Hi! I will (hopefully) be transferring to UCLA in the Fall Quarter of 2017 and I know for a fact that I want to join a sorority!
I am a little nervous to go through Rush week because of the lack of socialization from being at my JC filled with people that I had already known and been comfortable with since high school. Being in a University where I don’t know anyone is exciting yet scary, but I’m ready to meet new people and have sisters for life! What I’d like to know about Greek life is,
- Do the PHC sororities have any diversity? I'd like to be in a sorority where I am not the only brown girl BUT I am not interested in joining NPHC.
- What is the current ranking/reputations of the sororities?
- What is Rush week like? How do cuts and bids work?
- Does UCLA require headshots and a resume?
- Is being a POC rushing for a PHC sorority common? Do they get bids?
- What is it like living in the house?
Any input at all is greatly appreciated! Thanks 
Hi! First off good luck when decisions come out. I am in a fraternity at UCLA so my experience is different than being in a sorority but I’ve met enough girls in Greek Life that I think I have a pretty solid idea of the rush experience. Greek life is not overwhelming but it definitely is a prominent part of life at UCLA. Only 15% of the student body is Greek but thats 15% of nearly 30k undergrads. Basically letters are everywhere.
- Pan Hellenic Sororities as a whole are not the most diverse organizations on campus. To be quite frank they are pretty not diverse at all. Some houses are more so than others so during rush you can see where you feel comfortable.
- Going into rush with preconceived notions on rankings probably isn't the best thing because you may miss out on a house that is a better even though it isn't a "top house". Plus many PNM's get their hearts set and are crushed when they do not get bids to the houses of their choosing. However if you want to know the general tiers it kinda goes like this:
Top: Kappa, Theta, DG
Upper Mid: APhi, GPhi, Pi Phi
Mid: Chi O, KD
Lower Mid: ADPi, AXO
Bottom: AGD, Tri Delt
- Sororities have formal recruitment in the fall. It is usually 1 week during zero week so classes start towards the end of rush. It is very tiring from stories I have heard but the pledge process is easy compared to fraternities. You will visit each house in the beginning and as the week goes on they begin to "cut". At the end you will rank your top choices and the houses will do the same. A computer does a matching system and will give you (most of the time) two choices. You can accept or drop.
- Don't know if they require headshot or resumes. When I rushed for frats they took headshots when you first enter the house. I didn't need to submit a resume.
- There are minorities who do rush and there are those that get bids. This isn't the south. Just don't expect this to be some great melting pot. I haven't encountered much racism but your mileage may vary.
- Sorority houses are super clean. We had an event with APhi and the inside is pretty immaculate. Think summer homes in the Hamptons. Private chefs are common throughout Greek Life. If you get a chance to live in the house it is cheaper than a dorm and supposedly a lot of fun.
Overall I would encourage you to rush. Even if you do not pledge it will be an experience you won’t forget. Plus you will get to meet a lot of girls in the process. Just a quick thing is third year PNMs is rarer in sororities versus fraternities but there are still plenty of older girls who rush. Good luck!
That was very helpful Thank you! Yeah, I didn’t think I would see much diversity but as long as it’s not used aginst me, I’m fine with it. I don’t have a very diverse group of friends now so it won’t be anything that I’m not already used to. Thanks again!
@10s4life Hi! I just thought of another question…how do sororities even get their rankings? Like what is is based on and who decides them?
@MiniGrace11 It was prob stupid of me to even post rankings. There is no official ranking it’s just opinions. Everyone has houses they like the best. When you rush just find the best fit. Going based off of preconceived rank will either make you not get a bid or you’ll be miserable cause you don’t get along with the girls. Trust me those on the other side of recruitment know if you’re in it for the wrong reasons.
@10s4life Nah, It wasn’t stupid. I was really curious and I don’t really care too much about rankings. I just want some friends when I move out to Westwood…I actually live close enough to the school already but I don’t like to drive so having friends in the area would be nice too. I just ask about how they are ranked because I kept trying to figure out if there was like some kind of secret greek ranking system or if like the school voted on it or something. I’m not worried about top houses or anything. I really like the idea of the recruitment process because it reminds me of lilo and stitch (finding the one true place where each experiment belongs) my biggest fear is not getting a bid at all so, top house, mid house, or bottom, I’ll take it haha.
I was going to ask these same questions, so I’m glad I found this thread. I was interested in rushing for a number of reasons, and I’m still not sure if I should.
@InTheNightSky95 are you rushing for a frat or sorority? why the hesitation?
@MiniGrace11 A sorority and basically your number one and five. I kind of don’t wanna waste my time rushing and not get a bid because I was written off the moment I arrived. Also, I think don’t know yet if I’ll have room in my budget (of both money and time) for sorority commitment.
I also thought it would be a nice way to make some friends as a transfer student, especially since my major is 90% male.
@MiniGrace11 I can’t imagine a sorority at a large public university turning down a minority student just because they’re a minority. You sound intelligent and awesome to me and if you want to join a sorority, then I’d go for it. If they don’t want you, then it’s their loss. Not yours. You have to put yourself out there sometimes and rejection is sometimes one of the outcomes unfortunately. If I were you, I’d do it. You wouldn’t be asking, if you weren’t interested.
@InTheNightSky95 yeah, I feel you. The idea of going to a brand new school with no friends as an adult kinda freaks me out lol. whats your major?
@sushiritto thank you! My heart is REALLY set on going through recruitment! It’s an odd feeling being mixed and having one parent want you to join a cultural sorority and another parent saying that PHC is more for me. I definitely see myself in a PHC chapter because I can like…SEE me when in one when I watch videos online or scroll through their Instagram! The worst that they can tell me is “no”, right?
@MiniGrace11 Aerospace Engineering. So I basically stick out like a sore thumb in every class I’ve ever had to take for my major. I can’t imagine that it’d be any different when I transfer (that stands for most of the places I applied though).
now that I think about it, I hadn’t considered the time commitment necessary to be in a sorority and if I’d be able to reconcile that with the time commitment needed for my coursework.
@InTheNightSky95 they have a sorority exclusive to STEM majors if you’d like to take a look at that. They’re called Phi Sigma Rho (in case you want to check it out.) They probably have less of a time commitment because they place a huge emphasis on academics!
@MiniGrace11 I never knew that! Thanks 
It’s very manageable to be in a traditional social fraternity or sorority while being an engineer. It’s not common but it exists.