[LampLady]

I was an active at Pitt back in the early 1970's. Rush in the Northeast is very different than that practiced in the South and Midwest, even today. There was very little reliance on recommendation letters and very few legacies. Rush for us consisted of a first round of open houses to which every rushee was invited, a 2nd round of invitational theme parties, and a final pref. These parties were all several weeks apart and, during the interim time, we had what were called chat dates with the rushees. Each member would contact each rushee that was still on their active rush list and set up a time to meet individually with her for about a half hour somewhere on campus. So by the time that invitational or bid lists were compiled, most of the members knew the rushees personally...at least more than just seeing them at a large party.

Advantages were that girls seemed to really know with which group she really belonged by the end of rush. We had very few women depledge. It also eliminated the somewhat superficial nature of rush parties. We also did not seem to spend the tremendous amount of money on rush that goes on today.
We did not have the massive cuts dictated by the new release system. This was a benefit for the rushees and the larger groups on campus, but probably detrimental to the smaller groups that struggled to recruit members.

Disadvantages were that rush just seemed to go on and on. It lasted from September, right after school started, to the end of November. We had an upperclass rush first, followed by Freshman rush. Initiation did not happen until 2nd semester for Freshmen and none of them could live in the sorority suite until Sophomore or Junior year.

There are pros and cons to both systems, as you can imagine. Thanks for asking!