MelissaS's rush at URI - Page 4

justamom · #1 09-22-2002, 07:23 AM

mmcat and I tend to share many of the same "thoughts". This is just one of many where I will add a GREAT BIG DITTO!

sassykd · #2 09-22-2002, 10:18 AM

Good luck tomorrow. IF you come into contact with your roommate's teammate (did I get that right?) Just hold your head up high, smile and kill her with kindness. Remeber, you want to be a better woman than she is.

Just to echo what others have already said, the more sisters you meat, the more you have rooting for you when it comes time to make cuts.

Have lots of fun.

Greek love,
Melissa

maggieaxid · #3 09-22-2002, 12:13 PM

As for the roomate's teamate- one girl usually can''t be the deciding factor if you don't come back for another round. so be cordial to her, and try to meet as many sisters as you can and i would just stay away from her if possilble. i wouldn't be surprised if she acted like your best friend while you were at her house --i've seen it before. so just don't let her bother you.

MelissaS · #4 09-22-2002, 05:46 PM

I just got back from day 2. This is going to be SUCH a hard decision because I had so much fun at all the houses!

House 4: I talked to the woman who gave me my house tour for most of the party, but other sisters kept coming up to join the conversation so I got a pretty good feel for what they're like. They seemed really down to earth, and they have some really cute traditions that they do that made them stand out from other houses, but I won't talk about that just in case it gives the house away. I talked to them about all kinds of things--having a car on campus, our siblings, music, and lots more. The house was REALLY cute, inside and out...they had all sorts of little knick-knacks and decorations, and the outside reminded me of a cottage near the beach. The sisters were all dressed in red, white, and blue, and that was the theme of the party (those are not their colors, though

). They served us little red white and blue candies, mini powdered donuts with little American flags stuck in them, and soda. This was the only house that had a theme for the party, and it was also the only one that didn't show a video or a slideshow. Luckily conversation didn't lag for me, because having a video would have given me something to talk about if it was! The main thing I liked about this house was something my rusher told me. She said that the house is really close-knit and everyone gets along really well, and there are no cliques within the house. That's really important to me, and I'm not really sure how to ask that question so I'm glad she told me! Overall I felt very comfortable in this house, and I would like to visit them again so I hope I get invited back!!

House 5: I have to admit I was a little nervous about going to this house because they have a pretty bad reputation. But I went in, and I absolutely LOVED it. The house was pretty, and the girls were really nice. I got a house tour from one sister who was just adorable and very sweet, and then when we went into the living room to talk to the other sisters I ended up with a girl I went to high school with. We spent the whole time talking and catching up. I was so happy because I wasn't friends with her in high school, and I was a little worried about what she thought of me since we already know each other. But she seemed really happy to see me and it turns out we have a lot in common. They gave us water and soda, fruit, and brownies...yum!! Then we watched a slide show. Like house 4, this house also seems close-knit. That's just the vibe I got because the sisters were all joking around with each other and they seemed to be having a lot of fun. This is definitely my favorite house right now because I got SUCH a good vibe from them and felt really comfortable. I'll be crossing my fingers and toes in hopes that they invite me back!!

House 6: This is the house of my roommate's teammate (I'll just call her "Jane" from now on), so I was nervous. I did end up liking it, but this is by far the top house at my campus (they have the highest GPA, they always win Greek Week, they're all beautiful and really cool, and their house is AMAZING--I'll get to that later). So I don't know if I'll get invited back because this is the one house that every PNM dreams of being in. It started to rain when we were standing outside waiting, so I don't even want to know what my hair looked like in there!

We went in, and we were double-rushed for the house tour, but I didn't feel overshadowed by the other PNM at all; it was about equal. We also kept being passed from one sister to another as we went through the house, and I liked that because we got to spend a little more time with each sister instead of just saying hello and probably having them forget us. But back to the house...I just can't get over how absolutely BEAUTIFUL this house is. It's this huge white mansion, and the inside is all red carpets and marble and chandeliers. I felt like I was in a castle!! The other houses are nice, but you can't even compare them to this one. It was incredible. The tour took up most of the party because the house is so big, but I kept getting into random conversations with the sisters so I'm sure that slowed it down a little. One of my tour guides was in my theater class last semster, so that gave us something to talk about. After the tour they took us into the dining room where they gave us punch and cookies. We sat and talked with the sisters a little more, and I did see Jane, so I just smiled at her and said hello and asked how she was, then continued talking to the other sisters around me. We then went into the living room and watched a slide show, and it was time to go right after. I had a lot of fun at this house, and I liked the women I talked to, but I couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by them. It just seems like they're on a whole different level than the other sororities...they just seem so perfect! If I get invited back I'll definitely go, but I'm not going to get my hopes up because this particular house is VERY hard to get into.

So right now, I've decided I like the houses in this order: 5, 2, 4, 3, 6, 1...and I really like all of them except for 1 (which again I am keeping an open mind about). The last 3 parties of round 1 are tomorrow night, I find out who invited me back on Wednesday and decide who I want to go back to, and then Thursday and Friday I have round 2 at up to 6 houses. Saturday night is prefs, and Sunday is bid day. I can't believe that a week from today I'll know where my home is!!

EDIT: And one more thing that actually kind of confused me. Some girls in my rush group were asking an RC about getting invited back, and she said that after round one everyone usually gets invited back to all 9 unless they did something really bad, and it's basically our choice of who to visit again. She said that the sororities do most of the cutting after round 2. But that wasn't true at all last year...I only got invited back to 5 after round 1, and I actually only knew one girl who was invited back to all of them. Most were invited back to 5, 6, or 7 houses. The RC who said that told us she joined through COB and didn't go through formal rush. So do you think that maybe things have changed since last year, or is she just misinformed? I would hope she knows what she's talking about!!

ToBeSororityGrl · #5 09-22-2002, 05:56 PM

Oh Melissa I'm so happy to hear you are enjoying yourself. And, I commend you on trying rush again. I rushed a second chance, so I know how that feels to see girls in the houses that were once in your group. And about "Jane," to hell with her! Good luck!

UCLAgirl · #6 09-22-2002, 06:35 PM

Yay I am so happy for you! You give me TONS of hope for myself!!

mmcat · #7 09-22-2002, 07:20 PM

it sounds like you handled yourself beautifully....
continue to have a ball...
good luck
lol

sassykd · #8 09-22-2002, 08:15 PM

Melissa,

You handled yourself like a real lady. I am so glad that you are enjoying yourself.

Have fun tomorrow and keep us posted.

Melissa

PS: Great name

honeychile · #9 09-22-2002, 08:21 PM

Melissa, it sounds as if you have a good handle on rush, and frankly, you're making me wish I was going through it all over again!

One bit of advice that I give to everyone who's going through rush is this: be sure that you like the women who are around your age. If you choose a chapter for the seniors, just keep in mind that they won't be there next year.

At any rate, enjoy and be yourself!

Good Luck!

AOIIalum · #10 09-22-2002, 09:19 PM

Melissa, it sounds like the way you handled "Jane" was tactful and classy. Good for you! Please keep us posted and keep having a great time!

Christin

xo_kathy · #11 09-23-2002, 12:45 AM

Melissa,
Sounds like you are having a great time!

As far as what the RC said, I think not being invited back because "you did something really bad" was a poor choice of words. Very often houses only cut for grades after round one, but that is not always true. Perhaps in the past houses did make severe cuts early on (which usually lends itself to many PNMs going to only a few parties and thus, rush not working out too well for a lot of girls). But perhaps they have evaluated that and realized they should invite more PNMs back to get to know them even better. Let's face it, it's pretty hard to get to know someone in 30 minutes!

So maybe that's what the RC was refering to, that most houses wouldn't be cutting too much after Round 1. But again, I'm only speculating!

Also, we have another thread going on about whether its's better to see your ivites before you decide on a house and all I have to add is this: when you see that list, if "Jane's" house does invite you back, please do not keep them and drop a house you truly feel you would be a better fit in simply because "Jane's" house is the IT house. Go with your heart, it won't steer you wrong!

Good luck and keep smiling!!!

justamom · #12 09-23-2002, 06:01 AM

I have to agree with xo_kathy on EVERYTHING!

You said something like Jane's house being PERFECT and so far above the other's...think about that...you may be seeing their impression of themselves. The image of perfection is sometimes at ODDS with reality. Perfection would be finding the place for YOU, not the place other people desire. It's hard not to fall into that trap.

doubleblue&gold · #13 09-23-2002, 08:53 AM

If the Panhellenic operates recrutment correctly at your campus, there are "release numbers" each group has to follow. They have to give people up. Usualy to start with, it's for grades. So there are times that have to do it whether they want to or not.

KellyO97 · #14 09-23-2002, 10:14 AM

I am a greek alum from URI. Good luck during recruitment--and don't worry about being a sophomore! There are lots of upperclassmen rushing--we had a junior pledge last year! I am pulling for my house (which I will not mention at this time in order to be nonbiased). Good luck!

MelissaS · #15 09-24-2002, 12:52 AM

Well, round 1 is now over and I am SO incredibly excited!!! I had the most amazing time tonight (well, for most of it), especially at one house in particular!! I also had a blast with the girls in my rush group. They're all really nice, and it's exciting to think that some of them will be in my pledge class! Another highlight of the night was when we were waiting to go into the last house and the fraternity across the street came outside and sang to us...that was cute! Well, anyways, back to my experiences at the houses.

House 7: The night actually didn't start out too good at this house. When I went in, I sat down with one sister, and she barely had anything to say! I was the one asking all the questions, and it was really uncomfortable. She didn't seem interested in talking to me at all. I guess it could be a million things...she could have been tired, or shy...but I would think that on the 7th party every rusher should be used to it and know what to say to the PNM's! Then another sister took me on a tour of the house. She told me that they'll only be in the house for this year. They were living in an old fraternity house the past few years but moved to this one when the guys moved back in. Only half of this house is theirs, and boarders live in the other half. They don't know where they'll be living next year, either. So I wasn't too sure about the whole house situation with this sorority! Over the past few days I've grown accustomed to having these conversations and thinking up questions to ask, so that kind of helped me out at this house. I was with my tour guide for the rest of the party and we talked about the sorority but not about much else. Again, I felt like I was leading the conversation a lot of the time. There were a lot of awkward silences, especially toward the end. Some other sisters came over to chat, but I didn't click well with any of them, either. They had chocolate covered strawberries, and those were good at least!! But seriously, I felt really uncomfortable here. I really tried to give them the benefit of the doubt but there was just no connection at all.

House 8: I quickly forgot about house 7 when I came here. I had a really good time at this house!!! When I came in, a sister led me to the chapter room and we were talking and had a really good conversation. We talked about all kinds of things...what we did over the summer, concerts, how both of our younger brothers just got their licenses, and lots of other stuff. A little while later another sister came up and got into the conversation, and the first woman left only after I was comfortably talking to the second. I liked how they did that, it felt natural and I didn't feel like I was being passed around or interrupted. I spoke to several sisters this way, had some really fun conversations, and then another sister took me on a tour of the house. The house is just adorable, and I love the way they have it set up. Most of the houses are kind of similar, but this one is unique. It's also closer to where the classes are! After the tour we went back to the chapter room, and they served lemonade in these cute plastic martini glasses. I thought that was a nice touch. Then we sat down to watch a video, which was based on the beginning of Legally Blonde and was really cute! There was a slideshow, too, but I spent most of it talking to the woman who was rushing me...I'm sure that's never a bad thing! When I left I was sure to wave goodbye to all the women I'd talked to. I really hope I can come back here!

and finally....

House 9: I have just 3 words to say about this house...I'M IN LOVE!! Well, actually I have a lot more than just that to say about it.

I couldn't believe how amazingly well I clicked with EVERYONE I talked to. When we went in, the house tour was right away and it took up a good portion of the party. My tour guide and I talked like we were old friends!! I liked the way the tour was set up, too. She showed me the main rooms and then some of the bedrooms, and there were 4 or 5 sisters hanging out in each one. So I would be the only PNM in a room with a whole bunch of sisters, and I chatted and joked around and clicked with every single one! Normally I would have been intimidated, but I was so comfortable with them. I felt like I was there to hang out instead of being there to rush. After the house tour we went into the kitchen, where there was this really good punch and some vegetables with dip. I didn't eat anything and barely drank my punch because I was too busy talking to the 2 sisters I was with. A little while later we went to the formal room to watch a video. The video was just adorable, basically it was just the women goofing off and having a great time. It was really funny, too! After that, they all made a circle around us and did a cute little chant, and then some of my rushers came over to say goodbye to me. A couple of them double checked to make sure of my last name, so I can only hope that's a good sign! I almost got caught up talking to them AGAIN, and I was the last one out the door. Now let me just say...I cannot BELIEVE how excited I am about this house or how well things went at this party!! This is by far my top choice...BY FAR!! I felt SO at home. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much...I'll be devastated if I'm not invited back!! But I really do have a good feeling about this house.

Wednesday I find out who invited me back and choose who I'm going back to. Right now I like the houses in this order: 9, 5, 2, 8, 4, 3, 6, 1, 7. If I was invited back to all 9, I would cut 1 and 7 first but it would be such a tough choice of what other house I'd cut because I like 4, 6, and 3 equally. But as long as I'm invited back to house 9 I'll be happy!! Of course I'll give all the sororities a fair chance, but I am just especially excited about that house. I'm sure you all understand! Well, wish me luck!!