Hi! This is a question for anybody who has gone through sorority life recently at the University of South Carolina or knows someone who has. I’m from out-of-state so I’m not sure if I should rush next fall or not. I’ve always been on the edge about joining sorority life, but I think it could be a good opportunity for me to meet new people since I’ll be coming from so far away. If you have any tips or recommendations, please let me know. Thanks!
@scessayhelp I have a son so I don’t know about sorority life first hand. I only know what I read on the parents FB page and from one of my son’s friends. It seems to be pretty involved but it does allow you to meet a lot of people before the school year starts. Rush takes place before all the students return to school in August (so it is ridiculously hot). My son’s friend has met a lot of nice girls and is very happy she did it.
And FWIW, my son was never a fraternity guy, but he joined one and is happy he did. We are also OOS.
My daughter is a freshman and we are OOS (Virginia). She had always been looking forward to Greek life in college and did rush before school started. It can be a brutal process but she is very happy with her decision to join a sorority and most of her best friends are either sorority sisters and/or girls that were in her initial rush group that she bonded with. Even if she hadn’t accepted a bid/joined a house, she would have still made these friends so just going through the process can help you meet people if you’re on the fence about actually joining. Make sure you are aware of the time and financial commitments prior to joining–they go over all of this but it seems like some girls just don’t really pay attention to what is required after joining and then drop out. Also, if you can get into a more social dorm, that can really help as well. My D is in Capstone and has a very tight floor–they do a lot together. So while the sorority would have given her good connections and a social life, she probably would have been just fine without it! In her case, though, she’s grown up always knowing that she wanted this to be part of her college experience. Good luck to you!
There are also a couple of sororities that rush in the fall that do not have houses or eating plans so dues are only a couple of hundred dollars a semester. These groups have weekly meetings, hold dances and other social functions, participate in homecoming events and raise money for a national cause – just like the sororities with houses. My daughter was in ESA for four years and loved the camaraderie and activities.
Does anyone have experience/knowledge about waiting til Spring to rush? I believe some sororities have that as option.
@houndmom My daughter is actually in a sorority now and still doesn’t have a good feel for how Spring Rush works. It is very, very different than formal rush in the fall. If you know girls who are in houses already and they have openings in the spring, they can bring you around to meet people and you may be offered a bid that way. My daughter’s house just had a social function at a local bar/club that girls were invited to for rush as well. You just won’t know which houses will have openings in the spring so she’d have to wait and see what was available if that’s the route she chooses to go. I think the main “pro” is that you don’t go through the brutal “cut” process in the fall, (and don’t have to move in a week early) but the “cons” would be that you’d only have a shot at a house that has some openings and you’d have a very small (maybe 10 girls) pledge class which might make it harder to meet people.
Thanks @g8rmomk8ans , I’ll pass this on to D.
Her plan (today) is to join LLC, then see if friends she makes are into Greek scene. But sounds as if that will reduce her Sorority choices - which may be fine. I wouldn’t say she’s one of “the popular girls” in her large HS, but she is definitely accepted by that pack and makes friends easily. I guess she’ll figure it out!
@houndmom There is definitely a house for every type of girl who wants to be in Greek life. My daughter was definitely not in the “popular crowd” in HS and isn’t in one of the “popular girl” sororities (go figure), but she’s in a house where she fits in and is happy, which is all that really matters!
I have a DD Class of 2023 and I am a curious dad who needs to know what the additional fees are assuming she rushes with ones that offer housing and meal plans? I assume you do not pay for dorm fees and the meal plan and was wondering if there is a net cost advantage living in a sorority home with meal plan. We will be at Accepted day on 3/23 and will learn more, but thought I ask now. Thanks
My daughter will be a freshman and is interested in rushing in the fall (will stay in a dorm) but I keep hearing that move-in day is different for those rushing… I assume they have to know which sorority they are rushing before they even get to campus then? I do no know how this works and would appreciate any advice.
@tc1207 move in day was a piece of cake, honestly. If anything it’s easier because it’s a smaller subset of kids who are moving in early to go through recruitment vs. an entire dorm full of kids. They’ve got to move down a week or so early. As for houses–recruitment includes ALL houses–so you’re not deciding “which ones” ahead of time. This is the link to the page on Greek Life through the university which has a lot of info on recruitment (formerly called rush) and costs, etc. You do not have the opportunity to move in the sorority houses until 2nd year, but a meal plan is required of all member starting in the spring of freshman year. Your school meal plan converts over and you have your meals at the sorority house. https://sc.edu/about/offices_and_divisions/fraternity_and_sorority_life/
@tc1207 I don’t know a whole lot about the rushing scene myself, and someone will probably be able to shine a better light on it, but I do know that the move-in day is earlier if you are planning on rushing. I also know that they don’t need to know what specific sorority they are rushing before they get to campus because we will be put into groups that visit all the different sororities and as the week goes on, we keep rushing certain sororities and drop others until bid day comes around and we choose one.
This was a good link where I got a lot of information about how the week/weeks run, the early move-in, what sororities there were, and some more helpful information. Hopefully this helps!
@/g8rmomk8ans and @scessayhelp Thank you so much for the info! That’s very helpful and I’ll be sure to share it with my daughter!
D had one roommate who rushed and joined as freshman. The following year, two of her sophomore apartment mates rushed in the fall and both had good results. Don’t know about spring rush
Most big universities have one big rush, either in the fall or in the spring. Some that have fall rush might sponsor a second spring rush, but the spring one would be much small and may only be for houses that didn’t take quota in the fall or that have openings for other reasons (transfers out, pledges who didn’t initiate). It is often common for chapters to have COB, continuous open bidding, throughout the school year, but you’d have to know someone in the house to get you an invitation (no parties).
I’d suggest she plan to go through the formal rush even if she’s not sure. She can always decide not to accept a bid and this isn’t a bad thing and won’t be held against her.