My Pre-rush Story
 

Hello Ladies (and gents, too!). I'm transfering from a small liberal arts women's college to a rather large SEC university this spring. I've been thinking about rushing for a while now and wanted to share my story and hopefully gather some opinons and advice. (I've been lurking for quite some time too, so I know you are all great at giving it!)

Because I know ya'll love a good story, I'm going to share in increments. I know that my transfer status - and other things that I'll reveal later (ooh, suspense!) will probably hurt my chances, but I truly believe that I could bring a lot of energy to a sorority.

Okay, that's it for today! Thanks for listening and thanks in advance for your sympathy, kindness, and honesty !

-NotYourAverageRushee

Hi there!
Rush can be a very exciting-- and very emotional-- experience. I suggest you peruse the rush forums and read rush stories and the advice that others have given, some of it is very good! Keep us posted with everything:)

a simple good luck isn't enough. have a blast and keep a positive outlook.

CHapter One: Girl Scouts
 

thanks for your well wishes so far! Here's chapter one and How I Became Interested in Greek Life

I'm from a tiny town that's right on the border of North and South. My parents are from the midwest and I was certainly not exposed to anything Greek growing up. Vaguely I might have heard it referred to as "buying your friends" and all of those other awful stereotypes.

I started college by going South, but to a school with no Greeks, which didn'treally bother me either way. Throughout my life I've loved and adored my intense involvement in Girl Scouts and that conntinued in college. By my sophomore year I was VP of my school's Campus Girl Scout group. I was discussing recruitment methods with a council advisor and she mentioned that at larger schools with Greek Life, there was even more of a problem because of competition with a sorority that works with Girl Scouts.

I thought about not mentioning their name here, but ya'll know it anyway, hooray for Kappa Delta! So anyway, that piqued my interest. I wanted to know how KD was involved with Girl Scouts so I found their national webpage (TONS of info, great page!) and began cruising individual chapters pages. I learned a wealth of information not only about Kappa Delta but about Greek life and their dedication to various causes.

I was impressed by the huge amounts of service and fundraising for causes, as well as the GPA requirements and strictness of character. Plenty of myths were dispelled for me in that initial web-surfing period...

So concludes chapter one. I'll post again soon!

I'm just assuming this, but since you are transfering to an SEC school, you'll be going through Continuous Open Bidding, correct? Because I can't think of an SEC school that has a spring recruitment (someone correct me if I'm wrong!). Good luck!

Good Luck with your transfer and upcoming recruitment!




I don't want to sound like a total blonde but what does SEC stand for? I honestly really don't know (but watch as soon as I'm told I'll be like "duh Brianna")

SEC= Southeastern Conference :)

SEC schools being: Auburn, Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana State

Thank you!

I believe that Vanderbilt does.

You're correct IvySpice, Vandy does have spring formal recruitment.

However, the first part of Vanderbilt's recruitment is at the end of the fall semester....
The following calendar is taken directly from the Greek Life site...(http://www.vanderbilt.edu/greek_life/joinpanhel.html)

"2005-2006 SORORITY RECRUITMENT CALENDAR (tentative)
August 24 Information Session in Sarratt Cinema @ 5:00pm (A-L) and 6:00pm (M-Z)
September 18 Sorority Recruitment Registration in Student Life Center @ 5:00pm
November 5 Panhellenic Recruitment Fall Round
December 6 Recruitment 101 for all Potential New Members @5:00pm (A-L) and 6:00pm (M-Z)
January 7 Residence Halls Open @ 8:00pm
January 8 Panhellenic Sorority Recruitment - Display Round 2:00pm - 10:30pm
January 10 Panhellenic Sorority Recruitment - Philanthropy Round 9:00am - 6:00pm
January 11 Classes begin, no rounds
January 12 Panhellenic Sorority Recruitment - Entertainment Round 5:30pm - 11:00pm
January 14 Panhellenic Sorority Recruitment - Preference Round 5:00pm - 10:00pm
January 15 BID DAY"
Silver

Wow, for some reason I'm sort of excited and interested about this rush thread...good luck! :)

UGA has a spring recruitment for chapters who need to pledge to total or did not make quota in the fall... but usually only 4-6 of the 18 sororities actually participate and most don't have many open spots.

sisterhood and ritual
 

So here comes my next part of what draws me to GLOs: my love of ritual. My religious denomination places high importance on the benefits of ritual, so I grew up completely enveloped in it. In addition, believe it or not, Girl Scouts helped to hone that. I was once referred to as "bleeding green" because of my dedication to staying true to Scouting ideals. I love the songs, the campfire practices, the "Scout's Own" - a ceremony that is designed by the scout, but follows a specific pattern.

My sophomore year, I joined a GLO that was allowed at my school because it is mostly thought of as professional, though it has some social aspects (not at my chapter however..) During my initiation period I was commended for my over-enthusiasm and ability to memorize just about anything about the organization's history. I fell in love with the ritual aspects and aspired to become Ritual Chair. (It didn't happen for timing reasons and it's something I know I'll always regret).

The one thing missing from that experience, in my opinion, was sisterhood. The closeness that I felt missing from the chapter is what caused me to delve deeper into social GLOs. Its not like we were mean to each other or wouldnt say hi in class or anything, but it was like pulling teeth to get anyone to do anything outside of mandatory meetings - I should know I was social chair for a year!

I am completely enthralled by stories of women becoming friends for life through their Greek involvement. I know it doesn't happen every time, but it's so sweet anyway!

So that's my chapter two. See ya'll next week if not sooner!

P.S. I'm so glad ya'll are looking forward to my spring experience, I am too!

Updates? Updates?

hehehe....

okay, sorry about the total lack of updates, even I was getting bored with my ramblings!

Spring Recruitment is going on this week and there are really only two houses I am serious about. Because I love hot tea, I'm going to call them Chamomille and Lady Grey.

I have to admit that I was leaning a little more towards Chamomille going in. I knew to keep my mind open and all that, but I couldn't help it! The first round was house tours and I LOVE Chamomille! They have a gorgeous house and the girls were spectacular. I asked one member who she decided to go Chamomille and she said when she was deciding, she felt like she could see herself in the house, sitting on the furniture in her pj's, etc. I thought that was a fabulous answer and when I compared the two houses, I felt the same way. :)

Round two however... I definately had more fun at Lady Grey. Even though I know it was my rusher's (? is that the right word for this girl?) job to show me around, I felt like she was going out of her way to introduce me to people. It felt amazing! All the time she was saying, "oh! have you met Susie?" or "I just have to introduce you to my Grand-Big!" I had a blast and was so comfortable! Chamomille's party was fun too, but conversation was a little strained. Maybe the girls I was with were having an off night - maybe I was having an off night! I don't know, but it didn't feel the same.

I'm invited to Lady Grey's next party - Pref Night - on Monday and I haven't heard anything from Chamomille yet. I have this sinking feeling I've been cut, but I don't want to jump to conclusions. At the same time, of course, I don't want to keep my hopes up.

All in all, I am having a BLAST! I definately didn't expect recruitment to be this much fun. Even if I don't end up getting any bids, I'm so glad I did it.

Good luck.

Good luck!

I went into rush thinking that I was not a sorority girl, and heck, it was my mom's 35 dollars anyway, right?

I too had a BLAST! And found my home! So I wish you the best of luck however things may turn out.

goodluck nya(notyouraverage). i love the tea names-i am sippng a big cup of earl grey as i am perusing greekchat.

I think I know who Lady Grey is... at least, I'm pretty sure! :) Keep us posted on how your rush turns out. I'm thinking about you!

Lady Grey was a blast last night! I love my hostess, she is about the sweetest thing ever and the ceremony was precious. Before last night, I had never noticed Lady Grey's pin before, and I have to say it is beautiful. :) Anyway, I was excited to be introduced to sisters I hadn't met before who told me they'd heard a lot of good things about me (yay!). And I was a little sad when it ended so early.
I haven't heard anything from Chamomille since Wednesday, but I'm still unclear on the way their recruitment was set up. I thought they would have a pref night tonight and that we would get invites for it last night, but my friend who is leaning very heavily towards Chamomille hasn't heard anything from them either (which suprises me as she is a freshman and knows many girls in the house already).
Anyway, bid day is tomorrow - keep your fingers crossed!

It sounds as if you are having a great time. Keep us posted!

best wishes for good news tomorrow!!

How wonderful that you had such a great time at Lady Grey! You're a great example of the kind of girl who has fun at any house because she keeps an open mind. Please let us know how bid day goes!

!
 

I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I have just accepted a bid from

Delta Gamma!


(kudos to my new sister, dgdramadawg, for more than likely guessing correctly!!)

Congratulations!

Congratulations to you!:)

Congratulations on joining a sorority! Have a wonderful time with your new sisters and thanks so much for sharing your recruitment story! Be sure to go over the forum earmarked for your sorority and introduce yourself!

Oh my god!! I am so excited for you !! CONGRATULATIONS!!

A new Pi Alpha!!

Welcome to the amazing sisterhood of Delta Gamma!!!

ITB,
Jenn

Congratulations!

I think you are now a new member of Delta Gamma at UGA? The little girl I grew up babysitting is a DG there, she is a sophomore and lives in the house!

Oh and DG was founded here where I live in Oxford, MS!

Congratulations to you and Delta Gamma!!!:)

Hooray! Our chapter at UGA is awesome... it's really a fun, amazing group of women. Have fun at bid day!

Good for you, Girl Scout! I hope you find a happy home with the DGs!

Congrats to you and DELTA GAMMA

Yay for you and our beloved fraternity!! I'm so excited that you found your fit in Delta Gamma...I know you will be a great fit from the things you have disclosed in this thread. Since you seem to be a "history" type of person, keep an eye on e-bay for a set of two DG books: The History and The Shield of Delta Gamma. It's our complete history and it's just a really awesome set of books. Enjoy the ride and come join us in the Delta Gamma forum!! :)

congratulations to you nya and to delta gamma. have a wonderful time!!

Congrats to you and Delta Gamma! :D

Welcome to DELTA GAMMA!!!

Congratulations on finding your home with Delta Gamma!