Just as a "for instance": say you post your rush story. You give each sorority a fake name (someone used candy bars last year - it was great!!), and say that the first night, you went to Kit Kat, M&Ms, Three Musketeers, Nestles Crunch, Skittles, and Junior Mints. You do NOT want to say, the Kit Kats all wore blue, the M&Ms all wore pink, etc; nor do you want to say that you REALLY loved the Skittles and Junior Mints but hated the Three Musketeers.

Discretion would be that you had an interesting evening at all but one of the houses, and have somewhat sorted them in your mind. Then, when you receive your return invitations, you can say, "I was invited back to every house but the Three Musketeers". Then, after the next round, you might say, "The one sorority I thought I didn't like really made a great impression on me tonight!" Do you get the idea? We all know your school, so you DO NOT want the Kit Kats being able to read your rush story and say, "She hated our skit? No invitation to Pref for her!"

We all WANT to see you get invitations, and find the best house for you - as nosy as we may get, please remember to be wise, play your cards close to the vest, wear comfortable shoes, write thank yous to anyone sending in a rec for you, HAVE FUN, and let anyone sending in a rec where you decided to go!!

Did I mention HAVE FUN? :)

I'm rushing this semester in CA-- good luck with rush at UT!!

okay thank you all for these tips, I will be sure keep them in mind as I update this thread!

But it's ALWAYS fun to tease Agges, no matter where they are!! Looking forward to the Baylor game again this year? ;) :D

Re: longhrn_cutie18's University of Texas at Austin 2005 Rush Story
 

Oh I completely understand!!! My boyfriend and I were together a year before we left for college - we've spent the past 2 years in a long distance relationship and this year I'm transferring to the same school (NO, it's not just because of him!!) I want the big school experience and I wanted to go through recruitment and I was just very unhappy at my previous school. Well...good luck with recruitment!!

Good luck at ur UT-Austin rush!!!

Good Luck, Have Fun and I completely cosign what my sister said.

Discretion is the key.

Don't give to many details (like clothes, skit, decorations, heck even what you talked about). Keep it very simple.

Trust me, us addicts will be happy with breadcrumbs. As long as you don't keep us waiting on who you got a bid with (and yes I'm thinking VERY positive) we're all good. :D

I feel like I am letting a lot of people down by saying this, but I don't know if I want to rush anymore. I started thinking about why I really wanted to be in a sorority, and the list didn't end up as long as it should have. Truthfully, my self-esteem isn't where it should be, though it's something I'm working on. And I think I started to feel like if I went through rush and got into the best sorority, it would make me a lot happier about myself, you know? And that's definitely not what I want to base my happiness on. I'm still thinking about doing rush but as of right now I am leaning toward not doing it. I want to thank everyone for your support and for looking up alumnae for me in my area, as well as getting to know me and writing references. You all have meant a lot to me and you all are the most wonderful girls! I never would have expected such an outpour of support, but I'm so grateful for it.

Hey longhrn_cutie-

You are about to take a huge step, moving very far from home & most of your friends...it's natural to have some second thoughts, and no doubt some of the things you've read about recruitment at Texas are contributing to that.... I grew up in Texas, with an entirely Longhorn family, but chose to go to a small school w/a less established Greek community...I question whether I would have even attempted to go through recruitment, had I gone to UT, but knowing what I know now, I would hope that I would have at least tried (even though I didn't think I was "sorority material" at the time).

My advice, for what it's worth (not much!) is to hang in there, and give recruitment a shot. Keep your pros & cons in mind and stay OPEN to all of the possibilities...if it doesn't work out, you will have tried, and will have no "what if's" later on...your reasons for wanting to join (or not wanting to join) will be much clearer once you've had first hand exposure to the school's offerings. It will be an emotional ride, no matter what, but you will grow & learn from it, whether you join a sorority or not!

Good luck to you, whatever you decide!

hi longhrn cutie --

I've been following your thread on the greek life forum, too, and can see how some of those posts must have been discouraging. it's easy for those of us with greek experiences to say, "hey, just go for it!" and forget about how nervous we may have been during our own rush. From everything I've heard about UT, there isn't a "bad" house there (not that there is anywhere ;) ) and their guaranteed placement program sounds like a great option for those pnms who are open to looking beyond a certain handful of sororities. You got into UT from out of state, so you must have A LOT going for you; so you are bound to stand out to at least one sorority. Look at it this way, this is not something you will have a chance to do ever again. More people regret what they did NOT do than what they did.

I wish you much happiness with whatever decision you make.

I just wanted to say that when I went through recruitment I did not have the greatest self esteem either (I know my school isn't as competitive). i contribute my strong self esteem and leadership skills now to my chapter, my sisters and my greek experience. I found a home (SK) that accepted me for who I was and loved me for who I am, and that allowed me to see my self in a whole new light.

Hi longhrn cutie--

From one PNM to another...i would say "go for it"! I also don't have a lot of self-esteem (its something i'm working on as well), but that shouldn't be something to hold you back. I know that if I went to UT (and i almost did) I would have been intimidated also. I'm an extremely shy person, but going through Rush last year opened my eyes. There are always people that you'll feel comfortable with (if i found it in a really small greek community you'll DEFINITELY find it at UT) and you'll gravitate more to them.

Like dzandiloo said...you should try Rush, if it doesn't work out, then at least you can say you tried it. You dont want to NOT rush, then next year kick yourself. I know that even now I have days where I keep thinking "I DONT want to rush" but i know that if I dont, i would be kicking myself for the rest of my life.

Of course, you are the only one that can make the ultimate decision, but I would strongly encourage you to continue. What do you have to lose? If after the Rush week you really think you DON'T want to be in a sorority, then you don' t have to....who knows you can continue to think i dont want to be in a sorority, and then all of a sudden BAM! you'll find the perfect sorority (it happened to a few girls last year at rush).

Take care if u ever want to talk...go ahead an PM me! lol

longhrn_cutie:

I hope you do what's right for you.

I wish you all the best!

Aw, girl I understand! All through high school, I was the 'shy-quiet' girl, cause I felt akward around people I didnt know. But I went through rush anyway, even though I was scared because I wouldnt know anyone, and had no idea what to expect. None of my friends went to my school, or through rush, so i felt pretty lonely. But after the 2nd day, I realized what a big step I had taken FOR MYSELF. Once I made it through rush, on bid day when I got my bid I was ecstatic. I had made a ton of friends just through rush. Everyone will be nervouse like you, and it hard to know if your doing the right thing, but remember-you can experience rush and if its not for you then you DO NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT YOUR BID. But look at it this way, its a big first step for you, and it will be whatever you make of it. And like so many have already said, you dont want to kick yourself later for NOT doing it. Feel free to pm me(as a fellow texan;) ) and good luck w/ whatever you decide!!