"I'm rushing 'for' a certain chapter"

[scgoldengirl]

Just out of curiosity. Do you think these girls are from your smaller towns or are the big city girls guilty as well?
When I rushed at USM back in the disco era, the worst offenders during rush, were the girls from small, kind of backwards towns in the middle of the state.
And what part of the state that you came from definitely played into your perception of each sorority.

[carnation]

I do see a lot of small-town girls doing it out of ignorance but also see some big city girls doing it, especially those from the private schools and upperclass (don't know a better term) public schools from which many girls tend to pledge a certain group of sororities. Here's a caveat, girls: there are so many of you from those schools that Awesome Alpha and Bodacious Beta can't take you all.

[MaryPoppins]

Originally Posted by carnation

Here's a caveat, girls: there are so many of you from those schools that Awesome Alpha and Bodacious Beta can't take you all.

Thus why the Greek systems on so very many campuses are expanding with colonies (new, young chapters) to serve more PNMs.

[DubaiSis]

I think it's just the 10 foot tall and bullet-proof thing that IS being a teenager, and is also why parents should monitor their kids' social media; for reminders of the social graces as much as for checking for drugs and otherwise unacceptable behavior.

And if Mom tells you it's not cool and you do it anyway because what does she know, then it's all on you and you'll get what you deserve.

[HQWest]

Originally Posted by lake

Not to hijack this thread, but I would LOVE to hear stories of this actually happening. That's almost as intriguing (and baffling) to me as someone who transfers schools because they didn't get the sorority they wanted at their original school. Crazy!

Which true story do you want ?
1. I initially applied to one university because I liked the brochure. I was a national merit scholar and got TONS of brochures, but this one was particularly nice. When I didn't get into DREAM school, I went to Nice Brochure U planning on transferring. Joined a sorority, stayed and graduated.

2. More than once (here in Mordor - somewhere south of the Plateau of Gorgoroth)- I have known a girl - dying to get XYZ, gets UVW on bid day instead, depledges then transfers for a do-over. (This has also happened with a sophomore who thought she knew everyone in the chapter and XYZ loved her.)

3. Little Lucy Legacy puts all over her Facebook before recruitment how she can't wait to be an ABC because her big sisters friends are all so awesome. Goes all the way through recruitment telling ABC how much she loves them and how fantastic they are - pref night chooses XYZ. XYZ thinks this is funny. Big sisters friends in ABC not pleased. Tells ABCs "but I knew we would all still be friends anyway!" They are not.

4. Finally - one of the awesome officers I have advised, made her final tough decision pref night because she liked our colors better.

[clemsongirl]

Slight hijack, but I don't understand why people would only apply to one or two colleges and not give themselves some backup. My boyfriend applied to only Clemson and Georgia Tech, and while he was accepted to both if he hadn't gotten into either he would have been up a creek without a paddle as far as starting higher education at a four-year university in the fall. Same goes for anyone who decides to apply to only reach/financially unattainable schools. I had a cousin that got rejected from everywhere except one school that he outright could not afford, so he ended up coming home after one semester. It just boggles my mind that anyone would think not having an affordable safety school as a last-resort backup is a good idea.

/hijack

Also, FWIW, I'm in both the Class of 2017 and the Girls' Roommate Search groups on Facebook for Clemson and nobody has said so far that they are rushing for any specific group. I'd like to think this means nobody is saying that, but in reality they're probably just making it their status instead of posting in the group. Still, I can dream.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally Posted by clemsongirl

Slight hijack, but I don't understand why people would only apply to one or two colleges and not give themselves some backup. My boyfriend applied to only Clemson and Georgia Tech, and while he was accepted to both if he hadn't gotten into either he would have been up a creek without a paddle as far as starting higher education at a four-year university in the fall. Same goes for anyone who decides to apply to only reach/financially unattainable schools. I had a cousin that got rejected from everywhere except one school that he outright could not afford, so he ended up coming home after one semester. It just boggles my mind that anyone would think not having an affordable safety school as a last-resort backup is a good idea.

Depends on timing. I had my U of I acceptance in-hand before I finished filling out my other applications. So then I just didn't do any other applications.

[HQWest]

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby

Depends on timing. I had my U of I acceptance in-hand before I finished filling out my other applications. So then I just didn't do any other applications.

I guess I should have added that I had acceptances to two Big State U.s and one Regional State U, but on reflection, decided it would be better to take a chance on smaller private Nice Brochure U. and transferring if it did not work out. I really wanted to do something different then everyone at my high school.

A lot of time and money goes into applications so some people try to limit their list of applications if they have a pretty good idea of what they want or if they are going to Big State U. because everyone else is. I think the same crowd that thinks they can pick whichever sorority they want, thinks they can sign up for the school they want.

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by clemsongirl

Slight hijack, but I don't understand why people would only apply to one or two colleges and not give themselves some backup.

With respect, some of us are first generation college students and had literally no advisement from family or guidance counselors. In the pre-internet era, I was on my own. Today, I would have probably been able to go online and see the "norm." Back, then I applied to 3 random in-state schools and chose the one where I didn't know anyone. Don't recommend picking a school at that basis, but I didn't know any better when I was 17 and no one I talked to about it-- parents, teachers, friends-- advised me any differently.

Similarly, I had no idea what rush was or what a sorority was, and I was completely turned off by the Minnie Mouse-voiced bimbo preaching about Greek Life at my freshman orientation. It wasn't until I met Greeks in my classes that I thought this could be something for me and I rushed the following year (with certain biases and stereotypes in mind, but, thankfully, no Facebook to broadcast those thoughts to).

[clemsongirl]

Originally Posted by adpiucf

With respect, some of us are first generation college students and had literally no advisement from family or guidance counselors. In the pre-internet era, I was on my own. Today, I would have probably been able to go online and see the "norm." Back, then I applied to 3 random in-state schools and chose the one where I didn't know anyone. Don't recommend picking a school at that basis, but I didn't know any better when I was 17 and no one I talked to about it-- parents, teachers, friends-- advised me any differently.

Similarly, I had no idea what rush was or what a sorority was, and I was completely turned off by the Minnie Mouse-voiced bimbo preaching about Greek Life at my freshman orientation. It wasn't until I met Greeks in my classes that I thought this could be something for me and I rushed the following year (with certain biases and stereotypes in mind, but, thankfully, no Facebook to broadcast those thoughts to).

Pre-internet, that's completely understandable. And even for first-gen college students nowadays, if you live in a bubble entirely comprised of people who never went to college it can be really hard to figure out the ins and outs of such a complicated process. I was imagining more the affluent, suburban, white-bread kids I grew up with who had the resources and should have known better but for whatever reason decided not to hedge their bets. If a PNM can google how rush works then a reasonably intelligent teenager should be able to google school costs and acceptance rates.

[adpiucf]

Originally Posted by clemsongirl

I was imagining more the affluent, suburban, white-bread kids I grew up with who had the resources and should have known better but for whatever reason decided not to hedge their bets. If a PNM can google how rush works then a reasonably intelligent teenager should be able to google school costs and acceptance rates.

Totally agree!

[DubaiSis]

Technically, I didn't apply to any universities. I was pre-accepted into a couple schools without trying or expressing any interest. But the rules I was functioning under was "you can attend any school you want as long as it has the word IOWA in the name." For me, that meant one school. They pre-accepted me. Process complete. I do wonder how I would have handled that process if I'd had broader horizons.

[AOII Angel]

For all the admonishing about PNMs and college bound students hedging their bets, you'll never see this behavior go away because for as much as we bitch about it, there aren't dire consequences for every student who does it. PNMs go through recruitment every single year with this attitude. Some have magical recruitments, some have nightmares. The ones that end up where they wanted feed the beast. We all know it happens. Pretending like the system magically spits out each and every person who dares not be Panhellenic is stupid. We do get to see a lot of these girls go home when they drop out rather than take a bid from a chapter "below them" but there are plenty whom get the chapter of their dreams. Honestly, if they would rather drop out then join a group of women having a great time without them...a doubt they'll be missed.

[AZTheta]

^^^^^^ True, this. So, so true.

And all too often, the "chapter of their dreams" ends up being a nightmare, as witnessed by the number of resignations ("drops"). What I find fascinating is the membership retention of the "below them" chapters versus the "dream chapters"... to me, that's the litmus test of what a "dream chapter" really is.

[Titchou]

Originally Posted by DubaiSis

Technically, I didn't apply to any universities. I was pre-accepted into a couple schools without trying or expressing any interest. But the rules I was functioning under was "you can attend any school you want as long as it has the word IOWA in the name." For me, that meant one school. They pre-accepted me. Process complete. I do wonder how I would have handled that process if I'd had broader horizons.

Yeah, I was under the "you can go to any school you want but the only one I'm paying for is Alabama" rule....