Calling all moms!

[alum]

Originally Posted by proudmom

ex-lurker: the first post you'll want to go to on CC is the sticky "abbreviation thread" on the parents forum -there is a whole other world of lingo there! And yes HYPMS is exactly that. There's some discussion of greek life there but most of it tends towards the parental head scratching of "why would my child want to do that?" Much of the discussion centers around the correlation between being Greek and alcohol use. Parents there can seem to be helicopter parents but they're mostly just like the moms here: care deeply about their kids and want them to be happy. They're trying to do the best they can by getting as much info as possible to help them in the grueling admissions process. I have often thought of rush and college admissions as similar from a pick me! pick me! point of view. Both of them can be a parent's nightmare.

Ditto, proudmom!
I think many of the CC parents are very willing to make the next major investment in their child's education (about $200,000 for a 4 year "top-ranked" private university or LAC), but want to get advice from fellow parents about the process, the school, etc.

With the advent of the Common Application, the most competitive kids are applying to 8-10 schools now, and many are applying to more than that. The above 4.0 GPA, perfect SAT and AP scores, 3 sport/4 year varsity athlete who is student body president and long-time volunteer at a local charity will not necessarily get into the college of his/her choice. Colleges love this trend of applying to many schools because more application fees are added to the coffers and also the selectivity rate increases because there are still only x numbers of spots going to be offered even when there are more applications.

[dvs-dz]

Another CC reader/poster here! (But I think I was on GC before CC)

Anywho, my daughter will not be attending a college with a Greek system. However, I was a Girl Scout leader and I can't wait to find out if/where my other "daughters" pledge!

And on another note, I have had a blast writing recommendations for so many girls I know this year!

[rusheemom]

My daughter will be starting recruitment in 2 weeks at a competitive school (not SEC), but with 13 sororities for 1100 rushees. I went through rush at the same school 30 years ago and joined a sorority I loved. I had a blast during rush, even though I was cut by some of my favorite sororities (I wish I had paid more attention to my grades in hs.) Anyway, I'm with "proudmom" on the fact that I'm so anxious for my daughter, but excited as well. I know how disappointing it can be to get cut by a house that you love, and we moms don't like our children hurt. We all know that our daughters are the smartest and the cutest, but we can't hold their hands during rush (I would if I could!). I too, like "proudmom" have helped with recs, clothes shopping, advice (probably too much), and now after finding this wonderful network, realize that I need to back off and put this all in my daughter's hands. She is a capable young woman, and I need to let her guide her own destiny. I will still be a wreck from Aug. 13-18, and will try try try not to offer anything but a sounding board, and pray that she finds her happy home. I'm hoping also, that being a legacy won't hurt her chances. I have absolutely no strong feelings about her joining my house, and have conveyed that to her explicitly. Anyway - good luck to your daughters, good luck to you moms on keeping your sanity during the process, and good luck to the dads and brothers who have to deal with us all!! Happy Rushing!!

[KyleMcGuire1983]

wow this is intense! I go to school out in California where greeks are hated and resented by the vast majority of the student population....

my parents went to college in 1976-1980 and were NOT greek.....they HATE that I'm greek now and keep trying to get me to quit as they feel it takes up too much of my time (I'm vice president of my chapter).

I heard stories about how at our Grand Chapter (national convention) there were stories of alumni crying when they saw their sons get pinned as Sigma Nus and I was shocked! I could never imagine my parents, let alone my father, coming to my pinning ceremony. I'm pretty sure it's a cultural thing in California where fraternities and sororities are seen as evil backwards right wing organizations or something....

weird

[rusheemom]

We're doing the countdown now at our house. Going over the "move into dorm list" daily. Our guest room has been overtaken with crates, bedding, mini fridge, bags from target, wal-mart,etc. My daughter and I are doing the "this may be the last time we do this together..." thing. When we asked my son, who is in a fraternity at her school, if he could get a couple of guys to help us with the dorm move, his reply was " Gee Mom (pointed sarcasm), a gazillion girls going through rush, moving into the dorms - I could make some money selling raffle tickets for that!" So, I guess we'll have all the help we need. I really would like to hear if other Mom's out there are getting knots in their stomach like I am. My daughter is as cool as a cucumber, just excited and ready to get it started! I try not to let it show, as I'm excited as well!

[CutiePie2000]

Originally Posted by rusheemom

I really would like to hear if other Mom's out there are getting knots in their stomach like I am.

If only justamom was still on GC (JAM for short). She was awesome and her daughter went Delta Gamma at LSU.

[tunatartare]

Originally Posted by CutiePie2000

If only justamom was still on GC (JAM for short). She was awesome and her daughter went Delta Gamma at LSU.

whatever happened to her? she was great