How "clueless" were you?
 

I was just wondering how much everyone knew about sororities going into rush...

Did you have a good idea of campus reputations? Of what rush would actually be like? Did you fall over when those doors burst open and you were confronted with a mass of singing sisters? Did you go to info meeting and have references?

I had NO clue! :) I go to a southern school with a competitive yet deferred rush... Looking back, I feel so stupid... But it all worked out great!

I wasn't at all clueless. I was friends with two girls who were in sororities at UCF who would tell me how to act during rush and what do say. Since my junior year in high school, I knew about the reputations of the sororities at all the Florida schools. A lot of my friends had older sisters in sororities who would pass on the information to us high schoolers. I visited UCF with my friends the second semester of my senior year in HS and we stayed with a friend who was in a sorority. Our friend brought us to her house and brought us to a party where I met girls from her sorority and other sororities. Before rush even began, I already knew which sororities I would best fit into. I was not at all open-minded when I went through. I wish that I had gone in knowing less than I had. My mind was made up before I stepped into any of the houses on the first day on what sorority I would cut first. I just wish I gave some of the sororities that I had pre-judged more of a chance.

I was totally clueless!!!

I was so positive that I was going to pledge a certain sorority that their symbol is STILL on my bedroom wall at my parents' house! But, my mother insisted I keep an open mind.

I ended up feeling the most at home at one of the sororities that I really didn't want to rush, simply because they all wore the same thing on their composite!

Just think, if I had completely written ADPi off for that silly reason, I would not have had the experience(s) that I did!

honeychile

I was pretty well informed. I did a lot of research beforehand, even with the limited resources I had. (There are not very many books about rush, few informative websites besides this one, and our school's Panhellenic website is rarely updated. I knew the symbols, colors, and philanthropies of every sorority at my school, I knew what was going to happen at the rush parties.

I knew a little about campus reputations, but by the end of the first round of rush parties it was pretty easy to see what was true and what wasn't.

The only thing I don't think I knew ANYTHING about were recommendations . . . at least until I came to Greekchat in late July. By that point it was too late to get any, seeing as how I know almost no one in sororities. Fortunately, recs aren't required at Wisconsin.

I was pretty clueless... I just showed up at the one sorority that was still having interest parties and luckily it was a perfect fit... I had no clue about campus reputations because I had just transferred here... but I think I made the right desicion... even in light of all the things that have happened... but then after I signed my bid I made it my mission to find out everything I could about sororities and the way they work... and now I think I'm more informed than some of the sisters that have been there for four years...

Totally clueless! Its a blessing that I ended up exactly where I fit best, because I had no idea of what rush was all about. :D

I was pretty clueless about sororities when I rushed. This was pre-internet. I just knew that I wanted to find a group of friends and a home away from home. :)

I knew nothing about sororities before I joined. Like Cream, I rushed before the Internet was big, so I had no idea who was who or, really, anything about sorority life before rush.

My mom went to college in a part of Canada that (to this day, I think) does not have GLOs.

I think that was actually a good thing -- to go in with no preconceived notions or expectations.

I was sort of in the middle. When I went to informal recruitment, all of the 7 houses were rushing. I was a junior at the time so I had been around long enough to get an idea of what greek life was about. Though, I did have some preconceived notions about some of the sororities which IMHO were pretty accurate.


.....Kelly :)

I was semi-clueless. I knew the sororities' reputations but thought that high grades plus strong activities plus good recs equaled a rushee getting her choice of sororities. Wrong!!!

I was pretty clueless and extremely lucky. What little I knew about the sororities at my school were based on a fraternity member co-worker. Nope, didn't take his advice either, because there's no way I would have been happy in the groups he 'suggested' would be a good fit for me.

Christin

On the fraternity side of things...

I knew NOTHING.

I never actually went through rush though. Signed when the expansion team came to my school to sign folks up for a new colony. Here I am now with the badge number MT 5 -- in Roman numerals MTV:cool: :D

I was pretty clueless, actually. I had no idea what references even were until well after I'd joined. I didn't know what to expect from formal rush, so the door chants and such took me a bit off guard. I was also very turned off by the artificial structure and high pressure of formal rush - the idea of having only a few minutes to talk to as many sisters as possible in hopes of getting invited back - everyone wearing exactly the same thing, down to makeup and jewelry - and I actually wound up dropping out before pref for that reason. If I'd known what to expect, maybe I would have stayed in FR... but if I'd stayed in, I wouldn't have been an AEPhi. So it all worked out in the end :)

I didn't rush till first semester sophomore year, and I lived in a very Greek-heavy dorm, so after seeing my floormates rush & pledge for 2 semesters I was pretty savvy about what I wanted.

As far as national standing though, I had ZERO idea and I would wager most of the campus was the same way (again, this was pre-internet). The first we had an inkling of things like that was that the card store in town had pin pillows for some groups and not for others - they only had for "New York sororities" whatever the heck that meant. :p I think it was kinda like my mom saying Seventeen magazine was more New York than Teen, but I digress...