RUSH at UCSB

[Sunny]

Well everyone, rush starts tonight and I'm SO nervous!!! Tonight is an orientation meeting where we meet out rho chis and rush groups and they tell us all the rules and everything. Rush here is actually way stricter than I thought! I just found out that my roommate has to live in the house this week because she's not allowed to have any contact with rushee's outside of the actual events! All my other roommates are about ready to kill me because I think I've tried on every article of clothing in our entire apartment complex beacuse I absolutely cannot decide what to wear!

Anyway, wednesday we have house tours at all 11 houses, thursday is philanthropy day at a max of 8, friday is skit night at up to 4 houses, and then saturday night is pref night!! The houses at UC Santa Barbara are...
Alpha Delta Pi
Alpha Phi
Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Epsilon Phi
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Gamma
Gamma Phi Beta (my legacy)
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Pi Beta Phi
Sigma Kappa
Would you guys rather I named the houses when I post, or should I keep it anonymous?

I'm off to get dinner with my friends cause they won't see me for a week! I'll post more after orientation tonight!

[mmcat]

name all the good stuff you see

cheers and have fun
mmcat

[AOIIAngel]

Gotta agree-Name 'em! Dont worry, we all have been here long enough and know that not all chapters are the same, and I think most of us don't get offended if you said you just didnt like a particular chapter. So please name 'em, cause we are nosy!!!

Good luck!

[SparkliiQTMTSU]

Youve gotta name em!! Good Luck!! keep us posted!!

Nichole

[aephi alum]

Do keep us all updated... Like AOIIAngel said ~ not all chapters are the same. Please feel free to post your opinions and reactions. I promise I won't be offended if you don't like AEPhi <g> and I know the same holds true for the other sororities represented on your campus.

Keep your options open (can you tell I was a Rho Chi? )

How many houses can you visit on pref night?

Lots of luck!

[TechAPhi]

Good luck in recruitment, Sunny! All the houses at UC-SB are great national orgs. We all know that.

I'd be happy to hear your honest reactions to each event. Though you might not like a particular house, each house has its merits. There will probably be some houses that you just don't "click" with, and that's okay. The purpose of recruitment is to find the house you feel comfortable in--whatever your reasons.

So, my opinion is say the names. Most rushees on this forum have done so, and done so admirably and in a mature, thoughtful way. I have no doubt you'll do the same.

Thanks so much for allowing us to come along on your recruitment journey. I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences. Good luck and have a blast!

Jen

[ForgetMeNot]

Good luck Sunny! Keep us informed.

[DGPhoney]

Hey , good luck with Rush and I hope you have a great time. I also say name them and also agree with everyone else, we all know by now not everyone is the same every where, we all have the same goals and all but you know... So anyway good luck and have an awesome time
DGPhoney~

[newbie]

Hey sweetie, I'm hoping you're having an awesome time. I hope you end up where you are happy. You are an awesome girl and I know you will end up in an equally awesome sorority!

Car

[TechAPhi]

How is recruitment going? Let us know when you have a chance!

Jen

[Sunny]

Watch out! this is SUPER LONG!! I tend to talk a lot, and well...I write a lot to!!

Ohmigod! Today was the first day of rush and the only word to describe it is overwhelming! But honestly, I had more fun today than I’ve had in a very long time. I absolutely loved meeting tons of people and was sorry to see each party end. Although I was incredibly nervous at first, this whole rush thing is right up my alley….I tend to be super-bubbly and talkative and smiley and outgoing, and my friends tend to make fun of me for it but it’s making rush such and enjoyable experience!

Last night we had an orientation meeting where they introduced panhellenic and all the rho chi’s who did the CUTEST skit about recruitment. Then we met with our rush groups and set up meeting times and everything for the morning.

This morning we met at 10am, way too early for my lazy ass! I was incredibly nervous, and I think I drove all my roommates nuts when I was getting ready because I kept freaking out about how I looked. And I know that’s not the most important part, but first impressions definitely matter. I wore a black scoop necked tank top sweater from express and bright red guess bootcut pants, with my trusty black leather slides that my friend polished yesterday.

The first house I went to was AXO. The girls were so incredibly polished and matched perfectly right down to the brand of sandals. At first it was a little intimidating and formal, but once I started talking to girls they were super friendly and I actually had a few great conversations. Next was ADpi, which is the house my roommate and her good friends are in. I met a couple girls, and then my friend Amy came and talked to me for a while. When I left a ton of girls made a point to say “Bye Becca!!” and I felt totally special. Next was Gamma Phi, which is where I’m a legacy at. The girls here were nice, but the conversations definitely didn’t flow as easily.

After our lunch break was Sigma Kappa, where the girls were pretty nice, but overall unremarkable. Next was Pi Phi, which was an absolutely beautiful house. The first two girls were ok, but the third girl I talked to I totally clicked with. Next was AEphi, which is very small at our campus. Although I had pretty good conversations, the ratio was two or three rushees per member, which was a little awkward. I didn’t really feel like I had much in common with those girls.

Next we went to Theta which was absolutely amazing! From the moment they opened the door, they were so energetic and so adorable. Then I went inside and had the greatest time talking to girls. I think I talked to 4 or 5, and loved them all. Theta was definitely on of my favorites. Nest was tri-delt, which is the only house where I kinda felt like I was supporting the entire conversation, which made me a little annoyed, because I felt put on the spot, and never got a chance to ask questions of my own. Next was Kappa, where I actually talked to three different girls without even talking about rush. At almost every other house I at least was asked “How’s rush going”, “what made you rush?” and I asked things like “what made you choose this house”, or “so how’s living in?” At kappa, I talked about Europe, marketing internships, white water rafting in the grand canyon and all sorts of random things. Actually, overall, I didn’t have any conversations where we juts hit the basics, all of my convos were actually pretty in depth, which I enjoyed. At the next house, DG, one girl actually thanked me for “being so real” and said it was the most enjoyable conversation she’d had all day. I really liked DG too, and definitely clicked with the girls there; they reminded me of myself.

The last house was Alpha Phi, where I know about half the girls. By the time I got there I was SO tired, but so excited to be there. I talked to a few girls I hadn’t met before while my friends circled around waiting for one to leave so that they could talk to me without hotboxing me. I love the girls in that house, and felt totally at home because I knew so many so well, and so it was just like talking to a group of close girlfriends.

I’m meeting with my rho chi at 7am (eeewww) to see where I was invited back for tomorrow’s house tours and philanthropy events. We can go to eight houses, but I’m kinda scared I’m going to be cut heavily. There’s 400 girls going through rush, compared to 250-300 normally. Right now my favorites are Alpha Phi, ADpi and Theta, with DG close behind. If I only get invites back to those, I’d still be completely stoked. I definitely like Kappa too though, and AXO was fun. I wasn’t as impressed with the rest, but I’m sure they’re still awesome houses, I just didn’t get the feeling that this is somewhere I could see myself. Well, I’m off to bed to be nervous and toss and turn all night again! I’ll post in the morning when I get my invites! Thanks for reading!!
*Becca*

[mmcat]

it sounds like you had a ball...
good luck today
cheers
mmcat
:>

[AOPiLaLa]

Becca--thanks for such a GREAT post! I am sure you did fine and you know that you have all of us rooting for you. You are so smart to have 4 or 5 favorites--that makes rush so much easier and all of those houses have GREAT national reputations and would be lucky to have you!! Just curious--how are you a Gamma Phi Beta legacy? Mom, Grandma, or sister?
Lesley

[AOIIAngel]

You sound like you are doing great so far!!! Just keeping being 'real' and you will have a great time. Good luck on your invites!

[Sunny]

yeeaaaahhh! I just got my invites back and I'm totally bouncing up and down happy and all my roommates are asleep!! Out of the 11 houses, I was asked back to 7, which is pretty damn good for a junior. I think I suprised my rho chi a little. So today I go back to ...(drum roll please)...
ADpi
Alpha Phi
Theta
Pi Phi
Gamma Phi
Sigma Kappa
AEphi
I'm SOOOO excited about ADpi, Alpha phi, and Theta, kinda suprised at the invite from Pi Phi...I didn't think I made a strong impression at that house, and the have a rep as one of the most highly selective on campus. The other three houses I didn't really click with, but I'll give them another chance today...not like I have a choice though. If I somehow magically get invited back to the sam houses tomorrow, I'd pick the first four without hesitation. If I had to pick two for pref night though....I don't know, I'd probably cry or something, cause I like all three houses (Aphi, ADpi, and Theta) so much! Well, I'm off to go make myself cute! The plan for today is black bikini cut sorority pants and an adorable pink scoop neck tank with a gathered neck and the same trusty leather slides....I hav A LOT of walking to do! I even painted my nails to match my shirt. Yesterday they were opaque white, which is really flattering cause I's tan, and something noticeable cause it looks way different. Oh oh oh, and I have the cutest bracelet my grandmother (gamma phi) gave me! It's antique pink freshwater pearls and matched perfectly! OK, that's all for now....I'll post again later! Bye kids!