I’m a Freshman thinking about rushing a frat in the spring and I was just wondering how important is it to know some of the brothers before rush week? It seems like a lot of other Freshmen already have solid relationships with current brothers especially at “upper tier” frats which makes me nervous about my chances of getting bids without knowing any frat members.
I’m transferring over to Cornell this spring (and living in my fraternity’s house), but if it’s anything like at my old school, you’ll have time to meet the brothers during rush week. I believe Meet the IFC should be a great opportunity for that, and it should be on the first day of rush week. @ Meet the IFC you’ll go around and introduce yourself to a bunch of brothers.
Be chill, be sociable, be approachable, and be yourself. Don’t rush by tiers; rush by the guys that seem “like you”. There are definitely people going into rush with the fraternity thinking they’re going to give them a bid, but if they see another great candidate they’ll recruit you and you’ll get a bid no problem.