Rush at UCSC
 

Rush starts tomorrow night here at the relatively non Greek campus of UC Santa Cruz, and I'm so excited! My school has one non ethnic interest national sorority, and one non ethnic interest national fraternity. So, I'm going to be rushing Gamma Phi Beta. I know they're international but you all know what I mean. There's one multicultural sorority that is local but I don't know a whole lot about them. Point being, I've hung out with lots of the Gamma Phi girls and I totally feel comfy and happy to be with them. I'm not super close with many of them but I feel like this is going to work for me. As some of you may know, I rushed last spring and didn't get in, but I was encouraged to rush again this year. My friend in Gamma Phi told me it was because not enough of the girls got to know me well enough. So, I know what to work on this time around and I hope all goes well. I'm super nervous. I don't know what to wear, and I'm just in general freakin out! Here's the agenda:
Monday night: Info night, get to know the girls, etc
Tuesday night: Sisterhood social night, make something special with the girls, I'm guessing it's something for the philanthropy.
Wednesday night: Olympics. Hanging out with Delta Omega Chi (that's the local frat, and Theta Chi is the national one) for fun and games.
Thursday and Friday are to be announced....I know Friday is only if you get in, so hopefully this Friday will be a busy night for me! Any last minute tips or advice? I'm going to be so terribly bummed if I don't get in. There's no point in negative thinking though, so I'm going to try to stay cheerful. I'm going to be posting up a storm as soon as things get going, so stay tuned! :p

best of luck to you! Have fun! Keep us posted.

Nichole

Best of luck wishin! You have a local called Delta Omega Chi at UCSC?? We have a local fraternity of the same name at my school in PA! Wonder if either of them know :)

Have fun and keep us posted!

sweetie
 

stay in touch...
you are in our thoughts..
cheers
mmcat
:>

:rolleyes:

GOOD LUCK!!!! I just visited UC Santa Cruz, it's very pretty! Wow, I didn't realize there were so many CA rushees on GC!! How awesome! Best of luck sweetie!

Best Wishes!!
 

Good luck to you! I think it is wonderful that you are giving it a second chance. My best advice is:

* Smile
* Relax
* Be yourself
* Have fun

I'll be anxiously awaiting your recruitment story. I am wishing you all the best (and more)...

Jen :)

Wooo! Go Banana Slugs!!
 

Best of luck with Rush at Gamma Phi Beta.
They are a fine sorority!

So this is something that has been nagging at the back of my mind for a while now...if I get into Gamma Phi, am I still going to have time for school, a job, and my non Greek friends? I am so completely positively sure I want to go greek except for that one doubt, and I want to go into this experience with 100% of my energy behind it. Have you all managed to balance it ok? One of the girls I met in rush last year told me that she just couldn't find the time to hang out with any of her friends that weren't in Gamma Phi, and I don't want to do that to myself or any of my absolutely amazing friends. Maybe I just have cold feet....I dunno I dunno! I'm trying not to stress about a problem that I might not even need to deal with. Thanks for reading everyone, I'll keep you updated.

I will tell you this much, I had two jobs, one in a restuarant and one in a doctors office, took 12 hours and still had time for my sisters and my two best non-greek friends. Believe it or not, you dont spend every waking second with your sisters, but you will have plenty of time for everything you need to do! Just don't stress out about it, cause that is what makes it worse. And as long as your friends and sisters understand everthing going on in your life, they will help out too! Best of luck!

Wishinhopin,

You will have plenty of time for outside activities, especially academics. Don't worry. Greek life stresses the importance of balancing commitments.

Thanks for the advice and encouragement everyone! I'm going to go out there and hope for the best, I'm sure things will work out like they're supposed to. I got an email from my friend in Gamma Phi and she said things in it like "I really hope you're coming out to rush this week" and "I'll put in lots of good words for you". So that was encouraging. More later this evening!

You will have time for everything and everyone. I ended up making more friends in other organizations, doing better in school, and held down a job waitressing. It is all very possible and you will look back and miss every minute of it!
Good luck!
Smile, and let it be fun!

Good luck with rush! :)

You will have time for everything. During my senior year I managed to juggle a VERY demanding academic program, my sorority, Panhel (I was my sorority's rep), a singing group, my fiance, and I know I'm missing something... but I still had time to hang out with my friends that weren't in my sorority. If it's important to you, you will find the time. :)

have a ball
 

relax and let it happen.
you should be genius.
have a blast.
mmcat
:p

So about an hour ago I got back from the info night for Gamma Phi. It was really nice , and I had a good time. All the girls were super sweet and I feel like I got to know alot of them better than last time. With some of them I felt really insecure though, so I'm a little worried about that. I just don't want to be a part of a group where I feel not as good as everyone else you know? I think I'm just insecure because things aren't going well at all with my crush. It's very frustrating, but that is another story altogether. I saw my friend who emailed me and she gave me a huge hug and then was like, "oops, I'm not supposed to do that, because we're supposed to treat all of the girls the same!" But I was happy to see her nontheless. I wore a knee length black skirt, a maroon nice top from the gap, a black cardigan, and a long black coat also from the gap. Oh, and my Steve Madden mary jane heels. I looked super cute except that it started pouring halfway there! We saw a skit where it was like the dating game with all these Greek goddess's for Hercules to choose from, and of course he chose the Gamma girl! It was silly but fun. And then there was a slide show and some talk about the philanthropy and socials, etc etc. And ohmygosh they had the best snacks ever, I had to restrain myself from eating alot! Alot of girls said they were really happy to see me again, so that made me happy. More tomorrow night after we have the sisterhood social.

Have a great time! Good luck in recruitment! :D

keep having a blast! Good luck! let us know how it goes.

Nichole

Good luck!

GOOD LUCK!!!! :D

So tonight was the sisterhood social. We all met on campus and had ice cream and made these little wreaths for the Greek olympics with Delta Omega Chi fraternity tomorrow night. Mine looked kinda crappy because I have no arts and crafts skills whatsoever but it was fun anyway. We discussed dues :rolleyes: which are expensive but doable. I felt much more comfy tonight than I did last night, so that was nice. Plus, I met some more of the girls, so I'm accomplishing my goal for myself so far. I felt kinda bad because I talked with some girls who I rushed with last quarter, and they were in Gamma Phi even though they didn't make it to all of the events. So I'm like, ok, I didn't meet enough people so I didn't get in, but these girls showed up for only one night and they met more people than me? So I feel insecure about things even more now, like the meeting people thing was just an excuse because they didn't like me or something. But if I start thinking like that I will drive myself insane so instead I'm going to focus on how happy everyone seemed to be to see me. So that's my story so far, I'll post again tomorrow night after the fraternity fun!
love, Corina

Hey wishinhopin,
good luck with everything, although things are going well with your crush, I am sure things will pick up and look brighter. As for rush and all , have fun, don't worry as much. I think as long as you meet people and have fun you still are the winner no matter what the turn out is. I know it's easier said then done, but remeber you have a lot of support from all of us GCers.
So hang in there and I am sure things will go great :)
Wishing you the best of luck and happiness
DGPhoney~

Great! I cannot wait to hear more. Have a super time! Good luck to you...

Jen

hang in there
 

it sounds like you are looking hot and seeing enough folks.
just be yourself and everything should be terrific.
good luck
mmcat:p

Hope you're having fun. I cant wait to hear some more!!

Nichole

have a ball
 

keep things together...
keep your head and soul open.
and let the rest of it fall where it may....
cheers and love sweetie
mmcat
:rolleyes:

I just got back from the "Olympics" with Delta Omega Chi. Basically, a bunch of the members of DOC and Gamma Phi wore togas, and we played silly games like passing oranges around under our chins and stuff. My group cheated and still lost. It sounds lame but it was actually pretty fun, plus I had no problem hanging out with cute boys! Apparently this rush is different from last spring, because tomorrow night is invite only. I guess there are about 50 girls rushing, and only 15 spaces available, so tonight the girls are coming by and dropping off invites for an event tomorrow night, but that doesn't equal a bid. So if I get an invite I'm not in yet. I think my chances are pretty high, but the thing is, if I don't get in, I don't think I'm going to be too worried. Right now I feel like I could go either way, and I'd be ok with it. I'm glad I have this attitude because I wouldn't want to feel all depressed about everything should I not get in. Before I go to sleep tonight I'll post an update regarding if the girls came by or not. Thanks for all the support!

Hey Sweetie: I wish you nothing but the best! Whatever happens, you sound like someone who knows who she is and who can stand tall no matter what happens.

You sound like a person who would certainly be an asset to any Greek-letter organization. Good luck. :)

Greek Love,
Jen

Hey everyone,

It's quarter to one here and no sign of the Gamma girls. They said if they showed up it would be late late late. The thing is, I'm not particularly concerned either way. Things will work out like they should, and if I'm meant to be a Gamma Phi then I will be! I'll let you know tomorrow if anything changes!

we're with you
 

it's sounds like you are ok...one way or the other.
hang in there.
what's meant to be will be.
mmcat
:rolleyes:

I guess this is the end of my greekchat career. I got no invite, no phone call letting me know what was going on, no nothing. It just hurts because this time no one can tell me that it was because I didn't meet enough girls. I know all of those girls at this point in time. It has to boil down to the fact that some (or most) of them just didn't like me. I don't like not being liked. I've tried there twice, and it didn't work out, and there isn't another sorority on campus that I'm interested in, so that's just about it for me. I'm confused because I can't imagine why they wouldn't love to have me. I'm smart, pretty, sweet, funny, I have an impressive school schedule and tons of volunteer work, I know all of the girls (if not very well, but at least better than most of the frosh who rushed), and in general I felt like I fit right in. I just don't understand. I don't think I ever will I guess. Thanks to everyone for the advice and support, I'm thinking this is my last post, considering that I don't really have anything else to say here. :(

Wishinhopin,

Don't go! I'm sorry that things didn't work out with the group you were interested in, but that doesn't mean you have to leave us here at GreekChat... You've still got plenty to contribute to this board, even if you're not wearing letters! Keep your chin up and smile! :D :)

Oh girl! Don't go. Like DZRose93 said, we want you here whether you wear Greek letters or not. Hang in there sweetie! We're with you!

Jen

Wishinhopin,

It sounds like there's definitely room for another GLO on your campus with the numbers you quoted. I really wish you'd consider starting one! We could help you here at GC!!

That's a super idea Carnation. You're right, too. It seems like there are a lot more hopefuls than there are slots to be filled. :)

Greek Love,
Jen

I was thinking about that too actually. But it was really important to me that I be a part of a national, panhellenic recognized organization, and I don't think I can just randomly start a chapter like that. I don't know if I have the patience to start local and then affiliate. Does anyone know how this process works? I'm sure there's someplace here that I could look at, but I'm having a tough time finding it.

wishinhopin...
 

Contact the Panhellenic/Greek Affairs office at your school about what requirements are necessary to start a new local sorority on your campus. That's the first step. Once you get that info, report your findings back to us here at GC and we'll see if we can help you out with the details! :D Good luck, sweetie!!

Go to www.npcwomen.org and read the information about extension and e-mail them! Also, contact the director of Panhellenic at your school; there are obviously many girls who want to go Greek and can't because the one sorority doesn't have enough spots. Also, go to the forums for locals and upcoming nationals.

Ladies--how else can we help her?

Don't lose faith.
I can understand your wanting to be in a Panhellenic sorority, as I love having sisters all over Canada and the USA!
If you find that you are unable to join a Panhellenic sorority while a collegian, it is still possible be initiated into a Panhellenic sorority after college as a "alumna initiate"! I know, because I was! (Go to the Alum Forum...you will see the posts there, under Alumni Honor Initiation thread, and others!)

Also do the Gamma Phi's have COB during the year, or is it a case of once they're full up in September, that's it, no more?

The idea of trying to get another NPC on campus is a great one; however, it can be a lot of work too. But sending a few emails here and there, just to see what it would take might be a good start. Good luck and I am sorry for your disappointment.
:(

Another thing: do not ever think that you were not good enough or that people didn't like you. That is not the case and you will destroy your self esteem. Rather it sounds like there were too many girls rushing for too few spots:
"I guess there are about 50 girls rushing, and only 15 spaces available"

That is why we are all thinking that the time could be right for another NPC to come to your campus. A chapter doesn't have to be huge to get off the ground. Sometimes all it takes is 15-20 people.

carnation, you are right...what can we do to further help this young lady out? Since Gamma Phi is the only NPC group on campus, then there will be no Panhellenic at UCSC and likely no Greek Life Affairs person either that she can seek out for guidance.

There is no panhellenic or Greek life, you're right about that. I just can't understand how I wasn't one of those 15- I guess I just feel like I paid my dues by coming out twice (even though I was totally mortified after being cut once already) and I just feel doubly humiliated now. But I know that I don't need to feel like that, it's just taking me some time to get over it. I would be willing to put forth the effort, that's not a problem at all. I guess I'm just being selfish because I know it often takes a couple years for a local org to get off the ground and affiliated with an npc org, and I want to be able to reap the benefits of a nation wide sisterhood- and I can't help but have a desire to wear letters that people might actually recognize. I don't really know what to do next. I went to the npcwomen website but couldn't find a whole lot of info on how to create a new chapter. I totally appreciate the advice, if anyone else has any also, I'd love to hear it!

Let's see...okay, do these things concurrently. Email the women at NPC and tell them what you told us about 50 rushees, 15 bids. Then call around at your school and find out who's in charge of the student organizations: a dean, a director, whatever, of student life and tell him or her the same thing. It would be good if they could set up a meeting of interested women--make sure there are posters and anouncements everywhere! If you have good numbers of truly interested women, you'll surely find a GLO who'll come out there!