Washington State University

[caylaashley]

Hi, I'm going to be a freshman at WSU next fall and was curious as to what their rush was like. Is it competitive or laid back? I haven't been able to find much about WSU's recruitment so I was hopin people on GC had some insight. I'm open to all their sororities but I'm a tridelt legacy so I would love to continue that tradition but I'm not opposed to pledging other sororities.

Thanks!

[Coug2012]

I'm going there too next year!

[AlphaXi_Husky]

I am much more familiar with UW's recruitment than WSU, but have heard (from friends who either went to WSU or advise there) that it is about as competitive as UW is. Which is to say that it's not as competitive as an SEC recruitment, but that most girls going through should expect to recieve some cuts.

Other than that I don't have much to contribute. I'm hoping someone like CougADPi will chime in here.

[AXOmom]

Caylashley,

My daughter went to WSU her freshman year. We lived in the area (Spokane) for quite a while, so most of her friends from HS went there and most of those went through recruitment. She went through her sophomore year, but transferred to another school. I wrote her recruitment stories (since she went through recruitment at 2 different schools). You can go here to read ithttp://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=123301 . The first school I talked about (although I didn't mention this in the story) was WSU.

She went through about 4 years ago. I don't think a lot has changed since then about recruitment although some of the make-up and personalities of individual chapters have, so ignore her impressions of the chapters at the time.

As I mentioned in that recruitment story - UW and WSU could be described as competitive but not cutthroat. She hasn't known anyone who had recs going in (she had one), but if you can get them - certainly do (particularly if you are a sophomore). Sophomores do get bids (I realize you are probably a freshman) - but it is a bit tougher. You don't have to have a 4.0 gpa but it should be solid/decent. Stay open-minded. That was the biggest lesson she learned.

Greek life may not be SEC competitive, but it is a BIG deal at WSU and most of the school's social life centers around it. I'm not saying you can't have a great time there outside of greek life (you can), but it is something to consider if you get to day 3, don't have all of the houses you love and start thinking about dropping out.

It is always HOT and at least when she was there - girls wore LOTS of sundresses, shorts and comfortable but cute shoes/flip flops 'cause those hills are killer. If you go to their website, they have pictures of girls in Gamma Rho groups from last year or the year before. That will give you some idea what they are wearing.

They are really LONG days. They have the girls up early - you take a break for lunch, go to about 3 (I think), have a break and then usually have something fun to do with your Gamma Rho group at night until late. It used to go Sunday through Saturday, but they recently decided to run it Monday through Sunday - bids go out on Sunday. There was a good reason for this - but I don't think it worked out quite like they intended (LOL).

Be prepared for the fraternity boys. They stay out on their balconies all week with the sole goal of getting the PNM's to talk or respond to them in any way. You are not supposed to do this.

That's all that comes to mind. CougADPi will be your best source of information. Have fun, good luck, enjoy the football season with the new coach, say "hi" to Butch (we love him), and take a WARM jacket and a great pair of boots (because this isn't the wussy kind of snow they get all freaked out about on the Wet Side).

[Coug2012]

Originally Posted by AXOmom

Caylashley,

My daughter went to WSU her freshman year. We lived in the area (Spokane) for quite a while, so most of her friends from HS went there and most of those went through recruitment. She went through her sophomore year, but transferred to another school. I wrote her recruitment stories (since she went through recruitment at 2 different schools). You can go here to read ithttp://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=123301 . The first school I talked about (although I didn't mention this in the story) was WSU.

She went through about 4 years ago. I don't think a lot has changed since then about recruitment although some of the make-up and personalities of individual chapters have, so ignore her impressions of the chapters at the time.

As I mentioned in that recruitment story - UW and WSU could be described as competitive but not cutthroat. She hasn't known anyone who had recs going in (she had one), but if you can get them - certainly do (particularly if you are a sophomore). Sophomores do get bids (I realize you are probably a freshman) - but it is a bit tougher. You don't have to have a 4.0 gpa but it should be solid/decent. Stay open-minded. That was the biggest lesson she learned.

Greek life may not be SEC competitive, but it is a BIG deal at WSU and most of the school's social life centers around it. I'm not saying you can't have a great time there outside of greek life (you can), but it is something to consider if you get to day 3, don't have all of the houses you love and start thinking about dropping out.

It is always HOT and at least when she was there - girls wore LOTS of sundresses, shorts and comfortable but cute shoes/flip flops 'cause those hills are killer. If you go to their website, they have pictures of girls in Gamma Rho groups from last year or the year before. That will give you some idea what they are wearing.

They are really LONG days. They have the girls up early - you take a break for lunch, go to about 3 (I think), have a break and then usually have something fun to do with your Gamma Rho group at night until late. It used to go Sunday through Saturday, but they recently decided to run it Monday through Sunday - bids go out on Sunday. There was a good reason for this - but I don't think it worked out quite like they intended (LOL).

Be prepared for the fraternity boys. They stay out on their balconies all week with the sole goal of getting the PNM's to talk or respond to them in any way. You are not supposed to do this.

That's all that comes to mind. CougADPi will be your best source of information. Have fun, good luck, enjoy the football season with the new coach, say "hi" to Butch (we love him), and take a WARM jacket and a great pair of boots (because this isn't the wussy kind of snow they get all freaked out about on the Wet Side).

I didn't start the thread, but this is really helpful!

[Psi U MC Vito]

Go Vandals!! That is all.

[AXOmom]

^^^ See, I say ignore the fraternity boys shouting needless things from the balcony and one shows up - from 10 miles away no less. This is the perfect time to practice ignoring said boy on balcony. (Yeah, that directed at YOU, Psi U MC Vito!).

[caylaashley]

Wow! You guys are amazing thank you so much! I've been really nervous about everything even though it's nearly six months away. AXOmom you are great thank you soooooo much for that post! Ahhh silly frat boys, I'll make sure to watch out for them.(;
Coug2012! What are you majoring in?(:

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by AXOmom

^^^ See, I say ignore the fraternity boys shouting needless things from the balcony and one shows up - from 10 miles away no less. This is the perfect time to practice ignoring said boy on balcony. (Yeah, that directed at YOU, Psi U MC Vito!).

Hey since the BK are gone, somebody has to do it for them. :P

[Coug2012]

Originally Posted by caylaashley

Wow! You guys are amazing thank you so much! I've been really nervous about everything even though it's nearly six months away. AXOmom you are great thank you soooooo much for that post! Ahhh silly frat boys, I'll make sure to watch out for them.(;
Coug2012! What are you majoring in?(:

I'm planning on majoring in apparel merchandising! How about you? I'm so excited to start college, I've already signed up for my dorm even

[caylaashley]

Ooooh that sounds fun(: I'm an athletic training major!
Which dorm did you choose? I'm thinking either Gannon/Golds or Olympia but I'm not sure yet

[CougADPi]

Yay! A WSU thread! Please take everything I say with a grain of salt considering I'm an "old" person who hasn't been involved with recruitment for 10 years (though my cousin went through last year, so that helped).

AXOMom really covered most of it, and her experience is more recent than mine, so you should listen to her.

One thing I would recommend is that if you are on facebook, become a fan of WSU Panhellenic (http://www.facebook.com/#!/WSU.Sororities). They have a good amount of information as well as pictures from last year's recruitment.

Recs are not necessary, but helpful if you can get them. When my cousin went through she had 5, which is an unusually high number for WSU, but ended up joining a house she did not have one to. I remember that when I was active, probably 90% of the women we saw did not have letters to our chapter, and I would think the number would be similar to others.

It is very hot during recruitment. Very very hot. Wear comfortable, cool clothes, and comfrotable shoes.

Keep an open mind, which is good advice for anyone going through recruiment. A decade ago, the "tent talk" was rampant, so it is still good to keep in mind that second hand information is not always the most accurate.

From what I just said, you can probably guess that recruitment is fairly competitive. Expect some cuts, but I don't know anyone who did not get a bid if they kept an open mind. The people who went bidless were generally the ones who limited themselves in some way. Not to say it doesn't happen, I just don't know any examples personally.

As for the residence halls, G/G is great. I was an RA there and lived there as a freshman. The proximity to the Roto Dining Hall is the best location on campus. Just remember that you are on the opposite side of a large hill from the gyms, so as an athletic training major, you may be walking a bit more than you were expecting! Olympia is new since I was there, so I don't know anything about that one unfortunately.

I'm so excited for some WSU recruitment stories this fall! Good luck! GO COUGS!

[Coug2012]

Originally Posted by caylaashley

Ooooh that sounds fun(: I'm an athletic training major!
Which dorm did you choose? I'm thinking either Gannon/Golds or Olympia but I'm not sure yet

I put community/duncan-dunn (the one that is getting remodeled right now) first and olympia second!

[AXOmom]

On the dorm subject - daughter had to be in Bohler (sp?) a good part of her time (early and late), so she chose Regents because it was so close. She liked having that close by and having one of the cafterias in the building BUT she didn't end up liking the all-girls dorm thing (she was told they would be cleaner - in the end she just thought it was a little duller). If she had it to do over - she would have chosen Streit (sp?) where a lot of her friends ended up.

Olympia wasn't finished when she was there. I asked and she did say that you should pick a dorm where you have friends going, you like the room, and you are close to places you will be going BUT in terms of socializing it really didn't matter much. In her experience, largely due to when recruitment starts at WSU and how Greek life works, there wasn't much socializing done in the dorms with the exception of the Stephenson complex which is so far down the hill and away from everything that her impression was a little more went on there (she didn't wander down there much personally, but her best friend lived there the following year). For everyone else (other than unaffiliated boys) the dorms were so close to Greek Row and the live-outs that most people went there.

By the way, if you go to orientation (and you should), go with some friends if possible. It made the experience way more fun for her - three of the most fun days she had in college.

I'm sure you both know this, but WSU (like every other school these days) has a Facebook page for incoming freshman. Join it because its a good way to meet people, but don't of course say anything about specific chapters on it if you talk about going through recruitment.

[CougADPi]

Dorms are rather scattered on campus. Generally, most women going through recruitment try to live in the HIll Halls (Wilmer-Davis, Community, Stevens, etc) or on the Northside (Streit-Perham, Regents, etc). There are groups of recruitment women from the Stephenson/GG/Orton side of campus, but they are not the majority in their halls. I only ever lived in GG and Stephenson dorm-wise, but as a science major, those worked out well for me. It would also be convenient for Apparel Merchandising since that department is located directly between GG and Stephenson.

I think Orientation is required these days. It is a great program and I HIGHLY recommend it if it is not required. There are so many positives to it. I was an Orientation Counselor one year. (I met my husb there. He was also an OC on the floor directly below me. Good times )

If you have any random WSU questions, feel free to ask me in this thread or via PM. I have tons of random WSU knowledge (like where on campus to find the largest bronze sculpture dedicated to the care of large animals in the country, which dorms are "haunted", and what key the clock tower chimes in).