Alabama Sorority Rush Question
 

Hi,

I am hoping to rush at Alabama this fall. I am from the Northeast, have very good grades, activities and community service. I was unable to attend the Preview Day held in March and am new to the whole "Greek" thing since none of my family ever participated in Greek life. I was signing up for orientation this week and am left with the dates that fall during rush. I was told by the people in Orientation that I am "strongly encouraged" to attend orientation on August 14th but it appears there are activities that day that I would be unable to participate in. A friend of mine who did attend Preview Day told me I may as well forget rushing since having to attend orientation in the middle of rush will essentially kill my chances of getting a bid. Is that really true? As a Northerner, I am already at a disadvantage from what I understand. I am trying to approach this with an open mind but am I being unrealistic in hoping to get a bid if I have to skip an entire days worth of activities? Orientation people said tons of girls have to do the same but that doesn't mean it doesn't count against them right?

Membership selection information is private, but I will tell you this from my personal experience at a university in the Midwest.

Think of it this way. There are many girls going through rush. A sorority has X amount of girls they can invite back. It would be hard to choose to invite back someone they've never met (I'm assuming from what you said that you have to miss a day's worth of rush, meaning that you would miss an entire round of parties) over someone they have met and liked.

Technically, if you can't make it to a party (or multiple parties) for an official reason (you can't just choose not to go), you do get excused, but chapters don't have to guarantee you an invite to the next party.

What does orientation consist of?

I'm going to be very honest with you. Any parties you have to miss that day will mean that those groups will not invite you back to pref. There are just too many others for them to remember you from 2 days before and invite you to pref. You're only hope would be the groups you go to on Skit Day 1 - on Augist 13. If you are willing to take that chance, then by all means go ahead. The fact that you are from out of state has nothing to do with anything. Over 50% of the women who pledge at ALabama are from out of state.

You MUST have your recs though. That is a hard and fast rule here. You won't have any chance if you don't.

I've said this before and will say it again. WHY IN THE HELL DO THEY HAVE ORIENTATION SESSIONS DURING RUSH???

Not only is it awful for someone in the op's situation, but it seems to me that it's quite late and way too close to the beginning of the school year for orientation.

Could someone please sticky this where is it easy to find?

https://www.npcwomen.org/alumnae-pan...-advisors.aspx

I'm not sure how orientation works at Alabama, but I really don't understand this either. At my school, we had 12 orientation dates from early June to late July and one a week before classes started which is also during rush.

But on the other hand, there could be out of state students who can't afford and/or find the time to go back and forth across the country for orientation AND come back when they have to move in.

That's basically how it works at Alabama too. The two August sessions for freshmen are "final sessions."

It might be worth a shot to call the office handling orientation, make a friend, note his/her name, be super polite, and ask if they can possibly help you. You might leave out the rush reason initially and just tell them that the 14th was the only date available and you really, really need an earlier session. Even ask if they keep track of cancellations and if you could possibly fill one of those.

You would need to be flexible with dates and travel, but if you can be, it might be worth a try.

Otherwise you might just take the risk and know that you will miss some skit parties. Not an optimal plan or especially recommended, but perhaps you could slip away during less important parts of the orientation day if necessary - what you really must accomplish during orientation is the advising/registering for classes part. You need your act card too -- but I suppose you could do that later if necessary.

Good luck with it -- have you secured recommendations to the chapters yet?

Orientation
 

If you miss parties it is going to limit your choices.

Because not all freshmen go thru recruitment, my dear.

They don't? (Bugs Bunny voice) :p

I know that, but I would think that they could manage a way for women to not get stuck in this situation. Maybe asking on the enrollment application if the person is planning on rushing and if they are, automatically put them in an earlier session.

Honest questions from a guy who knows very little about the Alabama Sorority rush scene. What would be the big deal if she blows off orientation. It is apparent from your collective posts that missing a recruitment round IS a big deal so if the young lady is highly motivated to do her best in rush would it not be better to skip orientation than to skip recruitment activities.
Back in the Bronze Age when I was a freshman I was told that orientation was mandatory. So I skipped a personal invitation to a major social event and followed orders.
The orientation was a waste of time as I could have figured out most of what was put out by reading the printed fliers. The rest I could have picked up with a modicum of common sense and asking a couple of friends to fill me in.
Would those who are familiar with the process please comment and advise?
Many thanks!

You obviously didn't read all the posts. You get your schedule at orientation.

They do in that students can choose which orientation session they wish to attend. Likely many rising freshmen have considerations to plan around over the summer (including jobs, college classes, travel etc) that have nothing to do with recruitment.

If a student has only certain dates that she can attend, it is best to choose a session soon after registration opens. Registration for orientation opened in early February.

It makes sense that they have orientation sessions right before classes start, but they really ought to hold spots in the other sessions for people going through rush. The nationwide college reply date is today, but in-state kids in Alabama probably put their deposits down months ago, which is why they were able to fill up all the non-conflicting orientation spots. There's a national system for a reason -- kids don't have their fin aid offers, etc. from other schools until mid-April. People should not have to commit to attend Alabama in February in order to get an orientation spot that's consistent with other ALABAMA programs. We're not talking about a conflict with a family wedding.

As stated above, call and grovel and beg to get into an earlier session, ANY earlier session and definitely ask to get on a waitlist. If you can't the only critical part of orientation is scheduling your classes. I would recommend attending as much as you can because it's a time to make friends, and I would see if your rush counselor to re-arrange your party schedule if there is a severe conflict, but remember you may not (read probably) have a full schedule so it may not be as much of a conflict as you think. Not that I'm hoping that for you of course. Hopefully your sweet disposition and groveling will get you an earlier orientation slot.

That is EXACTLY what I was trying to say. Thank you.

And in this day and age - can't schedules be done remotely/online?

There are more OOS freshman than in-state, so if all the sessions are filled, then many OOS students have filled these as well.

Great points though -- maybe a good idea to consider using a (groveling) version of these with the orientation office when trying to be moved into an earlier session!

Well - I tried the groveling approach with Orientation and had no luck. They stick firmly to the "strongly suggested" date of 8/14. They say they have no waiting list and that "tons of girls will be in the same boat" and it is nothing to be worried about. I get the distinct impression from this group, however, that this is not the case. The only way to change a date is to try to repeatedly go in online and attempt to change my orientation date to see if a spot frees up - kind of a bummer. I guess that is my only option right now. They have a few dates left at the end of July but I have travel commitments so those won't work either. I was one of those students who was waiting till mid April to receive all my acceptances/offers so I couldn't make an informed decision till last week. Things will work out as they should I suppose. Hopefully, I will get a chance to sign up for an earlier date and, if not, I will have to make the best of a not-so-ideal situation.

Christine, I'm really sorry that this is difficult.

I would say that the information provided by Titchou (who is experienced, objective, and really familiar with Alabama) is what I would rely on. The Orientation personnel are NOT the ones who have input on membership selection. Understand that making the best of your situation as it stands right now means that the probabiity of experiencing heavy cuts is guaranteed.

Do you have a schedule for orientation? I mean, is there stuff you can skip on that end?

Seems like I recall that orientation is NOT required, but heavily suggested.
And yes, dear daughter, at least, found stretches where her presence was not tracked and that she found a waste of time.

For the record, I am not suggesting that you skip anything!

I am. Skip orientation. Rush is more important.

Well, I wouldn't skip it COMPLETELY. And do keep an eye on the website to try to change your schedule. Otherwise you'll figure it out.

Really? At a state university?

Yes, 60% of this year's freshmen class:

http://cw.ua.edu/2013/11/05/60-perce...-out-of-state/


http://cw.ua.edu/wp-content/uploads/...re-600x340.jpg

Sorry, duplicate post.

ugh. I'm sorry that didn't work. The advice the orientation office gave you isn't helpful at all -- I guess it is nothing for them to worry about. I'm not sure what happens if you are a no-show for orientation, but you should probably show up for the advising/class registration part if at all possible. Classes begin the week following rush.

On to the "compulsively checking the website" approach.

And don't rely on the Panhellenic page info either:

"Potential members are not required to secure recommendations in order to receive a bid. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the sorority to obtain a letter of recommendation if one is needed for membership"

Not making a decision until mid April is a bit of a time disadvantage in the rec gathering process (unless you have already secured alums prepared to write recs with the understanding that you will pass along the addresses later). Hope that is well underway!

Good luck -- hope it all works out for you.

Presuming you don't get it changed, if you know your orientation schedule and advise your rush counselor IN ADVANCE of potential conflicts, they may be able to tweak your schedule. If you have a full schedule there's not much they can do (they will NOT put your favorite chapter in a slot that accommodates you better), but if you have some blanks MAYBE they can move you an hour or two. But this isn't something where you can get your schedule and then bitch because it's not convenient. I don't know if they WILL accommodate you, but advising them of potential conflicts and a firm desire to attend every possible party will, I would think, go a long way in getting them to help you.

But keep up the OCD stalking of the website. There are undoubtedly a lot of students who accepted, registered, etc., and then get a late acceptance into a different school, get into trouble, realize the financials aren't there, etc.

Wow. Interesting; thanks. I guess I was surprised because public universities here (NC) have an 18% cap on OOS students. The one exception to that is the School of the Arts, which is really a conservatory. Most tend to hover closer to 15%. I should know better than to assume rules and practices are similar elsewhere.

/tangent

I think Alabama has positioned itself like Michigan or Purdue - yes they're state schools but they put a lot of emphasis on geographic diversity like the ivies do. I won't comment on if they focus on racial diversity... No clue.

I see what you mean, but I am still a bit confused. At every University with which I am familiar Orientation is when they show the nubies around and give them practical advice on life at XX University. Registration is where they take your money, if not already paid, issue you your ID card, and set up your class schedule. With a new freshman your schedule is pretty well fixed in stone with very minor differences depending on what you are shooting for: Business, Liberal Arts, Sciences, etc. I don't recall much in the way of electives until sophomore year or maybe one or two in second semester. One was just handed a printout showing your classes and their meeting times and locations.
If in this case Orientation and Registration are combined I would think that a freshman's class schedule would be pretty much already set in stone and she could get it from the registrars office later. I think it really depends on where her priorities are focused.
As I said, I do not claim great knowledge of the system there so I would appreciate your thoughts on this matter. If she really wants to rush would it not be possible for her to visit the registrar's office a day or so later and still accomplish both rush and registration?

Possibly at some schools orientation and registration are 2 different things but at my university (and clearly Alabama as well) they are one in the same thing. So she can skip the kumbaya Bama! Roll Tide! stuff, but she has to be there for the actual class registration. And at a school this size, you aren't just slotted into your freshman classes. Rhetoric (or English or whatever Bama calls it) will have 50 or 100 classes, and by the time she gets there 90% of those classes will all be full. So then she has to do the dance to figure out when she can have rhetoric and math and science and history or whatever, all of which also have multiple sessions, and most of which will also already be full. It's a huge cluster and some time has to be spent working it out. She will need assistance with that. When I went to school, you also got your football tickets at orientation. But that was 300 years ago and things have changed re: football all over the country so that's not necessarily a thing there.

And it's because of the huge cluster that is freshman registration at a huge school, I am really hoping for her sake she can get an earlier time slot. The freshman rhetoric class at 7AM? You KNOW that's the kids who had orientation the last week.

From the UA Panhellenic site under Bama Bound tab:

What if I Want to Participate in Recruitment, but Cannot Attend a Bama Bound Orientation Session Prior to August?


If you cannot attend any of the Bama Bound Orientation sessions prior to August, then you will need to register for the Freshman Final Session on Thursday, August 14. Since the August 14th Freshman Final Session is scheduled during the Skit Round of Sorority Recruitment, you will need to make note of this conflict on your Innova registration form when it asks if you "anticipate any conflicts that might prevent you from attending any of the recruitment activities." At Convocation, you will also need to notify your Sigma Rho Chi (Recruitment Counselor) of this conflict, so that we can make arrangements for you to attend any Skit parties you are invited to on Wednesday, August 13th, thus freeing up Thursday, August 14th for you to attend Bama Bound Orientation, so you can register for your classes and pay your student bill.


Registration, the process of setting up a class schedule and reserving a place for you in each of those classes, can only be done during the BAMA Bound summer orientation. Until a student's class schedule has been confirmed and UA has received the payment of tuition, course fees, residence hall room, Dining Dollars, meal options, and parking decal charges, registration is NOT complete. As such, students who report to campus for formal sorority recruitment before they have completed orientation and registration may have issues accessing some of the services such as dining until they develop and confirm a student schedule through the Office of Student Receivables. If you have not participated in orientation before you come to campus for formal recruitment, we suggest that you start a Bama Cash account by going to http://actcard.ua.edu (or call 800-474-2288 during business hours) or bring cash, a credit or a debit card with you. You will need money for meals until your Fall schedule is confirmed in the Office of Student Receivables.

The Action Card Office will be open on Saturday, August 9th and Sunday, August 10th from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. to assist students who cannot access dining or residence hall services. Please call (205) 348-2288 or stop by the Campus Drive Parking Deck, 451 Campus Drive East. This is the Transit Hub. For students who submitted a photo online, your Action Card will be ready for pick- up at the Action Card office. If you failed to submit a photo online, you will need to be prepared to have your Action Card produced at the Action Card office. As noted above, many services accessed by the Action Card will not be available until your Fall schedule is confirmed through the Office of Student Receivables.

Continues: http://www.uapanhellenic.com/2014-fa...cruitment.html

What's the max parties you can get in skit round and how long are they?

Not sure if Bama students actively use this, but many schools have FB groups for their incoming freshman classes. Perhaps you can ask on there if anyone has an earlier orientation slot that they would be willing to switch with the latest one, then talk privately.

Not sure how that would work, if the site is updated automatically, that student can drop their slot and you can refresh the screen and grab it (maybe 4am when it's less likely people are in there trying to do the same).

A maximum of 8 parties @ 45 minutes each.

It has been about 4 years since I went to Bama Bound (orientation), but I am really shocked that spots have filled up this early. I don't know if things have changed since I did it or (hopefully) maybe you are reading the situation wrong. When I went to Bama, you couldn't sign up till May for orientation. The first few weeks of May were assigned for honors college members to attend orientation and then any days after that you were fine. I'm not sure why it would be strongly suggested for you to attend on August 14th unless you were dealing with financial difficulties and couldn't make it down before the start of school, which I understand. Anyways, I strongly suggest signing up for any time before recruitment but in case you do have to attend orientation during know that the only orientation even that you are required to go to is when you have to sign up for your classes and you do need to go to that or else you will be stuck in bad classes. Since that does fall on one of the two skit days you might get lucky and only have to miss a party or maybe none. I know that on my skit days, I had one party one day and then six the next day so hopefully things will work out where you will be able to register for your classes without missing anything.

I'm writing a rec for a local girl, who is OOS. She provided me not only with her resume and photo, but also her HS transcript. While I have written a few recs for Bama in the past, I have never had a transcript.

Suggestions?