An Honest & Tough Fraternity Recruitment

[ebdelt]

I know there are not hardly any IFC recruitment stories and though my fraternity identity is more than obvious I've decided to share my story. It is a LONG and winding tale that more than once ended in disappointment, but at the end of the day I'm extremely proud of my fraternity and I think my story will be a good resource for any incoming male freshman who knows nothing of rush. I'm going to be 100% honest, and sometimes looking back I can't even believe some of my nim-witted mistakes, but that's life lol. So here it goes...

[KSUViolet06]

Yay.

[ebdelt]

As soon as I was accepted into this school I knew I was going there. After touring and loving the people and campus, getting a hefty scholarship, knowing my grandfather was on the basketball team way back when, and just having a strong intuition it was where I "belonged" I was ready to start ASAP. I was a straight-laced kid in high school and had never been big into the party scene, but I knew I wanted to meet lots of people and make some great friendships with other guys in college, so therefore I thought...why not give rushing a fraternity a try? I had heard my school had a bustling Greek community. So I registered, albeit a bit late into the summer, but not extraordinarily late. It wasn't like I was doing anything that summer.

The previous summer I had a humbling experience working at Quizno's and after that misery swore I'd never return. This summer I was mainly hanging out with friends, dwelling by the pool, and being a lazy teenage guy (much to the discrestion of my mom who frequently pestered me to find a new job).

Now this school isn't in the SEC, but it is VERY greek. Over 50% of the students are affiliated, and as a smaller private college it seems you've seen everyone at least once on campus. No one in my family had ever been Greek. My sister dropped out of recruitment at after her favorite sorority dropped her before bid day and ended up being apart of her school's equestrian team and loved it while earning a full athletic scholarship (imagine having to follow that up!). Even then she wasn't a great guide to fraternity rush, as she had dated her high school sweetheart, who was attending the Air Force Academy, all throughout college and they eventually got married. So literally I had no idea what to do.

It was a slow start but the phone calls started coming. It seemed each day I was getting a phone call from a fraternity asking me if I wanted to come out to their party, or a lunch, or a weekend trip, or whatever to meet their guys. Of course I was flattered, but I remembered thinking..."These events are an hour away and I don't want to drive!" As a teenager with little money of my own, the one thing I dreaded more than anything was having to pay to fill up my own tank of gas. So I'd find an excuse to say why I couldn't go or just not answer the phone calls. I also didn't feel comfortable going out to these weekend excursions seeing as I was sure there would be lots of partying, and for me I just wasn't big into that scene. I wasn't too worried, I was confident that when it came time for formal rush I would really shine, and all this informal summer business wouldn't matter. Well needless to say, I would be in a big surprise come August.

[dreamseeker]

cliffhanger!! boooooooooo

[ComradesTrue]

Yay. I am intrigued!

[MUSK81]

More, more, more ....

[ebdelt]

With no obvious direction as to how to go through rush, I thought there were plenty of freshmen guys who opted out of summer rush. Well when I went to one of my university's freshman intro camps where freshman meet each other and make early friendships before school starts I soon discovered most every guy rushing had secured an oral bid to a fraternity. Needless to say I was soon wondering what my fate would be. The more I learned, the more I became worried. People were telling me that most fraternities had already filled up their rosters for their coming fall pledge classes...I didn't know what to do.

Well after camp ended our small group leaders (upperclassmen) could tell us if they were in a fraternity or sorority. During camp they had to conceal their affiliation in order to avoid dirty rushing. It turned out my female counselor was a Pi Phi and my male counselor was....well I guess I will give my the fraternity's names of familiar country artists (some I like, and some I don't ). We have ten fraternities at my school:

Garth Brooks
George Strait
Brad Paisley
Randy Travis
Alan Jackson
Trace Adkins
Toby Keith
Billy Ray Cyrus
Tim McGraw
Blake Shelton



Therefore my camp counselor was a Brad Paisley. I had received some information from them in the mail during the summer and had gotten calls from them. From what I'd heard they seemed like some great guys and I had really liked my camp counselor who made a conscious effort to stay in contact with me after camp ended. I felt like with his connection I would at least have a chance to be a Brad Paisley.

Camp ended with about a week before formal rush started. I was no longer getting calls from any fraternity and my confidence was dropping each day. Me and my roommate hadn't really clicked and I hadn't met many guys that I saw good friendships with. I was really hoping I would find my way into a fraternity but with no summer rush experience, my chances seemed slim.

Then the IFC sent out an email saying there would be a barbeque where all the fraternities would have tents set up to meet and greet PNM's on the grassy knoll by the greek housing. Finally, I thought, I had a chance to meet some guys. So that day I made sure I was dressed nice and made my way over to Greek Row. Well when I arrived, I saw nobody....absolutely nothing. I wondered if I was in the right place, so I walked around in search (keep in mind I still had no idea where anything on campus was) and I think I may have even walked 10 minutes back to my dorm to check the email and directions. Everything was correct so I walked back to where I was previously. This time I saw one tent with two or three guys. I walked over and they introduced themselves to me as members of Garth Brooks, and one of which was the Rush Captain. It turned out that my roommate from orientation was there too and his brother was also a Garth Brooks. So I talked to them for probably 15 minutes and they invited me back into their house. I went in and got to view their chapter room which I was imprssed with, granted I had never seen anything like a fraternity house before. They handed me some packets and information about their fraternity. I told them I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a big partier and inquired what their fraternity's reputation was. They told me they had a big mixture of guys who partied and who didn't. This sounded good to me, but looking back I realize I probably would have been told by almost every other fraternity.

That would end my contact with any fraternities, as soon after there was a no contact period before formal rush started and ended. Now all that was left for me to do was hope I made some sort of lasting impression on either Garth Brooks or Brad Paisley. Formal rush was on the horizon and I had no bid. My roommate had already secured a bid from Trace Adkins and he had only hung out with them twice and registered for rush about two weeks before it started. He was socially awkward, not that smart, and not to sound arrogant but not as good-looking as me. Why the hell is he going to be in a fraternity and I might not be. The confusion wouldn't cease anytime soon.

[Leslie Anne]

Ooh, great story! Keep it coming.

[homeward*bound]

I'm really interested in hearing a fraternity rush story from your school. The women I've written recs for each year are always so excited about joining such a strong Greek scene.

[DGAnchorGirl]

I think I know what school you're at. How exciting! Keep it coming.

[sydney bristow]

I like this!!!!!!

[GeorgiaGPhiB]

I love IFC Recruitment stories, the guys have such a different process.

[ebdelt]

Sorry everyone. I meant to do an update yesterday but both times I came to the forum it seemed like it was down...it kept saying it could not load the page.

I'll have the next part of my series up soon!

[dreamseeker]

^^ do it nowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[ebdelt]

So finally....the day of rush began!! All this nervous energy had me stressed out and I was ready to see my fate. The first day we were told to meet in the student union's auditorium for an orientation for IFC Rush, which was just a couple hours before formal rush would actually begin. Mainly we learned about how formal rush would work, visiting each house, ranking the houses at the end of the day, oral bids, signing bids, etc. We also learned that one house, Toby Keith, was on probation and had lost their house. They would present to the rushees in a sorority's house instead. I remember it was Chi Omega and that their chapter room was red, red, and more red. We were passed out some rush t-shirts and then told to meet back at the Greek housing area in a couple hours and the festivities would begin. I was already dressed for formal rush wearing khaki slacks, a white button-up, a tie, and dress shoes. Other guys had received some memo that I didn't and wore t-shirts and shorts to the orientation, and were planning to change after. So I waited around and had lunch as I anticipated going to all the houses.

Eventually the time had come and I walked over with my roommate to the Greek. All the guys were in their dress attire and we met on the grassy knoll where the Rho Gamma's had our nametags. We were grouped into alphabetical order and our Rho Gam's led us to our first house. I had heard a lot of stories about sorority rush and how intense and loud it could get, and while I didn't expect it to be that intense, I was expecting some formality. Much to my surprise I walked into Blake Shelton and all their guys were just sitting there. No greetings...nothing. They were sitting on their couches and then their president finally seemed to acknowledge our existence and gave us a speech. I probably will never forget what he said next. "Hey guys, welcome to Blake Shelton. In this house we pride ourselves on two things in life.....paintball and pussy." Now I will say that I attended a small private Christian school where such talk was not casually spoken of. I wasn't a prude, but I remember thinking how sleezy these guys came acorss. The president proceeded to elaborate on how much these guys loved playing paintball and how they were the intermural champs for paintball. I remember thinking if this is what they were best at, I'm sure I could do better. The president then ended his speech and the rushees just kind of sat around. I talked to some other rushees about what a joke this house was and other talk.

I was ready to leave and was relieved when our Rho Gam's called us out to move on to the next house. The next house was Tim McGraw. I don't remember much about these guys, but I recall they gave a mediocre speech about how much they partied and had a great time. It seemed they had their pledge class together and to them formal rush was just something they had to be at but not really give an effort. They seemed okay, but I figured I wasn't a great match considering I wanted a lot more than big partying.

I was beginning to wonder if this was what all the houses were like. The next house was George Strait and I had heard a lot of great things about these guys. I remember them calling me during the summer for stuff I couldn't attend so I figured they may have some interest in me. Several girls had told me that I not only acted like a George Strait but looked like them too, so I was definitely interested in meeting guys that were like me. We went into their house, and all the guys started doing a chant and yelling as we walked through. These guys actually seemed excited to meet us and I was relieved that there was at least one house that was. Their president really impressed me with his speech. This house was #1 in grades, intermurals, and had a good social calendar. They were also awarded the best chapter in the nation by their national organization. I was extremely impressed and when the president ended his speech several actives started talking to us. I found out who the rush chair was and immediately went to go talk to him. I knew if I wanted to have a chance with this fraternity I would need to meet the big players within the fraternity. We had a good conversation, not great, but I did my best to get my name out there and it came time to leave. I didn't want to go because I felt like if I had more time, I could better my chances by meeting more guys. Just had to hope...

The next house would be Brad Paisley. Now this was one of the fraternities I actually knew a guy, my camp counselor, so I was excited to see them again but he was not there for rush because he had other engagements I guess. We went into the house and were greeted by all the members in a similar fashion to George Strait. These guys were all dressed in suits and ties unlike the other houses so I felt like they were actually trying for formal rush. They were also up there in grades, intermurals, and social but didn't seem as intense about it. I liked that they seemed a little more relaxed about that stuff versus George Strait. Then something really good happened, I recognized a kid from my high school that I had no idea was in this fraternity. Truth be told I actually really dislike him in high school but I knew I had to be put on a good face. I went up to him and he seemed shocked to see me. We were the only two people from my high school at this college, and he graduated two years before me. When he was a senior I was still growing into my own, I had shot up about 6 inches since he had graduated so he was surprised how grown up I looked. We actually had a great conversation and he seemed like a new person, and he told me credited that to Brad Paisley. He then told me he was going to introduce me to some important people..the rush chair and president. I was nervous but I actually had more amazing conversations with these guys and they seemed really interested in me. I was having a great time and dreaded having to leave the house.

The next house would be Randy Travis. We walked into their chapter room and it was amazing. Beautiful dark wood panels and black leather furniture gave it a very "lodge" kind of feel and these guys seemed to be the old money type. I was excited to see what kind of presentation would give considering how awesome their chapter room was. Well....they never got up...never said a word. Literally we sat in their chapter room while these guys watched an NFL game. Basically we just conversed with other rushees and sat there until it was time to go. Needless to say I was not impressed with Randy Travis, who gave ZERO effort into formal rush.

The next house was Alan Jackson. These guys weren't very impressive. They showed us a slideshow about their parties and how much "pussy" they got. Then there would be a random slide with prestigious alumni such as a former president. I wasn't too impressed considering they weren't from that chapter and from 50 years ago. I talked to a couple actives but was ready to go.

The next house would be the most bizarre. Billy Ray Cyrus was next. These guys were dressed really fratty and had a pretty nice house. However they kind of ignored our prescence and I figured we had another Randy Travis on our hands. But then this guy got up but was using crutches and dragging his feet like they were noodles. He gave us a speech about how he somehow damaged his legs and now had no movement in them and they were worthless appendages. I guess he was paralyzed from the legs down but used crutches instead of a wheel chair. He was also REALLY drunk and it was probably about 3PM. I couldn't even understand the story about how he lost feeling in his leg but I was bewildered and had no interest in this house. If you represent yourself with an alcoholic frat-star with dead legs, am I supposed to think this fraternity is going to help me grow into a man?

The next house I had was Garth Brooks. I was excited to see what they would do since they made a reasonably good impression on me earlier in the week. They did a slideshow about what their fraternity was about and then the president gave a sincere speech. We then were allowed to talk to actives and the one I talked to proceeded to tell me why he joined Garth Brooks instead of some other bids he got. I liked what he was saying but it came off a little desperate. I wasn't sure if the quality of this house was solid top-to-bottom but I appreciated their effort and my prescence in the hous never seemed to drag on, so I took it as a good sign.

Trace Adkins was the next house. They gave a speech about their fraternity and seemed to be giving a sincere effort. They also had a really nice big-screen TV, much like a movie theater. They gave a pretty good presentation but weren't as emphatic as some other houses. Plus I knew my roommate was going to be in Trace Adkins and therefore was not that interested in being in the same fraternity as him. They were okay in my mind, but nothing special.


The last house was Toby Keith and like I said were presenting in Chi Omega's house since they had lost their house due to probation problems. We walked in and sat down and all the guys seemed to be dressed much differently then the other fraternities. They looked like gangsters from New York and were yelling and shouting a lot about nonsense. There was a lot of hair gel and pierced earrings which seemed weird to me. They showed us a slide show about some of their parties which included a Playboy Mansion party with lots of skanky girls in the slideshow, including photos of girls making out. I found it all a bit over the top and tasteless. These guys just seemed very different from anything I wanted to be a part of and the fact that they were kicked out of their own house seemed like trouble to me.

Finally the day was over and I was exhausted and ready to be done. It was about 4 hours...mainly of stupidity. We were told to rank the houses in order of how much we liked them. I took some time but mainly just to rank the houses I had no interest in seeing, I knew which one's I liked best. Here was what I wrote down.

1. Brad Paisley
2. George Strait
3. Garth Brooks
4. Tim McGraw
5. Trace Adkins
6. Alan Jackson
7. Toby Keith
8. Blake Shelton
9. Randy Travis
10. Billy Ray Cyrus