How Important are Summer Rush Events??
 

First of all, I want to say that I have used the search option to look for existing threads on this topic, but none answered my questions, specifically.

I was mainly wondering how important summer rush events are to a PNM's chances at a school like Auburn. I'm a freshman right now and will be transferring to Auburn for Fall of '09 and I'm definitely going through rush. I have read on other threads that it is a good thing to do your research and narrow down your interests to a select few, which I definitely have (one in particular that I'm very interested in), while I am still keeping an open mind. Will having a good idea of where I'd like to end up, ahead of time help me? It's also probably important to point out, I don't know any guys in the fraternities at Auburn and none of my friends are planning to go through rush with me.

Any advice would help.

Very.

Especially if you're out of state.

i have the same problem going to LSU. I live in Georgia. Some people say summer events are important, some don't

Some people are in good fraternities, some aren't.

Summer rush events are very important, particularly if you don't already know a lot of the guys in the chapter (i.e. out of state, not from a feeder town, etc.)

Is it going to look better if I only rush this particular fraternity and maybe a couple others? Or should I just go for it and rush as many houses as possible, even the ones where I don't see as much potential?

you are the potential

super-important.
1) You're out-of-state, do you know anyone? If you don't (and I'm assuming you don't, or you could just ask them instead of the internet at large) then you need to consider your options very carefully.
2) Where did you go before and why are you transferring? Because that could matter.
How far is it for you to travel? You should just go to whichever summer events you can get to, since many houses will have determined their pledge classes by the time you show up in the fall.

I'm actually not out-of-state, so getting to events during the summer won't be a problem at all. But I'm at a junior college this year and that's why I'm transferring in next year. I had been told that wouldn't be a big issue but I have a feeling somebody on here is about to tell me how much of an issue it is....

I, personally, don't see why the fact that you are transferring should be an issue, but then again, I'm just finding out a lot of stuff on here myself. But, my son just went through rush at Ole Miss (another southern school) and I'm just now finding out that going to the summer parties is EXTREMELY important. I think in my discussions on here, there was a lot of posts about it being bad to be from out of state. I don't think that will matter at all if you get to know the guys BEFORE rush. Go to the parties of the one you are interested in, but go to some of the others, as well. I used to agree with some of the people on here about there being "good" and "bad" fraternities/sororities, but it's only as "good" as the people that are in it. I mean, if you are a football player and the fraternity is full of engineer majors, I doubt you will be happy (and vice versa), but I know one thing for sure: it's a LOT more fun to get to cut THEM instead of them cutting YOU. So, go to everything you get invited to! One kid going through rush at Ole Miss was "promised" a bid from a fraternity that he had been hanging out with this summer and up until rush last weekend--they cut him the first night! So, don't count on anything, give them all a chance, and have fun! Good luck!

My son also went through rush at Ole Miss this past week and he didn't even know about the Summer parties until he signed up for rush four weeks ago. Being from Illinois, he didn't know anyone at Ole Miss prior to arriving there. He was lucky enough to get a bid (A good number of the guys in his dorm didn't get invited back to any pref parties Friday), but boy, had we known about some of the "unwritten rules" of rush, I think it would have been a little less nerve racking for my son. I was Greek as well, but we didn't expect Freshman to attend our Summer parties!

Just a Question...
 

Because I am clearly not a fraternity man-I always wondered...do fraternities do a sort of rush like sororities or do you just say, "Hey-I like fraternities ABC, DEF, and XYZ so I will only go to events for them and hope to get a bid"? I know with sororities you MUST attend events with each organization (for the most part-on many campuses...unless it is informal rush). How does it work for fraternities because my brother is coming back from basic training and looking at college. I've been talking to him about joining a fraternity and I don't really have any experience with how it works-so, other than telling him that ANY NIC/ IFC is a great choice-I can't give any other real information. How does it work?

It depends by campus. Usually, i would guess no. My last rush they had everyone break into groups and each fraternity was given a room in one of the campus buildings (all the same building) to meet with these guys. It sucked. Most of them knew who they wanted before hand and so did most of the chapters. Then I heard it got even more strict, which is stupid, because there is defered rush by one semester (spring=mostly freshmen party types, fall= sophmores, leaders, etc.)

So basically, rush lasts all of fall semester.

My son told me he was told by his Senior rush leader that some fraternities already had their "dance card" filled, meaning they had their quota before the first day of rush. This was especially true of the frats with small pledge classes and those highly sought after.

Very good advice... Thank you. I can't believe the guy had been "promised" a bid over the summer and got cut the first night of fall rush. That would hurt.... BAD.

Widgetgirl and Prairie Bayou, you are freaking me out a little here. My son is considering Ole Miss for next year. He is a legacy to one of the top houses on campus (at least that's what we were told) but I keep reading about these great kids from out of state, legacies included, getting cut from the fraternities there. Does a PNM sign up for IFC summer rush via the UM Greek web site? Do they host any summer parties in the larger cities out of state, or are they only is Mississippi?