[33girl]

I totally agree with twinstars!

Deferred rush gives the women time to get used to being at college and away from home...they're not just joining to have something to hold onto.

You don't spend a semester educating a woman only to have her flunk out, transfer, or go back home because she misses her boyfriend. (not that this never happens in deferred, but it happens far less often)

Deferred rush helps prevent senior burnout.

Deferred rush helps ALL the houses, as the rushees get to see that maybe the biggest and prettiest house isn't all that, and the smaller houses know the rushees are joining because they like them and in spite of whatever "rep." I think that in general, first semester rush greatly favors women who already have it all together and is rough on women who need a little time to be away from home and become their own person.

The only positive I can see from first semester rush is to keep the house full. Since we didn't have those type of houses at my campus, it's very hard for me to see anything positive in it at all.