<p>What are the reputations of the different sororities on campus?</p>
<p><em>bump</em></p>
<p>I really wish there were current NU students/alums on these boards to answer these types of questions. I'd like to know about sororities too.</p>
<p>It's not really our place to talk about the sorority reputations, as it becomes a mess of unfair generalizations. But if you search the boards I am pretty sure I've seen this thread before with some details in it.</p>
<p>dfleish, I had hoped there would be students/alums who were currently in a sorority and could give a first-hand experience.</p>
<p>It is absolutely legitimate to ask about experiences with the sororities. The problem with the whole "keeping it fair" notion is that basically every sorotity member talks about her sorority as if it were a perfect community. Therefore, since no one is honest with us, I feel that the process becomes unfair in a very different way. For this reason, I would appreciate if somebody could share her experiences with sorotity life, both positive and negative. I think we are all mature enough to know that generalizations never capture the whole experience of greek life. Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share!</p>
<p>PledgeGirl07, that's definitely a legitimate request, and a far different one than the original post I was responding to ("What are the REPUTATIONS of the different sororities on campus").</p>
<p>true, I did not read the original post carefully. sorry bout that.</p>
<p>Actually, I'm an NU freshman who just recieved my bid last night (kappa alpha theta!). I won't go into the so-called "reputations" of the different sororities, because while there is always truth to some stereotypes, everyone has different experiences and is looking to get different things out of the greek life.</p>
<p>With that said, the Greek system (for girls, anyway) is different from that of other schools. While it is a large precentage (about 38% I think...), all the girls in the different houses remain/become friends with each other--it is very unexclusionary in that sense. I have friends who have gone greek at other schools and they wouldn't even consider talking to a girl in another sorority.</p>
<p>Rush, however, remains very traditional and is definitely an intense experience, but I can already tell it's going to be worth it. It works out most of the time (there are exceptions--one of my best friends ended up dropping rush after being cut all of her choices) and people tend to end up where they need to be. There's a sorority for everyone and the range of houses is really diverse. I also like how many girls proudly wear their letters around campus.</p>
<p>In terms of the negative, if you end up in a dorm such as Bobb or Elder, most of the girls are going to be rushing and if you choose not to, or you end up dropping, then you might feel really left out for the first couple months after rush. But statistically, there are more girls not in sororities than those that are. It's totally up to you what you want to become involved in.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM with more questions.</p>
<p>Take a look at this, produced by an NU student. I don't know if it is accurate or not, from the comments some say it is frank but others are very defensive. Personally, I suspect there may be some truth to it. </p>
<p>Oh dear. The infamous "rushed" video. I'm actually working on a film right now with the guy who made that.</p>
<p>Okay, as someone who went through the process let me give you my two cents on that. </p>
<p>First of all, I believe he went into it wanting to find negative things to say--and that he did. I completely admit the rush process is pretty superficial and there are ridiculous rules (ie. can't take even a napkin out of the house because it can be considered a "gift"), however the extent to which "Anonymous" (aka. former tridelt rush chair) was being superificial is veryyyy exagerated. Apparently she was quite the ***** to begin with, and while yes some sororities do take looks/presentability into consideration, it is nowhere near the most important or only criteria. Tridelt has since changed their rush system anyway, and different houses have very different systems for rushing girls. Oh, and most sororities don't match up girls based on facebook--they have more important things to do.</p>
<p>Going into it, I agree with Allie (the girl he follows) that we really don't know what's going on or how the process works and I think we could be better informed about the process.</p>
<p>It's also annoying how he asked people their impressions of certain sororities, yet only asked them about Theta and Tridelt and Kappa (considered the "top" sororties...and I hate putting it that way b/c different houses fit different people better) as to demonize them why he ignored asking them impressions of sororities like Chi O and DZ, which are stereotypically considered dorky or whatever.</p>
<p>He also fails to recognize that we cut houses as well, and girls on the other side can be just as upset that we don't end up choosing their house. And his choice of music was pretty ridiculous.</p>
<p>So yeah, overall there is some truth, but if he wanted to make a respectable documentary, he could have balanced it a bit better, in my opinion.</p>
<p>How would you compare the fraternity scene to the sorority scene? Not that you have to describe different frats, but is the rush process the same for frats and sororities? Do the frats put weight on the same kinds of things? Are there parallel frats for each of the sororities or do they operate in a different way? Do the same percent of men join frats as women join sororities? Would be interested in hearing the other side....</p>
<p>I attended Northwestern from 1966 to 1970 and rushed a sorority my freshman year. In those days, we rushed the second -- yes, second -- week we were on campus. </p>
<p>(Well, that was entirely appropriate, considering how much we knew about college life by then. And about ourselves as we would be away from home. And about the people we were to become. But I digress . . . . )</p>
<p>I thought rush was absolutely horrible. It consisted of 20 minutes per house, during which time our prospective "sisters" were supposed to get to know us sufficiently to determine if they wanted to be our best friends forever. Clearly, all the invites back were purely based on our looks, charm, clothes, and hair. Fat girls weren't asked back, nerdy girls weren't asked back, and guess what -- Jewish girls usually weren't asked back either. (There were two exclusively Jewish sororities, and a few others that were "mixed.")</p>
<p>After several days more of rushing and having the invitations become fewer and fewer, I received an invitation to join a house. When I went that evening, a girl came over to me, hugged me, told me how thrilled she was that I had joined. She referenced the time we spent talking to each other. To this day, I have no memory of ever meeting her before the evening I became a pledge.</p>
<p>For our freshman prank, we hid the silverware the night the sisters were to be served spaghetti for dinner. Yuck yuck. As punishment, the sisters made the pledges lie on the ground and croak like frogs. Boy, was that a riot. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, I had a chem exam the next day and did not find croaking like a frog all that funny. But hey, I'm in college now, so let me give it a try . . . </p>
<p>I "de-activated" two years later. (Sounds like I had been radioactive and they finally got rid of the radiation, doesn't it??) I found it superficial, and I had NOTHING in common with those girls! To this day, I am not in touch with any of them.</p>
<p>That's one woman's story. I realize it's not everyone's story.</p>
<p>The rules for fraternity rush are much more lax than that of sororities. Basically, rush for the guys starts from day 1--the older boys basically "woo" the freshman boys all quarter, and bids are given out the first week of winter quarter. I personally think their process is much more "real" than that of sorority rush--these guys are generally already friends with the guys they end up with in the frats, while a girl can go into a house not knowing anyone. Guys can also get multiple bids and decide which house they want, while girls are only given one bid, and that could be their 2nd or 3rd choice (this is all done by computer).</p>
<p>Some sororities tend to pair up with fraternities for different events, but there are any set relationships b/w specific sororities and fraternities. I think the percentage is the same, if not a bit more (there are more frats than sororities). The atmospheres of the frats are just as varied as those of the sororities, so there's probably a place for everyone, depending on what enviroment you're looking for. Some have very intense pledging processes while others are much more laid back.</p>
<p>Black fraternities and sororities seem to be big on campus within that community. I really don't know much about them, but perhaps someone else on this board has some information for those interested. There are also several ethnic sororities and fraternities. Their rush occurs after that of Panhel.</p>
<p>In response to VeryHappy, I think delayed rush (meaning rush in winter quarter as opposed to fall quarter) makes a HUGE difference. Not only do you have a better sense of the houses, but you've also developed relationships b/w the older girls as well as girls in your own class, which can help guide your decision (not that you should base it on where your friends are going). Overall, you have a better sense of college life and what you're looking to get out of possibly going greek. Also, there is no hazing whatsoever (at least in my sorority). That of course is a completely different story in the frats...</p>
<p>I agree totally that delayed rush is much better. Doing it the second week on campus was absolutely nuts. </p>
<p>I've told both my sons my experience, but I've also told them that their cousin loved his fraternity, was very active during his undergrad years, and even worked for the national organization for two years after college. </p>
<p>As I said -- my experience was just my experience. Take it for what it's worth.</p>
<p>Rush for the guys definitely seems less traumatic.</p>
<p>OK, 38% of the girls are in sororities. They talk to the girls in the other sororities. Do they talk to the other girls? The ones who were not chosesn by a sorority or who chose NOT to go Greek?</p>
<p>"With that said, the Greek system (for girls, anyway) is different from that of other schools. While it is a large precentage (about 38% I think...), all the girls in the different houses remain/become friends with each other--it is very unexclusionary in that sense. I have friends who have gone greek at other schools and they wouldn't even consider talking to a girl in another sorority."</p>
<p>i'm a northwestern sophomore in a fraternity, so i guess i'm sort of an authority on the subject...</p>
<p>i would say i agree with pretty much everything julius said. when i came to nu, i wasn't even thinking about greek life, much less planning or not planning on rushing. however, after a while, it became pretty apparent that most (but certainly not all) of the people on campus that i was seeing going out to bars and partying were in the greek system. there were some sophomore guys on my floor in my dorm that were in a frat, and they would always invite a bunch of us around to their parties, make sure we met girls, etc. etc. there were other frats that were "rushing" my friends and i as well through guys we met at bars, parties, classes, etc. basically, it was a great first quarter, because we had older guys buying us drinks every monday and thursday night and inviting us to parties every friday and saturday night. there are 3 or so frats that are more competitive about rushing guys from day 1 and usually find themselves rushing the same general group of guys, so we always had some place to go. when rush week came, i eventually joined the frat that the guys on my floor were in, as i had established the most personal relationships in that one. a few of my friends joined along with me, a few joined another frat, a few didn't get bids to the frats they wanted to be in and decided not to join any, and a few decided not to join frats at all. i'm still good friends with everybody, though i have to admit i end up spending more time with the guys in my house because we eat dinner together, pregame for bars together, throw parties, etc. (i won't be living in the house until next year)</p>
<p>my experiences in my fraternity have definitely been positive. it's a great way to meet people, and it's incredibly fun. we have date parties and formals where we go to clubs in chicago. it's also nice to have a place to go where you can pretty much count on being able to party with somebody any night of the week.</p>
<p>eww...i watched the vid and the girl he follows is so obnoxious and weird!</p>
<p>JJG--my two best friends here aren't in sororities. Of course, most sorority girls are probably friends with mostly sorority girls, but most likely not on purpose.</p>