Considering Rushing
 

Hello!

I am a rising junior girl at a southern private university. I am considering rushing in the fall a the encouragement of my mother and all of my close sorority friends. I am mixed - mother is black, father in white (from England). If I were not considering rushing a black sorority would I be wasting my time otherwise? I am currently particularly interested in alpha chi omega, alpha omega i, or chi omega.

A lot depends on how competitive the recruitment at your school is, but I would guess that your status as a junior would hurt you a lot more than your racial or ethnic background. Women of all backgrounds join the NPC. However, it is often harder to receive a bid as an upperclassman.

As far as your preferences, if you are genuinely interested in formal recruitment with NPC, you should not decide beforehand where you are going to join. Realize that your options may be limited, especially as a junior going through recruitment.

If you are dedicated and willing to face possible rejection, try it out. The worst that can happen is that you don't receive a bid. And again, so much depends on the particular school.

if your sorority friends are on your campus, and they are encouraging you to rush, then rush. they know the campus climate and how good your chances are of receiving a bid. i don't think they would encourage you to rush, if you stood no chance of receiving one. good luck!

Alpha omega i? Is it Alpha Omicron Pi?

Either way, if you are a Junior, particularly in the south, I wouldn't restrict yourself. It's not impossible to get a bid, but don't focus on specific chapters

On MOST campuses, mixed race won't make a difference. In the south, it depends on how competitive the recruitment is and how conservative the campus is.

Haha, yes, I meant Alpha Omicron Pi. Whoops. I attend Vanderbilt. Am I right in understanding that the fall rush versus winter rush is more laid back and for older girls? Also, fall rush is where you can focus on houses you're interested in rather than all the sorority houses? I suppose I'm looking at A Chi O because I have close friends in it already.

Fall recruitment at Vandy is more informal than spring and is for older girls because freshmen are not eligible until spring. I am not extremely familiar with Vandy's fall recruitment structure, but be aware that at some schools, not all chapters participate in informal recruitment. For instance, AOPi only lists dates for spring formal recruitment on their chapter site, while AXO lists dates for rounds in November as well as in the spring. If you go through fall recruitment, you may not have as many chapters to choose from as you would in the spring.

You mentioned that you have friends in AXO, so that is a great jumping off point... it's a lot easier to rush as an upperclassman if you know people. But be aware that since you will be going through recruitment as a junior, it's important to maximize your options and look at all 10 chapters, not just 2 or 3. :)

Thank you all for your responses! :) I appreciate the help! :)

Well, at least, however many are participating in fall recruitment. Probably not all 10.