Dunno about other NPC groups, but we have a USA/Canada-wide networking machine.
When you go big...go BIG!
(Pretty sure our NPC sisters are the same)

Yes, NPC orgs are one big network, but I think what TriDeltaSallie was getting at is the tendency for ABC to attract girls from certain high schools, while DEF attracts girls from this other group of schools, etc.

No, DeltaBetaBaby, you do not understand what I said. You only seem to have a problem with recruitment falling on a Jewish High Holy Day (or did you actually mean a holiday which is not the same thing). So do you not have a problem with recruitment, football games, etc falling on Saturday (for 7th day Adventists) or Sunday (for most Christians)? Or Friday night/Saturday for Jews? What about Holy Days of Obligations for Catholics? What about Hindu holy days? Muslim ones? In other words, why are you singling out Jewish High Holy/holi days?

I am amused at how many of you would wish to go through recruitment at the University of Alabama -- out of all the places in the country! I attended rush there one year and have since referred to it as: "I spent a month there one week!"

I have to say W&M, as I did almost go there!


FWIW, Pitt schedules around the High Holy Days - to the extent that I've seen the Recruitment Schedules changed due to those making up the schedule forgetting about the night before issue.

Not to trying to pry, but were there women/sororities at W&L when you were rushing? Or is this 100% hypothetical?

For me, I almost went to Syracuse and it was probably the only other school where I actually would have rushed. (18-year-old me would NEVER rush at a Big 10 or SEC school. I was super closed-minded about Greek Life at that age. Took me a semester to come around to the idea--but boy did I)

I didn't go to an SEC school myself, but I follow a lot of recruitments at them because most members of my rec crews attend them...whoa doggies, not for me. Not sure I could handle having a daughter at one, either. I have had midnight therapies, tearful phone calls and panicked emails from moms trying to survive the week. Honestly, I'm pretty sure I'd be throwing up in the bushes.

On the other hand, I would love to observe a mega recruitment like you see in the SEC...it fascinates me that they can orchestrate and manage them. Recruitment at my school did not see nearly the number of PNMs, but was still a tremendous amount of work that required good planning and organization. My hat is off to the SEC.

Totally hypothetical. I could probably say University of Virginia, as I considered it, but I liked the idea of the "what if".

When choosing based solely on Greek system, I can say Kansas, Wisconsin, and Southern Cal are schools I applied to but did not attend. Since I truly wanted to join a sorority, some of my school application choices were based partly on campus Greek Life.

The appeal then was traditional, established NPC systems featuring single-letter chapters and cozy homes. I also considered that my extended family included women belonging to NPC groups represented on these campuses.

Hmmm, if I had to pick it'd probably be one of the following:
-Georgia (for the SEC aspect and the cute bulldog mascot, and it seems less intimidating than Bama)
-Arizona (but I am SO not tan enough)
-Vandy (not sure why, but it intrigues me)
-Stanford (spring recruitment seems really unique!)

Looking back, when I was eighteen: Definitely, USC or UC Santa Barbara.

At my current age: UCDavis. Not specifically for the Greek Life, but because I'd have been more prepared for a different path for Grad School if I'd gone there. I've heard very positive things about the Greek System on that campus.

I agree. A lot of my friends are paying for college and sorority membership completely by themselves and could never afford those dues. Our membership dues aren't even half of that (unless you live in house) and we're able to eat lunch everyday at the house. That doesn't include extras like t-shirts for certain events, but you aren't required to buy those.

Why do you continue to play dumb on the difference between a weekly religious observance and Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur? You can play the "we can't accommodate everybody" card all you want, but show me an example of when recruitment has ACTUALLY conflicted with a major religion's holiest days (see: Ole Miss 2011), that is a red herring and you know it.

If I got a do-over, for so many reasons, I'd go to Kentucky.

Having been raised Roman Catholic I can assure you that missing Mass on Sunday is just as serious a sin TO THEM as missing a Holy Day of Obligation.

Even if you go to Mass on Saturday night?

Well, back in my day in school there was no Saturday option. But the Sunday obligation is whatever it is. And I'm sure that at Alabama and such schools you probably couldn't make either day.

You are SO NOT WIMPY. You guys, we've met Gusteau, and I must say that despite the age difference, it was definitely eye candy time from our perspective. His, not so much... more like dinner with the grandmas. Oh well.

All is forgiven. :D

I am intrigued by the SEC culture, so I would say Ole Miss. Not sure if I would fit in there, but, it would be one hell of a place to try or at least observe. Something about being in an environment so different than your own is appealing to me. Dressing up for games with a mixture of the prim and properness that ironically reminds me of the British. University of Florida followed by University of Texas would be also be interesting.

I would have also liked University of Washington, University of Southern California, University of California. Those schools have some of the most beautiful houses. Indiana University would be fun because everyone lives in house.

Hi.

First, mass on Sunday is not a holy day of obligation and that would be the only comparison to scheduling an event over the high holidays. It would never ever ever happen that rush would be scheduled over Easter, even Good Friday. But we can get into an argument about how the US does not really have freedom of religion another time.

As far as different Greek systems, I think I'd like to see what it's like at one of the Southern California or Arizona schools. They just seem so non-traditional in completely traditional clothing. Make sense? Since I didn't get all freaked out through most of rush in the Big 10, I am guessing I would have been as oblivious through an SEC rush. I'd love to observe an SEC rush, but don't really have interest in most of the pomp and circumstance of how I perceive the day to day life of a sorority girl there. Of course, that's only perception, but that's what this is all about!

I did not say it was. I stated them as two separate events. And I'm neither Catholic (any longer) not Jewish. So I don't have a dog in that fight but I did wonder why she singled that one event out. And I think it's a fair question. What do Catholic schools do about recruitment on Sundays? I don't know but would be interested in the information.

And it could fall on a Holy Day of Obligation. For instance, August 15 is the Feast of the Assumption and January 6 (deferred recruitment folks) is Epiphany/Twelth Night.

No way! Let's go with "dinner with my cool older sisters." ;)

What I've learned of other/today's greek systems I've learned from GC over the years, and I can honestly say my 17-year-old self nor today's self would be willing to put up with the rush process, even at a laid-back school.

My 17-year-old self because a sorority was simply not a priority at that time, and my today self because of the structure and rules (I never heard of a green book when I was in school).

I look at the emotional turmoil people put themselves through - sometimes when it's not even their own rush - and simply cannot imagine it. I strive for empathy, but it ain't there.

I agree to a point. I find the hyper-competitive recruitments endlessly fascinating, but I would not go through one nor would I actively encourage my daughter to attend a school that had a recruitment like that. The more laid-back recruitments at smaller colleges and places where Greek life is not the be all and end all of life are more my style.

I'm really thankful that all the NPC groups choose to locate on a wide variety of campuses to offer many women the opportunity to enjoy sorority sisterhood.

It would be interesting to know what percentage of national volunteers in the NPC groups come from the uber-competitive campuses and what percentage come from the others.

LOL, Honey, I'm sure you would have been just fine in the SEC. I bet during your rush at Pitt they didn't know WHAT to make of you! (who is this girl with the nice manners and recs? What is a rec, anyway???)

I don’t have a specific campus in mind, but I think I’ll go the opposite way from many of the responses. Instead of a huge Greek system with a brutal “rush”, I’d take my do-over at one where the chapters are all small and quota (if they even do formal recruitment) is in the teens or single numbers. I think that would feel very comfortable for me.

Sunday Mass is obligatory. It isn't called a holy day of obligation, because that would be redundant. (For example, Easter is not a HDO because it falls on a Sunday, which is always obligatory.) Some other HDOs (like Epiphany) are typically transferred to the nearest Sunday.

But those days just involve an hour or a little more at mass. One can still go to work or school on a holy day of obligation or a football game on Sunday without any problem, as long as the obligation attend mass is fulfilled.

The Jewish High Holy Days are full-day observances that require fasting and avoiding all activity except religious observances. No school. No work. No recreational activities. And it's pretty well understood that many Jews who are not particulaly observant about Sabbath-keeping are very observant when it comes to the High Holy Days.

Exactly. These days (or Christmas) are the apt comparisons to the High Holy Days. Sundays and holy days of obligation are comparable to the Sabbath, about which see above.

:cool: And this is why Gusteau is so wonderfully awesome, and delightful. The non-shirt-wearing statement about UofA men is true, btw.

I am willing to bet that honeychile left Pitt a much prettier, kinder, gentler place than it was when she entered.

As for the theme of this thread: I'd like to have experienced a Greek system in a place like Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, or Arkansas. Never been to any of those states. The entire Midwestern culture is very intriguing to me. OK so maybe Missouri and Arkansas aren't midwestern... but, they are kinda flat and in the middle of the country, so in my world, that equals midwest. It would be very different for this California-raised Zonie. A whole other world out there.

True. But if are on a campus in a small town where there is only one mass a day, that could prove to be a problem. I just picked Catholic as one of several. There are other religions which have all day strict observances besides the Jews who observe High Holy Days. I'm just curious about how to deal with those as well.

I agree with all of this. SLU is a Jesuit school in a *very* Catholic city, and recruitment is held on Sundays. It's in the afternoon and evening, and no one bats an eye at it. Not even remotely the same thing as a Jewish High Holy Day.

Howard U. or Spelman.

Pics or it didn't happen. ;)

Well, being Jesuit explains that!

I would like to go through an SEC recruitment IF I could do so with my 18 year old body and my 40 year old brain. :)

Y'all are too sweet! Even though my mother primed me from an SEC point of view of rush, I'm still not sure I would have survived one happily!

Once again, MC gets it right. When I went to Pitt, the school was about one-third Jewish. NOTHING was scheduled on High Holy days - there was even a kosher cafeteria! Unless you're familiar with Jewish culture, you really don't understand how strictly the High Holy days are observed.

The Muslim equivalent (from what I understand, I'm not fully versed in their culture) would be Ramadan.

Excellent!

We really need that Like button!

For some reason when I was in high school on Long Island, I was sent literature from Washington and Lee. It was all male back then, but my name is Frances, and maybe the admissions office was clueless back then in the dark ages. I really wanted to go there. Purely by chance, I ended up marrying someone who graduated from W&L. However, I don't think my NY born and bred self would have done well in Lexington.

I think Northwestern would have been a school for me (if I could have picked IL off a map back then). The houses on the quad, the lakes, the city, all called to me the first time I saw them. But I am certain my 17 year-old-self would not have gone through rush back then and I would have missed the whole experience.

Here's a debate, Northern secret clubs vs Greek life. Do they go through worse things since its the elite, such as former Presidents, an the organizations are barely known to us normal Southerners? I have read the dinner organizations can cost $50k! Our chapters are open and we can always run into an ABC but how often do you randomly say hello to a Skull and Bone member? The idea that it revolves around fancy meals makes me jealous!!! Dinner Clubs should written about being selective not sororities, lol Harvard clubs, i'm sure, aren't diverse.