Is rush as competitive as it is at other big universities? Any insight would be familiar. Thanks!
Based on the comments on our parents site, yes, it is a competitive process and many girls were not offered bids.
@momofsenior1 Thank you! Do you know why, and do you anything about the cooperative houses?
Unfortunately I don’t know details of the rush process. My daughter didn’t participate.
I have heard that many students will rush again sophomore year.
I’ve heard good things about co-op housing but again, no direct experience.
Is your daughter wanting an alternative to dorm living after freshman year?
Hopefully others will chime in.
@momofsenior1 Thanks:) My daughter hasn’t even been accepted yet, but I’m always thinking ahead. All I know is that she has always wanted to be in a sorority. I figured Purdue would be less intense than a southern school, for example.
Only 20% of Purdue students are in the Greek system so I think it is probably less intense.
Rush also happens very early freshman year.
All hearsay… I know several of my D’s friends (mostly engineers) rushed and they enjoyed their houses. The girls needed to live in the house at least one year, but I think that’s pretty normal. My D didn’t join a sorority and didn’t feel the lack but she didn’t ever comment negatively about the sororities and I do remember she was pretty upset when a neighbor explained how rush worked for her D at TCU because it’s much more competitive/exclusive there.
You should be able to go to the Panhellenic page for Purdue and get some of the details on the rush process. I don’t know much about Purdue rush but I know at larger schools it is a bit of a numbers game. Having a daughter that is in a sorority at IU I can tell you the process can be brutal and the number one reason girls get cut is GPA. After that, conversation skills are big. You only have a short time to make a great impression so focus on those skills the most.
I was in a sorority at Purdue. I had a great experience. It is a competitive process but not as harsh as say, the SEC schools. Recommendations from friends or relatives that were in sororites will help your daughter. Ask around, see if they will write one for her, most NPC sororities have an online form now. Also there are sorority (and fraternity) houses right near the center of campus and another group of houses that are a short bus ride away in a section of campus called the Acres. It has its own bus service. Probably more than you want to know but, there are a few websites that “rank” houses such as https://www.greekrank.com/uni/48/sororities/byrank/, however keep in mind its often their own members ranking themselves. Good luck to your daughter and Boiler Up.
@4point3Mom Thanks for the info, Is there any value in recs from people you don’t know? For example, people you find through a local alumni chapter in your city. We don’t know anyone from Purdue, and I don’t have friends or relatives who were in sororities. I might find some acquaintances though.
I can’t speak for all chapters, but in my experience, yes - a recommendation from an acquaintance did help move girls through to the 2nd round. Those that have relatives in the sorority (Mom, sister, grandma) are considered legacies and carry more weight. Hope that helps. It’s definitely worth asking around. Could be sorority alumnae from any college, they do not need to be Purdue grads necessarily.
You do not need rec from alumnae who were in chapters AT Purdue. You need them from sororities regardless of where the alumna went to school. So if your daughter wants to pledge say Delta Gamma at Purdue, you need to find any woman who is initiated into Delta Gamma at any school anywhere in the country to write a letter of recommendation. It does not matter whether not she is an alumna of the Purdue Delta Gamma chapter itself.
You have to go to the website for each sorority at Purdue and see which ones there are and then find an alumna to have her write the letter. There is a very specific form each sorority has so it’s not like they just freehand a letter. Check around and see if there any Alumnae Panhellenic associations in your area. They often have a vent purely for the purpose of getting girls sponsorship letters. For example Im a past officer of the Delta Gamma alumnae chapter in my area and we had a person whose job it was to fill out letters of recommendation.
Pro tip:
A woman is an alumna
Two women are alumnae
A man enters the room. Now they are alumni.
?
Thanks everyone!!