Read before rushing...
 

Well, here are a few insider tips for the rushees that I wish I had known:

1. Never say do anything in front of a Rho Chi that you would not do at a party. RC's are supposed to disaffiliate, but in many cases they do NOT. If you say or do something that offends her, the chapter WILL find out. The same goes for Panhellenic officers.

2. It is okay to ask about the social calendar, but DO NOT mention a specific fraternity that you are like or dislike. The exception is if you refer to a father being Greek, or a brother being Greek on a different campus. Different chapters have diffent relations with fraternities, and you don't want to gush over a frat they hate. You also don't want the sisters to go to a frat that you have friends in and press them for information, because you never know what the guys will say.

3. If you are interested in leadership positions, SAY SO. Chapters like to hear that women are excited to get involved. The same goes for living in the chapter house. If the chapter has a house to fill, they want girls to live there.

4. When asked what you did over the summer, talk about something other than your part-time job. Chapters are looking for women who can make a financial commitment, and, unfortunatley, part-time jobs may sound as though you can not. If you went on any sort of vacation, that is a much better topic, even if it was one week and your job was three months.

5. Be sure to mention all your awards, honors societies, clubs, activities, and volunteer work. These are things the chapter is looking for.

6. If you are a sophomore, don't be afraid to admit that you are on the five-year plan. If you changed your major, this is perfectly acceptable (remember that we know your GPA anyway). This means you have four more years, so it will put you on the same level as freshmen.

Let me just say that I do not agree with all the politics involved, but unfortunately they are true. I can't help that some Rho Chi's are dishonest or that some chapters look for money, I am just trying to help the rushees avoid problems.

Okay, yes, some Rho Chi's may not be top notch and others may be the horror stories that we share, but not all Rho Chi's are terrible and you shouldn't go into recruitment with a negative attitude. DeltaBetaBaby's suggestions are good things to keep in mind, but don't feel that you have to walk into recruitment with an eye for deception.
For example: there is nothing wrong with saying you had a summer job; just don't say that you hated it or talk about how annoying your co-workers were. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif

My advice is if you have hooked up with a frat boy, do NOT mention it to any of the sisters. There was one case where a PNM was talking to one of the sisters about a guy from XYZ fraternity that she had hooked up with the night before (mention nothing about hook ups...it makes you look sleazy). When the sister asked the PNM for the name of the guy, well, it coincidentally happened to be the sister's boyfriend. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/eek.gif DeltaBetaBaby is right in saying do not talk about any of the guys in the fraternity. I have had so many girls be like, "Oh! I hung out with XYZ fraternity this summer! Do you John Smith?! Or how about Joe Schmoe?!" It makes you look like all your interested in are the "guy" aspects of the sorority. Talk up your other interests which have nothing to do with boys.

I thought those were some great suggestions! Great insight from someone who has been there done that.

The rho chi thing is kinda true. After the parties last fall, our Panhellenic rep would come over to give us "the word on the street." Our rho chis would find some way to get in touch with us. It was usually just to say, "Y'all are doing great! The rushees won't stop talking about you!" My future roomie is going to be a rho chi, and we've already made plans for contacting each other during rush!

The rest of the advice is good. It does stink that there is so much politics involved, but there's not a whole lot you can do about it...except use it to your advantage! http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/smile.gif

Okay, I'm not *positive* this applies to sorority rush, but for a service org I'm in that has a rush, and we have lots of sorority girls in it, we're warned of playing the "name game"

For example, don't say "If you're from Townsville, do you know Jane?" because the rusher may dislike her, etc. The story that we pass around is that one girl came through and said "oh, you're from my town! do you know John?" the rusher said "yeah, I do!" the rushee said "he's my boyfriend" and the rusher said "um, no he's MY boyfriend" http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/eek.gif

We're always told to steer away from those convos whenever possible - in our rush workshops they always tell us to avoid the name game!

about the "name game"... i'm not sure if i agree although i do see your point. a lot of times when a rushee and i know people in common (maybe even at school) it gives us something good to talk about. it's true, though, if a girl names somebody who i've heard negative things about or who i think is maybe a weirdo, it won't really reflect positively on her.

if a rushee and a sister know someone in common, it might be ok to talk about him/her, but the rushee should refrain from saying anything strange. last year i had a girl mention a guy i knew from freshman year. i said i thought he was really nice, blah blah blah, we started telling random stories about him, then she was like "y'all should date." that was kind of weird.

Please, even if you have NO interest at all in a particular sorority, don't talk trash about them while you are still in their house. I had some girls do that this last spring and it was SO rude. I mean I was standing right there with them... all they showed was that they lack the decency to at least be away from any of the sisters before they started talking trash. Or maybe they just wanted to make sure we would cut them... lol. Well it worked!

Here are other suggestion:

1) The first day of recruitment is always exciting, nerveracking, hectic, etc. By the end of the day you may very well be tired, hungry, and ready to go home. Remember that the sorority girls feel the same way. Be as positive about the very last sorority as you were for your first. This may also win you points with that sorority because they will think, "wow, it's the end of the day and she stayed positive and interested."

2) Obviously if you're here at GC, you know more than the average potential new member...use that to your advantage. We get sick of saying the same things at every party (ex: what's your major, let me tell you about our philanthropy...). Ask things about Greek life that you've seen on this site.

3) Don't walk out of a party and start bashing the sorority. They may not be your faves but that doesn't mean other people in your Rho Chi group feel the same or you may be downing your Rho Chi's house. However, if the girls leave you alone at party, make you feel uncomfortable, or offer you a verbal bid, tell your Rho Chi right away because you don't need to take that.

I don't think there is anything wrong with saying your boyfriend (your serious boyfriend, not your "whatever" from the night before) is in so and so fraternity. No sorority WANTS to have bad relations with a fraternity, and if you are on good terms with one of them, it could work in your favor that if you became a member you could maybe smooth the waters a bit.

But on the other hand don't come in wearing your boyfriend's letters and think you are the cat's a$$ because of it. No one likes attitude and it's bad enough to have it on your own, let alone having "achieved" it through a man.

Something else that may be helpful is to keep a rush journal (well hidden, of course) to vent all your feelings/thoughts at the end of the day. That way if the first idea you have of XYZ is "what geeks!" you won't feel like such an idiot when you're overjoyed that they are your sisters at the end of rush week. You can just rip out that page and shred it. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif

Some more thoughts...
Remember the women in your Rho Chi group because they may be your sister after rush.
Rush is fun and frightening on both sides.. I have to say honestly I hated rush. It is just like four nights of job interviews:
Did I wear the right thing? Say the right thing? Is it okay that I don't look great 24 seven? Did I ask the right questions? Was I too eager, did I laugh to loud? Do I smell???
But on our side remember we are asking:
Did they hate our cheers/songs/speeches?
Are our outfits okay?
Do we compare to the other sororities?
Did we make her feel at home?
Does she know how much we want her here?
What is she thinking?
Did we look cheesy?

It is tough.. for everyone. I am recruitment chair and I told me sisters to do whatever it takes to make them feel at home first because that relaxes the girls coming through. I want my sisters to have fun because then I know you will have fun.

Other tips:
Stick away from Prefume and body lotions, you may be outside and that attracts bugs...
Also don't complain about how hot you are.. we are too... we were just singing and clapping for ten minutes while you got off the air conditioned bus... we are sweaty and tired from working since 8AM... please think about how that make you feel.,

The BEST ADVICE I got from ANYONE about rush was this:
Look at the girls during rush..
Could you get up there and do what they are doing next year? Because if you join them you will be!
That really impacted my decision. I wanted to go a certain org since I decided to rush, but at the second round of parties one of the sisters was wearing a white jumpsuit with green underwear.. I was so embarressed for her and even more, WHY DIDNT SOMEONE TELL HER!
That made me decide I couldn't be a sister there if someone wouldn't tell me my underwear showed through!
Good luck and keep us updated!
Sarah

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"...and love her for her womanhood."

Sarah,
That was a great anecdote! I think you just summed up sisterhood. I am really struggling with my pref party speech, and believe it or not, you just inspired me.

Thanks!

That underwear thing is kind of funny, but also sad in a way. I very much agree with you, that I wouldn't want to be with people 24/7 who wouldn't look out for me in embaressing (or even dangerous) situations. That reminds me of when I was in junior high school and I wore a purple bra with a white shirt. This girl that sat behind me, instead of nicely telling me, sat there laughing and talking behind my back about it. She called me "purple bra flasher" from then on, and that really pissed me off! I wouldn't want to be her friend, anyhow! I would definitely tell someone (discreetly) about something like that, even if they were only an aqquaintance.

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***Tinkerbell***

~~~Don't worry, be happy!~~~

Isn't it unreal all of the "politics" that go along with Recruitment? I honestly wish that we didn't have to give the girls "advice" on what is appropriate to do, or say, or wear. That's one of the reasons Greek Life was a big turn off for me...however, going through with Rush and being initiated into my organization was one of the best decisions of my life. My advice to everyone going through Recruitment is to be yourself, act the way you want to, say what is going through your mind and wear what you want to...because all of these things make up you. By doing this, we cut all the crap (pardon my language) and really find out the person you are, inside and out. Because in the end, this is all that matters. I'm just glad all of my sisters in AGD love me for who I am, and I'm sure everyone else (despite what sorority they are apart of) who can say this is just as glad for their sisters as I am for mine.



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Whitney

Back to the name game. It's ok to do it, as long as you do it well. What i mean is, if it's a small town, it might work, just becareful of stumbling on something not too cool. One PNM at my house was from the same town as one of the sisters, and proceeded to dis the quarterback of the local football team. Unfortunately for her, it turned out to be that sister's cousin!
Don't do it for a fairly large city or country. I'm from Canada, and I got quite a few "do you know jenny a, i think she lives in Toronto." Keep in mind Toronto has a population of 5 million. Becareful of assuming the size of a place, you might end up looking like and idiot

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Travelling with no boundaries, moving in imaginary.