University of Washington
 

My daughter will rush in September at UDub. Anyone else?

Their recruitment is at the end of September right? I have only known of a few people on here who have gone through recruitment at UDub. Their Greek houses are GORGEOUS

Recruitment begins September 10th. You are right. The houses are beautiful! I love the fact that the freshman move right into their respective houses on bid day too.

I went through recruitment at UW, but it was many many years ago. I have seen one or two people on here this year who are also going through recruitment, but there's definitely not as many as the SEC schools.

UW has such a fantastic Greek community, with great girls in each of the chapters. Good luck to your daughter!

My daughter went through last year and absolutely loves it!!! We live out of state and joining a sorority has been like a second family to her. (Actually she missed her sisters so much this summer that she just had to fly up for a visit) Anyway, we posted a few questions last year and got some great advice! A few things to consider.... It's not the south, but it can be competitive. There are 17 houses, and it's a week long recruitment. Get recs, even though they say they are not mandatory, I highly recommend them, glad we took that advice from long time GC'rs. There were over 800 girls going through last year and if your daughter lives in the dorm for the week of recruitment (a huge plus in my opinion since the RC's are available for assistance etc., not to mention it's a good way to start out making new friends and you are present for activities after long days of recruitment) Just beware of tent talk. It happens regardless of what the girls are warned not to do! By the end of the week my daughter lost her voice from all the the house visits etc. so have throat lozenges on hand (one thing we hadn't thought of bringing) Anyway, they do have an informative recruitment site explaining the weeks house visits, clothing recommendations and such so be sure to check it out. I believe there is also a Facebook where she can post questions and get advice. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me. Good luck! And yes... the houses are beautiful! It's very exciting at the end of the week to move right in. A lot of the parents show up to help because they literally move from the recruitment dorm right into the sorority house. It poured last year and was quite a mess, but it still didn't damper the excitement :)

This is pretty good advice - I didn't live in the dorm when I went through and regret it as I didn't get that bonding experience with my rush group. Though I also didn't hear a lot of the tent talk either, so some good and bad with that.

There is indeed a FB page, which is private so as far as I know, none of the sororities can see what anyone posts there. I think it's called UW Sorority Recruitment 2011 (or something like that).

I do want to clarify something, since these things tend to spiral out of control: last year there were about 640 PNMs going through recruitment, not 800. I doubt we'll even get to 800 this year, though we may get close.

Glad to hear your daughter is having such a good time being a UW Greek, im5am!

What? How in the world do they move right in? What is the back up plan if their respective recruitments are not positive?? This just really throws me!

I assume that there's space earmarked for women who are dropped from or drop out of recruitment.

HFS guarantees placement in the residence halls to any new freshman who goes through recruitment and does not pledge as long as you complete formal recruitment. More info regarding this can be found on the UW Panhellenic website under FAQ's.

Thank you for such great advice! I am so glad your daughter is loving her Greek family, im5am. My daughter is extremely excited. She is in fact staying at the Dorms for the week of recruitment. It was suggested to do so during Greek weekend which she attended last Spring. She met many nice girls and toured some very beautiful houses during that time. Parents were invited to a very informative question and answer session. I was able to tour a few of the houses myself which was a real treat. We are also out of state, so she will be heading to Seattle for recruitment week on her own and I will join her on Bid day. So as long as all goes well, I can help with the move in to her new house. I have to say it seems all pretty exciting with Recruitment, Sorority activities week and then Dawg Days all before school even starts!

It is a very exciting week! They keep busy but also give them some time to adjust to sorority living. My daughter's sorority left for a retreat on Whidbey Island the day after bids which was great bonding for the new pledges in her class. I think a lot of the houses do something similar. They also had Presents at the end of the week which worked out great for us being out of state and all since we had planned our vacation up there starting right after rush. We got to be a part of all that excitement which is difficult when out of state. Don't know how long you plan on staying and every house is different but if you can stay for the week after bid day you might be available for all the fun :) Best of luck to your daughter, being involved with UW greek life is one of the best things to happen to my daughter. It's amazing how quickly she has formed bonds and sisterhood with these girls and they are now such a huge part of her life! Your daughter is going to love it!! The greek community is very strong and active at UW and of course has one of the most beautiful greek rows (IMO) :)

Quick question for anyone who can answer. Recruitment week begins in 5 days and I am helping my daughter get ready for her trip to Seattle. Are the girls allowed to take their purses with them during the day?

Last year PNMs were allowed to have purses/bags, but had to leave them outside of the chapter houses with their RCs while they attended parties. I'm betting the same would be true for this year. She will be setting her purse on grass and/or concrete though, so she may want to take one she doesn't mind getting dirty.

ETA: I would also call UW Panhellenic to confirm, as they will be able to tell you the most accurate information for this year.

Any word on numbers? I would expect the number of pnms to be higher than last year based upon the UW accepting more students and the trend of record numbers of pnms on other campuses.

I am happy for all of the sorority women and pnms because the weather forecast seems like sunshine!

I am also excited for AEPhi participating in formal recruitment for the first time since their recolonization. Good luck to all 17 great chapters.

Spoke to my daughter last night and she said there are 700 girls going through! They have been working every day since Sunday 9am to 9pm getting their house ready! Never realized how stressful it can be on the other side as well. The best of luck to your daughter. Udub really has a fantastic greek system with 17 sororities and 32 fraternities! Let us know how it turns out :) P.S. Make sure she has all her recs in, no matter what you've heard, they do look at them!

Wow! 700! My daughter is really excited for this weekend, but that many girls going through recruitment will be a little intimidating. She is all packed and ready to go! I will keep everyone posted. Thank you for your messages.

Just remind her of the mantra - keep an open mind - don't get your heart set on one chapter too soon - stay positive - get as much sleep as possible - keep hydrated. Ok, that's 5 mantras.

Wishing you the best this week...their houses are absolutely beautiful!

What is mom's role on bid day?
 

My daughter is at UW rush right now, I'm driving up to meet her on bid day, but I can't find any information regarding what time I should be there, etc. I'm going to be there for moral support and to help her move (plus I'm dying to see the houses lol), but is there anything else I should be prepared for or aware of? She was asked back to tour 12 houses yesterday... She is having a blast!

So happy to hear that! I know zero about UW rush, except their houses are absolutely beautiful! Sending you the very best wishes!

I was wondering about information regarding bid day too. My daughter is having a great time going through recruitment as well. She was also asked back to 12 houses. She toured 6 yesterday and the rest today. She is tired at the end of the day, but looks forward to everything. According to her, the girls have all been so nice at the sororities. Does anyone know where the girls are when they open their bids on Saturday? Is it first thing in the morning? Are parents present when they open their bids? Any information would be helpful.

I'm pretty sure that we open our bids at Denny (where we've been meeting with our rush groups). We meet at 8 am until about 9:15. When we get our bids we'll run over to the houses as a group and start moving in around 10ish. Parents usually aren't present. They generally help move in and arrive around 10.

but if the parents are helping the girls move into the chapter houses, I bet there is some serious stalking going on. I would think watching from a comfortable distance is probably common, if the parents are there anyway!

The girls get their bids in the morning. My daughter said she had to sit on it for 45 minutes...adding to the nervousness of it all!! But so exciting! After they open their bids, they will get their bid day shirts and run over to their new house to greet their sisters. My daughter sent us a quick text as soon as she opened her bid so we could get over to the house to greet them. After all the hugs, tears, photos, etc..the girls go back to the recruitment dorms where they pick up their luggage etc and get to move directly into the house. Usually a couple sisters help out as well as parents. Last year it poured rain so it was quite hectic, but still fun. Good luck to both your daughters, can't wait to hear the results:)

Does anyone know what quota is this year?

Bid day was a huge success for my daughter. She is extremely happy with her sorority and has already made a ton of new friends. I appreciate all the information that everyone gave me leading up to the day. I couldn't believe how spirited most of the houses were with decorations, music, and dancing waiting for the girls to arrive at the houses. Such a super day and what lovely girls they all are! Thanks again everyone!

What house, Mom?!

WAIT! COME BACK!! Where did she pledge? We gotta know :)

She's a Kappa Kappa Gamma! So thrilled. She also pledged Delta Gamma and Delta Zeta. Kappa was her #1.

I guess you mean she pref'd DG and DZ. You can only pledge one.

Of course I meant pref'd.

I meant to have a :) on my post, BTW. congrats to your daughter and KKG!