<p>My d will be attending UA this fall and wants to rush. How can she get invites to the parties this month?</p>
<p>It may be a bit late at this point, but if you have any friends with ties to Alabama or certain sororities, now is the time to hit them up. For example we had several friends who were heavily involved in recruitment and rec writing, and they contacted their contacts who would put in a request for an invite for my D. Also, make sure your D signs up with Alabama Panhellenic online. Some of the sororities pull from that list. </p>
<p>If it is too late for the parties, don’t fret, many girls rush at Bama without having been to preview or any parties. Just make sure you have a rec from each house.</p>
<p>SMBradshaw is probably correct but i would echo that if yo have friends who have ties to sororities or to Alabama or if you have family members who were in a sorority they can certainly try to contact their Alabama Chapter as see if they can get your daughter an invite. They can also contact their Nationals and ask to speak with the regional adviser or local recruitment adviser (I would suggest this only if your daughter is a legacy to that house or if the women are actively involved in their sorority’s recruitment process). You do not need to attend these parties to get a bid. Preview and these teas and parties are just as it says…they are a “preview” of the the different sororities. I tell girls to go if they can and to keep an open mind but it is certainly not a deal breaker when it comes to getting a bid.</p>
<p>My OOS DD could not attend either preview weekend or any preview parties. She followed the rules, got the recs and rushed blind as she knew nothing about any of the houses. She didn’t even know what “Old Row” meant! What got her noticed during the rush week was her excellent high school grades and activities, plus chit chat skills. As she put it after the first day, rush is like speed dating or a job fair – its hard work to smile, be pleasant and converse in sound bites for hours on end. Not bad insight for an 18 year old. Going to preview weekend and the parties could help and might alleviate some anxiety over the process, but are not necessary as others have noted. A deal-breaker is grades. Most sororities have minimums GPAs for PNMs – usually a 3.0. If a girl is from a high school is which 3.0 is not the top 50% of the class – as it is in some private schools that do not weigh grades – that needs to be explained in the resume submitted.</p>