<p>I hate to sound fluffy, but my D definetly wants to rush. Question:</p>
<p>When do they rush the new freshman? They can't possibly do it in August, can they? From what I read, it seemed as though it was in August, but I wasn't sure if that was for returning sophmores or what. Doesn't make sense for new freshman to rush in August, but I could be wrong.</p>
<p>Anyone know?</p>
<p>Thanks.........</p>
<p>rushes were right away in august.Take a look at the website for greek life,that will help you with more info.</p>
<p>Rush is held in August for freshman. At some schools in the South it actually begins over the summer but August is more the norm than the exception.</p>
<p>I'll see if I can get my D to post under my name with more info.</p>
<p>I did check the website, and in fact I printed out a ton of stuff for my daughter to read. (i.e., what goes on each day, what to wear, etc.) It just boggled my mind though when they mentioned August. I kept thinking that maybe it was August for sophmore girls. I just can't believe that it is for freshman........</p>
<p>how can freshman possibly know which sorority they want to join in August? I think August of the freshman year is too early. At my son's school they rush after Christmas break, so at least everyone has an idea of who is who/what is what, etc.</p>
<p>Eadad, any info your daughter can supply would be great. I remember your other posts about her joining which were VERY informative. </p>
<p>Looking forward to any help.</p>
<p>The rush process begins right away even before classes. It's nice because it keeps the girls really busy during those first few days away from home and gives them an opportunity to make a ton of friends. They stay very busy the first few days and it's nice that they don't have to worry about classes on top of that.
I think that one of the advantages of early rush as well is that PNM's (potential new members) give all of the sororities a chance, having little or no preconceived ideas about the "best" ones. They can see what they think of the group rather than base it on anyone else's perceptions.
My daughter absolutely loved her rush leader and it turned out that they are in the same sorority now! It has been a wonderful experience for her.
Start shopping for dresses this summer, especially a white one, as most seem to have an event that requires white and it's harder to find at the end of summer. LOL
eadad's daughter went through rush this past fall at the same time as my d so hopefully she can fill in any gaps there. ( My daughter laughs at me for posting here so I won't ask her directly LOL)</p>
<p>momwithquestions - Most schools have rush in August, right before or when school starts. Some schools have deferred rush, but not the majority. There are pros and cons to each method. </p>
<p>You should have someone in your area that is affiliated with Panhellenic. She should be able to answer questions you might have about rush at USC. Also, she can get you information about rec's (if you don't know about that already). I'm sure that, with South Carolina being an SEC school, it is really important that your daughter have rec's for all the sororities. Good luck to her!</p>
<p>Oh, this whole thing is crazy. Rec's etc.</p>
<p>Ok........here is something I can handle. Her wardrobe. What kind of white dress? Short, long, tea-length? I recall reading the whole wardrobe thing on their website, but I normally don't have time to go through the site with a fine tooth comb....(and I'd rather have daughter keep her studies and sport and work up to par).</p>
<p>I should have expected this as son has numerous sport coats at his school, and now I find out he needs a top of the line suit for co-op interviews.......(I hate to think of all his clothing lying in a ball on the floor of his closet....gives me the shudders........)</p>
<p>I would suggest a simple short dress. She will need a few dresses, just things that would be appropriate for a social function rather than nightclub. My daughter was not someone to dress up except at prom or such, so we definitely needed to shop before rush LOL If your daughter has a few dresses that she likes than you are set.
As far as rec's , I know that my daughter did not get any as we were clueless about the whole thing and it did not hurt her. In fact her sorority's website says not to worry about them either, because they take the responsibility to get one for each girl. Each sorority may be different. Certainly, if you know someone who is in a sorority that you could ask for a referral it couldn't hurt, but not absolutely necessary from my d's experience.
It really was not the nightmare it sounds like here - my daughter is very happy she went forward with it and the girls were all very nice to her.</p>
<p>Sorry - just wanted to say that the white dress wasn't needed for rush per se, but a lot of the sororities had events after rush ( in the pledge period) when the girls did need white. By then ( end of August) white can be a little harder to find, that's why I suggested it earlier.</p>
<p>OP, go to greekchat.com. There are a bunch of posts about USC-Columbia's rush. There are also a couple of regular posters on there who are advisors to chapters at USC-Columbia.</p>
<p>PLEASE get recs for your daughter. If you don't think you know any sorority alums, go to <a href="http://www.npcwomen.org%5B/url%5D">http://www.npcwomen.org</a>. This is the national Panhellenic Conference website. The NPC is the umbrella organization of most of the national sorororites. See if there is a link to an NPC alumnae ass'n in your area. Contact each one that has a chapter at USC. Usually they want a resume and picture. My D also offered to interview. </p>
<p>I wrote 5 recs as an alumna of my GLO last year for girls going through South Carolina rush and I don't even live in the state.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM if you have any questions.</p>
<p>PA Mom, all college campuses are different. I know that my 2 nieces didn't need rec's when they went through rush at Cornell, there are much fewer girls participating, and that may be the case at many schools. </p>
<p>But in the south, especially at an SEC school, a girl will need rec's to have a successful rush. Many sororities will cut girls after the first party if they don't have a rec, even if the girl is darling. This is done because so many girls are going through the process, the sororities have to have some idea about backgrounds - can't just meet 800+ girls over a couple of days and know what kinds of grades they made in hs and if they are well thought of in their community. </p>
<p>Motherdear has made some good suggestions. You can also just ask around among your friends, you will probably be surprised that many were in sororities back in the day and would be happy to write a rec for your daughter. I write about 4 a year, and this year (my s's a senior) I will be doing them in the double digits! I don't have a problem with it because I love these girls and want them to have the best experience that they can :)</p>
<p>My daughter is at this same SEC school and while I wouldn't want to discourage the poster from getting recs I just didn't want her to feel overwhelmed and not rush because she did not have a rec. : ) It can be a little intimidating for us newbies to the greek system ! Thanks to you and motherdear for sharing your knowledge with us. It's nice to read some of the positives to the system rather than only negatives.</p>
<p>Sometimes I think a lot of the negatives are written by people who haven't really been involved in it, and they believe the stereotypes that are typified in movies and tv. Most kids that I know that are involved in the greek system are just kids; the kind we all know and love :) They aren't the sinister, snobbish charicatures that are written about sometimes on these boards. </p>
<p>Interesting to hear that at USC rec's are not necessary. I'm glad to hear that your daughter had a successful rush without them. I am more familiar with rush at Texas schools and SEC schools where my friends have daughters - Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas and UF. </p>
<p>In Houston, there is a very structured Panhellenic procedure and all senior girls who are planning on going through rush are invited (with moms) to an informational meeting where they go over everything and help everyone get started, especially the newbies :) I think the meeting is Feb. 25th. </p>
<p>Back when I was in a sorority, we used the recs to familiarize the chapter with girls that would be attending the parties. It helped facilitate the discussions at the end of the day to be able to recall things about the girls and relate to things we had read from the rec's. We tried to get all kinds of girls, people that would compliment the chapter and fit in well with us, we certainly didn't want cookie cutter carbon copies of Barbie dolls. I loved that there were so many different types of girls, some are still my life long friends!</p>
<p>That's exactly what my daughter loves about her sorority! There are so many different personalities and traits represented and they accept each for who they are.
I have heard people say that SC is a little less structured than many of the other SEC schools like the ones you mentioned. Probably helped her ( a yankee ) LOL</p>
<p>My daughter went to Clemson (don't hate me!) and she rushed as a freshman and loved it. She made a lot of friends right away. She ended up sharing an apt. with several of the girls she met during rush, and they are all still friends - 3 years past graduation now. We got recs from some ladies here in town that had been affiliated with her high school. From what I understand, the sorority girls read the recs so they will have some background about the freshmen who rush. My daughter also had to send in pictures, etc. I think it helps them put a name with a face. We also shopped ahead of time for rush outfits. I'm sure it's different at each school, but Clemson is probably very similar to Carolina. We needed sundresses, nice casual outfits (one rush day was a "service" day and girls had to dress appropriately), and, of course, the classic "little black dress." My daughter got several of each type of outfit, because there were a number of rush rounds and she didn't want to wear the same thing twice. One piece of advice that someone gave me before my daughter went to college was this" You will need a lot of semi-formal and formal dresses." We found that to be certainly true. Her sorority had a semi-formal and a formal each year, also her boyfriend's fraternity had a semi-formal and a formal each year. I highly recommend the sorority experience. My daughter had a wonderful experience and made friends for life.</p>