<p>tl;dr at bottom for anyone who wants it.</p>
<p>Hey guys, rising senior in high school and first poster. So for a while I've been considering rushing as a way to force myself to be social. See, I'm a very extroverted, people loving person, but when it comes to meeting people I get shy and awkward and assume I'm annoying people I meet, all of that stuff. When I heard about rush, it made me think that maybe it would be a very good way to force myself to meet people, since I'm most likely going to a college with none of my friends. All the parties and people asking me things that I hear about would make me have to open up and socialize, and I could maybe make a few lasting friends. Rushing also just sounds very fun in general- I love the idea of cheesy things like having to do certain things for certain days.</p>
<p>Only thing is is that as of right now, the idea of rushing sounds more appealing than being a sorority itself. The main draw to me is that you'd get kinda forced to interact and make close bonds with tons of girls and since I want to go into helping people as my career I love all the philanthropy work they do. Besides that I'm not really sure. Disregarding the fact that I'm not even sure I would fit into any sorority (I'm pretty into feminism and have dorky interests, both of which I'm scared would turn people away from me), I don't know if I'd have the time. I'm interested in Honors Programs, clubs, and pursuing a minor.</p>
<p>tl;dr Want to rush to force myself to try to make friends before the year starts, but not positive I want to be in a sorority in the first place due to lots of academic priorities and my personality; Will rushing help me make friends, should I rush even if I decide I don't want to be in a sorority, and do I even have the time/personality to be in a sorority if I decide so?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Also want to note I don't dislike human interaction by any means. I love people and friends, I'm just not very good at making them initially due to self doubt.</p>
<p>This may sound strange, but you could go rushing later in life. I know a lady who spent her freshman year adjusting to college rigor, and made friends through her classes. She decided to rush the spring semester of her sophomore year. </p>
<p>Thanks for your advice Smallkid! However, if I were to ever rush, I definitely would want to do it freshman year since a very important purpose of it would be meeting a bunch of out of state strangers early.</p>
<p>Statistically speaking sorority women tend to have a higher average GPA than the campus wide female average. </p>
<p>The rest is very subjective to your campus. Some schools if you’re shy and don’t easily talk to strangers rush can be brutal because it’s basically a week of first impressions over and over again. </p>
<p>I’m wondering if you’ve ever talked to someone about your shyness, and if you might have a bit of social anxiety which is common and easily dealt with. </p>
<p>Glad to know that about the higher GPA thing, will keep that in mind.</p>
<p>I’ve had some therapy stuff, but social anxiety never really came up due to me having to focus on other more serious issues. But whenever I would take the psychologist given tests, anxiety would always be pretty high up there. It’s not like I dread interaction. Just when I’m meeting people for the first time, everything tends to come out… Very wrong and make me out to be this huge awkward loser lol. And my fear of that makes it hard for me to introduce myself to others, period, these days. :c</p>
<p>I know what you mean in terms of meeting new people. I am exactly the same way, and hope to maybe join a frat in the future for the same reason. </p>
<p>At the end it’s all up to you. It also depends on the specific college/sorority. While hazing isn’t allowed, some people still do it. I had no idea about the higher GPA thing. If you feel you can keep your academics up, and believe a sorority is right for you, then join one. </p>
<p>I agree that in terms of meeting people, it’d be better to join now than sophomore year. </p>
<p>You can always try, and then if you decide it’s not for you, just drop out. I know a couple of girls who were interested in joining a sorority freshman year but after the first couple of meetings quickly realized that it wasn’t for them and stopped. One of them sounded a bit like you. She was mostly interested in making friends and really liked the idea of sisterhood, but after a couple of meetings, she quickly realized that it wasn’t what she expected (she didn’t really like the girls, didn’t really like having to meet knew people all the time without really getting to know anyone). That being said, I know a lot of other people who joined sororities and fraternities and met lifelong friends there. So it really depends. If you’d like to do it, then give it a shot. It might be you, it might not, but you never really know until you try.</p>
<p>And also keep in mind, there are a lot of other ways to make friends. You can join orgs that have a lot of events and force yourself to talk to people around you. If you get actively involved, you can go to events that involve more interaction with other members (like volunteering events, social activities like laser tag or bowling, etc), or you can get on planning committees so that you can help organize events, while getting to know the other members in the committee. Getting a job where you work with other students regularly can also help force yourself to meet new people–I met a lot of my friends at work, and it’s nice because you get to meet a wide array of different people, rather than just kids in your major or residence hall.</p>
<p>Thank you so much everyone! I love all of the relatable examples and advice, and I will keep all of it in mind. You all have helped so much. <3</p>