[FuzzieAlum]

OK, party terminology. Most formal rushes are divided into four "groups." Some call them parties, some call them sets, some call them days, some call them rounds. (I'm going to use rounds here.) Some schools call each one by the number of sororities you mingle with that round (19 round, 12 round, 6 round, 3 round for example.) At some schools, they are named by what you can serve - waters for first night and cokes for second, for example.

ROUND ONE: At some campuses called "tours." You meet every single sorority, even if they know they have to cut you because of grades. If there are enough chapters, this will be spread over two days to prevent utter shellshock and exhaustion.

ROUND TWO: You go back to many of the houses. It may be all or a little more than half, depending on how many chapters there are on campus. You'll go to fewer quicker the more chapters there are.

ROUND THREE: Frequently "skit" or "video" night.

ROUND FOUR: Generally called "preference." Rushees attend two or three parties only. Sororities will generally do a moving ceremony. It is the dressiest of the rounds. Generally speaking, if a chapter invites you to preference and you attend, you will be somewhere on their bid list. That does not guarantee you a bid, but it does mean they are willing to accept you as a sister.

BID DAY: Rushees find out who has offered them a bid. Generally done fairly publicly, so everyone can size up who got who and who didn't fare so well numbers-wise. (OK, maybe that's cynical). It also allows rushees to see where their friends went, and for sisters to give congratulations to rushees they liked who went elsewhere.