Belle's Rush Thread
 

I am going to start a thread for a dear friend's daughter. She will be rushing in 2 weeks! She is attending a southern school with a competitive rush. There has been NO pre-rushing this summer, they are very strict with the silence rules. I am going to call the lovely girl Belle.

Belle is a beautiful girl (a knockout, according to my son!), she has a good hs GPA, and has many leadership positions and activities from hs. I can tell you that honestly, she is as beautiful on the inside as the outside and her sweetness and vivaciousness are apparent. So, you would think that she will have a good rush:). But, she and her mom are worried and nervous because of the competitiveness of the school. She is certainly not one of those over confident rushees! All that being said, she has a family member who is a recent alum of one of the chapters who is reportedly helping out at rush. She also knows a number of girls who are current members from her hs. So, those things may help her. (Fingers crossed)

She and her mom have been shopping like crazy and feel really good about their acquisitions. She has some really great sundresses, shoes and accessories. She also has a particularly beautiful piece of jewelry that she is planning on wearing throughout rush (not something outrageous); just something that will look really pretty with her outfits and may catch a rusher's eye and be remembered.

There are essentially 11 sororities that she will be rushing. I will come up with code names later..

That's all for now.

Given that you are calling her Belle, you can use names from Beauty and the Beast... LOL.

Lumiere, Gaston, etc.

Yay! I can't wait to hear about her rush!

I'll buy a subscription to this thread! Oh, wait, it's free -- even better. Can't wait to hear -- I wish her the very best!

Does this mean there are 11 chapters at her school, or she is only considering 11 of X number of chapters? I thought this was worded kind of strangely.

Here's wishing your southern "Belle" all the best during recruitment!!

Sounds good! For just a moment, I thought this was for BBelle, but Belles will be Belles! I hope she has a happy, low stress R!!

Fingers crossed - we "belles" have to stick together!

Good luck Belle!

There are more than 11, but only 11 NPC sororities. The other groups do not participate during formal rush.

One other neat thing about this girl is that she truly has no preconceived notions before going into rush. Despite the fact that she has a somewhat distant family member who is a recent alum of the school, she doesn't really know that much about greek life. No one in her immediate family has ever been involved. She is going into it for friendship and sisterhood, not status or elitism, so it should be a really wide open rush experience.

I am excited to hear of her impressions of rush. It is pretty intimidating (and impressive) when the chapters come rushing out singing and shouting! I've tried to prepare her, but as we all know, no amount of talking about it compares to the reality!

Good luck from one Belle to another!

I particularly like this statement:Because of this, she is already positioned to succeed, ahead of countless others going through.

Good Luck to Belle! :)

Adding her to the list

Good luck to Belle in her recruitment

Small update - I went over to her house this weekend to get the pre-rush fashion show. She has some really cute outfits complete with shoes and accessories. I passed along the, "wear the shoes to break them in before hand," advice, something she hadn't thought of.

She and her mom are really nervous! It is so much fun being around them and seeing their excitement. Having boys, sorority rush is something I'll never have to/be able to live through, so I am experiencing this vicariously through them:)

We talked about the different days and how it is structured. I kind of tried to tell her what to expect, but it has been a long time since I went through so my information may be outdated. I've passed on a ton of good advice from Greek Chat, so thanks to all of you experts!

I haven't decided if I will assign code names to the different sororities on campus because I don't know how detailed my descriptions will be. I may just get an overview of each day, so will play it by ear.

9 days and counting!

One other thing - Mom is struggling with the idea of staying in the college town throughout the entire process. Other moms that she knows are planning on staying. She is somewhat concerned that Belle may lean on her too much if she is there and that it might cloud her decision making.

My advice was to come home and if she is needed make the trip back (it is within driving distance). She is planning on going back for bid day, as that is a tradition there.

I totally agree.

Parents going on interviews, parents going to rush week...

Is the newest generation having trouble cutting the umbilical cord?

I think it also sends a message to the daughter that "this is a REALLY big deal -- if it doesn't work out -- it's going to be DEVASTATING, so mama will be here to pick up the pieces!"

I created a seperate thread, as to not derail this one, but I agree...especially if the mother is Greek. I also think it puts undue pressure on to pledge the legacy chapter, or at least keep them around longer than they would have otherwise.

Mom isn't Greek, so no legacy issues.

I think that the moms who are planning on staying want to be there in case things go south. They want to be supportive. But, I agree that it sends the message that it will be devastating if things don't work out and maybe if the moms back off a bit, it would be helpful. Unfortunately, I think these girls already think that not getting a bid is the end of the world. It is a really big deal in our area to pledge a sorority and I dread the results for the girls who are going to the REALLY competitive campuses. One in particular is going to Georgia. She is a cute girl, but probably won't stand out from all of the other cute girls, and she doesn't know a soul there!

Moms there for recruitment week
 

Mom needs to stay home. She can always be there via the phone if needed. When I went through rush back in 1983, my mother was a basket case. We decided that I would call her every night after the parties to give her my updates. After the talk with my mom each night, I would head out with other 'rushees' from my dorm to get dinner, talk about the day, etc. This was a GREAT way to get comfortable on a new, HUGE University campus. I thought this was the most fun, relaxing part of the week and I cherished it. I agree with all the other people who have said that if mom is there, it sends a message that she is really there to pick up the pieces if things don't work out. Things are going to work out. One way or the other, things are going to work out, and Mom can be there then. This is one time that I think a girl benefits from venturing out there and doing her own thing. After all, it is her choice, not her mom's.

I'm a mom now, so please don't think I'm not sympathetic to moms who are protective and anxious about how all this can go. I just remember my own experience with 'Rush Week', and I am really glad my mom stayed home (albeit, by the phone...no cell phones then).

It sounds like your friend is very well prepared and ready to go. I will keep my fingers crossed that she finds the right place...I am sure that she will!

Elizabeth
'87 UGA Grad

agree--mom should help move daughter in, give her a hug and a kiss and go home.

hopefully daughter will be kind enough to update mom daily when rush begins(and you in turn can update us;))

Good luck to "Belle"!

Thanks all! I can tell you that the mom of this girl is one of the sanest people I know, so consequently her daughter is totally realistic.

I spent this afternoon with the two of them on a last minute shoe shopping expedition and we talked quite a bit about expectations. I think Belle is prepared for any results.

She and her mom and dad leave in two days to move in to the dorm. Mom is coming home and staying on stand by.

I truly believe Belle will have a good rush, she knows it only takes one bid from one sorority to be successful:)

go belle!!

Quick update,

Belle has been having a great time during rush. She has met tons of wonderful women and is having fun reconnecting with others she already knew.

After the first round of open houses, she was invited back to the maximum number of houses for the next round. She has some definite opinions of each house, but feels like she would be happy at any of them. She now has to cut down to 4 and is hoping that her top 4 all invite her back!

I'm not going into any detail in order to not screw up her rush! But, so far so good!:)

Pins and Needles
 

Good luck to Belle. I seem to be spending my whole day tunning to any available computer to check pn everyone's recruitment status. Especially today, as I am waiting to hear about the results of UCF recruitment. I will check back soon! I can't wait to hear more.

im glad belle is having a good time!!

Belle had another great day yesterday! She was invited back to her top 4 choices:)

At this point, there is one that she is leaning towards, but still liked the other 3 very much. She did have a change of heart toward one that she had kind of dismissed and has decided to include them in her top 3. It's funny how from one day to the next opinions can change based on who you talk to and how the conversation goes!

Today is pref day and she will find out if she has been invited back to her top 3 choices. She is ok with whatever happens though, because she had a really tough time deciding who to drop from yesterday, and would be fine if they ended up as one of her pref houses. I think she would only be sad if her top choice dropped her. All indications are that they think highly of her, but as we all know, until you open the envelope, nothing is a sure thing:o.

good luck to belle

It sounds like Rush is off to a really positive start for Belle, and we're all sending positive thoughts her way!

When we drove our daughter to school in 1999, and turned around and drove back home 1,000 miles away the day before rush began, it was a really tough thing, but it worked out and she pledged her first choice.

My "support" would have been seen by my daughter as interference and meddling, so instead I always let HER call me instead of the other way around. It was very very hard but she did it all herself.

Well, things have taken a sad turn - not for Belle, but for her good friend.

I don't know which houses Belle's friend had gone to for 4 party, but when she went to pick up her invites she had been dropped by 2 houses that she loved, and only had 2 invites to pref to houses she did not love and doesn't want to be a part of. So, she has dropped out of rush. Boo!

I haven't heard about Belle's day yet. She has gone on to the pref parties, I just don't know which ones yet. I should hear tonight. I'm hoping it goes well, I know she is going to have a rough evening when she hears what has transpired with her friend:(.

Fingers crossed for a successful experience. :)

i am so sorry to hear that for her friend. i hope that belles night went alright.

There has been a lot of really harsh cuts this year from Belle's school. Tomorrow is bid day...

:\

I heard from Belle's mom last night. Belle was invited back to her top 3 choices for pref night. She was very excited, but also upset for her good friend.

From what I heard, Classic Beauty is right, and yesterday was a gloomy day for many at the school.

It's hard to be excited and happy when your dear friend is crushed! I hope Belle can enjoy her day today when she hears which of the 3 she is a new member of:)

I'll let you know when I hear!!!

YAY!!! It's good news!!!

Belle got her first choice!

She is a new member of Tri Delt:)

Congratulations to Belle and Tri Delta!