Rush Help. Rushing as a sophomore this fall.
 

Hello everyone,

I go to a big state school in the mid-west which has a great greek system. I'm currently an international student from London, England. Even though I was born in London, shortly after my family moved to a state in the midwest and I completed my schooling until middle school there. Then we all moved back to London where I finished high school. My family's gonna move to my school's state in 2 years because my mom got a job in that state. I'm gonna start my sophomore year this fall. After spending my freshman year trying to get settled in college, making friends, and getting to know the greek life I decided I would rush a fraternity this fall. I'm a really social person and I love meeting new people, consequently I made some friends who belong to different fraternities on campus. I just love the idea of being a brother at a fraternity because I feel it fits my lifestyle perfectly. ( Not just parties or interactions with sororities but also living in the house, making great connections, learning life skills and an overall experience )

This last spring semester, I made it a point to visit most if not all the fraternities on campus and just meet people and get to know the brothers a bit. I didn't 'rush' any that semester, just attended a couple rush events to get a feel of how rushing goes. One of the fraternities I went to during spring rush gave me a bid even though I didn't really attend all the rush events or take it seriously and I don't think I will accept the bid since its not as social as I'd like it to be. Now, I've shortlisted about 5 fraternities that I'd like to rush this fall. The first problem is, in 3 of them I don't know anybody in the house. Would that be bad in anyway? (Is that even a problem? I could just walk up to the house and introduce myself to an active and ask for the rush schedule) And then there are the other two that I've been to many times, know a lot of actives and get along with them.

Another thing I want to know, Being an international student and a sophomore would that hurt my chances of getting a bid?

Lastly, It would be great if you could give me some tips on how to rush a fraternity effectively so as to increase my chances of getting a bid.

Thanks,
Paul

PS : I know its a long post and it could be annoying to spend time reading it but it would be fantastic if you could share some knowledge and help me out here.

PPS : I forgot to add this, but I want to know if belonging to a minority (race) does matter when one is rushing?

Honeybadger don't care if you're trolling.

To be honest, there are a lot of factors at play in your scenerio.

Being a sophomore: At many fraternities, this doesn't hurt as much as it does women going through rush. Just be prepared to explain why you didn't rush as a freshman. But, on many campuses it's usually not a big deal.

Being international: This might actually play into your favor with some groups. You'll be the brother with the British accent that all the girls like/think is cute. In grad school I had a friend with a French accent. All the sororities knew exactly which fraternity he belonged to.

Being a minority: In all honesty, in some groups it won't matter and in some groups it might. There's no way to tell.

You just have to go for it. You won't know until you try. The 3 groups you don't know anyone in? Check their websites and see if they have a rush chair that you can contact for information about Fall rush or summer parties. Good luck.

I'm really curious how you decided which fraternities to shortlist without knowing anyone in the house.

In any case, my experience in the Midwest (is it Big 10?) is that fraternity rush is pretty relaxed, and being a sophomore and/or international won't necessarily work against you.

Help
 

Well, I grew up in Ohio and lived there for basically all my life before high school, I can switch accents but I feel I'm most comfortable in my american accent. I don't want anyone to think that I'm putting up a British accent just because it sounds cool (which i think it does :p)

Could anyone give me some tips for rushing? Behavior, etiquette, etc.
Also, since I lived in Europe during high school, I never really dressed like a stereotypical non Greek student (popularly called GDI's on my campus). I naturally wore brands or similar ones that are now staple in Greek communities in the country. Someone told me wearing that would work against me? Do you think I should not wear what I normally do during rush? I love wearing button down shirts, polos, chino shorts, boat shoes, khaki trousers.... You know what I'm talking about. I just don't want the actives that I meet during rush to think that I'm a try hard. My wardrobe was and has always been preppy. Never got in the habit of wearing cargo shorts or say graphic T's (ewww).....

Help?

Thanks for the reply sir, really appreciate it! :)

Well sir, you guessed it right! It is the Big 10 haha And yes Rush is pretty relaxed, as I observed. I shortlisted the fraternities by visiting each one of them and meeting people but I did not really put that much effort into remembering or staying in contact with the actives I met ( I know, my fault ) The people in the other 2 fraternities just so happen to be good friends who lived in the same dorm last year as I did.

Thank you for your reply!

Rush is going to be a little dressier than day to day life. I don't think anyone is going to tell you to go pound sand because you're not wearing a Tap Out shirt. It's the Big 10, not Jersey Shore. :) They would probably expect someone who's lived in the UK to dress a little more "grown up" anyway - even though that may not be the actual case, we silly Americans think it is.

Fixed your post. ;)

FYP ;)

Haha Thank you then!
Maybe some help on that post after fixing it? :)

As far as clothing, wear what you feel comfortable in. Unless you are at a school with an IFC-organized formal rush, many of the PNM's at a rush event will literally be guys grabbed from the dorms or whatever right before the event, or guys who drop in off the street, so you shouldn't think it's going to be like sorority rush where outfits are planned out months in advance. Pretty much, use common sense. If the event is flag football, don't walk in wearing your polo shirt and boat shoes.

As far as race...I don't think this will matter for most group at most Big 10 schools in the year 2012. However, I have two suggestions:

1) Take a look at the websites of the groups on your short list. Are there any minorities? Now, I wouldn't necessarily rule a group out if there aren't any, but if the group is more than, say, 50 guys and they are all white, it is perhaps a yellow flag.

2) Be honest about how you are first received at each group. This is important anyway, but if you feel that you are getting any sort of pushback in making a first impression, move on. There are too many groups out there to zero in on one that thinks this is okay.

For #1, I wouldn't put too much emphasis on this point. I would rely MUCH more heavily on #2. With the demographics of IFC Greek Life at some Big 10 Schools, that might be just how rush went that year. I know, for instance, that a lot of my friends preferred to rush NALFO or BGLO, but those who did gravitate towards IFC fraternities had few problems.

With that being said, there are a few fraternities where you might find problems, but that will be evident if you follow DeltaBetaBaby's Rule #2.

If you don't make it a big deal, no one else will. That goes with everything for Recruitment, in my opinion.... (Which is from a sorority perspective).

Agreed. That's why I said "yellow flag" and not "red flag". Some fraternities also pull heavily from one high school or geographical area. If that area is middle-of-nowhere, Iowa, the guys may all be white, but not exactly by design.

What can I say . . . I'm a Southerner. Saying "Ma'am" is hard-wired. :D

Thanks, both of you! I'll keep all that in mind whilst rush. Well, going to a super preppy boarding school in England hammered good manners into me haha Sir's and Ma'am's everywhere. ( So, yes even though England is not in the south we still address people that way )