I think it would be lovely to say your grandmother talked about how much she loved being in a sorority. I would suggest, don't add the sorority. If they ask, tell them which one, but don't volunteer it.

I do believe I am a legacy, she's sending in a legacy form indicating that I am, so I'm pretty sure I am. I figured it would be a better idea not to say that my grandmother LOVED being a ZBZ, just that she loved being in a sorority (she wasn't actually a Zeta Beta Zeta, obviously, I just like the show Greek). Thank you for your advice!

Thanks KSUViolet06! :D

Odds are, every sorority will know, unless it's a huge campus. And even then, chapters know when it's an inhouse legacy. I would suggest that if the actives seem to assess her interest she says something about how her sister is in a sorority on campus but she wants to find her home, not her sister's home. (And continue to express interest in her sister's assuming she IS interested after meeting the chapter.)

Agreed.

Do not tell a chapter you want to join or will be putting them first. You might change your mind. My chapter had a couple of girls that they really liked tell them on pref that they would be putting them first. Instead, both single preferenced the other sorority they preffed. I don't think either of them was trying to be rude or sneaky, they just changed their minds right before signing their pref cards. But it still hurt a lot of feelings that year. Instead, tell a chapter if you're interested in them if you are (do this!), but avoid saying they are your top choice, your only choice, or that you will be single preferencing them. That way you've left yourself room to change your mind (and you might...after my first pref I called my mom to tell her I was going XY, and then after the second party I single preferenced my sorority) without any hurt feelings.

But if you are interested in a chapter, even a tiny bit, show them. And if you are not, do not be rude. You certainly don't have to "like" every chapter. Sometimes you just don't have any common ground. But always be polite. They'll be able to tell you aren't clicking.

So you are familiar with all the sororities in the world for your first point? And for the second, it's usually considered bad form to discuss religion outside certain very specific forums or with close friends.

^This. Or politics. Whether or not you think it should be off limits you run the risk of accidentally offending someone and since both religion and politics can be VERY personal, it can get out of hand in 2.5.

The only chapters that dirty rush like that are the chapteres that are not strong enough to get PNM's playing by the rules.

I am sure this has been covered. But I am still a little confused, how do you let a sorority know you are really interested in them?

You show a chapter you are interested by acting interested in what they have to say. Respond with interest. When they ask you a question, answer it and ask a follow up question of your own.
Tell them "Thanks for inviting me, I have had such a nice time. I really enjoyed talking with you. I liked the skit. etc"
You show a sorority you are interested just like you show a friend or a date, by reciprocating the level of interest they are showing you and sounding genuine in your responses.

I totally disagree with this. On competitive campuses, strong chapters can be just as guilty of this.

question... im rushing this year and i know death isnt a good topic to bring up but zta's philanthropy is breast cancer awareness and my mother passed away from it, so im very enthused with there philanthropy. would it be just awful of me to say or bring this up to them during recruitment?

I would say something like, "I've had someone close to me be diagnosed with breast cancer so I'm passionate about your philanthropy". If they ask more specific questions, you could elaborate. This is just because people often have a hard time knowing how to respond to someone's loss, and the conversation could be become very difficult for both of you if the active doesn't know what to say.

I'm so sorry for your loss.