Current female student and outfits

Colleges and Universities A-Z Washington & Lee University
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<p>You can PM me this if you want.....</p>

<p>Could any posters who are current female students talk about recruitment clothes and pre-recruitment clothes. My mom is willing to buy the right stuff if we know what to get. </p>

<p>Do all sundresses need to be Lillys? </p>

<p>Are halter-top sundresses okay or is it better to have straight necklines with spaghetti straps?</p>

<p>Define the specifications of recruitment rounds clothing suggestions....What is casual? What is semi-formal? etc... The South (w/ a a capital S) has different ideas on this than the North.</p>

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<p>You will have two breaks (a week for thanksgiving and half a month in December between terms) before needing to think about rush - so don't worry about that part of it just yet. You will get a booklet in the fall term describing rush in detail - including what you're supposed to wear. Elissa, let me know if I'm mistaken here?</p>

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<p>Usually recruitment booklets are very general and Rho Chis give generic PC answers. I figured that any woman here could be a little more blunt and honest due to anonymity although Dima apparently has blown Elissa's cover. Besides all the winter clothes are on clearance now.... </p>

<p>Dima seems to have a typical guy viewpoint on clothes. Even though it may be just a sundress to you, there are nuances.</p>

<p>Elissa, when do the sororities want the recs? My references are not sure if they should wait until fall to send them since it's deferred recruitment instead of right away.</p>

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<p>Hey there! Wow, you are really on top of things. I am taking off for Brazil today for the rest of spring term, so this is going to have to be pretty quick, but let's see:</p>

<p>1) Dima's right about rush clothes-- you honestly have two breaks to go home and shop, and I bought most of my stuff over xmas break this year, but I totally agree with you about sales, so let's see here... As far as sundresses go, nobody really cares if you're wearing Lilly or not or what style of dress you're wearing. Honestly. I think some of the talk about dress at W&L gets a little out of hand sometimes-- yes, we do dress up a fair amount, no, nobody is going to really care if everything you own is lacoste and vineyard vines, or what style it is. </p>

<p>2) Srat recs, and recruitment in general, are not as hardcore as most other schools. If you're a legacy, I would let the sorority know that if you're interested in joining that house, but part of the beauty of January rush is that recs really don't matter all that much. You have all of fall term to get to know the girls in every house and make your choice from there, and you will probably change your mind throughout the term about where you'd like to pledge. </p>

<p>3) Our Rho Gams are really straight up about what to expect/what you'll need for rush because a lot of girls here know nothing about the Greek system before they get here (I was definitely one of those). Don't worry about getting PC answers from them-- they'll be really helpful and honest, and the booklet they gave us this year was pretty accurate to the way everyone ended up dressing. </p>

<p>4) There are only two dressy nights of rush-- the first dressy night I wore a skirt and top and the second night I wore a cocktail dress. Let's see here-- the first night of rush I wore jeans and a polo, the second I wore slacks and a top, and the third and fourth were the dressier nights. </p>

<p>I would really recommend that anyone who is planning on pledging here wait until fall before they even starting thinking about where they might want to go. Every sorority varies from chapter to chapter, and I think any girl ends up happier when she is really open-minded about what sorority she'd like to join. If you're married to a srat before you get here, you might be disappointed to find that it doesn't live up to your expectations. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions-- I'm absolutely happy to answer them, anonymous or not.</p>

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<p>


same thing applies for fraternities</p>

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<p>Greek Mom here:</p>

<p>"2) Srat recs, and recruitment in general, are not as hardcore as most other schools. If you're a legacy, I would let the sorority know that if you're interested in joining that house, but part of the beauty of January rush is that recs really don't matter all that much. You have all of fall term to get to know the girls in every house and make your choice from there, and you will probably change your mind throughout the term about where you'd like to pledge."</p>

<p>Obviously I'll be sending the legacy notifications to my sorority and my sister will send one in to hers, but how does my daughter let the chapters know that she's a legacy without them feeling she's presumptuous? </p>

<p>"4) There are only two dressy nights of rush-- the first dressy night I wore a skirt and top and the second night I wore a cocktail dress. Let's see here-- the first night of rush I wore jeans and a polo, the second I wore slacks and a top, and the third and fourth were the dressier nights. "</p>

<p>Do all the groups need white dresses for initiation? Those can be very hard to find in the winter!</p>

<p>"I would really recommend that anyone who is planning on pledging here wait until fall before they even starting thinking about where they might want to go. Every sorority varies from chapter to chapter, and I think any girl ends up happier when she is really open-minded about what sorority she'd like to join. If you're married to a srat before you get here, you might be disappointed to find that it doesn't live up to your expectations. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions-- I'm absolutely happy to answer them, anonymous or not."</p>

<p>This is very good advice from Tegan29. Just because someone's sister was XYZ doesn't mean that the XYZ chapter will be the best fit for that person. Chapters can vary immensely. All 5 of the sororities are very strong nationally and you can't go wrong with any of them.</p>

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<p>Yes, everyone needs a white dress to initiate-- sorry I forgot to include that. And when you register to rush there's a box to check if you're a legacy at each different sorority.</p>

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<p>Tegan29,
Can you tell us which one you are in? You can PM me if you want.</p>

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<p>So maybe I was wrong (being from Florida and everything) but I assumed no sundresses for a Rush in January. Isn't it freezing up there? I was planning on going from house to house in my ski jacket, gloves, scarf, five pairs of socks...</p>

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<p>Over on GreekChat.com there are multiple threads about rush and other aspects of greek life. One thread I have found interesting is do the non-legacy houses automatically cut a girl because she IS a legacy to one or more of the other houses? How is W&L Panhel about this?</p>

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<p>I just love seeing Floridian's and South Texans first experience fall and winter in Lexington ;)</p>

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<p>Is that like New Yorkers dealing with southern humidity?</p>

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<p>Great tips, keep them coming!</p>

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<p>Actually - you won't find a more humid place than New York City in the summers - the asphalt radiates heat and the tall buildings block in the heat and humidity. Whenever anyone complains about heat, my friend from Florida and I share a joke about how it's not nearly as bad cause its not humid.</p>

<p>I'm staying in Lexington this summer instead of going home to NYC in part to avoid heat and humidity.</p>

<p>I can't talk about sorority rush - being a guy and all - but either this upcoming winter or the winter after that, it's going to be a little different because we have a sixth sorority (Alpha Chi Omega I believe) joining the five current ones and they are probably going to get some help from PanHel starting up - possibly to the detriment of the current houses.</p>

<p>PS: I have no idea where the apostrophe in Floridians came from in my last post . . .</p>

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<p>I don't see how AChiO is going to be able to compete with housed chapters of other sororities. My friends who are already at W&L said several sororities backed out of being the 6th because the houses are so gorgeous and so integral to the groups identities. </p>

<p>And now there are 2 black sororities with chapters at W&L as well which is a whole different ballgame. There goes PiPhi which is the weakest "white" sorority and the only one that really takes any minorities.</p>

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<p>First off, I take offense at the jab at pi phi. Some of the most amazing girls I've met this year (including my FD date and my best friend here) are pi phis. Pi Phi tends to recruit a certain type of woman that is happier there than at other sororities. Actually, that can be said about pretty much every sorority here. You end up where you fit. The NHPC sororities won't get all the minority girls just like the traditionally black fraternities won't get all the minority guys. Out of my minority friends this year, there are several in Pi Phi, KD, Theta, and Chi O - the only sorority where I don't know minority freshmen is Kappa. So please don't generalize - especially before you even step foot on campus.</p>

<p>Secondly, right now the average sorority is about 131 women. That is huge considering how small a school we are (average frat size was 48 last year) and just goes against W&L culture. Plus the sorority houses are just too small for that - only built for around 80-90. The addition of a sixth house (and if that is Alpha Chi - I really hope if they come Alpha Chi will stick as the name to avoid confusion with Chi O), which will likely be just as beautiful and right next door to the current five, should bring average size down to a more manageable hundred. I am also sure that they will build their own image. </p>

<p>In terms of competition- its pretty simple, there are PanHel-imposed limits to pledge class size that will be cut, which will make it that much harder to get into your first-choice sorority but will make sure that all sororities have strong pledge classes. I've heard from someone that the first year ('07 or '08, whenever Alpha Chi if that is indeed the chosen sorority comes) a new sorority recruits they will have bigger limits while other sororities would have much smaller limits to assure the new sorority starts off strong.</p>

<p>Anyway, moral of the story: don't generalize or you may miss out on going to a house whose reputation you dont like but would make you happies.</p>

<p>And moral two: not only is there plenty of room for anotther sorority on campus, but it is a very good idea. After all, we have 14 frats and we're approaching 50-50 in male:female ration.</p>

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<p>AChiO is never, ever called Alpha Chi, at least not down in Savannah or anywhere else in the South. Y'all don't call PiPhis PiBetas or Thetas KATs. So is Panhel going to bring another sorority on, lower the average for 4 sororities to about 100 and raise the 5th to 100? You can't force girls to join a group where they aren't comfortable.</p>

<p>BTW, haven't your brothers taught you not to call a fraternity by the one-syllable name? It's vulgar to say the least.</p>

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<p>Laxer, I agree-- everywhere else, you don't call your brothers members of your "frat." Here it's actually commonplace (possibly supporting my claim that many kids here don't really know what it means to be in a fraternity).</p>

<p>And yeah, I agree with Dima that Pi Phi has some pretty cool girls. I have definitely learned to not generalize when it comes to Greek stuff; it takes away any personal identity one has.</p>

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<p>Actually, laxer, from what I've heard, the national organization of Alpha Chi Omega prefers the name Alpha Chi. I believe it is Apha Chi at Vanderbilt as well. As much as I hate to return your hostile tone - have you been to every Southern school that has a chapter of AXO?</p>

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<p>I think the addition of a new srat will be WONDERFUL. five is just too few! I think it would be great if we eventually had equal numbers of frats and srats so that women can enjoy the closeness of a small pledge class, like the men do. That way, each sorority would begin to have a more distinct identity, making it that much easier for girls to figure out where they will best belong.</p>