Not Permitting (1st Semester) Freshmen To Rush

[Amicus]

Are there many colleges and universities that have Greek Letter organizations, but do not permit freshmen or at least first semester freshmen to rush?

I know Washington and Jefferson (near Pittsburgh) didn't permit first semester freshmen to rush. Likewise, Bucknell didn't let students rush until sophomore year. I don't if both schools still have those policies.

I got curious how many school have such policies. Are there many such colleges and universities

Friends of mine have told me that they hope/wish that there children would postpone joining a fraternity or sorority. Freshman year of college can be a lot things (fill in whatever adjective you wish); joining a Greek letter organization can be just one more stress inducer.

From reading the various post, I understand that freshmen -- especially potential sorority members -- are valued as long term residents at large houses.

I want to hear what others would like to say on the issue.

[33girl]

Sometimes the policies are different for sororities and fraternities - men can join first semester but women can't. Sometimes fraternities have to meet certain expectations (overall GPA, no risk mgmt issues) to be allowed to pledge first semester freshmen.

The standard party line is that freshmen are more desirable as members because 1) they'll be there for 4 whole years (not always true) and 2) they haven't yet had time to develop any sort of reputation on campus (also not always true). NPC and IFC get offended by deferred rush and say it's "discriminatory" since you don't have to wait to join other groups on campus. The difference (that they don't point out) is you're not going to be a lifetime member of the State U. chess club. I completely agree with waiting at least a semester to join, but unfortunately at some schools, it can really lessen your chances to get a bid to certain groups, if not ANY group.

If you go to the sorority recruitment thread, IrishPipes has a very long post of when schools hold sorority rush.

[Amicus]

Thank you!

[*winter*]

Some schools use this "Deferred Recruitment" idea. Formal recruitment is held in the beginning of the Spring semester only. Some houses low on numbers do COB in the fall, but I'm not sure Freshman are allowed to participate in this.

One of the schools my niece (the senior in HS one) is interested in does deferred recruitment. I went to a school where rush (yeah- I'm that old-I said "rush!") took place in both fall and spring. The recruitment period started a few weeks after school was in session, too- which seems different than in other parts of the country. Typically fall PCs were larger than spring, but the spring recruitment gave students the chance to wait and see if they were interested in sororities.

There are good points and bad points to each, it seems. On one hand, by the beginning of your second semester, many students have already found their "niche" and may not be interested in recruitment. On the other hand, girls don't have the pressure of recruitment immediately after settling into (or while settling into) a new environment.

Only problem with doing it up here is that by January...it's DARN cold! So much for Lilly Pulitzer sundresses!

[papayafruit]

I know my school has deferred rush. I think that it is that way because they want freshmen to get used to college academics, and perhaps Greek Life would be a stressor that would cause them to get less than desirable grades. Freshmen usually come out in spring when we do formal recruitment, and it gives us fall informal to focus on sophomores or juniors who may be beaten out by the freshmen during formal recruitment. I think as Greek orgs at my school we'd like freshmen to be able to rush because they could get involved right off the bat as they start college, but it's not really up to us, and we understand why there is that rule. I guess deferred also gives us a chance to make friendships with the freshmen who seem interested in the fall, and have them want to join in the spring.

[AnotherKD]

Yes, Bucknell still doesn't let Freshmen rush.

[CCgreek12]

I go to a school in WI, that does not allow freshmen and/or new transfer students to Rush in their 1st semester. This works out for my school. It allows the students to be just that students. In the spring we have the formal rush process, with a large number of freshmen girls. This semester can give the girls a chance to get to know active sisters.

[groovypq]

My school has deferred recruitment. To be honest, I've never heard a specific reason why, but it's been that way since I was a student. I heard talk that they were trying to switch to the fall but the faculty shot that down.

While we have deferred formal recruitment, we do have an informal recruitment in the fall, open to sophomores and up only. It's semi-structured, in that there is a schedule (there's even Bid Day!) and all houses participate, but PNMs are not required to visit all houses. They're not even required to formally sign up, which results in some girls having their hearts broken because they go all week not knowing they don't have grades. I wish there were better communication about informal...

[33girl]

Originally Posted by groovypq

While we have deferred formal recruitment, we do have an informal recruitment in the fall, open to sophomores and up only. It's semi-structured, in that there is a schedule (there's even Bid Day!) and all houses participate, but PNMs are not required to visit all houses. They're not even required to formally sign up, which results in some girls having their hearts broken because they go all week not knowing they don't have grades. I wish there were better communication about informal...

Those things are super easy to fix by having a Meet the Greeks session that all PNMs are required to attend and formally sign up at. They meet each sorority at least once and there can be a convocation type thing where the grade issue is discussed.

[MUSK81]

I can see both sides of it, but as the mother of a first-semester freshman, I'd have to say at this point I prefer deferred rush. As much as I would love for him to go Greek, I'd like for him to get used to being away from home, doing college work, etc. before he takes on such an important committment. That said, I pledged my first semester (same school) and did fine. But I was a commuter and didn't have as much to deal with as kids who are away from home for the first time.

[rollthedice]

At my school you're not permitted to rush as a freshman at all, you have to wait until your sophomore year. However, they do allow sophomores, juniors, and seniors to all participate in fall recruitment.

There were some informal events in the spring right before school ended that allowed freshmen girls to see the houses and get an idea of them before they came back in the fall, but no recruitment or anything. Despite how small our Greek Life is, they are VERY serious about it...

[clarinette]

My school doesn't allow people to rush until 2nd semester of freshman year, but we still do rush every semester. Like other schools, upperclassmen (generally) rush in the fall, and freshmen rush in the spring.

[LaneSig]

Some schools that don't allow 1st semester freshmen to rush:

Southern Methodist University
Miami University of Ohio
Vanderbilt University
Indiana University
Wake Forest University
Tulane University
Ohio State University
Elon University

In the past several years several of the Arkansas public colleges switched to 2nd semester recruitment for freshmen.
University of Central Arkansas
Henderson State University
Southern Arkansas University

[mommy2clj]

Tulane does not have recruitment until winter. I think it is a great I idea, because it gives incoming freshman a chance to get settled.

[southbymidwest]

Originally Posted by LaneSig

Some schools that don't allow 1st semester freshmen to rush:

Southern Methodist University
Miami University of Ohio
Vanderbilt University
Indiana University
Wake Forest University

In the past several years several of the Arkansas public colleges switched to 2nd semester recruitment for freshmen.
University of Central Arkansas
Henderson State University
Southern Arkansas University

You can add Ohio State to that list.