Rush
 

Hey all-

Well, I went to the information session for recruitment at my school (UMass-Amherst). It was allright, the sororities basically had tables that had some photos, pillows, paddles and that kind of stuff set up. I talked to one sigma rho chi who seemed pretty cool, and with a freshman who looked kind of confused and shy. I heard a couple people asking "no-no" questions (two asked about brother fraternities). I think I came off as knowing too much - the SPX asked if I had rushed before!

Anyhow, we didn't really learn much, just a few things about dirty rushing and the like. We'll be getting more info by e-mail in the next few days, and then the first round starts at 6 on Tuesday.
So, I dunno how it will go, if I even really want to join. But I figure hey, I spent 10 bucks, and I'm gonna get my money's worth! Plus, how can I tease you all by saying I'm rushing and then not go through with it, just a little bit?

So that's that! Oh, and as for the houses at my school:
AXO
AEPhi
XO
DZ
IGY (a local)
KKG
SDT
SK

Allrighty then!

:) Good Luck!

Best of luck to you! You have a great selection of organizations on your campus!

Good Luck!

ooh finally another rush thread with AEPhi - i am excited!! Good luck with recruitment!

Pretty good selection there! :) Good luck with rush! Wow registration was only $10? :eek:

Good Luck!! :D

Good luck and have fun.

Yay! Good luck and have lots of fun!

Good luck and remember to just have fun

YAY!! Hope you have a blast!:D

Any word?

best of luck to ya!

Good luck!!

have a blast!!!
and all the best.

Allrighty, update time!

Tonight I met with my Sigma Rho Chi group. I have four SPXs, which seems a little out of balance since there are nine PNMs in our group. But I'm sure people dropped out or they're expecting more or something. One of the girls said she estimates there'll probably be around 100 PNMs, which would put quota at around 13 or so. Anyhow, all four girls were very nice. The PNMs were a good mix of freshmen, sophmores, and juniors, so I didn't feel like I was too old or anything. Here's how the week is going to go:

Tuesday-
Theme parties/philanthropy for first four houses.

Wednesday-
Theme/philanthropy for second four houses.

Thursday-
Up to 6 houses for house tours.

Friday-
Up to 4 houses for skit night

Saturday-
Up to 3 houses for Pref night.

Sunday-
Bid day.

Things here are extremely casual. There's no dress code for any night aside from pref. We don't do any rankings until pref night, and the girls gave us the impression that we'll all probably be invited back to all 8 after the first round. Also, there's no big ceremony on bid day, at least when we pick up our bids (no sitting/standing on our cards, running to houses, etc.), just a big get-together that evening with all the houses, sisters, SPX revealing, etc.

I think it's going to be pretty fun! Hopefully I'll find a house with some great girls that I can become friends with, and if not I'll be happy to have been a "liason" from the GDI to the GLO worlds!

I don't know which houses I'll be visiting tomorrow yet. I'll try to update when I get back, but I've got an assload of reading and writing to do by wednesday, so we'll see!

Hey, at least my boyfriend is excited! He wants me to visit him at school (Vandy) so he can show off his sorority girlfriend...

You have a great attitude! Good luck this week :)

(and your boyfriend should want to show you off no matter what!)

Good luck!! Let me know when you come to Vandy!! :)

Yay! I'm so excited that you are going to tell us about your Rush. I can't wait to learn more about the UMass Greek system. As a grad student, I really don't know much about campus life, so this thread will be enlightening:) Have a great time! I've met some really nice sorority women here.

Erica

Good Luck tonite :) Have a great time!!

Nichole

Best of Luck...and have fun! :)

have a wonderful time and enjoy the ride.

Have a wonderful time tonight and enjoy the "rush"!!

Hey all-
I got back from my first night a little over an hour ago. I'm trying to write a paper before I pass out, so I'll make it quick. I'm also trying to reveal as little detail as possible, because there is at least one active member on GC, and I don't want to cause any trouble!

Tonight I went to four of the eight houses. I'll use some nice little constellation code names, cause why the heck not! I'll tell ya that there's no hidden meaning in these names, I'm picking them as I go along, and frankly I'm much too tired to think of anything clever...

Pegasus was the first house I went to. I talked to a few girls in their living room, and it was very comfortable. I wasn't exactly nervous, but I was put at ease very quickly and the conversations went well. I REALLY liked their house... we didn't have tours yet, but they explained things about their size/living requirements/accomidations and stuff, and I'm very excited. This was what probably made the best impression on me!

Aquarius was the next house. As I made something for their philanthropy, I spoke to two sisters. I had so much fun talking to them! We had a ton to talk about, not just about the sorority or about majors, school, etc. I felt completely like myself, and I think the two girls were enjoying the conversation a ton too, which made me even more comfortable! I only wish I had spoken to more than two girls, because I wanted to see if they were all this cool. A lot of the girls in my group liked this house as well.

Cepheus was the third house. I sat in a chair and was able to talk to about four or five girls who were rotating around the room. They were all very nice and had a lot to say, but I didn't feel as comfortable as the first two houses. Still, they were sweet, and I'm looking forward to meeting more of them later this week.

The last house was Orion. It was probably because we had all been talking, singing, and whatnot for almost three hours, but conversation did not flow as well here, which was disappointing. The girls all seemed very sweet too, but you know what? "Sweet" is not really me. There were many points where we ran out of things to say. I also wasn't too enthused about the particulars of their house/living requirements. Still, nothing completely turned me off, and it would be nice to get to know them better.

So that's it! I visit the other four tomorrow night, and I'm excited to see how it goes! I really felt the "click" with Aquarius, and also liked Pegasus a lot and would like to get to know them and the other two better.

And now I must go write like a madwoman!!

I'm so glad that you enjoyed getting to know the ladies. Just a quick question...does the local go through rush with the NPCs? Just curous...a simple "yes" or "no" is fine. I don't want you to give anything away!

Have fun:)

Erica

Erica-
They do go through with the rest of the groups.

Have fun with the rest of the houses!

yay! Have fun with the rest of the houses. I cant wait to hear how it goes :)

Allright, I'm back from seeing the last four houses!

[Just so you know, I didn't totally pull these names out of my ass, I went to a summer camp that used them for cabin names and I'm just running through them in order!]

Lyra's girls were really nice. I had some pretty good conversations with a few girls who seemed very down to earth. One is actually in one of my classes, and we started talking about this paper that's due tomorrow. Which was good, because I realized I have to re-write mine! Anyhow, I'm not sure there was a click here, but I'd like to return tomorrow.

Nova was the next group. Here I spoke to two girls. They were really nice and easy to talk to, but I didn't get the absolute best vibe. We were talking about belly button rings, and one of the girls said she took her out because she's "so fat and it looked bad". OK, WARNING BELLS! That's my biggest pet peeve, girls who clearly are in good shape moaning about nonexistant weight problems. So I was very turned off by that. Still, there were some aspects of their sorority that greatly interested me, and some of the other girls looked like they might be interesting to talk to. I'd like to return here.

Calypso I LOVED. I spoke to three girls here who were all excellent. The conversation went so well with two of them especially. One girl, who I recognized from a class last year, was telling me about when she rushed, and she was in an identical situation to me: sophmore, didn't really like the school and wanted to transfer, decided to check it out, she's even doing an individualized major like I might do. So that was very exciting and I feel like I clicked, especially with her! I'd love to go back here.

Little Bear was the last house, and I just wasn't feeling it. The girls were all sweet enough, but they seemed too "prim and proper" to me, which isn't my thing. I did talk to some nice girls about a lot of things, though, but again I'm not sure it clicked.

So, like I said I wish I could go back to all eight to give them all a second look, but unfortunately I can't! I'm not itching to drop any of them, but I'll have to if I'm invited back to more than six. I'll find out tomorrow morning where I'm going. Depending on how late my lab goes, I might be able to come back and fill you in (and get changed too, I hope!), but otherwise you'll have to wait it out!

So I guess, if I had to make an order, it would be:
Calypso
Aquarius
Pegasus
Lyra
Nova
Cepheus
Little Bear
Orion

So that's that. Later ladies!

Best of luck, and keep having fun! :)

Good luck and keep looking to the stars!

This is so exciting! Sounds like you are having a super time. I guess it is because the campus is so huge, but I didn't realize how many groups there were. I don't see a lot of letters around UMass. I'm glad you are meeting some great girls.

Enjoy yourself!

Erica

Erica-
Yeah, greek life really isn't represented much, it seems. Even during the past few days, when everyone wore their letters, I didn't spot too many girls. I guess with 8 houses of between 30 and 60 girls (none seem to be at total), it's not a whole ton compared to the 18,000 undergrads in total here.

I picked up my invites and was invited back to all 8 houses. I decided to release (with regrets... cause it can't hurt) Little Bear and Orion. I don't know the order or whatnot for tonight, but I'll be going back to see the other six groups and do house tours. I'm still very excited about Pegasus, Aquarius, and Calypso, and I'm hoping to learn more about Nova and give their house another shot.

That's that! We meet at 4:30 and don't stop until 10:45! Long night, guess I won't be going out partying :(.

Congratulations!!! It must feel great to have ALL of the groups to choose from. Way to go!

I must say that I did spot a lot of those Go Greek T-shirts. Cute idea. Maybe letter shirts just aren't all that popular here. And you're right...anyone can blend in with 18,000 students.

'Til 10:45???? I hope you have comfy shoes.:)

Erica

Back from one LONG day! I can't believe I just spent six whole hours going from house to house... oy vey!

So tonight was house tours (where applicable). I'm going to try not to say much about the houses themselves because I don't want to give anything away.

I started with Aquarius, where I spoke to two girls. They were both very nice, but things didn't click with them. I wish I had a chance to speak the girl from the first night again! Since she made such a good impression on me, I'm definately going to return here for a third night if possible, because I'm sure there are lots of other great girls there that I've yet to meet!

Next was Cepheus. I was hoping to find a spark here since I didn't the first night, but it didn't happen. I was led on a house tour by the president, who was a nice girl, but her personality definately didn't mesh with mine. It was the only house that I went to where I couldn't wait for it to end! It's a shame when that happens, but at least I'm able to narrow things down.

Pegasus was third. I liked them a lot the first night, and they were still pretty cool, but I think the great impression I had the first night had more to do with them being the first group, and both the house and the PNMs having the most energy of the night. I spoke to a lot of nice girls, but I can't really see myself there anymore. They're a lot more of the go out and party type, and while I don't mind that at all, it's not my thing for every weekend.

Next I visited Lyra. I spoke to an awesome girl here! I'm very interested in philanthrophy, and she happens to be the philanthropy chair, so we were both excited to discuss her ideas. I also told her how I was looking for leadership opportunities, and how I'd like to see the school's image of greek life improve and I'd like to do something about it. She seemed really into our conversation! It was nice, because I spoke to her and another girl from her pledge class, and they're both my age. We watched a slide show with photos of their girls. Everyone seemed absolutely down to earth. They're also the house with the highest GPA (ok, that's a giveaway for anyone in the system I suppose), and that's very important to me. I'm excited to go back there too! Oh, and I was hungry, and as this girl handed me a little paper cone full of popcorn, I guess I shot my hand out too quickly and knocked a ton of it all over the place! Oh well, I think I made up for it in conversation.

Nova was my next house. As I said before, I was a bit turned off by a conversation at this house yesterday, but today I became more excited to take another look. I spoke to a really nice girl there as we took a tour. I really like their house and could see myself living there, which is amazing considering I'm not very into the idea of living in a house. The girls there had so many different looks to them; some were dressed preppyish, others had hemp necklaces and Phish posters in their room (good sign to me!) I feel like a lot of different kinds of girls live here, and I'd have a better time finding girls I really get along with.

My last house was Calypso. I got to speak again with one of the girls from last night, which was awesome because it reaffirmed that they're cool girls. The one I really clicked with last night said hi to me as well, which felt great. I spoke to a few more exciting girls there (and one who was... a bit vapid, to put it nicely). I'd really like to meet a few more girls here.

My goal really is to meet at least four girls at each house who I feel I really connect with. So far I've felt that with one or two girls at most of the houses I've been to. I just want to make extra sure that I'm getting into something good, you know?

I don't even know how I'd rank them! I'd say Aquarius, Lyra, and Calypso are pretty high at top, then Nova not far behind. I plan on dropping Pegasus and Cepheus tomorrow if I have the chance.

Tomorrow night is skit night, and many of the girls have said it's one of those nights that will really make certain houses stand out. I really hope so!! I'm really interested in so many of them, and I need a big fat SIGN of who's the one!!

Wish me luck and clarity of mind!

Good luck!!!! :)

your good attitude will take you a long way. all the best. have a blast.

Fantastic! Sounds like a lot of fun:)

Erica

I picked up my invites this morning, and was invited back to all those from yesterday, plus Little Bear again. I dropped them again, as well as Pegasus and Cepheus. I'll be going to Aquarius, Lyra, Nova and Calypso tonight, though I don't know in what order.

Upon request, I've decided to tell you which houses I've dropped though I won't tell which was which. I have released Kappa, Chi-O, AXO, and DZ. That means I'm left with AEPhi, SDT, SK and the local, Iota Gamma Upsilon. So that's exciting news for GCers from those two as-yet unrepresented groups!

Next round starts at 4:15, after a stupendous afternoon full of bio and chem... yay to that!

I think this is my first time posting on your thread...so good luck, and congratulations on a successful rush so far. Enjoy! LM