<p>I'm a freshman and I've been at USC for a week. Originally I thought I wouldn't rush because I a) didn't want to deal with the stress during my first week of classes, and b) I didn't even know if it was for me. Now that a lot of people on my floor are rushing and enjoyed their experiences so far, I'm regretting that I didn't at least rush to meet people.</p>
<p>I know I can rush/pledge a sorority as a sophomore, but is it harder to get a bid as a sophomore for sororities like Alpha Delta Pi and Gamma Phi Beta? I plan to keep my GPA up and join a couple of other clubs to add to my resume (and possibly get an internship next summer). </p>
<p>Honestly right now I feel I would have been too overwhelmed with the new college environment to rush properly this year anyway. Next year I expect to be more secure and comfortable with myself... so rushing won't be as difficult. </p>
<p>Also... do any of the more legitimate sororities EVER have spring recruitment? It drives me crazy that I'll have to wait all the way 'til next year to rush.</p>
<p>Dear staring,
One chapter is going to do informal recruitment. Another new Greek letter organization, a Christian group, is new this year at SC and will be doing informal in September. </p>
<pre><code>IF any of the other nine NPC chapters do not meet quota they may take new members up to campus total. Stop in at the Panhellenic office and talk with Ms. Beth Saul or someone on the staff about placing your name on a list for possible informal opportunities. All the NPC sororities on campus are “legitimate”. All belong to Panhellenic, have exchanges, particpate in Greek Week and raise thousands and thousands of dollars for their respective philanthropies. The scholarship trophy was one by a chapter that had a GPA of 3.47 last semester.
There are costs associated with sorority membership. Before doing any of this, obtain a cost sheet from Panhellenic and have a frank discussion with your family to make certain these fees fit into the family budget.
Look at service organizations, groups that are associated with your major and the 600 clubs at SC to find things that interest you.
Sophomore pledging is much more common at SC than at many other competitive universities.
</code></pre>
<p>Yes you can rush as a sophomore. Give those girls on your floor til sunday morning and surely a few will drop. With about 950 girls registered for rush theres been a ton of girls, and they arent guaranteeing that everyone is going to get a bid. People can be cut after house tours today.</p>
<p>I have met SO many sophomores during rush this year, and even a few juniors. Don’t know if/where they’ll end up getting bids, but I think it is possible.</p>
<p>I’m also a new freshman and I’m not going to rush until sophomore year.</p>
<p>I really don’t think the Greek life is going to be for me, but I came to the conclusion that maybe I’m wrong, and I could end up pledging. However, as I knew I did not want to pledge during freshman year, as I have been advised by my brother not to, I won’t rush until next year.</p>
<p>My room-mate is also not rushing until sophomore year.</p>
<p>Be careful what you wish for. USC rush seems brutal to me .You need to be fully aware of the numbers on the Panhellenic website:They explain,after visiting all the houses, you MAY get 6 houses, the next day you MAY get 4, and today, you MAY have two. However:Along the way, girls were getting back far less. After the first round, some girls get only two offers. You’ll be lucky at the end to have two to chose from. It is a superficial setting during rush, where your tour guide only gets to know you for a few minutes. It can be a very ego bruising experience so close to the beginning of school. As their bids dwindle, I understand many girls have dropped out.Sorority rush sucks, but sorority life is a ball. So, steel yourself for a healthy serving of rejection. Get recommendations at all the houses. Learn some small talk. Be flexible about your choices. But, no matter what, being dropped hurts your feelings.I wish there were a better way to join sororities, as it is hard to watch your kid go through it. If I had realized how tough USC’s rush was, I’m not sure I would have told my daughter to go through it. Hopefully she will get the house she wants today and it will all have been worth it.</p>
<p>To lucymom, totally agree with your comments. My daughter rushed this year as a sophomore as did many of her friends. The sophomore class does not get the same preference for bids as do freshmen, there does seem to be some type of quota. It gets even worse later for juniors. Most of the sophomores and juniors did not get asked back today for preference. My daughter was one of the lucky ones, but it is brutal.</p>
<p>yeah, I just finished rush, opted withdraw rather than fill out a bid card. I saw nine houses on tour day, like everyone else, was invited back to four (for the six-house day), including the house where I was a legacy, was invited back to two (for the four-house day), dropped by my legacy house, and then was invited back to one (for pref, the two-house day). I’m a freshman, great student, etc, but formal recruitment did not work out like I’d hoped it to. The house that invited me back for pref is full of great girls, but I’m not sure at this point whether it’s the right house for me, so I’m participating in informal recruitment.</p>
<p>I appreciate your decision. I imagine this year was hard on the houses as well, with so many girls going through. What they may want to do is tone down their advertising of rush.Their brochure makes it seem like its going to be “fun”…and a way to meet people. But what is fun about thinking you are connecting with a friend and that friend then rejects you? That is what makes rush tough, is it is hard not to take it personally.
Thumbs up for trying the process. I think it take a lot of strength to endure it.</p>
<p>So I know this is different since I’ a guy, but I rushed for Sigma Chia and Phi Psi, and didn’t get a bid for any of them. I liked them both but I liked Phi Psi better. I was cut the first night for both houses. I’m not sure how many people there were at Sigma Chi but there were around 200 people competing for around 25 bids at Phi Psi.While I did click with a lot of the dudes at Phi Psi and they were really chill, I realized that there wasn’t a real conversation going on just a lot of small talk and at times it felt a little awkward. I was wondering if this was normal. Also, would it be weird/awkward to rush the same house(s) again next semester? Is it less competitive to rush in the spring? I really liked both houses and would like to be in a fraternity.</p>
<p>Also, on a side note, are there any other non Greek clubs/organizations at USC that have a kind of brotherhood/ family bond?</p>
<p>I did not rush but think about it for next year. I am a freshman. Lucymom, you said to get recommendations at all the houses. How do you get them? I know many girls did drop out because they did not know things like needing recommendations. They never read about that part. Did your daughter end up getting a bid for a sorority she wants? I think sororities are not for everyone so that is why I wait.</p>
<p>that was the worst part, walking out of a party feeling great, like oh my god, that house is perfect for me, and then being cut the next day. I had recs for about half the houses, but I don’t think they really made a difference, honestly, since all but two of the houses where I had recs cut me after the first round (and one of the houses that kept me was my legacy house, so I think they had to keep me). I think there were plenty of girls without recs who did just fine in recruitment, as well.</p>
<p>While my daughter had recs for every house, I’m not sure it made a difference.For example,She was cut from my college sorority even though she was a legacy.To get recs, I did the legwork by asking all the women I know who were in houses. I sent them her resume and pic, and they presumably sent them in.I sent out a mass email to a mother-daughter group we were part of, and women were happy to.I’ve had lots of requests from her friends as well.
In the end, she got the perfect house for HER. I could have pegged it on line…the least Barbie looking of all the houses. And, where she clicked with the girls the most. I think that is my two cents worth.Go through it with an open mind, Don’t get hung up on that “top house” stuff. I know I cared about that when I went through rush and it will make you crazy.When you get in a house , you’ll find nice girls, pretty girls, snobs, and down to earth girls in every group, so they are pretty hard to peg. And remember, they only meet you for a few seconds, so don’t take it personally when you are dropped. You only need one yes, so don’t worry about being dropped. It usually works out pretty well. In the end, you want people you can be comfortable with all the time! Don’t try to be something you’re not and it works out ok.It can be ego bruising though, so be prepared to be disappointed. Very few girls have perfect rush where they are asked back every where.</p>
<p>I just got through with rush as a sophomore, and I have to say that, from my experience, nobody can tell you that it’s much harder than being a freshman. Every person’s experience is very unique. For example, I know plenty of freshmen that were dropped by most of the houses the first day and ended up dropping out of rush. On the other hand, I was asked back by the max number of houses every day.
So it really depends on the type of rush you have, if you click with the girls you meet, etc. That is the MOST important part. If you can get recs, meet girls in the sororities you like already, that will surely help you. But being yourself and getting involved this year is crucial.</p>
<p>I will say, though, that, though I was asked back by the rest, the “top houses” dropped me the first day. Whether that has to do with being a sophomore, I don’t know, but I do know they they are notorious for cutting MANY sophomores. It doesn’t sound like your so interested in them though and, honestly, ADPi and Gamma Phi are SUCH good houses, just a little more chill and less stereotypical. If you fit in with them, being a sophomore will most likely not affect your chances :)</p>
<p>As a mother who was in a house at SC and the mother of a daughter who is in a sorority (a different one) at SC may I add my two cents?</p>
<p>Rush is a very difficult process for all concerned. Please be aware that Panhellenic sets a certain “cut” percentage. No matter how much a girl might have been perfect for a particular house, she might not be given a second look due to numbers and/or the fact that both rusher and rushee didn’t click. </p>
<p>I know the girls in all the houses wanted to give everyone the best experience possible. I hope that no one left a house feeling snubbed or short changed because I know that was never anyone’s intention. Yes, the girls may have really liked someone, but numbers did not permit an invitation. But everything that I have read went along these lines, “I fell in love with…”, so they were shown a good time. Actually I have heard more than once about pnms going into less popular houses and acting out by sneering/refusing to talk/needing to go to the bathroom (for the entire party). I know one such girl who’s mother gleefully told me how rude her daughter (who goes to a different school) was to her legacy chapter because they were the lowest tier.</p>
<p>This year every house was given two “free” juniors, meaning that didn’t count against quota. Sophomores are placed. I wasn’t privy to any discussions (nor would I ask), but I can say that I saw/know the girls and they all wanted to have the best experience possible.</p>