Texas 2015

[SWTXBelle]

So you couldn't accept invites to all chapters who invited you?

[Katmandu]

Wow, I had no idea this was at all common as late as the mid 90s. Fascinating...and stressful for all sides.

[Herbie]

I rushed in the 2000s and that was my experience.

[austingammaphi]

When I went through in 1982, I was invited to 10 of the 15 houses and had to decline two invitations with regrets. One of the ones I turned down was Gamma Phi Beta; even though I had met some wonderful girls during summer rush (also a thing; Panhellenic called a halt to it several years ago after multiple violations of the rules), I had high school and family friends in the other houses and felt that my chances would be better there. Went to all eight houses, then was handed four invitations (the maximum you could accept) for the next round. Five houses had dropped me, leaving three remaining--but Gamma Phi put me back on their invitation list, and after visiting the maximum three houses on pref night, I had Gamma Phi at the top of my list. Later, the rush chair told me that they had never gone back and reinvited someone in the middle of rush, but several girls urged her to put me back on the list because we'd had so much fun that summer.

Also, even though Panhellenic wasn't officially recognized by the university, every sorority and its members were prominently featured in The Cactus yearbook every year.

[honeychile]

This is so amazing to those of us not from Texas!

[AnchorAlum]

Originally Posted by honeychile

This is so amazing to those of us not from Texas!

Hey, those of us from Florida might think it was a RELIEF not to have to get heat stroke walking to 19 houses as I did at FSU many years ago.

But sorry, at the end of the day PNM's should be welcomed to every single house on the campus.

[FSUZeta]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlum

Hey, those of us from Florida might think it was a RELIEF not to have to get heat stroke walking to 19 houses as I did at FSU many years ago.

But sorry, at the end of the day PNM's should be welcomed to every single house on the campus.

You're not kidding! Or sprinting from the Sigma Sigma Sigma house to Alpha Xi Delta house or your house in heels in 15 minutes!

[ChioLu]

When I went through at Tulsa, I had 3 party invites for (2 party) Pref and had to regret 1. All 3 were/are great chapters and I would have been happy to be in any of the 3. I was tearing up that I had to regret one.

(Your jaw might drop with this next part ...) I was actually able to WRITE on the invite "So sorry I have to reqret. XYZ is a wonderful chapter with amazing women." (The invites were 2 page carbons -- 1 went to Panhellenic, 1 went to the sorority.) On bid night (in my new XO shirt), I saw some of the XYZ girls who came up, hugged me, congratulated me and said they were sad that I had to regret also (b/c they read the copy that went to the chapter), but knew I would have a wonderful Greek experience in Chi Omega.

[Katmandu]

I really like the "decline with regret" option. Sometimes girls get cut later in the process and rethink rankings. When I rushed, we actually got all the invitations physically, so there were no delusions that "so and so really liked me but somehow, XYZ ranked me higher and bumped me out of so and so's list". You either had an invitation or you didn't. However, as a rush counsellor I definitely saw girls decline invites in early rounds, be cut heavily in later rounds and think to myself that her perfect match may have been left on the floor in round 2. Decline with regret would allow for chapters to extend an invite later. Most times it wouldn't make a difference, but it might...for both the chapter and the PNM. Especially for WRC, but I guess in most locations RFM has taken care of that.

God, I really am a Panhellenic Greek life geek.

[jolene]

Holy cow. So glad I never went to Texas. My prayers and sympathies are with any lady who rushed there. O.o Seems more brutal than other SEC. My first rec girl rushed there, but she went DG--out of state gal, a soph. She felt AXiD were too pageantish.

[tinydancer]

I swear, I just can't stand it!!

[Griffins&Quills]

No nastiness on her part?!?! LOLOLOLOLOL

Except where she blatantly called specific houses worthless trash, before she edited her posts...

[Jen]

Classless.

[FSUZeta]

^this^

[Cheerio]

The first thing I think of when people mention Alpha Phi at Texas is the 2003 television documentary program Freshman Diaries. As far as I ever saw of that show, the campus Greek system was not mentioned even though it appeared to me (and one had to look very carefully) one young women featured in the show became a new member pledge in Alpha Phi.