Rushing Again
 

I went through formal rush last semester and was not prefed. On the advice of my Rho Gamma, I'm going through informal rush this coming semester. I learned a lot from rushing last January, and I feel more confident in myself and surer about what I want from Greek life. At my school, you cannot rush until you finished your first semester of classes, so informal rush is designed for non-first years. I'm still worried that other sororities might find me wanting because I failed to be prefed as a freshman. If I keep my mouth shut about it, will I have a better chance of getting a bid? And how does Informal Rush work?

You should keep your mouth shut about it because that's the mature thing to do. And since we don't know your campus, we can't say how informal works as it varies from campus to campus. Your Greek Life office is your best resource. Generally speaking, groups who are participating either contact women on their own or get names from the Greek Life office and invite them to events. When the group is ready to extend a bid, they give them out. It's very individualized.

They'll know. You don't need to bring it up. I would spend some quality time thinking about why rush didn't go well for you. Were you memorable but only in a bad way? Did you not hold up your end of the conversation? Was your appearance up to snuff? You don't have to be a beauty queen, but you do have to present yourself well.

What sororities don't want is the weird girl who only wants to talk about her pet turtle or the girl who won't talk at all or the girl who completely dominates a conversation. They want a girl who can grow and be part of a group of friends. You want them to know that you are a loving friendly SMART girl who is also not too big for her britches, so to speak. After you've spent some time thinking about what you might have done, talk to someone you trust and accept their advice. It CAN happen that you just fall through the cracks, being for instance number 41 on everyone's list when 40 was the cut off. But probably not. If you fell too low on EVERYONE's list, something was probably wrong. If you don't change anything about yourself there's no reason to expect a different outcome. That's not to say you should act like a different person, but maybe a kinder, gentler version of you. You but with manners, for instance.

Work on your conversation skills, your wardrobe, your makeup and your general manners.

Let us know how it goes!

Rushing again
 

There are several threads about rushing and in particular, re-rushing and you should read them if you have not done so already. This recent thread about re-rushing comes to mind:

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=132939

Good luck in your decision to re-rush and keep us posted.

thread link is bad

Here's the working link!:
http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...d.php?t=132939

Thank you so much, guys! I've been mulling over what went "wrong" the first time around. I feel it was a combination of little things: nerves, feeling down on myself around the other PNM's, and just being slightly overwhelmed at the whole thing. I was never mean or sucky, I was just too quiet and fell through the cracks. I'm spending my summer working on these issues, and while I'm still me (a reading geek, not a fan of reality TV, and too Type A for my own good), I think I can present myself better this time, and enjoy rush. I will keep you guys posted!!!!

Yes, you most certainly can work on on it. Strike up conversations with people you don't know well or at all. This will help. The more comfortable you are having conversation with relative strangers, the better. It may sound odd, but it helps. Good luck to you! :)

Unless it's Delta Zeta (just kidding) :)

I apologize - In linking to this story, I did not intend to imply that you were mean or sucky; the writer's self-reflection was the important part. (I am also sorry for the broken link!)

That did occur to me, But I figured the DZs could weather that offense ;)

Oh gosh no! I didn't even take it that way. I know who I am, and what I need to work on. Thank you for the link, it was inspiring!

Hi again! So it's time for fall rush, but I'm a little conflicted. I'm now also interested in rushing Phi Sigma Pi, the honors fraternity. I understand that it's a lot like Panhellenic/ICF organizations, but with the perks of being an honor society as well. I'm allowed to rush a social and the honor frat, but how do I balance both? Supposing I receive bids from the honors frat and a sorority, is there a way I can manage the financial and time obligations for both organizations, considering that I have to maintain my grades, work, and am already committed to two other outside activities? Is it worth my while to join both?

I say do one or the other but not both at the same time. You want to be able to devote the necessary time required by one organization before you add another onto your plate along with your academics, job, etc.