Questions...
 

I don't have any Greeks in my family, so GC is really all I have to turn to for advice.....! Eep!

I don't know how many other GC PNMs are sailing in my boat, or might just have simple questions to ask, so... to address the issue.... I'd like to make this a thread that all of us PNMs can post our questions to the rest of you actives/alums!!

My questions:
Of late, I've noticed a trend in this Rush forum about appropriate/inappropriate clothing, etc. (particularly the notorius "black dresses"). I was just wondering exactly HOW important your attire is, and where does one draw the line between appropriate/inappropriate dress?

Also-are dress pants acceptable? Or does it depend how far into the recruitment process you are?

Does this vary from school-school/GLO-GLO?



Thanks bunches!!

-Sarah

P.S. All you actives/alums that frequent this Rush forum are awesome and I love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

Re: Questions...
 

Attire is important. We (at least, myself personally) wouldn't make a judgement just based on your outfit, but this is one time you really want to look nice...it's like an interview. Others may have different ideas, but appropriate dress to me is attire that doesn't show underwear lines, too much skin, bra straps hanging out, etc. Just use good taste, and don't wear anything you wouldn't want, say, your grandparents to see you in, you know?

I would say yes on the pants, even up to Pref Day (if they're dress pants). In fact, I like seeing PNMs wearing something a little different.

School to school, definitely...but I'm not sure about GLOs on the same campus. Maybe. Anyone else have an idea?

Re: Re: Questions...
 

Some sororities are definitely "dressier" than others. That's more of a day to day thing, though it does show in pref parties. We had one group that all wore the same thing for pref (I think) but other than that no one else did...not coincidentally, they were known as the fashion plates on campus.

Re: Questions...
 

I know that on my campus the way a girl dresses can almost place her in a house. What I mean to say, is that the girls in each sorority on our campus have their own kind of set style, and just by looking at the way a girl dresses you can tell what sorority she is in. I learned which house dressed which way while I was going through formal recruitment and the girls that went through with me also saw the difference in the houses by the way they dressed. One house is the "trendy" house, one is the "classic" house, one is the "designer-names-only" house, and one is the"girl-next-door" house, not to say that this was their personality, but those were the differences in the way they dressed. I would say to observe the greeks on your campus before you go into recruitment to see if that is the case, because i know that it is not the same on every campus.

That is totally true and can look at any grl and tell which house she belongs too, I know alpha phi has the tall blonde girls, I know d phi e has the girls who are kinda urban...i think if you could catagorize us its t and a, we either have big boobs, big asses or both!

Your clothing choices DO make a difference, although how much difference it makes depends on the campus and the sorority. Some places it will make much more difference than others. The important thing isn't usually how expensive your clothes are, but whether or not you look put together, if you stand out enough from the other rushees that the sisters will be able to remember you later, stuff like that.

Basically EVERYTHING having to do with rush varies from school to school, and what's appropriate to wear is no exception. At my school, for example, dress pants would be appropriate up until Pref night, but at Pref you're expected to at least be in a skirt, and most girls wear dresses. At other schools, it may NEVER be acceptable to wear pants. And rushees at my school dress very trendy compared to many other schools, where I get the impression that a more classic style is preferable.

The best rule of thumb that I've heard is to look at your recruitment guidebook, see what they recommend, and pick the dressiest option. (If they recommend "Nice pants, khakis or a skirt" for Round 1, pick the skirt.)

Your Rho Gamma can also be a pretty good resource for questions of that nature. She's hopefully been through recruitment at least twice, so she should be able to tell you what is most acceptable.

In case any rushees from SEC schools are reading this, I would say that you probably shouldn't go the pants route for prefs. Wow 'em with your clothes savvy later (or your nose ring or whatever) but conservatism reigns that night. Especially with the alums who may be lurking in the shadows and can, in many cases, influence voting.

Carnation,
I totally agree. The only exception to that would be if you have a REALLY cute, nice capri pants set or something. That might be appropriate for the first round. Also, if your school has a philanthropy round, you may be required to wear something more casual...a denim or khaki skirt is cute for that round or some nice shorts.

MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

k sorry just got a little exited that i wasnt the only one...

I guess this goes along with my "be yourself" policy, but I would suggest wearing what makes YOU feel appropriately dressed. If you guide suggests "nice pants, khakis or skirt" and YOU feel most comfotable/appropriate in khakis, go with the khakis! If you totally love being in a skirt, wear the skirt!

Although, keep in mind, I come from a less competivite greek system, but I think it all plays into you "finding your home". If you have to dress in a way that you wouldn't normally, I really don't see how that's helping you find that.

"Because sometimes the best way to find out who you are, is to go to a place where you don't have to be anybody else!" (My fav bid day shirt!)

Clothes make a difference... just like in day to day life... no matter how much we hate it, we do get judged on what we wear.
Sororities are looking for women who know how to present themselves for the situation that they are going into. They want to know that you're not going to have trouble with the dress code for formal meetings, or that you know when it's appropriate to "flaunt" a bit and when you should cover it up. (rush is def. a time to cover up) It shouldn't be about labels though, it doesn't matter who is wearing 7 jeans or who is wearing jeans from Walmart... it's about who knows how to dress herself for the occasion. Your Rho Gamma should be giving you some guidlines about what type of clothing for each round at your school because it does vary from campus to campus how dressy each round gets... but as long as you follow those guidelines, you should do fine =)

oh i almost forgot...i'm going to go to an SEC school...

I hope you'll post your rush story, 4runnerstar! The SEC stories are always fun to read. What school will you be attending?

ole miss or mississippi state...prolly ole miss...most likely ole miss...i was supposed to go for another preview day in the morning but cant...oh well...i'm super exited about rush. i cant wait.....and i'm a senior in high school. haha.

OK-I was just wanting someones opinion about a couple of dresses I got the other day. I'm not sure if they are appropriate for Rush. The first one is a one shoulder bright blue dress that goes right below my knees. I know i would probably stand out in this one because of the color, is that bad? The second one is a strapless purple dress that is asymetrical at the bottom. The only thing that worries me about this dress is that it is strapless. is that too risky? Let me know what you all think!! Thanks

Bright blue and standing out is probably a good thing! I would go for that dress as long as the one-shouldered part doesn't look too "club". And with the strapless dress... I think it too depends on where you rush. Being from the South (big rush or not), I'd throw a cute, lightweight cardigan over it. But it's up to you to ultimately decide. Anyone else care to weigh in on strapless vs. not?

I'll be at Emerson College in Boston, MA come fall.

The greek life there is SO small, I can't even begin to tell you about it because the Greek Life advisor (whom is also the Student Life advisor btw) hasn't gotten back to me yet!

There has only been one GC-er that I've found that went to Emerson, which isn't really surprising because there are only 6 GLOs (3 sororities, 2 fraternities, and 1 co-ed). To further elaborate: 1 national (NPC) sorority, 1 local professional sorority, 1 local social sorority, 1 local social fraternity, 1 other professional (i think, i'm not sure) fraternity and the co-ed...

Emerson is a Performing Arts/Communications school where the students *generally* don't fit the mold of the typical college student. The atmosphere of the school *really* reflects that - I'm even surprised that they have GLOs at all because it seems like most students wouldn't be interested in it. Regardless, I AM interested!

I, too, am under the impression that east coast rushing is pretty laid back, so considering the school I'm attending, I'm assuming that the combination of the two will pose for an interesting rush thread come fall!

Thanks guys:)

LuaBlanca -- it sounds like your school will definitely be laid back. I wouldn't worry too much about clothes if I were you. It sounds like it's the type of atmosphere that as long as you look put together, your clothes won't matter much at all.

LOL!!!!
 

Are you referring to the former Contrampo Casuals? bwah hah ha ha

But seriously, if you really wanna do the hoochie wear RAVE is the store to hit...

Sarah, back to your question in your situation I would say whatever makes you look good and feel good would be fine. :)

RAVE? oh yeah...you mean Sluts-R-Us...my bad...took me a minute...

LuaBlanca, I doubt rush at your school will be very formal - who is the NPC there, if you don't mind me asking? At my school of initiation, we were the only NPC, and our rush is very casual, except for preference. I wore jean skirts and cute tops most days and felt overdressed - at our preference, a nice sweater and skirt are fine.

I know a couple girls who went out and bought $1,000 worth of clothes for rush. They could afford it though and they still were dropped from a couple houses.

:eek: :eek: :eek:
I have to dress up nice for work because I work in an office (dress pants, skirts, blouses, dresses, etc. - think Express, The Limited, classic and clean-cut stuff from Old Navy, GAP, etc.). Plus, I tend to keep my clothing in great condition so I wasn't planning on going out to buy TOO much new stuff!

:eek: :eek: :eek:
$1,000 OMG!
:eek: :eek: :eek:

Is that common? Going out and spending THAT much $$ on clothes?!

well, i would if i could :D
not just for going through recruitment, simply for the pure bliss of being LOADED and going SHOPPING! whee! i'm such a dork...

NCSU rush is really strange, but it doesnt depend on expensive clothes (well one place it matters). I think they were just spoiled. I can't imagine spending that much on clothes, but it would be nice to

kinda off the true subject... but I just want to interject... that although most clothing from RAVE is somewhat slutty... I happen to own some very cute butterfly pajamas from there that are not slutty at all... :) plus they were really cheap..

My .02 on the strapless....I dig the cardigan idea. Could you imagine if you sat down and that strapless dress just slid right on down? :eek: The cardigan might give you a wee bit of protection.

(I just bought a dress at Wet Seal for a wedding. I was in such a hurry that I didn't look around. No clue that it was a hootchie store. Until I tried on the dress at home and my bum was hanging out.)

Okay, so to update you all on my lack of information situation:

I found an alumni website to the professional sorority on my campus. (This is the same GLO that I had previously contacted for something else in November.) There was a contacts section, and it was there that I found the email of the girl that I had written to before. I wasn't sure if she would remember be, but I took the chance, and sent an email to her. (She also happens to be the one that posts on GC.) But...it got sent back to me from the AOL "Mailer-Daemon." Luckily, I had randomly chosen 2 other emails from the contact list and sent them similar emails. After I checked the status of them, one of them had been deleted and the other hadn't been read yet. I didn't want to wait, so I went back to the website and saw that the girl I had written to from before (the GC-er) also had a yahoo address... so I sent the email to that one too. I also added her screen name to my AIM buddy list just in case.
Well, as luck would have it, she signed online last night and I kind of ambshed her (lol). I was kind of worried that she wouldn't be checking her yahoo mail account...she laughed and said she remembered me (my screen name is kind of hard to forget lol) and that she'd read the email and get back to me, no problem. She hasn't gotten back to me yet...but's only 9:30a.m. ....:) I hope she can answer at least a FEW of my questions!!

GREAT idea for a thread!
 

I've definately got a question or two as a PNM.

How strict are GPA requirements?? I had a VERY nice ACT score, and most of my grades are great, but one semester totally threw me off. I have Advanced Placement credits and some other credits I tested for, but my GPA is very pooey. My cumulative is (I think) 2.42. My first semester in college was TERRIBLE. My horse died, my grandpa got cancer, my dad entered AA, my other grandpa was hospitalized,... Second semester I made the Dean's List, but my GPA is still low. How much is that going to hurt me?

Also, I am a Christian, and I've read that a lot of GLOs have close ties with christianity. Is this true? How compatible is living a christian life and committing to a sorority?

This may sound a little shallow...but how much am I financially committing to? Is there any general guideline? Most of the sororities have houses, and I'm sure that will add to it. Do all members pay the same amount whether they live in the house or not?

I know this is a serious time commitment, but is there an average number of hours per week that I can expect? (If I do make it through rush and get a bid)

Thank you in advance!

~Millie

Re: GREAT idea for a thread!
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Meliahna
[B] How strict are GPA requirements?? I had a VERY nice ACT score, and most of my grades are great, but one semester totally threw me off. I have Advanced Placement credits and some other credits I tested for, but my GPA is very pooey. My cumulative is (I think) 2.42. [B}

GPA requirements vary from campus to campus, sorority to sorority....usually expect somewhere between 2.0 & 2.25. Sometimes chapters expect you to have a little higher by the time you initiate and stay active.

[B]Also, I am a Christian, and I've read that a lot of GLOs have close ties with christianity. Is this true? How compatible is living a christian life and committing to a sorority?[B]

From what I know from my GLO and what I have learned on GC, yes, almost all sororities have a Christian or spirtiual base to their rituals and values. Living a Christian life and being in a sorority are very compatible. The values are essentially the same...to be a good person.

[B]This may sound a little shallow...but how much am I financially committing to? Is there any general guideline? Most of the sororities have houses, and I'm sure that will add to it. Do all members pay the same amount whether they live in the house or not? [B]

This varies greatly. I would suggest contacting your campus Panhellenic and ask them.

[B]I know this is a serious time commitment, but is there an average number of hours per week that I can expect? (If I do make it through rush and get a bid)[B]

This depends on the time of the year and how active you are in the sorority. I cannot speak with confidence about any campuses other than my own, so I would suggest asking around on your campus.

Hope this helped a little!
:)

Hi! My daughter has been accumulating clothes for rush in August. She is very conservative in all of her choices, (she won't even try on the low jeans) but she was planning to wear an adorable, strapless sun dress on the third (skit) party day. It's made of cotton and is very fitted--she's a size one to three, so it just looks great. But now I'm afraid it's not appropriate. Cardigans might work in the deep south, but I have never seen anyone wear a sweater in August in Oklahoma. She's going to be rushing at Oklahoma State. The dress is black with cherries--is this print overdone or do you think it's too revealing? Should we keep looking? Thank you!!

PNMsMom,
I just wanted to say welcome to GC & I wish your daughter the best of luck at rush! I hope she finds the house of her dreams at Oklahoma State! :)

PNMs Mom,
Try to find a black cardi with a sort of openwork stitch. It doesn't actually have to be a sweater that keeps her warm at all - the intention is the point. :)

Great suggestion. She could also do a cardigan over the shoulders - I think that looks very cute with strapless dresses.

Hee! I knew something was going to be happening on the Rush board when I saw that GC's newest member was PNMsMom. Yeah!! Welcome to the board! :D

Anyone care to post what sororities are from Oklahoma?

(No, I'm not lazy, just on too slow of a connection to multi-task :p )

Welcome PNMsMom!!!!! I hope you become a regular on here. We are hungry for recruitment threads!:D
And yes, a light sweater with open stitchwork is a great suggestion.

Oklahoma State Sororities

I believe PNMsMom said she was rushing at OKState...that's the link to info about their sororities. They have a great Greek site.

or how about Booby..i mean Body Shop:p