How "clueless" were you?
 

I was just wondering how much everyone knew about sororities going into rush...

Did you have a good idea of campus reputations? Of what rush would actually be like? Did you fall over when those doors burst open and you were confronted with a mass of singing sisters? Did you go to info meeting and have references?

I had NO clue! :) I go to a southern school with a competitive yet deferred rush... Looking back, I feel so stupid... But it all worked out great!

I wasn't at all clueless. I was friends with two girls who were in sororities at UCF who would tell me how to act during rush and what do say. Since my junior year in high school, I knew about the reputations of the sororities at all the Florida schools. A lot of my friends had older sisters in sororities who would pass on the information to us high schoolers. I visited UCF with my friends the second semester of my senior year in HS and we stayed with a friend who was in a sorority. Our friend brought us to her house and brought us to a party where I met girls from her sorority and other sororities. Before rush even began, I already knew which sororities I would best fit into. I was not at all open-minded when I went through. I wish that I had gone in knowing less than I had. My mind was made up before I stepped into any of the houses on the first day on what sorority I would cut first. I just wish I gave some of the sororities that I had pre-judged more of a chance.

I was totally clueless!!!

I was so positive that I was going to pledge a certain sorority that their symbol is STILL on my bedroom wall at my parents' house! But, my mother insisted I keep an open mind.

I ended up feeling the most at home at one of the sororities that I really didn't want to rush, simply because they all wore the same thing on their composite!

Just think, if I had completely written ADPi off for that silly reason, I would not have had the experience(s) that I did!

honeychile

I was pretty well informed. I did a lot of research beforehand, even with the limited resources I had. (There are not very many books about rush, few informative websites besides this one, and our school's Panhellenic website is rarely updated. I knew the symbols, colors, and philanthropies of every sorority at my school, I knew what was going to happen at the rush parties.

I knew a little about campus reputations, but by the end of the first round of rush parties it was pretty easy to see what was true and what wasn't.

The only thing I don't think I knew ANYTHING about were recommendations . . . at least until I came to Greekchat in late July. By that point it was too late to get any, seeing as how I know almost no one in sororities. Fortunately, recs aren't required at Wisconsin.

I was pretty clueless... I just showed up at the one sorority that was still having interest parties and luckily it was a perfect fit... I had no clue about campus reputations because I had just transferred here... but I think I made the right desicion... even in light of all the things that have happened... but then after I signed my bid I made it my mission to find out everything I could about sororities and the way they work... and now I think I'm more informed than some of the sisters that have been there for four years...

Totally clueless! Its a blessing that I ended up exactly where I fit best, because I had no idea of what rush was all about. :D

I was pretty clueless about sororities when I rushed. This was pre-internet. I just knew that I wanted to find a group of friends and a home away from home. :)

I knew nothing about sororities before I joined. Like Cream, I rushed before the Internet was big, so I had no idea who was who or, really, anything about sorority life before rush.

My mom went to college in a part of Canada that (to this day, I think) does not have GLOs.

I think that was actually a good thing -- to go in with no preconceived notions or expectations.

I was sort of in the middle. When I went to informal recruitment, all of the 7 houses were rushing. I was a junior at the time so I had been around long enough to get an idea of what greek life was about. Though, I did have some preconceived notions about some of the sororities which IMHO were pretty accurate.


.....Kelly :)

I was semi-clueless. I knew the sororities' reputations but thought that high grades plus strong activities plus good recs equaled a rushee getting her choice of sororities. Wrong!!!

I was pretty clueless and extremely lucky. What little I knew about the sororities at my school were based on a fraternity member co-worker. Nope, didn't take his advice either, because there's no way I would have been happy in the groups he 'suggested' would be a good fit for me.

Christin

On the fraternity side of things...

I knew NOTHING.

I never actually went through rush though. Signed when the expansion team came to my school to sign folks up for a new colony. Here I am now with the badge number MT 5 -- in Roman numerals MTV:cool: :D

I was pretty clueless, actually. I had no idea what references even were until well after I'd joined. I didn't know what to expect from formal rush, so the door chants and such took me a bit off guard. I was also very turned off by the artificial structure and high pressure of formal rush - the idea of having only a few minutes to talk to as many sisters as possible in hopes of getting invited back - everyone wearing exactly the same thing, down to makeup and jewelry - and I actually wound up dropping out before pref for that reason. If I'd known what to expect, maybe I would have stayed in FR... but if I'd stayed in, I wouldn't have been an AEPhi. So it all worked out in the end :)

I didn't rush till first semester sophomore year, and I lived in a very Greek-heavy dorm, so after seeing my floormates rush & pledge for 2 semesters I was pretty savvy about what I wanted.

As far as national standing though, I had ZERO idea and I would wager most of the campus was the same way (again, this was pre-internet). The first we had an inkling of things like that was that the card store in town had pin pillows for some groups and not for others - they only had for "New York sororities" whatever the heck that meant. :p I think it was kinda like my mom saying Seventeen magazine was more New York than Teen, but I digress...

I was pretty well informed, I think.

I had recommendations to 2/7 groups (which is pretty much unheard of in Canada) and I went to summertime pre-rush parties at 4/7 (which I understand are a "no no" today)

The only thing that I did not understand was the whole "cutting, bid matching" process. Had I understood this better, I would benefitted greatly and been a lot smarter about the whole process!

i went through formal rush in the first year my college had sophomore deferment, so i really had some ideas about the sororities on campus. as a matter of fact, i really and truely had no interest in rushing until i met some phi mus over the summer. there were 2 groups that i wouldn't have joined bc they hazed and the 3rd i was pretty neutral about. i am glad that i went through formal, but i really didn't keep an open mind. i knew exactly where i was going and i really had no plans on changing my mind! it did however, let me see one of the groups in a much better light (changed what i thought pre-rush). their sisters were really nice and were lots of fun. i ended up being friends with some of them after rush! in one sorority, the girl who was rushing me LEFT ME alone!!! i was standing there all by myself when their president came up to me. she was really sweet, but there was NO way in hek that i would have wanted to be there (confirmed what i knew pre-rush). and the 3rd group told my bf at the time to tell me that they really wanted me to join and that i had a bid (changed what i thought pre-rush)! funny, they were the first group i dropped!

i had no idea about how rush worked. i almost died when i walked in to the house and the sisters were screaming and yelling! after the first night i got used to it, but i really didn't know what to think of it! recs aren't used on my campus, but honestly i didn't know what they were until probably my senior year of college! lol.

I had no idea what sororities were really about till I got to school and on the first day of classes all the girls wore shirts with the saying "on the road of life, why have friends when you can have sisters" "sisters wanted" and then there was chalking all over and I thought about it, and a girl down the hall was telling me which sorority she wanted because she knew girls in it, so I thought hey that kind of motto sounds like something I want to be a part of, I'll give it a shot.

I remember the very first party I was so shocked and thinking oh god what have I gotten myself into, but once I saw the other groups I realized that, that first group wasn't for me at all and I was just surprised how genuine and sweet those girls were. Unfortunately it didn't turn out well, but I'll never forget that awesome feeling of belonging

I was completely clueless about the actual sororities, but knew many of the girls in them if that makes sense?

I had no idea what a rec was!

to say that i was clueless is an extreme understatement..i really didn't know a thing about sororities..i just knew i wanted to be in one, i didn't know about rho chis, or symbols, colors, flowers, i didn't really think about trying to make an impression on these women...i didn't know about recs..seriously..i really didn't know anything about what i was getting myself into, but i just knew i wanted to join one :)

Completely clueless.................

I did not know a thing about sororities, I was simply looking for a home away from home.

Completely clueless when I went through rush the first (and only) time. In retrospect, I'm not surprised things turned out the way they did... but if they had turned out differently, I wouldn't have become an Alpha Phi!

Completely clueless, went to college not even thinking about it and then joined rush last minute because a friend wanted to. Considering what I learned after the fact I ended up where I belonged and made the most amazing friends!

I debated whether or not to join a sorority (my university had deferred recruitment until the spring) and decided not to go through it right before FR started. My friends went through it, and by bid night, I was really kicking myself for not going through it at all. Another of my friends joined through COR directly afterwards, and they were all the same sorority. I decided that I wanted to check it out, but I was really only interested in "checking out" their sorority. In the fall, two more friends went that same GLO, and I decide to go through formal recruitment that spring, figuring I'd join them at the end of the week. I wasn't prepared for FR, and I didn't know ANYTHING about the other organizations. Needless to say, the GLO that I knew everything about cut me the round before pref, so I was a little apprehensive and thought about dropping out. I stayed in, and I'm so glad I did, because I now know that I fit better where I am than where all my friends were...because the two organizations are so close on our campus, I didn't have any problems fitting in with my sisters or the sisters of my friends.

I knew absolutely nothing about recs before going back to help my chapter during recruitment as an alumna. The TCC talked to us about them, but it's not a common thing (from what I understand) at our university.

I was pretty clueless...I did have recs to three chapters, but other than that I didn't know much. I definitely didn't dress that well (but that was a combination of being clueless and coming from another part of the country with very different trends.)

Where my cluelessness REALLY manifested itself was on Pref night. I went to a full slate of three houses but really didn't like two of them. We filled out these little cards where you bubbled in circles for houses, and I heard a rumor that if you SIP'ed, the scanner wouldn't read the card right and you wouldn't match at all -- even if the chapter really wanted you. I actually believed this and filled out all three even though I had NO intention of accepting a bid from two of them. Wow, that could have REALLY gotten me in trouble!