Rush at UCSB

ucsbgirl · #1 03-23-2010, 12:58 AM

I am a current HS senior and was accepted to UC Santa Barbara today and am probably going to attend this fall. I'm planning to rush in the fall but if I join a sorority it doesn't necessarily need to be the "hottest" or the most popular one, just one that's a good fit for me. Still, I am hoping to join a more active/larger sorority to meet some cool people and have fun. I did a quick search but couldn't find many recent posts on UCSB, particularly about how competitive rush is. For example, do I absolutely need letters of recommendation? Also, my mom is a member of one the chapters at UCSB. I know this helps at some schools -- do you think it would at UCSB?

Any info at all about rush or Greek life at UCSB would be much appreciated! Thanks!

KSUViolet06 · #2 03-23-2010, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucsbgirl

I am a current HS senior and was accepted to UC Santa Barbara today and am probably going to attend this fall. I'm planning to rush in the fall but if I join a sorority it doesn't necessarily need to be the "hottest" or the most popular one, just one that's a good fit for me. Still, I am hoping to join a more active/larger sorority to meet some cool people and have fun. I did a quick search but couldn't find many recent posts on UCSB, particularly about how competitive rush is. For example, do I absolutely need letters of recommendation? Also, my mom is a member of one the chapters at UCSB. I know this helps at some schools -- do you think it would at UCSB?

Any info at all about rush or Greek life at UCSB would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Not sure about the need for recs, but it's good to have your mom send in a rec or legacy intro form on your behalf (although being a legacy does not = an automatic invite to join).

woahwoah · #3 03-23-2010, 01:37 PM

i'm, by far, not an expert, but i have a lot of friends who go to ucsb.

they say rush is not very popular because ucsb is such a social school, so many people find it pointless/needless to rush and spend money on joining a social group.

THAT said..there are an abundance of beautiful, well rounded girls there. Just how many of them go through the rush process? Not sure. So i'd say rec letters are probably not necessary, but they can't hurt, right?

P.s. other people please don't attack the "pointless/needless" comment, im simply stating the mentality of a lot of people at that school and do not agree with it in the least bit!

woahwoah · #4 03-23-2010, 01:41 PM

P.S. about greek life in general..
I have a friend in a fraternity, so based off of that I would say greek life at ucsb is TONS of fun and a quick way to meet many great people if you don't meet many in your dorm (or even if you do! as for dorms, i recomment san nic!)

A word of caution, I'm sure everybody and their mothers know ucsb's reputation of crazy partying. Which holds VERY true, I might add. Well, sorority houses are located in Isla Vista, pretty much the center of all that lol. So I know it is very possible to get caught up in that scene of partying every night (literally). Just remember it's school too and try to maintain a proper balance. You want to represent your sorority well!

Kay I'm done being a mom at 18 GOOD LUCK!

ucsbgirl · #5 03-24-2010, 01:04 AM

Thanks! I know about UCSB's party rep. I'm not a crazy partyer or that into drinking (it's not really exciting to me since I drink wine with my parents) but I DO like to have a good time, if you know what I mean. But thanks for letting me know.

I'll have my mom send in a legacy form, too.

APhiAnna · #6 03-24-2010, 11:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucsbgirl

I am a current HS senior and was accepted to UC Santa Barbara today and am probably going to attend this fall. I'm planning to rush in the fall but if I join a sorority it doesn't necessarily need to be the "hottest" or the most popular one, just one that's a good fit for me. Still, I am hoping to join a more active/larger sorority to meet some cool people and have fun. I did a quick search but couldn't find many recent posts on UCSB, particularly about how competitive rush is. For example, do I absolutely need letters of recommendation? Also, my mom is a member of one the chapters at UCSB. I know this helps at some schools -- do you think it would at UCSB?

Any info at all about rush or Greek life at UCSB would be much appreciated! Thanks!

I honestly think recs are great for any school...being a California native all my life, I think the only school I'd say absolutely get recs for if you don't know anybody in the chapters is USC. That being said, UCSB, UCLA and UC Berkeley have semi-competitive rushes, and having recs to each chapter will certainly put you on the chapter's radar in a positive light before recruitment starts...after that, the pressure is on you to impress, but they are still good to have.

As far as your legacy counting, legacy policies don't vary from school to school, but rather sorority to sorority. I am sure your mother could easily find out your legacy policy and let you know...for many, it is that you get an automatic invite back during the first cuts, and that if you end up at the sorority on pref day/night that you are automatically placed on the first list.

Legacies are never guaranteed a bid (well, maybe they are in some sororities, certainly none I've ever heard of), and I've found that its power for a PNM generally varies depending on how competitive a school's recruitment is. For a small school with an ultra non-competitive greek life, legacies may be so rare that they will be willing to forgive some discrepancy in chapter fit (to an extent) to bid you. At the SEC schools that practically invented frills rush they may have double the number of quota in terms of legacies and still want to bid non-legacies as well, making your legacy status practically irrelevant. I'd say UCSB is not as competitive as USC in terms of California, but a lot of strong PNMs go through. So I'd assume legacy will help but not make you a guaranteed shoe-in.

ucsbgirl · #7 03-25-2010, 07:33 PM

Thanks for the info! I looked up my mom's sorority and it's similar to what you said. It's good to know I will be invited back at least somewhere! Lol.

As per competitiveness, I've heard there are a lot of fun, good-looking girls at UCSB (mostly from guys, haha)... I am pretty good at talking to people I don't know so I guess that helps me a little. Even if I don't get picked (or whatever it's called?) towards the end, it will still be fun to go through rush to meet new people.

ladollhouse · #8 03-29-2010, 08:48 AM

Hey I'm really interested in this too, I'm a transfer and hoping to go greek! Does anyone know about transfers trying to get into the greek system there? I will probably be there for 3 years because not all of my credits will transfer.

ucsbgirl · #9 03-31-2010, 10:20 PM

Okay, so I know this sounds stupid but I heard that there's a sorority at UCSB that makes all the girls dye their hair blonde! Is this actually true? And which one? I heard this from my friend's sister (who went to UCSB & had friends there in sororities) so this could obviously be really distorted by the grapevine but still!!

KSUViolet06 · #10 03-31-2010, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ucsbgirl

Okay, so I know this sounds stupid but I heard that there's a sorority at UCSB that makes all the girls dye their hair blonde! Is this actually true? And which one? I heard this from my friend's sister (who went to UCSB & had friends there in sororities) so this could obviously be really distorted by the grapevine but still!!

Every sorority has stupid campus rumors that go around. This is likely one of them.

Ex: people at my school said that one chapter required girls to tan. False.

Football Fan · #11 03-31-2010, 11:58 PM

Visit the Panhellenic website at UCSB and find the individual websites for each sorority listed. Look through these and I think you will discover the members are quite diverse. California is a state with many ethnic groups represented and this is reflected in the sororities.

The blonde story is just a myth as you will see from photos on the websites.

Do try and have references for each group. It will bring your special qualities to the attention of the members. Keep an open mind.