[KappaKittyCat]

Okay, first the terminology:

Rush = Recruitment

Rushee = Potential New Member (PNM)

Pledging = Pledging

Pledge = New Member (NM)

Pledge Period = NM Period

Pledge Ed. = NM Ed.

Snap Pledging = Snap Bidding

Informal Rush = Continuous Open Bidding (COB) or Informal Recruitment

Suicide = Single Intentional Preference (SIP)

Second, the process:

The number of houses and structure of the parties varies from school to school depending on the size and attitude of the Greek system. The last round is still Preference round as you knew it. The first round is usually some sort of "Go Greek" theme. If chapters are housed, then one round will include house tours. There's also usually a philanthropy round, where sisters and PNMs make some sort of craft to go to the chapter's philanthropy (e.g. stuffed animals for the children's hospital, emergency kits for the women's shelter). The structure of the rest of the rounds is up to the individual school's Panhellenic Council.

Third, no-frills rush:

There's been a huge push lately to purge recruitment of all the frills that many see as clouding the sisterhood. The three biggies are decorations, skits, and food. There's often a limit as to what chapters can put up for decorations, and you're less likely to see fountains with live Koi, canopies, or ice sculptures anymore.

At some schools (like mine), "no-frills" can mean eliminating skits entirely and instead presenting a video or slide show during the first night. At other schools, they have "Skit Night" but use short videos/slide shows in lieu of skits and spend most of their time on conversation. Other schools still have mega-skits.

For food, things are similarly dressed down. Many schools have adopted "Ice Water Teas" for first round, so named because the chapters may only serve ice water (often with a twist of fruit). Others allow punch, hors d'oeuvres, or desserts. Very few chapters still have a formal, sit-down dinner.

Most Panhellenics now have a limit on recruitment budgets, a limit that often includes donations from alumnae, which is geared to diminish the advantages that larger, wealthier chapters would have over smaller, poorer ones. Again, the limit and rules vary from school to school; my school's limit is $550, whereas other schools are in the five-digit arena.

The goal of all of this is to encourage conversation and a match between PNM and sorority based on personality and feeling. I personally am a fan.

Fourth, clothes:

Yes, most of us still dress alike (or at least similarly). There are still guidelines for what PNMs should wear. Recruitment has not become an entirely casual event. It's still (second to Initiation) the most important part of a sorority's year. All these regulations want to do is discourage shallow selection and encourage a process focused on personality and sisterhood.

Edited for clarification and grammar.