<p>Hi. My daughter is a freshman at UCLA and “rushed” this past fall. She had a very good friend who went through recruitement at USC (SoCal). Both schools are very competitive. UCLA had about 800 girls going through rush. My daughter is relatively happy with her sorority although she has made many friends outside of it including her rommmate who she has become very close to. She ended up in her 4th or 5th choice sorority. If we knew then what we know now things may have been different. The best adivice I can give you is to check out the website greekchat.com. I have learned sooo much about recruitement, sorority life, recommendations, traditions, etc. I was not greek in college and could only advise my daughter in very general terms. The women who post on this website are mostly very dedicated alumni who really care about sororities. They give fabulous advise. I wish my daughter had known about this site and had spent the summer before rush asking questions and getting great info. </p>
<p>My advise for you is to go through rush. Even if you decide it’s not for you at least you will know what you are giving up and will have no regrets. You’ll meet lots of people going through the process which is a great bonding experience for freshman. I sometimes wish my daughter had waited until spring rush so that she would be more familiar with each sorority but then she would have missed out on the entire fall full of activities. Go to your schools panhell. website and do some research on the sororities. Look at photos, read about their events, charities, etc. Get letters of recommendations for as many houses as you can. Even the ones you think you are not interested in. Your feelings may change once you are there. Go tho the website I mentioned and prepare, prepare, prepare. Give it a shot. You can always drop out mid way and wait till spring or you may join a sorority and later drop out. But you’ll never know unless you try. Every sorority is different and they are different campus to campus. My daughter never plans to live in the house and is very active in the sorority but also outside, others really want to live in the house and their whole social life revolves around sorority life. Everyone is different. </p>
<p>My D friend at USC did not care for the sorority she got a bid for and dropped out. She is fine with that as she made tons of friends who are not in sororities and she is also a competitive athlete with Olympic dreams so she is very busy. I did here that USC’s rush was very competitive and the girls were very prepared and into it.Things are a bit more laid back at UCLA. My daughter didn’t even go to the formal as it was no big deal. Any way, sorry to ramble. Good Luck!</p>
<p>i suppose there are various reasons for joining a sorority, but meeting guys would seem to be one. you can meet guys anywhere, but you’ll likely meet a lot more fraternity guys by joining a sorority than if you don’t. as a former fraternity guy, i can only say i discouraged my daughter from considering a sorority based on what i knew about the type of guys i had known in various fraternities. that’s my own generalization, but she’s my daughter. she did well in school, and developed a very active social life based on her own preferences.</p>
<p>Especially at Big State U, a sorrority or fraternity can make the school smaller and more friendly. I think at these schools everyone benefits from greek life, even people who aren’t involved. If you are social, or out of state, in particular, it is seemingly almost essential. Some of these schools are the size of huge suburbs and kids away from home for the first time can feel very unanchored and this can have a negative effect on lots of things, including schoolwork. At smaller schools, 5,000 or less, it probably just matters if you have a lot in common with one particular group, or find you have a lot of friends in any given house. FWIW.</p>
<p>My D is a rising senior in a sorority and I am an alum of the same sorority, same campus. I had mixed feelings about my D going through Rush (now called Recruitment). I wanted her to experience the same bonds of friendship that I had experienced yet there was the fear that she might get too sucked into the social scene and not reach her potential academically. Ultimately, I left the decision up to her. I will give you the same advice I gave D.</p>
<p>Don’t limit yourself in college to any one group, organization, set of friends because there are so many people to meet and so many different experiences to be had that if you totally hang out with just one group of people, you’re going to miss out. For example, my daughter pledged freshman year in August the week before school started. She lived in the honors college dorm, not the freshman dorm where many of the girls rushing lived, although quite a few girls from the honors college rushed as well. She has a love of the arts and a strong commitment to service so she became involved quickly with those types of groups as well. While she is very social, she hangs out with sorority girls and frat guys, honors college kids, artists and dancers, kids from each of her majors, and even old friends from high school. She lives in the sorority house and loves the girls there, but the sorority is not her whole life. She also proved my fears wrong academically and has exceeded any expectations I ever had. Just because you join a sorority, it doesn’t mean you can’t be balanced and explore and enjoy other groups of people at the same time.</p>
<p>Rush is a great way to meet people. You would feel most comfortable rushing as a freshman because most of the other rushees are freshmen. The dorms opened early so the girls rushing were allowed to move in early. At my D’s university, girls going through rush are grouped into smaller groups with an advisor. Initial rounds of parties are scheduled so that girls attend the same parties with their group so you bond with that smaller group.</p>
<p>As far as the partying scene, my D’s experience has been that it’s just as bad if not worse in non-greek environments. There are sorority girls and frat guys that she knows who don’t drink and there are plenty of non-greeks who excessively party. You will find your way to the people you are most comfortable with. Good luck and have fun but be responsible and make sure you branch out to experience everything your university has to offer!</p>
<p>Sororities vary from school to school and chapter to chapter. Experiences vary incredibly from woman to woman. It doesn’t hurt to participate in Recruitment. You don’t have to accept a bid and are free to drop out any time you want to. </p>
<p>Freshman year I decided to rush and see how it went. I wasn’t set on any sorority going into Recruitment and wouldn’t have been devastated if I didn’t receive a bid. I did join a sorority and ended up serving as social chair, secretary and now president. I can honestly say it has been a great experience and I wouldn’t change it for the world. There are negatives to sororities, but I think in general if you approach it with the right attitude and find a good fit it can end up being an incredibly positive experience. </p>
<p>Chapters should have a well-developed new member program that will guide you through membership and introduce you to the sisterhood and values of the sorority. There are several points along the way where you can “depledge” if you find it isn’t the right fit.You aren’t a fully initiated member until 6-8 weeks after Recruitment. </p>
<p>During Recruitment you will have a Recruitment Counselor/Gamma Rho Chi (also known by other terms depending on the school) who will be there to guide you. They are disaffiliated from their sororities and can be very knowledgeable and helpful. Any question you have they can probably answer. </p>
<p>If you do choose to participate in Recruitment and plan on joining a sorority please please please be honest with yourself. Don’t choose a sorority because they have a good reputation or they hang out with the “best” fraternities. Pick a sorority because you get along with the members and could see yourself being comfortable there. When I was a freshman I thought to myself: is this a group of women I could hang out in the lounge with in my pajamas without make up and feel comfortable? Joining a sorority for reputation is joining for the wrong reason. Join because its a good fit for you personally.</p>
<p>In summary/conclusion: sororities vary from school to school and are what you make of them.</p>