<p>Well, my freshman daughter has recently announced that she plans to rush a sorority when she returns (a week early) to campus after winter break. Can anyone fill me in on how much time this process really takes at Wash U? Will her grades likely suffer? She already works such long hours as an art major; I just don't see how she'll have the time. Do the sororities at Wash U involve hazing-type activities like you hear of on some other campuses? What are the reputations of some of the sororities there? Thanks to anyone who can shed any light on this process.</p>
<p>Same thing with my freshman D! Would love to know the answers to the questions asked by the OP - here's the Greek Life website but it sure would be nice to have some first-hand input from current members! Greek</a> Life Office - Washington University in St. Louis They just added a new sorority that will be recruiting in January, too - Alpha Omicron Pi </p>
<p>(Sad that she'll be going back earlier than expected!)</p>
<p>I don't know about Wash U, but my freshman daughter has been rushing this semester and while she really loves it, I feel that the time commitment is too heavy. No hazing, but it consumes a lot of her time. We will see how it has affected her grades very soon !!
Tomorrow is her sister's 21st birthday and some aunts and cousins are going to have dinner with her...you guessed it, she cannot attend because of sorority commitment. The sad part is that a cousin whom she hasn't seen in ten yrs will be there.</p>
<p>I have found out the following information about those girls who have registered for sorority recruitment at Wash U. They are then assigned to a Gamma Chi, a recruitment counselor who will serve as a guide throughout the coming months and act as an unbiased source of information for the potential new member during the recruitment process. Washington University follows a mutual selection processthis means that potential new members have the opportunity to rank their choices of sorority as the recruitment process goes on, and are then matched with a sorority accordingly.</p>
<p>per lje62's comment about sorority rush getting in the way of other committments... with the exception of the week-long rushing period, there are few sorority activities that cannot be missed with a good excuse. The issue with your daughter may be that she prefers the sorority activity to the family one.</p>
<p>As for Wash U, the part that cannot be missed is the first week. The fresman rushees go to different rounds of parties. The first round/set - every girl goes to every sorority - 5 at the time my daughter rushed. Then, the girls rank the sororities they like in order, as do the sororities - and "matches" are made. The girls then go to (if I remember correctly) to 3 houses for second set. These may or may not be the girl's top three picks, and it is possible that some girls may go to less than 3 houses. I think (and could be confusing this with my own rush experience MANY years ago) that there are one or two more sets. Some girls may go to three houses for the final sets, some may go to fewer because cuts are made after every set and fewer girls are invited back to each subsequent set. The final is a preference party, tends to be "formal", and this is where there are more one on one discussions, the parties are longer, and the girls and sororities make their final rankings. A "quota" is established based on the number of girls who are rushing, let's assume it is "25" - which means that each sorority will end up (ideally) with 25 girls who are invited to pledge, and this goes on until every sorority has filled their 25 slots. </p>
<p>The sorority lists are reviewed - if Sorority A's #1 pick has chosen them first, that girl will be invited to pledge that sorority. If #1 pick freshman girl has another sorority as her first choice - Sorority B, and falls within the correct portion of B's bid list, she will be matched with Sorority B - and her match is done, and Sorority B will have only 24 more girls they can invite to pledge. Then Sorority A's #2 pick will be reviewed. If #2 freshman girl has prefed "A", they will be matched, and Sorority A will have 24 more slots to fill. Then the #3 pick is revied - matched with the sorority of her choice if the slots aren't filled, and so on, and so on.</p>
<p>It is possible that a girl might not be invited to join a sorority if she is low on the list of the sorority she wished to pledge. I am not sure how often that happens though - that a girl isn't placed anywhere. Assuming she has gone back to more than one house at the end, I would think it is uncommon. It is also possible that a sorority may not fill it's quota because they weren't first choice for enough girls on their bid list. </p>
<p>Freshman girls cannot miss any of these upfront rush parties - because so many eliminations and matchups are happening, and how can choices be made if the girl isn't present?</p>
<p>Once the girls pledge, there are chapter meetings, and fun events, and bonding events, and all sorts of activities - but if there are good excuses, you can miss some of them. It is preferred that you don't, but there's more to life than a sorority.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, and after more than 25 years perhaps not that much, I was a Rush Counselor at my college senior year (what you refer to as a Gamma Chi - a term I'm unfamiliar with.) But I am somewhat familiar with the rushing process from the inside, and as a viewer on the outside having guided freshman girls. If you have any specific questions, I can provide insight. From what I saw when my daughter went through Rush, it doesn't seem like things have changed much (if any.)</p>
<p>As for hazing? For girls, that consists of being given presents during pledging. Candy, gifts, etc... </p>
<p>For boys? A different story when I was in school - the boys had to do all sorts of not-so-great things, and a lot of drinking, and the stories are fortunately amusing as noone was seriously hurt during my undergrad years. I don't know how much hazing there is today.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your valuable insights, NUgraduate and lje62. It doesn't sound so terrible after all. I guess my biggest concern at this point would be the effect on my daughter's study time and grades. Anyone else had experiences with this?</p>
<p>My grades were higher second semester freshman year when I was pledging a sorority than first semester when I wasn't. There are required study hours in a lot (maybe all?) of the sororities during pledging to make sure that everyone is staying on task with their work.</p>
<p>Oh,that is music to my ears :-) !</p>