About the notebook: I wouldn't take one into the houses and take notes. But here's a tip I picked up as an upperclassman. At UA, they used to give you a little rush booklet that had info about rush and the houses and what you should wear each day (I'm not sure if they still do that.) I think there were blank pages in the back of the booklet. A lot of girls would make notes in that and leave them outside while they went into the houses. But be careful what you write. You might run across an unscrupulous Rho Chi or two who will look at them.