<p>I have a high school daughter who is interested in Chapel Hill, but I worry about sorority rush because we aren't connected to the school or North Carolina at all. Does anyone have any insight? I know sooo many kids who did not get a fraternity or sorority bid this year at southern school: Clemson, TCU, FSU, Auburn. Getting into Greek life in the south makes me very nervous.</p>
<p>You can PM me if you want more details, but personally, rush was HORRIBLE for me. I’m sort of in a unique boat, but it was really very stressful and overwhelming. I’m also positive that the fact that I didn’t go to a NC high school/knew anyone in the state worked against me. However, one or two sororities are quite good at recruiting OOS girls, so your daughter’s experience might be better than mine. Edit: I’ll also add that I DO know of a few girls who were dropped completely on the second or third round of rush and were simply SOL, but this was before they mandated the new upperclassmen recruiting rules (which I don’t know much about b/c I stopped paying attention to Greek Life). Having said that, from my friends who are still Greek, I know for a fact that a few sororities are really hurting for numbers, so if your daughter really wants to be a part of greek life, there are spaces that need to be filed for these chapters to remain in good standing with Nationals.</p>
<p>The Greek system at UNC has nowhere near the influence on campus life that it does at other truly “southern” schools like Ole Miss, Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and even UVA. That said, I know that a number of my S’s female friends were in sororities- some remained active for all four years and others for two to three but they also had a wide circle of non sorority friends that were part of their group, meaning that Greek/non-Greek mix well at UNC unlike at some other places.</p>
<p>There are a few exclusively “southern” sororities and fraternities (and one or two that are exclusively Carolinian) but plenty of others that are mixed with students from across the country. </p>
<p>In all honesty, being Greek is not the “end all beat all” at UNC so I would not stress too much about it, at some other southern schools it is an altogether different story however.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. I went to a southern school and was Greek, but don’t remember it being the cut-throat process that it is today. I have been SHOCKED to find out that kids I know (who are college freshmen this year) havent’ gotten in a sorority or fraternity. Maybe they were reaching for one of the top, but I’d have to say these kids were top (at least in their high school: high GPAs, student government, Varsity athletes). It seems to be more about “who you know” than it was in my day.</p>
<p>I’m OOS, rushed last year as a freshman and accepted a bid. I live in the sorority house this year. I have a great group of sorority friends, but also have many friends who aren’t in sororities and that’s ok. I am still close friends with my suitemates from last year who aren’t greek. Go into it with an open mind and try to enjoy the process. If nothing else, you will meet so many girls and make some new friends.</p>
<p>Cookie – do you know many girls who did not receive a bid at all?</p>
<p>Yes, it could be a problem if she wants to get into a ‘top’ sorority. The top sororities tend to be those that are either for Southern girls, or in some cases for rich North-Easterners.</p>
<p>If she doesn’t care about a ‘top’ sorority, then it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.</p>
<p>I have to disagree with eadad here: for a certain sort of person, Greek life is very important at UNC-CH.</p>
<p>I agree- if you’re trying to get into a “top” sorority, it’ll be an uphill battle unless you’ve got friends inside who can speak up for you, have a really strong personality (that’ll come through in your 2 minute micro conversations), and have the right look (let’s be real here, if she’s a supermodel, she’ll be fine). </p>
<p>If she’s not interested in a “top” sorority, then it should be pretty easy, however, if she thinks that one of those less popular sororities is the right place for her, then IMO she shouldn’t rush and just do COR (continuous ongoing recrutement) or spring rush. COR is great because IMO you get a much better picture of the sorority without all the “sparkle” of rush week, you have more time to make your decision, there is less pressure, etc. </p>
<p>One of my really good friends got completely dropped during the rush process, but IMO, if she hadn’t done rush and done COR/spring at the sororities that would’ve been a good fir for her, she would’ve been fine and they would’ve welcomed with open arms. I tried to get her into my sorority but since we’d cut her, she was done and they told me they wouldn’t consider her if she wanted to rush again next year (which is stupid, imo, but whatever).</p>
<p>I heard that the rate for girls that are completely dropped are something like 2%-5% during my round (this was before they changed the rules, so I don’t know what it is now). But 2-5% of 600 is something like 12 to 30 girls. What also happens is that a lot of girls (at least a hundred during my round) voluntarily drop because they know that they won’t get bids at their sororities.</p>
<p>What are the top frats & sororities? I was a Kappa Sigma back in the day.</p>
<p>The top sororities from back in the day or even from a few years ago aren’t necessarily the top sororities today. All groups are looking for different types of girls and if you go through rush with an open mind, you will find a house that is right for you and where you feel comfortable. I don’t think it’s a good idea to rely on continuous open rush (COR) to get a bid - if a house makes quota in the fall, there is no need for COR or sring rush. Better just to wait until the following fall IMO and rush again. Plus, after you’ve gone through the whole thing, don’t you want all the bells and whistles that come with bid day, initiation etc.?</p>
<p>I don’t know what the percentage is of girls who don’t get bids at all, after going through rush (not counting the girls who drop out during). You might be able to find it on the Panhellenic website or maybe even in the DTH archives (from September).</p>
<p>I love my house and as an OOS student, it has given me a much smaller group of girls to interact with. UNC is a huge place, especially for OOS kids who don’t know anyone at the beginning and it’s nice to have 150 girls right off the bat who know you and who you know.</p>
<p>^ I would only advise that someone serious consider COR if they want to be in one of the sororities that continually does COR (there are are 2-3 off the top of my head that I’m pretty sure are always under quota and MUST do COR each semester). If they think that one of those sororities would be the place for them (and the ones I’m thinking of all have very distinct cultures which are somewhat unique among the Carolina Greek community, and I could definitely see someone say “I really think that XYZ is the only sorority for me” based on that culture). Otherwise, do rush. The only risk is that if you really want XYZ, you could slip through the cracks of rush and then get blackballed (as what happened to one of my good friends). I think she would’ve been great in XYZ, and they probably would’ve taken her during COR, but like my sorority, they wouldn’t take someone they’d cut.</p>
<p>As I said above, I really hated my rush experience. Incidentally, I really also didn’t like Greek life at Carolina. I, too, really wanted to have a community here at Carolina since I didn’t know anyone, but there are other ways of finding that community. I would advise your daughter to do some soul searching if she’s on the fence–Greek life is very distinct and I was extremely disappointed with the way some of my sorority sisters and fellow Greeks conducted themselves.</p>
<p>Artemis-if you"stopped paying attention to Greek life" and " don’t like greek life at UNC" then why are you in a sorority? Maybe you should talk about the positive aspects of being in a sorority rather than why YOU hate it. Not a very good impression to make on a PNM (potential new member), Rice’s daughter.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Slapping her down for giving her honest opinion? Seems like the rumours that Greek life is controlling and conformist have some basis in truth. It’s you who is making a bad impression.</p>
<p>^^ I was in a sorority, fully participated and then decided that it wasn’t for me and left. That’s why everything I’ve said about being in a sorority is in past tense (if you’ve going to quote me, at least do it correctly). Since I’ve been out, while I still keep in touch with some of my good friends, I really don’t pay attention to Greek happenings. I also only said that I hated rush, not all of Greek life in general. </p>
<p>I also think that all of the things I’ve said about Rush and Greek life are very valid. Rush can be stressful and overwhelming for PMN’s–that’s why the frat boys like to line up around the arboretum to see which girls end up crying on Bid Day. I happened to have a totally normal experience (which was very unpleasant based on my shy personality and factors outside of my control) during Rush. It’s not something that should be taken lightly because (for me at least) it was incredibly emotionally draining, costly, and time consuming. </p>
<p>There were a few things I liked about being in a sorority–having someplace to go and hang out with all of my friends, being able to eat lunch/dinner with the same people every day, have a dedicated group of friends for different non-alcoholic events (movie premiers, etc), knowing seniors/upperclassmen who gave me great advice, meeting some wonderful people–and I certainly miss those aspects of it. But being in a sorority isn’t the only way to achieve those things (nor is it necessarily the best way). </p>
<p>And while I miss those things, they made up maybe 10-20% of my experience and I decided that they weren’t worth the substantial money and time I’d put into it. Although, interestingly enough, those are the main aspects that are being “pushed” on PMNs at Rush week, this idea of a community, but what is often very purposefully ignored is the very prevalent drinking/partying culture that dominates (my former sorority’s at least) social calendar, the enormous time and money commitments to “fit in” and a whole host of other issues. Am I saying that Greek life is bad? No. I’m just saying that it wasn’t for me. Some people love the party culture and don’t mind the time and money commitments. I just wasn’t one of those people.</p>
<p>ArtemisDea, I was just curious what you meant by those certain sororities having distinct cultures that are unique at Carolina. I didn’t rush but might consider it next year. I’m curious about what the greek life is since I’m so outside of it. I have a few friends in sororities but I feel kind of awkward asking them.</p>
<p>I actually appreciate the honesty everyone – thank you. My D definitely wants to be in a sorority. She is looking for the quintessential college experience: close-knit freshmen dorm life, friendships that will last a lifetime, big sports, lots of school spirit and pride, Greek life. My husband and I are both Greek and it was the best part of our college days. I still am friends with many sorority sisters from 30 years ago. </p>
<p>I was in a top sorority at my southern school, but to be honest didn’t know much about Rush when I entered college in the early '80s and was swept up (sort of speak). I never thought too much about my own rush until now. I am a mother of college-aged kids and I know so many friends whose girls and boys are “top” kids in my eyes and didn’t get their first, second or third choice. Some didn’t get a bid at all. We are in California but these kids all went to college in the south or southwest, and are freshmen or sophomores this year: TCU, Auburn, FSU, Clemson, Vanderbilt. It’s just hard to figure out if some schools only want girls and boys from “southern society” or can you get recognized based on letters of recommendation and meeting people during the micro meetings that make up the rush experience. Kids are so sharp these days – they’ve got the grades, the community service, the leadership. It seems as if Rush has gotten very very competitive.</p>
<p>This isn’t related to greek life, but if she wants a close-knit freshman dorm, she NEEDS to live on south campus. I live in Avery which is mid-campus and a fantastic location, but I would NOT recommend any freshmen to live here. It is the major athlete dorm, and there are a lot of upperclassmen as well. My experience has been that it is loud but not social. Of course you can always try to make it social (a few girls on my floor in sororities seem to know a lot of people in the dorm) but it isn’t as easy as any other dorms on south campus that are largely freshmen.</p>
<p>I’m moving to Morrison next year and I can’t even tell you how excited I am. It’s also partly because of roommate problems, but that’s a whole different story. Almost all of my friends live in either Morrison or Ehringhaus, and I would definitely recommend both dorms for freshmen. Hinton James is extremely far away, but the few people I know there also are pretty close with their floors.</p>
<p>If she wants to rush and wants a good freshman dorm experience without being so far away from everything, Granville is the place to be. A large number of residents there do rush and it is located in close proximity to the houses.</p>
<p>Thank you Jess and Southernbred! Anybody want to comment on what the top houses are at UNC?</p>
<p>I would concur that Granville is a great place to be…</p>