It's sad that the rush pressure got to Green and Purple... but I'm glad the other ladies got so many invites!

I'm off to work, but I just got an email from Red's mom and she said that today's the last half of the second set of parties. All the girls have heard that the big cuts come tonight and that's always been my experience with competitive schools....anyway, she's decided to go down tonight after work too and stay there for any fallout that there might be. I suppose there are lots of moms down there; back in the day, rush was strictly closed and we had no phone or other outside contact.

We're hoping that someone will call about the rest of recruitment! Friday-theme day, Saturday-prefs, Sunday at 3-Bid Day. Like last year, bids should be published on the Panhellenic site.

Yay exciting!! Can we get kind of a sum up post as we go? We're now stretched over three pages and I get my colors confused! :)

Here's the Auburn Panhellenic Recruitment site.

If I remember correctly, there is an aunt who is a "squirrel":)

Never mind, I saw Carn's summary after I posted this, lol.

Today was 6-party day and all 3 went back to Pi Phi :D, Zeta, and Tri Delt!

Also:

Red-DZ, KKG
Yellow-DZ, Phi Mu, SK
Blue-AGD, AXO, KKG

The girls told their mom that it was truly awful when all the cuts came. Girls were hyperventilating and crying hysterically.:( I believe that they get returns tonight and go to 3 prefs tomorrow. God bless you, girls.

Yay! One SK in there :)

/ahem, I'm just thinking how nice it would be to panhellenically fill all....

Ok, nm, I'm just rooting for SK :D

i am so glad that they all had an almost full compliment of parties to attend. here's hoping that they all get to attend 3 prefs. tomorrow.

And this quote is why I know I will not want any future daughter of mine experiencing an SEC recruitment. How sad for all of these girls who are probably wonderful PNMs.:(

I know what you are saying and my stomach dropped when I read carnations' post. Those poor girls! I DID point this out to my daughter when she was choosing a school, and then again when she decided to try and go greek, but it's where she's always wanted to go.

It will not be the end of the world if it doesn't go well, it will just feel like it for a time!:(

Okay, correction. Pi Phi cut Red :( . So did her mom's sorority. :( She's going back to DG instead of Pi Phi, I believe--her mom didn't quite remember.

And her mom was outside when the girls got their invitations to 6-party day and she said it was worse than what I'd heard. She said that girls were throwing up and calling home in hysterics. She overheard one girl call home and say, "Mom, don't bother flying in from Texas." This tears me up.

Almost everyone who rushes at AU gets placed, but maybe not where they want.

This scares me for my sister, who will be rushing at AU next fall if that's where she ends up for school. It seems just as scary as UGA!!!

She should get an information packet over what UA's NPC recommends for each day. Pref at Baylor has cocktail dresses, but I don't know about Auburn. Everyone recommends wearing a memorable or vibrant color for the last day, though--that way, your daughter will stand out more! Good luck!

Carnation--sorry that the two dropped out. I hope they get to see that it's more than just dressing up in fancy clothes. I'm glad that everyone else seems to be getting invitations back, though--hopefully, the week will end well!

[QUOTE=carnation]

And her mom was outside when the girls got their invitations to 6-party day and she said it was worse than what I'd heard. She said that girls were throwing up and calling home in hysterics. She overheard one girl call home and say, "Mom, don't bother flying in from Texas." This tears me up.
QUOTE]


Wow, "Mom, don't bother flying in from Texas?" That poor girl! I can't imagine my mom flying to see me during recruitment (even though I'm only 3 hours away and it wouldn't be necessary, but still). I can't believe rush is so cut throat! I talked to my mom every day during rush, but I'm pretty sure she never once offered to come to WVU to support me. I thought our rush was a little on the competitive side, I can't even IMAGINE what these girls go through!

Those poor, poor women! :(

Please tell me that Auburn is using release figures, Carnation! ADPi always does well at Auburn!

Yes, Auburn uses the release figures and that's why the big groups have to release so many after second parties. Tomorrow, the girls will go to half the amount of parties, 3 instead of 6, so I guess that tonight's cuts won't be minor.

Back in the day, we weren't even allowed phone contact but apparently lots of moms are there in Auburn now and 2 of the moms that we know took their daughters out to eat tonight.

I feel for girls who get cut and I can certainly understand being upset, but this is excessive... throwing up? Hysterics?

There's a lot worse things going on in the world (particularly right now), and a lot worse things that will happen to these women in the course of their life- loss of a loved one, dealing with a serious illness, losing their home, etc. I can understand tradition, family pressure, etc. etc. But come on! Not being in a sorority- or better yet- not being in a particular sorority (I bet a lot of these girls still had at least one invite, not THAT many girls get totally utterly cut from everyone)- is not going to make or break a woman's life.

I think it's their age too. At their age, nothing majorly bad has happened to a lot of them and they don't believe that anything bad will happen to them anyway. When you tell 18 year olds not to drive 90 mph or they'll have a wreck, most of them don't believe it.

I knew a girl who pledged Phi Mu at Auburn whose mom got them a hotel room for the week of rush so the girl had a place to relax after each round without thinking about rush (since that's what the dorm is buzzing with). It was really sweet of her mom, but I'm sure it was expensive!

My mom and I are already planning that if my sister pledges either of our houses next fall, the one of us who is her new sister will be there on bid day. I think a lot of moms/sisters do this if they live nearby, but I can't imagine flying in from Texas!

Good...you have a squirrel in the mix...

Here! Here!!

General commentary on this generation:
We have been protecting them a lot. My own kids included. Kids don't win or lose anything these days. Everybody gets a trophy or ribbon for participating and the philosophy of "everybody is a winner" prevails in kids organizations, sports, etc. People are worried about protecting their self esteem, but at some point in life, there are going to be winners and losers. They aren't always going to get what they want or be the best and they aren't learning to handle those disappointments at younger ages. I think we're doing them a disservice. Whether they don't get into their top choice college, their top choice sorority, their first choice job, etc.. at some point, they are going to "fail" at something and we aren't teaching them how to handle that.

Specifically about Auburn: These chapters are HUGE. This is a situation where I honestly feel that any woman can find a niche in any chapter. Our Auburn chapter has over 200 women in it. There is no way that all 200 share the exact same interests or have the same type of personality. In a group of 200 people, anybody will find a group with whom they will feel a close sisterhood. On a campus with small groups, I think the group personality as a whole could make it difficult to feel "at home" with every group, but at Auburn, I think that even if they aren't placed in their top choice, they will find a group of sisters with whom they click. Perhaps that needs to be emphasized to the PNMs as they go through this journey and there would be fewer hysterics.

I agree with you on all points!

And because of the size of the Auburn chapters, I think that terms like "good fit" are less relevant. Every chapter has its beauties, its athletes, its strong Christians, etc. and most women could feel at home in any of them. I made such a big deal about how perfect Pi Phi was for me and it was but honestly, I look at the chapters I went almost all the way with and I would have fit in there too.

As I write this, the girls are flooding the computer labs to get their pref invitations.:eek:

I totally agree! As an advisor, I try to be compassionate and sisterly, yet they are used to being coddled and I come across as a beyotch.

I am utterly fascinated by this thread. I am so grateful that rush was not this competitive where I went to college, or where I'm advising. (both in the Northeast)

Can they not use their own computers to check on invites? I can't imagine over 1000 girls trying to use the school's computers all at the same time!

Wow, times have changed quickly! As recently as 1998, when some of my HS friends were rushing in the South, the no-contact rule was still in place at the SEC schools.

I never understood it from the inside when it was part of my hometown culture, and I've never understood it from the outside looking in. More than age or generation (Some of the stories about girls transferring to a big school once they've pledged a prestigious house are true, and they've been happening for a long time!), it's this odd aspect of the culture.

One of my HS friends once told me that she HAD to be in an Old Row house at UA because her mother was in this house and they always did date parties at with a certain fraternity and this is how her parents met! If she didn't join this house, then she wouldn't find a good husband and her opportunities to be in the Krewe in our hometown and to do JL were kaput.

I know at my school, the PNMs go with their PX group to the lab in the student center to get their invites. Each group goes in one at a time.

They are not allowed to check their invites on their home computers because our Panhellenic wants them to be with a PX when they get them. That way, if the results aren't what they expected, they have to drop someone, or they just plain don't know what to do, the PX is on hand to give them advice. Also, god forbid a girl have a technical problem while trying to get to her invites.

Maybe Auburn does their invites this way for the same reason?

Prefs:

Red-DZ, Zeta
Yellow-DZ, Phi Mu, Zeta
Blue-AXO, AOII, KKG

Now the weird thing is that somebody must have misreported Blue's results to us yesterday because AOII was not one we were given! Oh, well!

The moms are appalled at the pain they've witnessed, this morning more girls were crying to the point of throwing up in the bushes or behind trees.:( We'll all be happy when the girls are (hopefully) safely ensconced in sororities.

Aww, no DG prefs. :( I hope they all get the perfect houses!!!

I know where they'll go if they get their first choice but last year an Auburn PNM we knew had everything going for her and got her third, where she's happy but she and her mom were shell-shocked for awhile. Her mom kept asking me, 'How did that happen?" and of course, we'll never know.

I'm glad I'm not an active at AU right now, haggling over the bid lists. Well, I'm glad I'm not a PNM either--

I think we could use a Theta too! :) Unfortunately not from Auburn though.....I'm hoping we come back there soon.

He he he...not from around here, are you? Carnation is right, when you're 18 and you've been under that kind of pressure all week, hysterics and throwing up in the bushes is all part of it. I know of plenty who immediately transferred from that school...after they didn't get their #1 choice, much less no invitations. And yes, quite a few girls do get cut from everyone. With that many groups going for a certain percentage of top girls, it's bound to happen...along with the human and computer mistakes, too.
Give those girls in hysterics and in the bushes 48 hours, and things will be better.

No news from Auburn yet...of course bids won't be given out until 4 PM my time and I don't know what time the girls will be notified if they get no bid. Now if one of them should call and tell me that they got the terrible call, I'll say to them:

"Okay, Rainbow Girl, you have several choices-

1. You can immediately register for COB and see what happens.
2. You can get very very active on the AU campus and rush as a soph.
3. You can transfer (some girls have been accepted at and registered at more than 1 college in case this happens) and rush at the other place in a few weeks."

And we'll discuss each option. I know that some people will be dying laughing or at least shocked about number 3 but Greek life is so important to some people that women do arrange for that option. When I was growing up in Texas, people who didn't get in to a group they wanted at, say, UT, would transfer to TCU or SMU with their deferred rushes. When I was at Auburn, girls transferred to Troy or another medium-sized school. People can make fun of that all they want but there are other things in other parts of the country that are equally important.

If Greek life is what you've grown up with and always expected to do, college life without it can be unthinkable. Both watching my DZ cousin have a fabulous time with her sorority and visiting my grandmother who lived in the middle of sorority row at the U of Arkansas made me know that I just had to be Greek. Two of the Rainbow Girls are legacies and have wanted to be Greek for years.

Y'all please say a prayer for the Rainbow Girls! And all of the other Auburn PNMs :)

Wow I am nervous for them - I bet the "not good" phone call is between 12 and 1. So, if you don't hear from them after that then it is good news. Also, if you feel like telling them before the "call time" to be open for "snap bidding" they might be more open to your call - Just don't call between 12 and 1 :rolleyes:


eeek I am excited for them - I wish I were there.

I know I posted this somewhere here in the past but for that hour, my rush group was huddled together waiting to see if the phone in our area would ring because supposedly it had meant that one of us wasn't getting a bid. The phone rang and finally someone got it and our rush counselor said, "Just wnted to tell you that you all got bids!":eek: We wanted to run over and smack her upside of the head for scaring us.

You've got to be kidding me. People actually do this?

Yes this happens in the south--my friend whose daughter went through rush, (big smart southern school) said the day after rush (recruitment) was over, there were many cars packing stuff up, with Moms crying etc. Didn't matter that they got into a sorority, it had to be the right one--I'm glad I never had to experience that!

That is beyond ridiculous. Sorry if I offend anyone. What exactly is the purpose of going to college...being in a sorority??? Edited to add...sorry this is in your thread Carnation...maybe a new one can be started to discuss this. I had absolutely no idea that this happened.

Of course not, but it is not for us to question anyone else's life style choices. I think the notion is a bit silly, too, but as was explained, this is how some people are raised and choose to identify their system of values. It isn't up to us to judge.