longhrn_cutie18's University of Texas at Austin 2005 Rush Story
 

I'm from a small town in Idaho near Boise, and most people from ANY high school in Idaho go to either Boise State, University of Idaho, WSU or Idaho State. So when I tell people I'm going to the University of Texas at Austin, they look confused and say "Why?"

Why am I going to UT?
Before visiting the UT campus, I'd never been to Texas or the south at all. I am originally from San Diego and moved to Idaho when I was 7. My boyfriend of more than 2 and 1/2 years went to UT to be on the swim team just before my junior year of high school. We'd never expected that I would even consider Texas until I started looking at colleges. Among my other college choices were NYU, Rutgers, Vassar, Univ. of Georgia, and UCLA. I never wanted to stay in-state for some reason. I'd be lying if I said that part of the reason I chose UT wasn't in some way because my boyfriend. Anyone who has been in a long-distance relationship with someone for 2 years could understand. I also chose UT because I fell in love with Austin and its culture. I loved the UT campus and the people I met. And I loved the fact that I'd be experiencing what college life really is...the football games, school spirit, parties, Greek life, and maybe a little education as well ;)

After all the cutthroat horror stories about rushing at huge schools like UT, why would I still want to rush?
I've heard so much good and bad about Greek life (not just at UT) that there comes a point where you have to kind of choose what you're going to believe and take everything with a grain of salt. Also, there's good and bad points about everything, so I don't expect my experience through rush to be any different! I'll admit that Im going into this a little clueless and with barely an idea of what everything is going to be like, but that's why I'm writing this!

I'm a pretty shy girl when I first meet people, which will probably be my biggest admitted weakness throughout this process, but I'll do my best to overcome that in the next 32 days (rush starts August 24 for me). As far as trying to stand out among 1000 other girls, (I'm not the daughter of a celebrity or political leader, and I don't get an allowance of $100000000 each week), but I have a feeling I'll come to be known as the "Idaho girl" if anything! So wish me luck, and if you have any advice, I'm completely open!

Until next time...hook 'em horns!

Longhrn_cutie18

I did not go through rush at UT but have helped out the AXO chapter a few times. Yes, it is competitive. I think some of the PNMs have a certain house they have their eyes set on and if they are cut it can be devestating. It sounds like you have an open mind which is a very good thing. I personally didn't see much difference between UT rush and A&M rush except at A&M sophomores were not a taboo(not sure about this now though as I rushed 13 years ago). Good luck and have fun. BTW, I have never heard one bad thing about any of the chapters (unlike A&M).

Yes, you will most likely become known as the "Idaho" girl. HOWEVER, that's not necessarily a bad thing. You may be the only one and if it helps them remember you, it's not bad.

I am excited to see the outcome of this one. What an exciting school to rush at. Lots of luck to you!!

My daughter goes to Pittsburgh and everyone refers to her as the "girl from California." She is remembered, and people love to meet someone from somewhere else.

DaffyKD

She can definitely use that to her advantage!

That's what I quickly became known for at orientation, and I didn't mind :)

Whatever helps!

Hmmm...I wonder if similar conversations happened with me ;) (not that where I went had NO Californians there, but we were a rare breed...:D)

Ending hijack: Best of luck, longhrn_cutie18!

Good luck to you, hope you have fun.

Are you going to post your story? If so be discrete, you already know you may be the only girl from Idaho there so you will be easy to guess who you are... :D

Once again, have fun and hope it all works out in your favor.

sweetie...get ready to have some fun. go for comfy but nice shoes and make sure you knock out your recommendations. austin is a blast. good good luck.

ohhh what a fun school to go to! One of my best guy friends goes there.. And being from Texas I am a UT fan.. Get ready to say "hook em'" often.. And whenever you see a fellow long horn the window must get rolled down, the hand must go out, and you must display your horns. ;) If you don't know what I am talking about you soon will.. Texas games are SO much fun, I LOVE them.. Especially when they play the sooners..

I think you should go for rush, if nothing else you'll meet alot of great people. Have fun and post your story!

But be nice to us Aggies that are in longhorn territory

Is it bad if they know who I am? Don't I want people to know who I am before I get there? I mean I won't say anything bad (I don't really KNOW anything bad!)

I know all about the horns and "hook em"...I've done my homework!! All the school spirit just makes me even more excited.

You'll want the houses to remember you and know who you are in person. But not on gc. B/c some of them can read the board and then see what you said about each house, etc. It could get ugly. So being very discrete is good.

But anyways, HAVE FUN GIRL... You are going to a great school and great greek system. Can't wait to come back and read your thread.

Just as a "for instance": say you post your rush story. You give each sorority a fake name (someone used candy bars last year - it was great!!), and say that the first night, you went to Kit Kat, M&Ms, Three Musketeers, Nestles Crunch, Skittles, and Junior Mints. You do NOT want to say, the Kit Kats all wore blue, the M&Ms all wore pink, etc; nor do you want to say that you REALLY loved the Skittles and Junior Mints but hated the Three Musketeers.

Discretion would be that you had an interesting evening at all but one of the houses, and have somewhat sorted them in your mind. Then, when you receive your return invitations, you can say, "I was invited back to every house but the Three Musketeers". Then, after the next round, you might say, "The one sorority I thought I didn't like really made a great impression on me tonight!" Do you get the idea? We all know your school, so you DO NOT want the Kit Kats being able to read your rush story and say, "She hated our skit? No invitation to Pref for her!"

We all WANT to see you get invitations, and find the best house for you - as nosy as we may get, please remember to be wise, play your cards close to the vest, wear comfortable shoes, write thank yous to anyone sending in a rec for you, HAVE FUN, and let anyone sending in a rec where you decided to go!!

Did I mention HAVE FUN? :)

I'm rushing this semester in CA-- good luck with rush at UT!!

okay thank you all for these tips, I will be sure keep them in mind as I update this thread!

But it's ALWAYS fun to tease Agges, no matter where they are!! Looking forward to the Baylor game again this year? ;) :D

Re: longhrn_cutie18's University of Texas at Austin 2005 Rush Story
 

Oh I completely understand!!! My boyfriend and I were together a year before we left for college - we've spent the past 2 years in a long distance relationship and this year I'm transferring to the same school (NO, it's not just because of him!!) I want the big school experience and I wanted to go through recruitment and I was just very unhappy at my previous school. Well...good luck with recruitment!!

Good luck at ur UT-Austin rush!!!

Good Luck, Have Fun and I completely cosign what my sister said.

Discretion is the key.

Don't give to many details (like clothes, skit, decorations, heck even what you talked about). Keep it very simple.

Trust me, us addicts will be happy with breadcrumbs. As long as you don't keep us waiting on who you got a bid with (and yes I'm thinking VERY positive) we're all good. :D

I feel like I am letting a lot of people down by saying this, but I don't know if I want to rush anymore. I started thinking about why I really wanted to be in a sorority, and the list didn't end up as long as it should have. Truthfully, my self-esteem isn't where it should be, though it's something I'm working on. And I think I started to feel like if I went through rush and got into the best sorority, it would make me a lot happier about myself, you know? And that's definitely not what I want to base my happiness on. I'm still thinking about doing rush but as of right now I am leaning toward not doing it. I want to thank everyone for your support and for looking up alumnae for me in my area, as well as getting to know me and writing references. You all have meant a lot to me and you all are the most wonderful girls! I never would have expected such an outpour of support, but I'm so grateful for it.

Hey longhrn_cutie-

You are about to take a huge step, moving very far from home & most of your friends...it's natural to have some second thoughts, and no doubt some of the things you've read about recruitment at Texas are contributing to that.... I grew up in Texas, with an entirely Longhorn family, but chose to go to a small school w/a less established Greek community...I question whether I would have even attempted to go through recruitment, had I gone to UT, but knowing what I know now, I would hope that I would have at least tried (even though I didn't think I was "sorority material" at the time).

My advice, for what it's worth (not much!) is to hang in there, and give recruitment a shot. Keep your pros & cons in mind and stay OPEN to all of the possibilities...if it doesn't work out, you will have tried, and will have no "what if's" later on...your reasons for wanting to join (or not wanting to join) will be much clearer once you've had first hand exposure to the school's offerings. It will be an emotional ride, no matter what, but you will grow & learn from it, whether you join a sorority or not!

Good luck to you, whatever you decide!

hi longhrn cutie --

I've been following your thread on the greek life forum, too, and can see how some of those posts must have been discouraging. it's easy for those of us with greek experiences to say, "hey, just go for it!" and forget about how nervous we may have been during our own rush. From everything I've heard about UT, there isn't a "bad" house there (not that there is anywhere ;) ) and their guaranteed placement program sounds like a great option for those pnms who are open to looking beyond a certain handful of sororities. You got into UT from out of state, so you must have A LOT going for you; so you are bound to stand out to at least one sorority. Look at it this way, this is not something you will have a chance to do ever again. More people regret what they did NOT do than what they did.

I wish you much happiness with whatever decision you make.

I just wanted to say that when I went through recruitment I did not have the greatest self esteem either (I know my school isn't as competitive). i contribute my strong self esteem and leadership skills now to my chapter, my sisters and my greek experience. I found a home (SK) that accepted me for who I was and loved me for who I am, and that allowed me to see my self in a whole new light.

Hi longhrn cutie--

From one PNM to another...i would say "go for it"! I also don't have a lot of self-esteem (its something i'm working on as well), but that shouldn't be something to hold you back. I know that if I went to UT (and i almost did) I would have been intimidated also. I'm an extremely shy person, but going through Rush last year opened my eyes. There are always people that you'll feel comfortable with (if i found it in a really small greek community you'll DEFINITELY find it at UT) and you'll gravitate more to them.

Like dzandiloo said...you should try Rush, if it doesn't work out, then at least you can say you tried it. You dont want to NOT rush, then next year kick yourself. I know that even now I have days where I keep thinking "I DONT want to rush" but i know that if I dont, i would be kicking myself for the rest of my life.

Of course, you are the only one that can make the ultimate decision, but I would strongly encourage you to continue. What do you have to lose? If after the Rush week you really think you DON'T want to be in a sorority, then you don' t have to....who knows you can continue to think i dont want to be in a sorority, and then all of a sudden BAM! you'll find the perfect sorority (it happened to a few girls last year at rush).

Take care if u ever want to talk...go ahead an PM me! lol

longhrn_cutie:

I hope you do what's right for you.

I wish you all the best!

Aw, girl I understand! All through high school, I was the 'shy-quiet' girl, cause I felt akward around people I didnt know. But I went through rush anyway, even though I was scared because I wouldnt know anyone, and had no idea what to expect. None of my friends went to my school, or through rush, so i felt pretty lonely. But after the 2nd day, I realized what a big step I had taken FOR MYSELF. Once I made it through rush, on bid day when I got my bid I was ecstatic. I had made a ton of friends just through rush. Everyone will be nervouse like you, and it hard to know if your doing the right thing, but remember-you can experience rush and if its not for you then you DO NOT HAVE TO ACCEPT YOUR BID. But look at it this way, its a big first step for you, and it will be whatever you make of it. And like so many have already said, you dont want to kick yourself later for NOT doing it. Feel free to pm me(as a fellow texan;) ) and good luck w/ whatever you decide!!

Har Har Har.....anyway even though I go to A&M, I wish you all the best in your decisions with rushing over at that other school...Good Luck! My cousin is in the same boat(she's going through at Oklahoma), and I just told her that you don't have to pledge a sorority at all, I know some people who just go to make and meet new friends. I would say just try it a few days, and if its not for you then you'll know by that point. ANd once more, good luck with everything you decide!

Yea!!! A UT thread! Have a great time!
I'm a Texas Ex, so I can't wait to hear all about it!

Hey, I went to A&M too, but I live in Austin now and WOW to the greek system here at UT!!!! :)

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR RUSH!!!!
I can't wait to hear about it! :)

After much thoughtful consideration, I've decided to go ahead and rush...Wish me luck! I'll keep y'all posted.

this is one thread that i am looking forward to. i hope everything goes very well in finding your home!

GREAT NEWS!! You will do just fine - keep that open mind. Let us know how you are doing, we care. Best wishes!!!

Best wishes for a fun and successful recruitment. Last year someone's mom put that she told her daughter to fall in love with at least 3 of the chapters...it sounds like great advice to me. :)

longhrn_cutie,

My daughter went through recruitment at an SEC school a few years ago. She also was kind of shy but working on the self-confidence. She was very nervous about recruitment. After the first day of 12 open houses, I got a call from her. She was so excited because she had entered the houses and talked to everyone (she's always been really quite, doesn't like to talk to people she doesn't know well). She was so proud of herself. She said that the first day made the whole process worth it because she had done something she wasn't sure she could do.

She ended up with a full party schedule and found a great home and many new friends (not only in her sorority).

There's just one problem..... now she NEVER stops talking!!!!

Best of luck, longhorn_cutie! Keep an open mind, be yourself, and remember to have FUN!!!

How's rush going?