Continuing with the background update before hitting the hay... 
Picture an 18 year old new freshman who has absolutely no background information whatsoever about Greek life, and you have me. I came from a small town - my high school graduating class had 92 students. Never gave Greek Life even the tinest bit of consideration while making my college plans - I wasn't opposed to it, the thought just never crossed my mind. As far as I knew, I didn't know anyone who had ever been in a sorority.
I deliberately selected my university b/c it was huge, and it would give me the opportunity to meet tons of new people. When I arrived on campus, I loved it instantly! Though it was a huge culture shock coming from a small town where I had known everyone since I was an infant to going somewhere much larger where I knew no one.
After I had been on campus a few days, I had a phone conversation with a friend from back home. Gina was a new freshman at another school, however she was living at home and commuting. One of her first questions to me was "so...are you going to rush?" Being completely clueless I had to ask her what she meant.
She explained that it was the process of joining a sorority and that she had decided to go through rush at her school to get involved and compensate for living at home. She was so enthusiastic about the idea that we could go through rush at the same time that I thought "what have I got to lose?" I found a copy of the Panhellenic rush brochure in with a bunch of new student paperwork. Turns out that rush started the next morning, so I hurried over to the Panhellenic office before it closed and registered.
In the span of about 20 minutes, I went from being a clueless freshman who didn't even know what rush was to being a PNM. Little did I know what was in store for me!
Cast of Characters
(aka Individuals who influenced my actions during rush. Note - first names may or may not have been altered to protect the innocent
):
Steph: Sophomore. Lived a few doors down from me. She was not in a sorority, but was
very opinionated about sororities and which ones were "good." According to Steph, there were only 4-5 sororities on campus that were "worth being in." (Isn't that ridiculous? We had 16 NPC groups with a Chapter Total of 110 at the time. If only 4-5 chapters were "worth being in," that left a whole lot of women in those "other chapters" who were wasting their time.
) But, I was a clueless freshman, and she was one of the first friends I made in the dorm - for better or worse, she had some influence over me.
Laura: Steph's roommate. A junior. Also one of the first friends I made in the dorm. According to Steph, Laura had rushed the year before and ended up in "a shitty sorority" (Steph's words, not mine - see description of Steph above to see why that comment should be taken with a grain of salt!) Laura was a member of Sideshow Bob, however she no longer participated in anything with her chapter - including rush.
Bethany: Lived on my floor. She was a Tri-Delt. Unfortunately, Tri-Delts closed suddenly before the beginning of the school year - they were even printed in our rush booklets, and the Rho Chis had to tell us to disregard their page. Bethany was awesome, and the only sorority woman I could talk with throughout the experience. Thank god I had her, because she helped counterbalance the evil influence of Steph!
(Looking back on it, I realize how painful it must have been for her to talk with me about rush, when she was still coping with the closing of her chapter. But she was an extremely good sport throughout the whole thing.)
Gina: My friend from back home who convinced me to rush on a whim.
Suzy: A girl from my floor who was in my rush group. Suzy's roommate was a member of Carl Carlson. With a Greek roommate, Suzy had plenty of opinions and background knowledge on the different chapters.
Rush Process
Phase A: Attend all 16 chapters
Phase B: Attend up to 12 chapters.
Phase C: Attend up to 6 chapters
Preference: Attend up to 3 chapters.
Between each phase, you received a list detailing where you were invited back. If you were invited back to more chapters than you had room for, then you had to drop houses. If you were invited back to the same number or fewer chapters than there were parties for a phase, then you had to attend all chapters. (Ex - for phase C, there were 6 parties. If you were invited back to 9 chapters, you had to decline 3 invitations. If you were only invited back to 4 houses for phase C, you had to attend all 4 chapters.)
Linear Mode
