I know just about every campus is like that - even my own. All of the sororities are fantastic and the sisterhood is real and true - but there are some houses that are just not on the same level as others. I think that idea about round one being a level playing field is fantastic - maybe it will take a few years to really show that it's working?

I asked my sister why she cut who she did... and she said b/c the girls she talked to didn't have much to say to her, the conversation was dull, or she just could not see herself in that particular house. I reminded her that every girl has off days and to not forget that as many parties she has to go to and as sick of them she gets at the end - so do the girls in the chapters. It's hard work!!!

Nevertheless, I know nothing about Maryland's Greek system - so when she told me who she cut I was like, "No! I love the ZTAs, theyre philanthropy is the best!" or "SK's motto is so cute though and they seem to have such a great sisterhood!" :)

But I know she's following her heart on this one and her cuts were for the right reason: she just couldn't see herself in any of those chapters!

my sister really is looking for the "home away from home" in a sorority - girls she can trust, love, and rely on. We're from Chicago - and she is quite a ways from home - the only person she knew when she moved there was her boyfriend - and he's at the naval academy so she barely ever sees him.

I forgot how much I missed the whole excitment of the rush experience until she started the process - and now i can't wait to find out where she goes :)

I'm a little confused about something...

ZetaGirl22 mentioned that all round 1 parties were held in one big room. How does that work? :confused: I would think that the noise from 14 sororities x however many sisters + however many PNMs would be so deafening as to make it impossible to carry on a conversation. And this must be one h*!! of a huge room to hold that many women! How big were the booths?

I can see where it would be a good idea to keep all the sororities together so PNMs don't have to do a lot of running around - but why couldn't they do separate rooms in the same building? That's what we did, and it worked very well - PNMs only had to walk a few feet and didn't have to go outside, it levels the playing field (especially since some sororities are housed and some aren't), and each sorority could do its own thing without noise interference from everyone else. I'm guessing that there just aren't 14 suitable rooms in close proximity?

I may be a bit off but this is how it works. There are only a certain amount of sisters from each sorority allowed at their booth. This is an example of helping level the field for those houses where the numbers are low.

Back in the day, during tours the sisters would run out of their house and perform dances and it was great. That is, until the smallest houses would run out and they would be so so small, you saw it right away that they were "lower tier."

Round one is in the armory I think and it's huge. So fourteen sororities can fit no problem.

Does that help?

Tonight and tomorrow are Philanthropy/House Tours!! My sister has 5 houses to go to each day!!

"During the Philanthropy round you will see ways in which chapters donate their time and services to charitable causes. Each chapter will be working on different activities that will relate to their philanthropy. You will also meet more sisters and, in turn, they will be asking more questions to get to know you better."

It does make sense. Cutting out the house tours evens in the playing field so that sororities with really fancy houses, lots of alumnae money, etc. are on the same playing field and those other houses without as much money (could be for various reasons, newer to the campus, etc).

No matter what anyone does, you can't force girls to choose the "lower tier" houses. Houses that are perceived as "lower tier" are usually perceived as such for a reason. And usually the only people who can change that are the members of those "lower tier" houses themselves.

If girls aren't going back to them (and taking from what IowaHawkeye has said about her sister's comments), it's probably because of a lack of rush skills, lack of enough preparation, lack of enthusiasm, etc.

Moving all the groups to present in one room can't do anything to change the girls' interpersonal skills.

If there is a concern about leveling the playing field to "boost up" those "lower tier" houses, a more helpful idea would be for the successful groups to offer them help with rush preparation, and emphasis on good COBing. COBing did wonders for my chapter- we got great girls that helped build up our chapter, and our chapter's rush skills, and now we excel on campus.

Iowahawkeye- congrats to your sister on getting all the invites! That must surely be a great sign for her. Looks like she may have her pick of who she wants! Sounds like she's one of those girls that goes through that absolutely every house is in love with! Can't wait to hear more details!

Okay, since I was in one of these "lower tier" sororites that you speak of, I feel like I have to chime in. Our reputaion, unfortunately, supersedes us. When I first joined, we were honestly not a very strong chapter. We were small, and were perceived as inactive or "goody goodies." We happen to have had the highest GPA for some time now, and there are those that think we were geeks, or what have you. For some reason, we have never shined during formal recruitment. During informal and COB, we almost double the size of the new member class every year. It is not due to a lack of preparation or rushing skills let me tell you, but formal recruitment is always REALLY stressful on our girls b/c of our small size, each girl has to bear twice the workload as a member in a larger house. We had a very bad recruitment year my sophomore year, and have been slowly coming back from that, and finally this year things seem to be turning around for those girls, and I am VERY excited for them. MD"S greek system is VERY tough. A reputaion can stick with you for years and years, even if it isn't accurate anymore. Also, there are only 4 or 5 chapters out of 14 that are at total-I don't know why that is, but it is. But regardless of what happens, I always know that the girls who end up at my chapter are all there for the right reasons, and stick with it throughout college, which is definitely more than I can say for some.

Nicole,
I'm so glad that Sara is having a good time with rush! I can't wait to see where she ends up!

I know she'll be happy at whichever house is lucky enough to have her but I still have to say: She's OUR legacy, darnit! grrrr! We need a chapter at Maryland!!!

Ok, done venting :D

PS Is she still with her mid??

Tracy I agree!!! :D She is ours ;) and I really wish we had a chapter at UMD so that we could share our beautiful sisterhood with her! And yes, she's still with her mid!!

I thought that Maryland had to cancel their parties last night and that all 10 parties were today, Saturday, as a result.

Yes, there was a computer glitch yesterday, so parties were cancelled, and all 10 were held today.

update please???????????????? :D

ok, I heard the scoop from my sister and not her roommate this time :) She just picked up her invitations and she was invited back to 8 out of the 10 houses!

The round of 5 starts tomorrow and it is:

February 3, 2003 - Set of 5: Skits 6-10pm
You will be exposed to a lighter side of the sisterhood at each house you visit. Food will be served and laughs will be shared. You will start to realize what each chapter truly has to offer. You will also be entertained with each chapter's skits that have themes like TRL, movies and game shows!

She's visiting:

Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Chi Omega
Delta Delta Delta
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Delta

BTW - if anyone in the College Park/Baltimore/Annapolis area knows where my sister could get a nice black dress for pref - she'd really appreciate it :)

Yay! I'm so glad to hear that someone is sticking with AOII after all of the fall rush threads where people were dropping. YAY !AOII! =)

I totally agree!!!!!! When I was there and FRED, we celebrated our 10th anniversary and were not that big, but I can say the sisterhood was a lot better at that "small" chapter than the larger one I transferred to. I've heard great things about the UMCP chapter this year and know they will remain strong.

Update please?????? :D
Can't wait to hear how it's going!