UFGatorGirl311's UF Recruitment Thread!
 

I'm really confused on what to do. I really wanted to Rush, and then I got really stressed about fall. I decided that I wasn't ready to make the commitment of pledging just yet, and I wanted to get to know the girls of the sororities before I decided to pledge. I also didn't want the time commitment of being in a sorority just yet so i could go home on the weekends if I get homesick, or to visit my boyfriend. I decided that I would pledge in the spring.

My mom is unhappy with this choice. She thinks that I should rush and pledge so I can have a close group of friends, and required grades and study time, and I would be able to maintain my level of volunteer work. I just feel like a huge load has been taken off my shoulders by putting off rushing until the spring, but I dont want to rish not being able to get a bid from anyone.

Any advice??

Re: Not sure about rushing...
 

from what i hear, a lot of the sororities are at quota in the fall. so in the spring, there is a very small number of sororities offering membership. your choices will be limited. however, the decision is up to you

Ok these are my thoughts on the situation.

You should do whatever you feel you can keep up with. This is the reason why a lot of campuses have deferred recruitment. This gives the PNM's time to adjust. However, your formal recruitment is in the fall. It will be an adjustment to get used to your new surroundings, classes, etc. But, I think your mom is right. Joining a house (or at least rushing) will help you meet people and adjust to the campus quicker and more easily. Also, from experience I'm going to say this. Don't go home a lot on weekends. This is sound advice I was given when I was a freshmen. I had a steady boyfriend who lived an hour away. My best friend at the time and roommate went home because she was homesick almost every weekend, and in the end she's still not totally adapted to college life. (And we're seniors now!) You're going to get homesick, but going home won't make it a lot better because more than likely it'll make it harder to go back. Again, this is said from experience. I know this is rambling, but I hope it makes some sense!

Maybe you could still go through recruitment and get a feel for sorority life. You could ask the sorority members and see how much of a committment pledging would be. I know I was a slightly busier when I was pledging, but it slowed down a bit once I was an active. You don't have to join a house if you go through recruitment.

Maybe you were dreading it because you're nervous? I know I was. But just because you rush doesn't mean you have to pledge, like erniegurl said...I think you should go ahead and rush, if not to actually join a house then just for the experience.

I would go through rush in the fall. Rushing is not a commitment and you don't have to join a house if you don't want to. Not rushing however will take away the option.

Do not go home every weekend. Take time when you arrive to enjoy campus life, meet new people and get involved.

Although I did not go through Fall Rush so I cannot speak for all, I decided to hold off and rush in the Spring. There, I was able to go around and meet all of the organizations and get a feel for what I was in for. Through rush, I meet some amazing girls. Not all went Phi Sig but due to Spring Rush, I got to meet people now in other organizations that I would have never met otherwise. I worked hard on my grades in the Fall and had plenty of time to feel stable in school BEFORE I jumped into the fast pace life of my sorority. Being completly biast, I am more thankful to have gone through Spring Rush. On the other hand if you know EXACTLY who you want to go to then dont waste anymore time and get into those letters sooner..rush in the fall if that is the case. Whaterver you decide I am sure you will do fine. Good Luck!! ;)

I rushed as a junior even though I wanted to as a sophomore and didn't do it. I've always regretted not going through as a freshman after I joined because I had the time of my life. Formal recruitment is definitely the way to go. You have more options during formal recruitment, and if you are leaning towards joining you will be so glad.

As a new member, you will have more of a time commitment. But you can do anything you put your mind to, and I promise it will be time well spent. Sororities encourage women to be active in other facets of college life since it strengthens the chapter and sisterhood overall. You can be as active as you choose, and I promise you will NEVER regret it. Let us know what you decide, and we can't wait to hear how things go for you!

Go through with it now!!!

It's totally normal to feel anxious and nervous about going off to college. Hell I went through that period and I already had signed with a fraternity by that point.

As much as I know you probably dont' want to hear it, your mom is absolutely right. It is important to have a group of people you can become close to early on.

Homesickness is usually caused by the feelings of being alone on campus, not really having anyone you know or feel close to, so in all actuality, I think joining a sorority will prevent feeling homesick. ( I hope that made sense...it's late.) Plus there will be plenty of time to go home if you need/want to, no sorority is that time consuming. But really, having things you want to do and having reasons for you family to come visit you at school (things like Dad's day and Parent's weekend put on by your potential cahpter) will help alleviate your homesickness way better then going home which will only serve to allienate you more and make you feel like maybe going off to school wasn't such a good idea.

Also a sorority will help you with that adjustment to college life, as the older girls will be able to give you advice and answer your questions and help you get acclimated to college life. Nothing like getting used to college routine THEN adding in pledging (that's a whole year of adjustment rather than one semester).

Finally, Florida rush is very competitive and therefore your options may be extremely limited if you go through rush later. Going through COB at an SEC school might mean that your perfect house won't even be an option for you.

I sincerely hope you decide to go through rush. I promise you that you aren't likely to regret it if you go through and join a house in this first semester.

if you don't do it now, you will always wonder what might have been. and to echo the others, you don't have to pledge. at a minimum, you'll be out a little time and you might meet some new people. you might even like it.

I want to echo the sentiments of everyone who has advised you to go ahead with rush, whether or not you plan to make the commitment. You'll have a leg up on knowing many of the sisters, should you plan to postpone actually pledging.

Think of it like swimming - test the waters before you plunge in!

Whichever choice you make, I do hope that you'll find a sorority home that you love!

[COLOR=purple]My Thoughts[/COLOR]
 

While I enjoy being in a sorority, I know that I would have just as much fun being independent. College is what you make of it and while a sorority can enhance your experience, I think that you can make awesome friendships and bonds without being in a sorority. Rushing and pledging does take up a lot of time and if you think that you can't handle it, i would say hold off on it. You dont want to mess up your education, which is a permanent thing. Good luck!

~Allison

My only worry for you is that you wait until the spring, and then most houses are already at quota, so your choices will be limited. But, if you really don't think you can handle it, that's something only you can decide. And I can't remember who said it, but the best advice is to try to limit going home during your first semester. You need time to adjust to living away from home and being on your own. Your boyfriend can come visit you :)

Betarulz! made a great post...

I honestly think that if I had rushed my first semester, it would have made a big difference in how I felt about my school - even if I hadn't joined, I would have met lots more people and thus liked it more.

Rushing doesn't mean you have to accept a bid, but my bet is if you rush and get a bid, it'll be from a chapter you love, and you'll want to join! :D

At any other school I would say I totally understand and agree with how you feel and say wait...but this is UF. If you put it off till the spring, you do risk not getting a bid at all or having a very limited choice of sororities.

I know I'm going to get jumped on for this comment, but if it turns out you do like one of the smaller sororities, you can drop out of rush and pledge in the spring.

Gonna have to say ditto to everyone about the rushing in the fall bit, but for my own reasons...

i knew i wanted to rush as a freshman...but my parents live three hours away, all of my best friends were at different colleges and i had doubts about rushing because i wanted to see all of these people, including an ex- boyfriend (long story short: realized he was an a**hole, never laid eyes on him again)...i rushed anyways, knowing that i could drop out if i didn't like it and then the worst thing happened right in the middle of rush: September 11th. people were talking about stopping the whole rush process and delaying it until the spring, but they kept all of the events in the end, and i joined AXO. it was the best decision of my life. in the midst of all of my own personal tragedies, my new sisters and i bonded on the basis of simple human caring.

i know that's extreme, but my point is this: if i hadn't joined a sorority, i would have sat in my dorm room bawling and stayed with people who really didn't care about me in the long run (aka Jerk Boy and friends)...i wouldn't have met all of the people who are so special to me and the love of my life...this isn't to say that the people in your life don't care about you, but i'm willing to bet that you can never have too many friends or too many people willing to fight on your side....plus, on the flip side, if you're worried that your friends and family back home will be insulted if your weekends are totally swamped (which they won't be, unless by choice), then you need to think about why they or you are insecure about the distance...rushing in the spring will still get you all of the above benefits of being in a sorority, but rushing in the fall will probably give you more of a feeling of stability in the end. :)

ditto on all the reasons listed above..

and remember, you're not the only PNM with these doubts! In fact, you might meet a girl in your rush group who has the same feelings...you're certainly not the first!

Anyway, UFGatorGirl, check your private email. http://216.40.249.192/s/contrib/tweetz/wiggle.gif

UFGatorGirl, any new developments? I know rush starts on Monday... Let us know what you have decided. We're here for you no matter what!

I decided to Rush this fall. I really want to be in a sorority, and I was just nervous after hearing about how the guy are with pledges. All your advice made me feel a lot better, and I'm really excited now!! I know that its a commitment, but its not like I'm signing my soul away (okay, in a way it is but.... whatever.:cool: )

So yeah, thanks for all the advice, and I'll start a thread tomorrow after I move in a get my stuff together.

go gatorgirl...i think it's a totally right move.
now go have fun, enjoy the process, and no fear.

GO GATORGIRL!

We are so excited for you! Relax and have a good move-in!

YAY YAY YAY a UF rush thread my favorite!!!!

GO GATORS!!!:D :cool: :cool: :cool: :D :D :D

Hey, I'm glad you decided to give it a shot. Last year we had three great UF PNMs and all are now happy in their houses. I can't wait to hear about yours.

PS: UF56, I haven't gotten the chance to say this, but I'm THRILLED that you found your home with Delta Zeta.

THank you KappaKittyCat

I am so glad that you are going through recruitment. I wish you the best! Don't forget to keep us updated. :)

Yay! I'm glad to hear you decided to go through! I don't think you'll regret it! Good luck!! What are the dates of UF recruitment?

Do you have the option to go through Rush, accept a bid, and go through your new member period in the spring? If so, that could be an option.

today was the inital Rush meeting, where we meet our Pi Chis and get into our little groups, and stuff like that. I'm getting so excited! I can't wait to see the houses tomorrow, and meet all the girls. All the girls in my group seem really sweet too. I'm just excited in general!! Go group 19!

yay! i actually thought about the uf rush while i was at work today. i am so jealous!!

YEAH! It's almost here for you! Get some rest and have a blast tomorrow! Can't wait to hear how it goes!

aj

YAY! Good Luck!

:D

Keep a smile on your face and enjoy your recruitment....its one of the most special times ever!!!


;) lots a greek love!

I'm on my break now. So far, I saw Kappa Delta, Theta, D Phi E, and Sigma Kappa. They were all really nice, I think things all went well. I'm really tired (I have an upper respirtory infection) and my blisters are horrible. I'm gonna go eat, nap, bandage my poor feet, re-straighten my hair, and head back out to see Pi Phi.

I know it will all be worth it.

what is so awesome about this thread is that i can actually imagine the houses you are going to cause i have seen them all! the houses are so beautiful!!!!!!!!!!

Well sweetie, sounds like you're feeling rough!! Sorry to hear that :( But it also sounds like you're staying upbeat and moving along. Good for you! Get some rest tonight though!! :)

Ugh, being sick during recruitment is not fun, but you're hanging in there!! And always remember...COMFORTABLE SHOES :)

Have fun!

Rest those feet and enjoy! Hope the rest of your day goes great!

Hope that things are going well still. When you get home tonight go and soak your feet do that they will feel better for tomorrow!

Good Luck!
 

Recruitment is definately hardwork, especially in the Florida heat. I recommend lots of water and sleep! Good luck with the rest of recruitment!

GO UF threads!!!
 

I'm sooo excited about reading UF threads!!! Last year I was the one of the threads... and writing it really helped me go through recruitment.

I look forward to reading more about it... especially since I can't participate in recruitment this year!!! (i'm an RA!)

Hope all goes well....