Anymore Rushees Going Through Now?

[A-PhiAngel]

I absolutely LOVE reading the stories of the rushees who are going through recruitment. Are there anymore of you out there who want to share with us?

Angel(a)

[maggieaxid]

if their aren't maybe we should start a thread about our own rush experiences.

[HeidiHo]

I've never met anyone from my school on GC, but we start recruitment this weekend. There are more people who haven't gone through, even if they don't post here.
Heidi

[ZTAngel]

If we can still remember, maybe we can talk about what we went through during rush. Maybe what we thought of each house and why we chose our house. I think it would be interesting to relive our rush experiences.

[maggieaxid]

ok, well i will start then bc i am bored at work.

here is a little background: i am originally from PA, right outside of Philly. I went to a really small public hs. I decided to go to Elon Coll. (now elon univ.) on a whim and bc i wanted a change from PA. (Elon is in NC between Chapel Hill and Greensboro). i knew nothing about being greek and was totally against it bc i was like this northern hippie chick who wore (and occasionally still wears berkinstocks with wool socks in the winter--granted, now they are just from jcrew not edie bauer)

elon's rush isn't until the spring. and this girl i was really good friends with on my hall was totally against rushing and we thought you would be "buying your friends" if you rushed. Well she got really sick in February and didn't know if she was coming back to school. So i was feeling completely out of place with out her. so my roomate, who was totally southern, convinced me to at least try rushing. In the past I had hung out with some Tri-Sigmas at my school and they had all told me that they really wanted me to rush, ect. so i decided what the heck, i signed up and got a rho chi. my rho chi group was probably about 20 girls, and overall probably 400 girls rushed, i would say. at that point there were only 6 sororities with huge classes. Qouta the year before I rushed was 50, the year i rushed it was 42. The average sorority size was about 100-120 members with one sorority that was under college total 9(i think at elon thats 45)

so now that i have rambled enough....

i go through rush and end up having a fabulous time. The six houses at elon at that time were:
Alpha Sigma Alpha
Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Xi Delta
Phi Mu
Sigma Sigma Sigma
Zeta Tau Alpha

First round, obviously i went to all the houses...i really wanted Sigma really really bad. they were the only ones who dropped me, so i was pretty upset. so second round i went back to AOII, AZD, Phi Mu, and ZTA. Then I wanted ZTA really really bad...they dropped me going into pref...so i was invited back to AOTT, AZD, and Phi Mu. I dropped Phi Mu bc they just were to not me. Granted they were all really nice to me and they had a great rush, but they weren't me. So i prefed AOTT and AZD. I ended up putting AZD on my bid card first, just bc all of the girls that i met were so cool and so much fun. and what really impressed me was that they had so much energy...you knew that they were tired by the looks on their faces, but they were loud, and excited to be there and excited to see me there. they were also sooo creative. everything they did during rush was sooo different from everyone elses. Their skits were in black light, they had sets, they had stars hanging from the ceiling and during pref they were all wearing white dresses and the only thing that stood out were the pretty pink roses and the beautiful crest. and while the members were singing to us, the girls that were standing behind me, one ended up being my rose sis, the other one ended up being my big...were singing off key and laughing about it that i noticed. i just clicked with them so much.
at rho chi unveiling, i realized my rho chi was an AZD too so i was super excited!
and then my junior year i became rush chair for AZD
and my senior year i became head rho chi for panhell.
i am so incredbly happy that i rushed. i can't imagine college with out my sisters or my other greek friends.
oh, and that girl who didn't want to rush and went home sick, came back the following semester and helped colonized Sigma Kappa.
This year, elon is bringing on another sorority to replace ASA, they lost their charter due to numbers. So let me know if anyone hears anything!!!!
so thats my story!

[ZTAngel]

My Rho Chi had us keep a journal (I rushed Fall 99). It’s a great idea because I love to look back on what happened. When I went through, there were only 7 sororities participating in recruitment. DG would be doing their informal recruitment a month later, Theta came on campus a year later, and we are still waiting for Kappa to join. The sororities in involved in recruitment were: Zeta, Pi Phi, Chi O, AZD, KD, ADPi, and Tri-Delta. So, here it is, pretty much word for word from my recruitment journal:
Day One:
Pi Phi: The girls seem really sweet and enthusiastic. But, I don’t know how well I’d fit in here. I would definitely love to come back, though.
Zeta: The second house I went to. I love it here! I know a bunch of girls in here who I went to high school with. I heard that they’re the most selective on campus so I’m kinda worried. I absolutely loved it here though. I had a great conversation with every girl I met!
AZD: I’m not really feeling it here. I talked to the same girl the whole time and she was really quiet. I didn’t get to meet any of the other sisters.
Chi O: These girls are very sweet. I felt very comfortable here. These girls seem like they have a strong sisterhood. The girl who rushed me went to my high school so we basically talked about some high school memories.
ADPi: I really like this house! The girls are so enthusiastic. I really clicked with every girl I met. I definitely enjoyed my time here.
Tri-Delta: I don’t know if I should drop Tri-Delta or not. I saw XYZ. (sidenote: not listing names….she was a girl that took away my boyfriend back when I was a junior in HS) I literally got sick to my stomach when I saw her and it ruined my time there. I was totally consumed by remembering all the horrible things she said about me. The girl I talked to was very friendly but I guarantee I will be dropped because XYZ and me really aren’t on good terms.
KD: I got rushed a Big/Little team. Both girls were awesome. I had a lot to talk about with them. They did house tours unlike all the other houses. There house is absolutely amazing.
I’ll be back with more on Day 2!!!!

[tcsparky]

Keep going. These memories are great. Much better than AMC!

[SparkliiQTMTSU]

I love hearing all these rush stories!! I can't wait until I get to rush!!

Nichole

[A-PhiAngel]

AWSOME IDEA!! I am going to post one here soon, but I know it is not going to be very detailed--it's been a (long) while!



You guys are great!

Angel(a)

[mmcat]

keep it going...
this is wonderful...
cheers
mmcat

[DukeBlue]

I love reading everyone's rush experiences...I actually just went back through this forum to read some older ones (hey, any excuse to avoid Bio homework ). Rush here isn't 'til January, so I'm anxiously awaiting it and reading every bit I can! Keep it coming, y'all.

[erniegurl00]

Ah I love this topic! I love reliving my rush experience. Unlike a lot of my friends I adored formal rush. I go to a small, private university where greek life is HUGE. My choice to go greek was a last minute one, but I haven't regretted it to this day!

Anyway, my campus has

Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Phi
Delta Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Kappa Alpha Theta
Pi Beta Phi

So here's my first day experience.


Our first day is broken up into 8 parties, two of which are breaks. Well of course my breaks were the first two parties! It was hard to sit for two hours twiddling your thumbs when you're anxious and scared! My first house was AX which I adored. At first I didn't like the house, but when I first walked into that house I was in love! The girl who rushed me first I knew from marching band, and I met a bunch of great girls. Next up was Alpha Phi. I didn't really like this house because I felt uncomfortable plus instead of talking one on one they made us play this silly game with a big group of people. It was really hard to meet people that way! Next was Delta Gamma. The girls I talked to were really nice, but I wasn't impressed. I felt uncomfortable and out of place because the girls were dressed as if they were attending a frat party. Not a bad thing I guess, but it's not me. Next was Theta. These girls are the typical sorority girls on my campus, and I knew going in that this was not my house (and I was right!) I'll just leave it at that because my experience here wasn't good. Next was Kappa. Before going in the house I expected the girls to be just like Theta, but it was the total opposite! The Klassy Kappas (as they were known on my campus) were all super nice, and I hit it off with all of the girls I talked to. I spent most of my time laughing and having a great time with a girl named Jen. I definitely loved this house! Last up was Pi Phi. I was exhausted by the time I walked to this house. I wasn't worried because I had visited Pi Phi a few times before rush and had a few friends in the house. Since Pi Phi is the smaller of all the houses some girls had to double up again making chatting more difficult. Actually I wasn't impressed with Pi Phi after this party! I still liked the house though.

After first round my favs were AX, Kappa, and Pi Phi.

[AOPiLaLa]

Okay, here we go with another rush experience(this is soooo long!!! I am sorry!!)

I went to Elon University(with maggieaxid) and when I moved into my dorm, I lived in a 8 person suite. And one of the my suitemates dad's secretaries daughter was the president of one of the sororities(Sigma Sigma Sigma on our campus. So, for all first semester(we don't rush till sping), I hung out with these girls, and some of the Sigma's. And they were really nice, really cool, and I DEFINATELY thought I wanted to be a Sigma.
So then rush rolls around and I go to first round. At Elon(when I went through), we had

Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Xi Delta
Zeta Tau Alpha
Alpha Sigma Alpha
Sigma Sigma Sigma
Phi Mu

After the first round, I REALLY like Sigma and Phi Mu. I felt like I had really connected with all the girls at Phi Mu and I also already knew some Sigma's, so I thought life was pretty good. I got invited back to every house after first round and I had to drop two, so I dropped AZD and Alpha Sigma Alpha(sidebar--my RA was an AZD and she was really not that nice, hence the reason I dropped AZD. What I came to find out was most of the AZD's were AWESOME and I should have never judged a whole organization by one person--just a little note)
I went back to Phi Mu, Sigma, ZTA, and AOTT. Again, I REALLY loved Phi Mu. But somewhere I began to realize is all the AOTT's already knew my name, always remembered me, went out of their way to have me meet people, etc, etc. But I thought I was going to be a Phi Mu, so who cared.
After second round(going into pref), I was cut by Sigma and Phi Mu. I was DEVASTATED. I cried. A lot. And I wondered what I should do. But my Rho Chi told me that I should go to the 2 pref parties and really think things over. So, on pref night, I went to ZTA pref and AOTT pref.
I first went to ZTA. It was so beautiful--candles everywhere, these little tables, this big pond to drop a flower petal in, to make your wish. I was so impressed. They sang some really pretty songs and it was such a pretty night.
Next, I went to AOTT. First off, I remember thinking it was fate because the ONLY AOTT I had known before rush was the one who walked me in and preffed me(I later came to find out they pick before, but I was still amazed!!). It was the same kind of set up--candles, tables, roses, and lots of girls. But this one seemed different. While ZTA had been beautiful, for me, this one seemed that they were really speaking from the heart to me. Then, they had one senior and one sophomore speak of their times in AOTT. The senior that spoke told us how her father had died the previous year and all things her sisters had done for her. The sophomore told us about feeling so alone on campus and finding such a great place to call home. I had tears in my eyes as I walked out of AOTT.
When I got to bid signing--I did hesitate. I knew a lot of my friends had LOVED ZTA and would probaley end up there. But I knew that I would be more at home at AOTT. I sat and sat, did a pro and con sheet, called my mom, called my exboyfriend at UF(his comment--"we are having a mixer with ZTA this weekend and they are HOT!!--thanks honey). And finally, wrote AOTT and then ZTA.
I walked out of there, went home, and waited. We had bid circle the next morning, so you were supposed to try and get some sleep. I tossed and turned for hours, called my mom and told her I didn't care of I didn't get a bid and if no one liked me that was okay, cried some more, and finally, morning and bid circle came.
We had to sit on our bids for about 20 minutes, while the Rho Chi's revealed themselves and then when I opened my bid, the CARDINAL red writing proclaimed--
"The sisters of Alpha Omicron Pi extend you a bid to be our sister"
We jumped up, screamed, and went running out into the courtyard to be with our new sisters. And I truly did feel at home the minute I met all of my new sisters. I guess, for me, the AOTT motto really did ring true "Its not about what you'll become, its what you have always been"
But a final note--when I graduated from Elon, my VERY BEST FRIENDS included Alpha Xi Delta's and Sigma Kappa's(they came on the year after I rushed) and while these girls did not wear my letters, they were and are a huge part of who I am today. The sisterhood of sororities extends far beyond just your own letters. JUST GO GREEK!

[dzrose93]

What a moving Rush story! Thanks for sharing it with us!

[TechAPhi]

Awesome story AOPiLaLa! I enjoyed it very much. It is kind of cool to get to read the entire experience in one sitting instead of all the WAITING!!

Greek Love,
Jen