Express are UW sorority girls. :)

This is another one of those reasons why you shouldn't send a travelling chapter consultant from a Southern chapter up North (or vice versa) without letting her know what she's getting into . . . There's just so many differences to keep track of!

i was actually asked what my father did for a living when i was rushing through one particular sorority. ( i'll spare you the name as not to seem catty)
it was rumored that they asked all of their PNM's this question. i didn't end up going back to that sorority anyways, but i definately would have dropped them anyways. i paid my way through school, but if you were to look at my parent's income and everything you'd never understand why.

shelley j
sigma k

Hmm...

Keep in mind that I did rush in 1995, but almost every house asked what my parents' occupations were during round 1 conversations. I remember one house in particular (that shall remain nameless) where the girl who was talking to me just shut down after I told her what my parents did. She didn't even try to act like it didn't matter.

Maybe this is just another difference between big, particularly Southern universities and every other college or university?

Erin...

You can pretty much ignore all this back ground chatter about parent's occupation.

Trust me in that people will have a good idea of what your finances are the moment you say BVN (I went to Olathe East, and actually had a bunch of people that I knew at BVN...I even work close by at the Old Chicago on 119th). You will have the Johnson County stereotype working for you anyways if wealth is an issue, which I can't imagine it being from what I know about the Greek system in Manhatten (KU would be a different story, but the bigger issue there is that some houses don't choose small town girls - so you'd still be okay). Even if you end up talking to JoCo people, you'll have the BVN stereotype going for you for them, if again this ever becomes an issue.

Good luck with your resume, and enjoy greek life, it really is a great decision. And I'll vouch for my Beta brothers in Manhatten that they're a great house out there, so check them out.

Another way that chapters in the big south determine financial ability is to ask where you have traveled as a child. For example, my neice has been to Paris, England, Canada and several carribean resorts and she is only 14 yoa. It is a round about way of determining how weathly parents are.

Cluey -- I think it may be partially due to rushing at a big, Southern university with a strong Greek system, but also partially due to the times. If I had rushed ten years ago at my school, I probably would have been asked what my parents did too, no matter how taboo the question is now. I think that in the past five years, especially, there's been a push by the NPC to rid themselves of the stereotype that sororities are only for rich girls.

I do think that, completely disregarding geography and Northern/Southern differences, there are certain schools where asking the question "What do your parents do?" during rush is considered totally classless, and others where it's completely okay. It has a lot to do with the personality of the school, the personality of the Greek system, etc.

Betarulz-

Thanks for the info...It's great to hear from someone who actually knows where I am from. Where did you go to school? And are you still in school? And if you have anymore advice that would be good for me to know about k-state, that would be wonderful. I am so super excited about rushing. I can not wait till August!

Erin, what houses are at Kansas State?

I know my name isn't Erin, but I was curious what sororities were there also. According to their website, the sororities at KState are...

Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Xi Delta
Chi Omega
Delta Delta Delta
Gamma Phi Beta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Delta
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Pi Beta Phi
Sigma Kappa

Erin, listen to Betarulz, he's the best authority on your locality.

KappaKittyCat-It seems like the system some of us have been exposed to offends you. The fact is, no matter how offensive you, me or anyone else finds it, that's just the way it is. Like it or not, you have to play with the cards you're delt.

sugar and spice-This is another one of those reasons why you shouldn't send a travelling chapter consultant from a Southern chapter up North (or vice versa) without letting her know what she's getting into . . . There's just so many differences to keep track of! HOW TRUE!!!

yeah, the chapters listed in the previous post are the ones at K-State

Oh, jeez...
 

Yeah, I guess it does offend me a little. I just read through my posts again and thought, "Wow, that was a little bitchier than it needed to be." Sorry 'bout that. I confess that I find the South to be at once beautiful and ugly, self-explanatory and mystifying, enchanting and irritating. There's always something to learn, and maybe I need to have lived there to understand. I'm also from a small school where we do things quite differently, be they Greek-related or not. I've been to other, larger Kappa chapters in the same state, even, and am so baffled by the way my sisters are doing things. But re-reading this thread I realize that certain groups in certain areas do things a particular way for particular reasons, and I'd most likely need to experience life there to understand why.
I just learned that lesson. I'm applying in the fall to be a Kappa traveler, a position that I want very, very badly, and it sounds like I've got a lot to learn. Fortunately, I've got wonderful ladies here on GC to help me out with that, even when I'm being less than gracious. :D
Wow, Erin, you've got eleven fabulous groups to choose from. I can't wait to find out which one gets to call you sister!

thanks for all your imput! I really appreciate everything you have said. You guys are great!! :-)

Just a clarification: As far as I know recomendation forms that alums get from nationals do not ask for parents' professions (I know that AXO's doesn't).

However, when I went through rush the local panhellenic helped girls get recomendations and their form asked for parental info (like jobs, clubs, and church affiliation).

I think it really just depends on the area. I went through rush at Oklahoma State, which seems to have a mix between a western and a southern rush.