USC (Southern Cal) Recruitment 2019! (Correct forum)

[NewbieGreekMom]

(True Newbie here, I posted this in the wrong forum last night)

Hello all! My daughter is going to be going through rush at USC (Southern Cal) starting this weekend! USC just started deferred rush this school year (although they did have a formal rush in the fall as a transition, but new freshman were not eligible).

I have to say I started out a Clueless Newbie Greek Mom but after reading every stickied thread here, I am now a somewhat less Clueless Newbie Greek Mom.

We have no connections to Greek Life and she doesn't really know anybody, so she is totally going into this open-minded and wanting to meet the girls at every house. She is pretty chill about it in the sense that she just wants to find a place where she fits. I am probably more nervous than she is because I've read all these threads about how stressful and challenging the whole process is.

Is there anybody here who has experience with USC rush? Anything I should know or pass on to her? Anybody else here with a daughter at USC?

[33girl]

Does she have any recommendations?

[NewbieGreekMom]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Does she have any recommendations?

Not many since we don’t know many people who were in Greek and it was kind of a late decision to do rush! She’s just going to go with the flow, give all the houses a chance, and see how it goes. The info on the website says you don’t need the recs but I would imagine the more “popular” sororities do like having them. Here’s hoping the lack of recs won’t be a deal breaker.

[thetalady]

Originally Posted by NewbieGreekMom

Not many since we don’t know many people who were in Greek and it was kind of a late decision to do rush! She’s just going to go with the flow, give all the houses a chance, and see how it goes. The info on the website says you don’t need the recs but I would imagine the more “popular” sororities do like having them. Here’s hoping the lack of recs won’t be a deal breaker.

The problem with reading the college or Panhellenic web site is that they have no idea which of the sororities DO require a rec by their HQ policy to extend a bid. It has absolutely nothing to do with which sorority is "more popular".

[NewbieGreekMom]

Originally Posted by thetalady

The problem with reading the college or Panhellenic web site is that they have no idea which of the sororities DO require a rec by their HQ policy to extend a bid. It has absolutely nothing to do with which sorority is "more popular".

What I meant by that is in the ones that have steeper cuts earlier, the rec letters could be a filter? Well I guess my daughter will just hope for the best and see what happens. Like I said, she is open to all the chapters. I don’t know what she could have done about recs when we don’t know many women who were in sororities and she decided pretty late to do rush. I will follow the mantra I’ve seen here - “trust the process”

[UVASquirrel]

I hope she has a fantastic experience and finds her home!!

[NewbieGreekMom]

My daughter really enjoyed her first day of recruitment yesterday. They visit 10 sororities. Today they have a max of 8. She is going to 7 today, including ones she really really likes. Next cut is down to 5 next Friday and pref is Saturday where they cut to 2. Bid day is Sunday. I’m just glad she is enjoying the process and hopefully she finds her home!

[Midwestmom]

Thank you for the update! Good luck!

[ZTA72]

My daughters had no recs and had a perfect rush. We had a family tragedy the summer before they went to college and I thought of it at the last minute, so I sent info to my group. They ended up in the group of their dreams. This was ten years ago and obviously things have changed.
Best of luck and wishes to your daughter. if a group wants your daughter, it will get a rec...

[FSUZeta]

Good luck to your daughter. Hoping that your daughter finds her people.

[AXOrushadvisor]

USC (w) can be a VERY competitive recruitment for those Chapters all the PNM's want to join. If your daughter keeps an open mind she will find her home. Hopefully, she stayed off the row in the fall and she is a fresh face when she walks in the door. Recommendations are recommended at USC and any other recruitment for that matter. Good luck to your daughter.

[NewbieGreekMom]

Today was bid day so I thought I’d post an update! The whole process was a lot more stressful than expected. Along the way she was dropped by some that surprised her (and others that didn’t surprise her), but she understood it was numbers. In the end she did have 1 she really liked but did not suicide bid even though the second one was a very distant second. Thankfully she got a bid today to the house she loved the last 2-3 rounds and she is very happy. She knew a lot of people who dropped out when they were getting heavily cut so she is thrilled to have found her home! Just want to thank this board for educating me on the whole process so I could support her along the way!

[FloMo Mom]

Congratulations!! Can you tell us what sorority your daughter joined?

[NewbieGreekMom]

Originally Posted by AXOrushadvisor

USC (w) can be a VERY competitive recruitment for those Chapters all the PNM's want to join. If your daughter keeps an open mind she will find her home. Hopefully, she stayed off the row in the fall and she is a fresh face when she walks in the door. Recommendations are recommended at USC and any other recruitment for that matter. Good luck to your daughter.

It’s interesting but I guess not surprising how there are several that “everyone” wants to join. That’s the nature of teenage girls! Thankfully for my daughter, while she found the girls at those sororities to be perfectly nice when she was at those houses the first day, she did not feel she would fit in there and was not really disappointed at being dropped from those. She was a little bummed at some of the cuts near the end but she always had that one she liked. She really wanted to find a sisterhood that fit for her and she did!

[NewbieGreekMom]

Originally Posted by FloMo Mom

Congratulations!! Can you tell us what sorority your daughter joined?

She joined Gamma Phi Beta!