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A Fall 2011 Fraternity Rush Story
My brother is rushing, so I have decided to write a story sharing his experience!
I'm a pretty regular GC poster, but I have created this account to help keep my brother as anonymous as possible. I'm sure some of you regulars may figure out who I am and I'm okay with that, but I'm hoping that if any actives from his school stumble upon this, they will have a tough time linking this account to my real account. Also, to help keep things anonymous, I am going to delay the story and post a few days after events have happened. Please be aware that rush goes on for a few weeks, so this thread will take some time to finish. On with the story! I am naming the code after different guitar brands, as my brother is an excellent guitar player. Here's the code for the chapters that are in the story so far: Ibanez Gibson Hofner Rickenbacker Fender Epiphone Yamaha Alvarez - added to the story on 8/21 Gretsch - added to the story on 8/21 Vox – added to the story on 9/1 Martin – added to the story on 9/1 Takamine – added to the story on 9/1 I'm sure there will be more chapters added, but at the time I am writing this, these are the chapters that have a role in the story. If I add anymore, I will edit this post and make a note of any new ones that I have added. I'm just going to refer to my brother as “Joe”. Joe moved into school earlier this week. He goes to a state school with a large, thriving Greek community. It also just so happens to be my alma mater! There are no Greek relatives in any of the generations before ours, so Joe does not have any legacy status. However, we have one cousin and LOTS of second cousins who went Greek—although most of them are women. My brother's exposure to Greek life was mainly from stories he has heard from myself, my fiancé (I'm glad there’s a lot of engaged GCers on here…or else this would be too easy!!) and one of our cousins. More to come! |
As you can see, I have edited my first post since two more chapters have come in to play! Now mind you, you may not see these chapters pop up for a while, as I am planning on delaying this story and posting a few days after events actually occurred…but you’ll see them eventually!
The summer before college started, Joe said he was interested in joining a fraternity. Being Greek myself, I was super excited to hear this! Before he left, my fiancé and I both suggested a few chapters that he should look into when he got there. My fiancé obviously plugged Rickenbacker but also told him to “go for a ‘top house’ since they have ‘the best parties’”. :rolleyes: The chapters he suggested included Ibanez, Gibson, and Hofner. I would have been annoyed with his comment if it wasn’t for the fact that deep down I knew he wanted my brother to join Rickenbacker (he mentioned to me numerous times “how cool it would be if his pledge son or grandson got to be Joe’s pledge dad!”) So I know where his priorities really are! :) Me on the other hand…well I could see Joe liking Fender, Epiphone and of course, Rickenbacker. I had nothing but good experiences with the guys I met in these chapters and I could see him fitting in there. But, in the end, it’s not like our suggestions mattered. As an outsider looking in, it seems like fraternity rush (especially those first few days where there are just open parties at literally every house on campus) is a free-for-all. Lots of walking around and checking out places at random. Plus I remember being in his shoes—all those Greek letters would get jumbled in his head anyways! |
In honor of Buddy Holly, I'll root for Fender.
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As rush began, Joe set out to some open rush parties with some high school classmates. On the first night, he checked out Yamaha and Epiphone.
They went to Epiphone first. This is one of the chapters that I thought he would like. He said he had a pretty good time there. He talked with some brothers and said they were cool and he'd probably try to stop by again. Next was Yamaha. He said it was an okay time, but that he always he got a weird vibe from them and probably wouldn't come back. Then he tried to visit Rickenbacker, but they were not letting anyone come in because there were already too many people there. This chapter is in the middle of everything, location wise, so for during those first few weeks of rush they get a LOT of traffic. He told me he understood that it was not just their group that got turned away—they saw other groups have the same luck. He said he'd try and visit another night. And that's it for day one! At this point in time, I'd just like to say, fraternity rush moves SO SLOW compared to sorority recruitment. Sorry these are lame updates :P |
I spoke with Joe over the weekend for the first time since he moved down. Man, oh man did he have a lot to say! I could really tell he was loving college so far. He seemed to be meeting lots of people, signed up for a lot of clubs…things just sounded like they were going super well for him and I was so happy to hear it!
I got the low down of his second day rushing during our phone conversation. On day two, he went out with a good friend who lives on Joe’s campus, but goes to a nearby college instead. Over the course of the night, Joe visited Epiphone (again), Rickenbacker (I was excited to hear this!), Gretsch and Alvarez. Joe said Epiphone is now definitely the front runner (I knew he’d like it!!) He also said that they took his phone number and that he had gotten texts from one of the actives the next day. He planned on coming back to some more events at Epiphone over the next few weeks. He also visited Gretsch. Now, even though this was my campus too, I know nothing about Gretsch except for the fact that they are small (probably about half the size of the average chapter size) so it was interesting to hear about them. He said he had a really good time there and that they were a close runner up to Epiphone. Gretsch also asked for Joe’s number and gave him a flyer of events for that week. Rickenbacker was unfortunately a “disappointment”. It was a number of things: the place was overcrowded, he didn’t get a chance to talk to many actives and one of the actives kind of gave him a “you’re bothering me, kid” kind of attitude when he asked if knew my fiancé, even though the active wasn’t in the middle of doing anything. I think he had really high expectations because he knew my fiancé was a member and because of the stories he heard from him, so having just an okay experience was probably a let down. After this experience, Joe was probably not going to check out Rickenbacker again. Finally, he visited Alvarez. He had a good time there, but didn’t talk to many actives. He’d go back again if the opportunity came up, but he wasn’t making it a priority to go back. So at this point of time here’s where the chapters stand Really likes, plans on going back: Epiphone Gretsch Not ruled out, but not a priority: Alvarez Likely to be out: Rickenbacker Definitely out: Yamaha What’s interesting is that he has not visited the “top houses” (Ibanez, Gibson and Hofner) that my fiancé told him to go to “for the parties”. He has also not visited Fender, which is one I suggested. While he seems to really like with Epiphone and Gretsch, he mentioned that he planned on checking out a few more of the open parties the following weekend (from my understanding, this is the last weekend of open parties...by next weekend, the chapters know who they are looking at and just have a few more invitational events. I *think* this is how it works, but I could be wrong.) |
Woo hoo for fraternity recruitment! I wish chapters could hear the feedback and see the way they come off to rush guests sometimes.
Also, I'm looking forward to the reveal because I'm certain I know the poster's identity. I won't give it away of course. I'm curious to see if Delta Chi is in the running (though I don't think it is), or if my friend's chapter in the running (and I think they might be). Anyway, good luck to your brother, I'm glad he's enjoying his first few weeks! |
Teensy update:
During the week, Joe was invited to events at Gretsch and Epiphone…on the same night and same time. Dun dun dun. He was learning towards Epiphone and his decision was swayed when they followed up with a call to invite him again on the day of the event. Again, he had a great time with the Epiphones. That night he sent me a text asking when chapters give out bids! (Like I would know??) |
Good luck to your brother. I'm definitely pulling for him!
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So does that mean Gretsch is out of the running? Maybe a couple of the guys can jump in on this one, since most of us gals are completely perplexed at this process!
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DubaiSis, Gretsch being in or out right now could be a yes/no/maybe. Joe may choose to go to other events there, or not - it's really up to him. I would guess that Gretsch is out because he seems pretty set on Epiphone, but who knows?
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It's also possible that they like him enough to give him a bid anyway, though we don't know enough to say how likely that is. Remember ladies, fraternity rush you can be given multiple bids.
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Just wanted to update on where we are in the story...
1) I'm a little too close to real time than I would like to be so updates are going to be a little more spread out from here on out. I mean, they're still pretty delayed...but I'd rather be safe than sorry. 2) Joe is truly enjoying college...so much so that I have not heard from him like I did those first few days :) So I'll need to wait to have a longer conversation with him to get a few days worth of updates. Apologies if you are/were following this closely. Stay tuned! |
Note: new chapters added, see my original post for a revised complete list!
Weekend came and Joe was glad to have made it through the first week of class. His first week of classes went well and he said he now understands how big of a different college classes are from high school classes. He did say, however, that by the end of the week, he felt as though he was starting to get the hang of things. That weekend, Joe visited Gretsch, Yamaha and two new chapters, Vox and Martin. He also visited an office campus house where a bunch of seniors from yet another chapter, Takamine, lived. Gretsch was a good time once again…He didn’t elaborate beyond that. I was surprised hear that he went back to Yamaha. Apparently his friends wanted to check out this chapter again. Joe didn’t mind since there was a live band, which was right up his alley. He said this visit was a better experience…but he still wasn’t interested. Joe decided to visit Vox because he had received a letter from the chapter on behalf of a current brother who was an alum from his high school. Not sure how common this is (I’m sure it’s very common but being in NPC land, I wouldn’t know), but I think this is a very good strategy! I’m excited that he checked it out because I wanted to hear about the house (the actual building). During my last few years at school, there were actually several chapters on campus that were going through MAJOR renovations. This was one of them. I saw the complete building when I came back for homecoming, and it looked great! He said the house was VERY nice inside and he did have a good time with the Vox brothers. He said he’d like to come back again. Martin wasn’t a great experience. Nothing went wrong, but it just wasn’t as good of an experience as the other chapters. Joe had a good time with the Takamines although they were not at the Takamine house. Before he left, one of the actives invited him to the Takamine house later on in the week for another rush event. Joe was excited to see the house (and I was excited to hear about the house, as this was another one that had recently had major renovations!) After tonight Epiphone and Gretsch were still the front runners. However, Vox left a great impression and Joe was interested in learning more. And who knows how he would feel after meeting the Takamines later that week? Also, I'm hoping that more chapters don't get added just as much as you are. I'm running out of guitars brands that I have heard of!!! |
Buena suerta a tu hermano!
On another note (ha!), one of the kids at church always has their Indiana guitar laying around. I Googled them, and they seem to be pretty solid. Amazing graphic design guitars. |
Gracias AlphaFrog!
I'm hearing from Joe less and less now that school has started so no more play by play...but here's an update on the three favorites. Apparently there's another 1-2 weeks left of rush (depending on the chapter) so things are beginning to wind down. Gretsch - The events on rush flyer he had are now all over and he hasn't heard much from these guys. He's OK with it--he liked them but definitely wasn't dead set on them. It looks like the end of the road for Gretsch unless they start to contact him again. Epiphone- Joe's close friend was given a bid. Joe has not yet been offered a bid. He really likes the Epiphones a lot. However, if he doesn't get a bid, I think he'll get over it soon since there's a new favorite... Takamine- This is the new favorite. He's had a few events with them over the past week and they have now moved into his top spot. We'll see what happens over the next week or so! |
The day after I spoke with Joe he was invited to hang out with the Epiphones once again. But this was not just to hang out...that night Joe received a bid from the Epiphones!
Now, based on our previous days conversation, I would have assumed that his reaction would have been, "oh, that's cool." But let me tell you he seemed pretty damn excited for that bid. Something tells me that they only fell into second place because he thought he wasn't going to get a bid...but that's just my speculation. :) I haven't had the chance to ask if he will accept or if he will continue to rush the Takamines. If I were to guess, I'm guessing Joe will accept but I guess we'll have to see what happens this week! Stay tuned, I think we'll have a conclusion in a few days! |
Congratulations to Joe on his bid - I'm looking forward to the conclusion!
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Bad news and good news...Bad news first.
Joe told me he would not be making a decision until Saturday or Sunday... But that's because (good news!) he got a bid from Takamine! He really is torn between the two. He really gets along well with the brothers in both chapters, so he's trying to look at other factors to help him decide. On one hand, Takamine has an advantage because of their newly renovated house. I never got to visit before I left, but the outside looked beautiful! He said the inside was super nice. Another plus for Takamine is that some of the friends he has made in his dorm have received bids to Takamine also. On the downside, because of those renovations, dues are a bit more costly than Epiphone. Epiphone has an advantage because one of his close friends from home received a bid. He also really likes that history and tradition is clearly important to the members of Epiphone. I'm hoping he makes his decision sooner cause I can't wait to find out! |
I kinda wish Joe would make up his mind already because I want to see where he ends up!!!! :)
Joe texted me the other night while hanging out with Takamines saying I'm leaning on Takamine. About a half hour later he said, OK, now I'm at the Epiphone house, and I can't make up my mind again. LOL He said he was going to sit down and literally make a list of pros and cons. He really can't think of anything else to do to help him decide! I think it's great he has two chapters that he really, really likes, but that has to stink that he's going to let one group down. I mean, maybe guys don't have the same emotional connection to it...but still, if you like a group of people, it's gotta be hard telling them thanks but no thanks. Anyways, he said he'd make a decision by the end of the weekend...and he probably should since rush is just about over...so hopefully I'll have more news soon! :) |
We have an ending!
After much deliberation, Joe has accepted his bid to.... Not saying yet because he hasn't officially accepted! Haha, sorry! But seriously, an answer is coming soon. He's going to a meeting soon to accept, so I'll be back in about an hour or two once that is done :) |
UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! TEASE!!!!!!!!
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Now that he has officially accepted, I think that it is safe to reveal that Joe is now a….
Epiphone! Also known as… DELTA CHI! As mentioned before, it really was a tough decision for Joe. He really liked both Delta Chi and Takamine. I think what helped him make his mind about Delta Chi was that the brothers were a lot more persistent with him—I think they really showed that they wanted him as a member, and Joe appreciated that. I think he’s going to be very happy in Delta Chi. Afterall, I had a hunch that it was one of the chapters he’d fit in with before he even started school! :p His good friend from home who also received a bid from D Chi decided not to pledge (friend initially was never interested in rush—he just went along with Joe to the parties. He got the bid and considered it, but eventually decided it was not for him.) His two new friends from the dorm will be pledging Takamine. I think Joe feels a little bit bad about not pledging Takamine with them, but I assured him that just because they’re in different fraternities doesn’t mean they have to stop being friends and hanging out! I know that many of you may have guessed what my normal GC name is; I’m happy to confirm via PM. Also, I will not be revealing the code or school (if you haven’t figured them out by now) in public, but I will also reveal the code via PMs, if anyone is interested. *anxiously awaits Gusteau & Ant to stumble upon this thread again* |
Congratulations to your brother on joining Delta Chi!
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Yea for Delta Chi!
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AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Congratulations to him! I hope his time as an Associate Member is awesome! I was so sure who this poster was and what school it was and didn't think it would be Delta Chi, so I guess I'll eat my words: Quote:
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^^^ :D
I definitely laughed to myself at that post since I new that D Chi most certainly was in the running at that point in time! |
Congratulations to your brother & Delta Chi. I have so enjoyed reading about a fraternity recruitment.
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So the story is finally finished. In case you didn't figure it out, I am Hermana. :)
Tonight, "Joe" was initiated into Delta Chi!!! Thanks for reading! :) |
Ok so I told myself I wouldn't ask, but can you PM which chapter was the only fraternity worth joining at UI?*coughs* sorry I mean Psi Upsilon. :P
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Congrats to your brother!
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I'm going to assume this was at Illinois? DChi did some serious rebuilding when I was there. Like, they were an average fraternity, and then all the sudden, they had HUGE pledge classes a few semesters in a row, and bam, they were a force.
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I think some of that size stuck around for some time. I always thought of them as one of the big chapters. According to my brother, though, they're pretty average sized again. (Not that that's a bad thing!) I think he said they have about 80-85 (average size on campus is about 75-80...then of course there's a handful of chapters that have double or close to double the average size :eek:) |
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Yup, still on first 1st, right next to Aggers! They also had a neighbor to north...Pi Lambda Phi I think? But that chapter closed and the house was demolished while I was there though. Never knew what happened there...
80 does seem like a good size. Yes, there are still HUGE ranges in chapter sizes. Delts, Sig Ep & Pikes have over like 160 I think, then there's ones like Sigma Tau Gamma which has a house but have less than 20 brothers. When I was an undergrad, Delta Phi had 5 members living in their big house on 4th (I only knew this because one was the same major as my roommate and she told me this bit of information that she found out from him.) Delta Phi has since closed down as well. That house then became the temp Pike house while their obscenely large new house was being built. Now I think the Tekes live there for some reason, and Theta Chi is in what was the Teke house on 4th & Gregory. I swear, from the time I first became acquainted with the campus in 2006 there has been at LEAST 10 fraternity/sorority chapter house moves... ETA: Ok so only 8 switches that I could think of... Alpha Xi Delta now in the Phi Sigma Kappa house Fiji now in the Phi Sigma Sigma house AEPi now in their new house, they were in this white house on 3rd across from AEPhi that has now been demolished and apartment buildings have been built Pikes now in their new house, lived in Delta Phi during the construction Tekes now in the Delta Phi house Theta Chi now in the Teke house SAE back in their original house (was rented by Acacia) Acacia in the Beta house But that still seems like a lot! |
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Pi Lambda Phi suffered some serious numbers problems beginning around 2000; I guess they never recovered. At the same time, AEPi was growing a lot. I think that's what ultimately put them out of business, as they competed for the same group of men. I had no idea that AEPi had a new house, though. Fiji wasn't there when I was there, and Delts came back my junior year, I think. Moves I can think of when I was there: Phi Kappa Tau got booted. Then Sig Eps moved into that house (4th and Gregory), then Sig Eps got big enough to take their house back, which the TKE's had been renting. I think, at that time, Sig Eps and TKE effectively switched places, but the details are fuzzy. Delta Sigma Phi got the boot my sophomore year, I think, and their house was unoccupied after that (2nd and Armory, maybe? I know I rented a parking spot there, as it was close to Phi Mu). Alpha Chi Rho moved back into their house (3rd and Armory) my senior year, booting Chi Psi, but I can't remember where Chi Psi went, or if they were unhoused after that. Evans Scholars knocked down their house and built a new one, as well. Virtually no movement on the sorority side, but the guys were always coming and going. Rumor is that the Phi Mu house is being sold soon, and I'll be very curious to see what group is big enough to buy it (it houses 67; one of the bigger on campus). |
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Chi Psi is in this very odd looking building on Armory (I think) it does NOT look like a fraternity house. Quote:
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