Sorority Rush is the Most Important Unimportant Thing Ever

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Hartofsec

II don't think signing up on the viewable guestbook with your name, location, and email is an especially good idea.

Yep. Kinda like using your credit card at the head shop.

On a tangent:

Originally Posted by Hartofsec

These are also girls who attended high schools that would be considered rush-savvy.

Are we talking public or private schools? Or do you just mean the neighborhoods? I'm not trying to snark at all, just curious. The more I hear about HS systems in other states the more different ours seems to be.

[ADPiEE]

Originally Posted by AnchorAlumna

That's exactly what a lot of alumnae panhellenics do, and many of us have done informally, for FREE, and for YEARs.

This^^^

They do where I am too. Maybe the Alumnae Panhellenics don't do this in Alabama? I want to give Rushbiddies the benefit of the doubt but something just doesn't sit right with me.

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by 33girl

On a tangent:

Are we talking public or private schools? Or do you just mean the neighborhoods? I'm not trying to snark at all, just curious. The more I hear about HS systems in other states the more different ours seems to be.

Two of the girls I recognized attended public high school (the ones whose moms were Bama alums). Another attended a large private school -- her mom was not Greek. I saw both public and private schools mentioned in the guest book.

Here, in some places, the neighborhood may be much the same as the high school, since the community is its own city entity and operates its own school district. There is only one high school in some of these communities, though it may be large.

[pinapple]

Ok...big town...slow night. Finals week at UT, but seriously...has anyone taken 5 minutes to read that guest book? What is the world is this about?

<an entry from the Rushbiddies Guest Book>

Hello, my name is XXXXXXX XXXXXXX and I am senior in high school. I am in the process of applying to colleges, and I KNOW that I will rush a sorority at the one I end up going to. I am a hyper-competitive person, and it is of the utmost important to my Mother and me that I get into a top-tier house. She was an AXO at SMU, so she did pretty well for herself. Just saying. As you can see it is very important to me to join a GOOD sorority. I feel like by attending one of your workshops, I can have a competitive edge going into rush. Please respond to my request so we can discuss the workshop that is tailor-made for my situation. I look forward to your response! Toodles, XXXXXXX XXXXXXX

I know Rushbiddies might not advertise that they are prepping girls for top houses, but who goes to these workshops hoping for a bottom tier house? IMO they are simply trying to sell something that can't be bought. And who signs anything Toodles? Can you imagine getting a letter of introductions from someone signed "toddles"? It would end up on the back of the bathroom stall doors.

[AnchorAlumna]

Originally Posted by ADPiEE

Maybe the Alumnae Panhellenics don't do this in Alabama?

No, we all do, but Birmingham's Alum Panhellenic is brand new - this is their first year and they hosted their first sessions just a few weeks ago.
So there is unfulfilled demand out there that the "biddies" feed. Or did.
I don't think the two ladies have given up any day jobs, though.

And of course, there are going to be those people who feel they are *special snowflakes* and are willing to pay for extra attention.
Hey, it's their money to spend as they see fit.

But it just seems to me that the "biddies" are implying they can deliver more than they can. Hope they have ironclad agreements with their PNMs' parents.

[OHNOITSJESS]

Originally Posted by Low C Sharp

Which GLO is she a member of? She went to Michigan.

According to this interview, Sigma Kappa

[carnation]

Originally Posted by pinapple

I know Rushbiddies might not advertise that they are prepping girls for top houses, but who goes to these workshops hoping for a bottom tier house? IMO they are simply trying to sell something that can't be bought. And who signs anything Toodles? Can you imagine getting a letter of introductions from someone signed "toddles"? It would end up on the back of the bathroom stall doors.

Dying of laughter over here, but that's so true about the bathroom stalls!

I'm trying to imagine a contract that promises a bid from a top-tier sorority, haha.

[clemsongirl]

I guess I can see how Rushbiddies would help, say, for Northern girls going to competitive Southern schools who have no idea what to expect and no other resources such as an alumnae panhellenic or GC to help them, but that's clearly not the group Rushbiddies is catering to. I knew nothing about Greek Life coming in to Clemson as a freshman, and had I decided to rush then it probably would not have gone very well for me. My APH is brand-new and has not responded to my attempts to contact them, but I'm going to venture that those in Alabama are a little more prepared for the recruitment wringer that is Bama recruitment.

I can't even imagine how they could guarantee every single PNM a successful recruitment, especially since the concept of a successful recruitment is super subjective. Girls who only want to pledge a "top chapter" and will drop out of recruitment entirely if that one chapter drops them would demand their money back and call their recruitment a failure, while other girls would be thrilled to get a bid from any chapter at all. I imagine the Rushbiddies guarantees would be more vague, along the lines of "you will be better prepared with us than you would be otherwise", but some people will hear only what they want to.

And that website is killing me with its terribleness. It's not eye-searing, but it is brain-breaking.

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by pinapple

Ok...big town...slow night. Finals week at UT, but seriously...has anyone taken 5 minutes to read that guest book? What is the world is this about?

<an entry from the Rushbiddies Guest Book>

I know Rushbiddies might not advertise that they are prepping girls for top houses, but who goes to these workshops hoping for a bottom tier house? IMO they are simply trying to sell something that can't be bought. And who signs anything Toodles? Can you imagine getting a letter of introductions from someone signed "toddles"? It would end up on the back of the bathroom stall doors.

That entry really is cringe-worthy!

To be fair, I guess we shouldn't be surprised that a recruitment coaching business has found a market. Considering the hype surrounding large recruitments like those in the SEC, for instance, some people may feel that they need consultation. Imagine being an OOS PNM or mom from an area where large competitive recruitments seem alien.

I figure a lot of what may seem business-as-usual to those of us posting about SEC recruitments probably seems cringe-worthy and waaay over the top to most people anyway. Including other Greeks!

[carnation]

Who feels, as I do, that that PNM will be referred to as "Toodles" during recruitment?

[Hartofsec]

Originally Posted by carnation

Who feels, as I do, that that PNM will be referred to as "Toodles" during recruitment?

I do -- if it is seen by girls in chapters at her prospective campus. She really should remove that post.

Imagine the suppressed chuckles among actives in Toddles' rotation.

(The irony -- one would think that the Rushbiddies would advise her to remove such a dumb post on their own site. They should know this, right? Perhaps that is covered in the workshop )

.

[ADPiEE]

pinapple--your post made me want to read their guest book and wow

".....My daughter is graduating from _________ and is attending _______ in the fall. She's very excited about Greek life and wants to be sure she gets into the right sorority...."

at least one of the biddies posted:
"...Regardless of any type of publicity, our goal is to always be uplifting and edifying to any young woman who is considering Sorority Recruitment. Our aim is to always educate and provide knowledge concerning the process....

The main thing that really bothers me though is all the personal information these moms and PNMs are putting in the guestbook!