Rushing at a small school?
 

I'm sure you ladies get tired of these posts all the time, but I just really need some advice!

I'm rushing this fall at a university that only has 3 sororities. I've met a couple of the girls already, and although I've kind of gotten a feel of which I would fit in best with, I am definitely going into rush with an open mind! I know it's a lot more competitive here, though, because a large number of girls rush and don't get bids, due to the fact that we only have 3 sororities here.

My question is, none of the women in my family have gone through rush before, and while I've been given a basic schedule of events, examples of outfits to wear, etc, I am still incredibly nervous! I've read through most of the stickys around here, but I'm still nervous about a couple things:

1. I know clothing and outfits matter, but will it really affect my chances if I'm slightly under/over dressed? I tend to be bad at picking out outfits, although I do have friends helping me just to be sure.

2. Just any general advice on rushing at a smaller school/school with fewer chapters? I hear it can be fairly competitive around here, and while I'm really excited, I'm also incredibly nervous I won't get a bid. I know it's not the end of the world if I don't, but I guess I just need some calming words from ladies who've been through it before so I'll actually listen and calm down.

Thank you all so much! :)

Better to be a bit overdressed than underdressed. Example: If the suggestions for a particular round of recruitment say "jeans or slacks" wear slacks.

Go in with an open mind, as you have already said.

Hope all goes well for you.

The thing is you want to look put together and polished, but this isn't a fashion show. Don't spend too much time fretting over stuff like your wardrobe. Get the outfits together that you need, have someone check them for cuteness, fit, style, whatever you think needs to be checked, and then relax.

More important than your clothes is your conversation skills. Really try to work on having a series of answers in your back pocket for the questions you're sure to be asked - what's your major, what did you do over the summer, where are you from, what are your hobbies, what's your favorite movie/color/song. You'll undoubtedly be caught off guard by someone, but you should spend some time thinking about the obvious questions and finding a clear concise and interesting way to answer. Also, if you can have a few questions in your back pocket too. I hate when people say "do you have any questions for me?" You really should, but when you're under so much pressure it's hard to think of stuff.

Good luck!

Recruitment doesn't work this way - if your school has only 3 sororities, then quota (the number of PNMs a chapter is allowed to extend bids to during recruitment) is determined by taking the number of PNMs attending preference divided by 3 (the number of chapters). So, if 45 PNMs are still in the process, quota will be 15, if 300 PNMs remain, quota will be 100. In this way, the number of chapters does not decrease the chances of a PNM receiving a bid.

Good luck!

Actually, no, it works like irishpipes said. Most likely, the reason women don't get bids is because they drop out before the end of rush. If each group only has 40-50 people, it's possible that each one has its own very distinct personality and women only feel comfortable with one. If each group has over 80 or so people though, there should be enough diversity of personality within each group that you should be able to find women in each group that you can connect with as sisters. Without knowing which your school is, it's kind of hard to advise you how to proceed.

So does this mean you're not a Freshman?

[QUOTE=aephi alum;2071285]Better to be a bit overdressed than underdressed. Example: If the suggestions for a particular round of recruitment say "jeans or slacks" wear slacks.

I concur with AEPhi Alum, though I would use the term "conservative" rather than "overdressed." Back in my college days (pre-internet for advice) you saw two unfortunate trends:

1. Girls who dressed like they were trying to impress the fraternity guys (due in part, I think, to the fact our fraternities had large summer recruitment events in the larger cities in our state, where PNM's who had not been exposed to normal campus life saw girls from sororities dressed...less conservatively, often because of the heat and humidty). Some girls could carry it off. Some really couldn't.

2. Girls from rural areas who did not have anyone with up to date info advising them what to wear. Our "rush brochures" had suggested pictures for each round, but in retrospect they probably weren't that helpful. Some of the poor girls clearly felt very out of place, which probably made them that much more awkward during the open house events, which led to bad conversations, etc.

Technically, no. I changed my major late in the game, so I'm actually a junior, credit-wise. However, the change was so drastic, I will be in school for another four years. I know (generally, at least) rushing as a junior lowers my chances of receiving a bid, but the actives I do know have encouraged me to go ahead and go for it, and I figured I have nothing to lose! :)

Plus, while I know there is no way to know whether I would regret going through the process or not, I knew if I didn't at least try it, I would definitely regret it.

Thank you for clearing this up! I knew it couldn't possibly work the same as a school with 15 or 20 chapters, but I was going off the word of the Fraternity men I know here.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'd rather not say what school it is, simply because I don't know who might be reading this, but you (and irishpipes) have definitely cleared up that bit of confusion for me!


***Also, sorry about the triple-post, I'm not quite sure how to quote more than one person in one post. :/

Never go by what the Fraternity men say...they don't understand how rush works.;)

I don't go to a small school, but I'm at a school where our Greek Life is somewhat small. Everyone knows everyone, and things spread like wildfire. That being said, please go in with an open mind. I know you said you have an idea of where you fit best, but throw that out the window. You'll enjoy recruitment much more if you do.

Another thing, under no circumstances should you ever say negative things about a certain sorority. It WILL get back to them. Saying something like, "oh, XYZ was great, but I just didn't really feel comfortable there," is fine. Saying something like "those ABC girls looked sooo slutty, I could never be in a chapter with a bunch of Barbies who looked like they worked at a strip club." I've heard girls say some pretty mean things about different chapters in and out of recruitment, and it definitely got around and hurt people's feelings. You're a nice girl, and I'm sure you would never say anything like that, but just keep that in mind. Good luck!

Hmmm.... I do believe I know where you go to school.

If I am correct, my advice is this:

As far as dress goes, a little overdressed won't hurt, like everyone has said. Just make sure you look and feel your best each day.

I personally don't think it is that competitive. If you maximize your options by going to as many parties as you are invited to each day, you are *almost* guaranteed a bid. If this is the school I think it is, (even if not, I would assume a similar situation) I can tell you that in the past 3 years, every girl that filled out a pref card with all the houses that they were invited to pref at (aka no suicide bidding) matched and were offered a bid.

Best of luck!

In other words, be willing to take that 3rd chapter. It will still offer a quality Greek experience and provide you with everything you want in lifelong membership in a sorority. I think that is an even harder leap to make at schools with very few sororities represented and the "last" chapter can seem like the kiss of death, but those kinds of chapters have an even greater potential for quick turn around. That chapter that has a terrible time making quota of 60 won't notice much of a difference with 5 additional girls, but when quota is 10, 1 or 2 girls can make a huge impact in the personality and impact of the entire chapter very quickly. Just something to think about.

ditto on ignoring what the fraternity guys(or independent guys for that matter) say and do not share your rush observations with them, either!