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Brandi brings up an awesome point... it goes both ways. I literally heard girls going through recruitment chatting about how they were going to cut XYZ because they didn't like the way the house smelled. The PNMs can get ridiculous as well.
In my opinion, rush is somewhat of a game. You just have to know how to play. Yes, the house knows who you are, what you did in high school and where you're from when you walk in the door on day one... but it doesn't hurt to try to make yourself stand out. Last year, myself and the other 1100 PNMs were given t-shirts by panhel to wear two of the four days of rush. So how do you separate yourself? I wore a pair of huge chandelier earrings and carried a Gucci... and I went to the maximum number of parties every day and received a bid to my top choice. Yes, it sounds shallow... I'm not denying that. But what makes you stand out in high school? Cheerleading, volunteering, Homecoming court, grades, sports. Recruitment is an environment where EVERY girl stood out in high school... and now you have to find a new way to make yourself stand out. By the way... I would hardly consider my school, Mizzou, a Southern school... rush can be like this anywhere.
By no means are girls selected merely because of those things... and the alums and members that dedicate their summers to learning about the PNMs would be offended if one were to assume that. Yes, you fill out that application... and I'd put money on the fact that houses know much more about you than what you put on it. Being pretty and looking the part alone isn't going to get you in... but when recruitment brings in 1000+ girls, it may help you to be remembered.
I don't think we're being two faced by encouraging PNMs to go through recruitment and acknowledging it can be shallow at the same time. A house would be crazy to extend a bid to a woman with a pretty face and nothing else to offer... and far too much work is put into recruitment to do so.
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