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Oh my gosh - my daughter (and I) were in the same boat last year. Yep - a big Texas University. She (and I) were filled with anxst!! I was with her for day 1 (5 parties) but had to go home for the rest of rush. I was tied to the phone!
So, here we are a year later and she's now a Sister, a rusher, and while she's very, very happy and "at home" - being a rusher is much harder than she thought and also very stressful. She and I have often talked about how great Rush was for her last year and here's her top suggestions of what worked for her. She was invited back to the max parties every night:
1) Be totally open minded. Yes, thanks to the local Panhel and my unabashedly contacting every sorority woman I knew for a rec - "B" had at least one rec at every sorority. At least in my neck of the Texas woods, the local PanHel will ensure it.
2) Practice, practice, practice - yes, my daughter, "B" ,practiced the handshake, the small talk. My neice, an active Pi Phi, at Ole Miss helped her. 'B" is quite shy and the practice really helped. Today my daughter told me that it's quite apparent the girls who are asked an open ended question and can somehow turn it into a yes or no. Not a good thing.
3) take notes - after you leave the house - jot down who you talked with and about what -- not only so you can remember but so that at the next party you can say "yesterday I really enjoyed chatting with emily. we talked about your intramural softball league..."
4) CLEAN UP THE FACEBOOK. This year --- girls at this Texas school are being cut left and right because their Face Book has suggestive words, pictures of the girls with alcohol, allusions to alcohol, sleezy outfits. Sororities don't like this!!! My girl's facebook picture and profile was clean, cute, and interesting.
B and I early on decided to treat this like a job interview and followed everything you've heard - smile, BE PREPARED with questions, small talk; eye contact, remember - everyone likes the sound of their own name, etc. and it worked.
My daughter had a tough, tough time deciding which sororities NOT to return to. Odd as it sounds - she cut one because the house was just too loud - music on top of conversation. months later she learned that this house was, supposedly, one of the "tops"
I think your girl is in good shape - they like girls with good grades and who dress appropriately. She'll do great and if she goes where I think - all of the houses are fantastic. Keep us all posted.
CB
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