I just read a story about a student being overwhelmed by the amount of parties/activities at rush.
My daughter rushed and it concerned me. Some schools only allow rush second semester. Perhaps that would help some families to know which they were so their kids can still take advantage, but not be thrown into the Greek fire so quickly.
If you know of any schools that don’t allow first year students to rush right away (in fall), please list so that families can have the info as they search for schools.
I believe Syracuse is one - as you must have earned 12 credits on campus.
Delaware has sorority rush in first year spring semester, frat rush first year in fall. Same for Miami Ohio. Frats do have a second rush in spring too.
Lehigh and DePauw sorority and frat rush are both spring semester.
I’m sure there are more.
For any school that doesn’t have formal rush until the spring…make no mistake that ‘dirty’ rush (evaluation and/or recruitment of PNMs outside the formal rush timeframe) begins immediately with Fall semester.
At both schools, sororities follow the rules and have formal rush in the spring. I disagree with @Mwfan1921 about sorority dirty rushing at these schools. While some impressions might be made in the fall, girls’ outcomes are not determined at all based on fall interactions (or the lack there of).
At Michigan, fraternities definitely dirty rush in the fall. I am not sure what happens with frats at Pitt.
Bucknell doesn’t permit rushing until sophomore year.
University of Rochester has spring rush. Duke moved their rush from spring freshman year to fall of sophomore year, but as a ton of fraternities de-affliated so that they could continue to rush freshman their spring semester, I’d advise students to expect that if they’re interest in going greek.
@tsbna44 , dirty rush is, afaik, very common. My son had to do nothing to get plenty of attention from frats. They were offering to waive dues, etc… Free entrance to parties, you name it. His college isn’t exactly a frat paradise. There were no houses on campus, so maybe it’s a different process, but he could have done nothing but stared at the wall and the frats were inviting him to things. I’m pretty sure it began immediately after arriving at college.
Well, my intent was after reading one parent wrote their child was overwhelmed with the first week to maybe provide some “escape” schools - but maybe there truly aren’t any?
Dirty rush (which my understanding is contacting potential new members before rush starts) was more do-able when/if Rush is before school starts as a freshman or the first weekend. It was the investigation done by active members on the incoming group, contact, talking to them during the rush period but outside the organized activities - someone from their hs, a boyfriend’s sister, etc. When social media sprang up, it was easy but most applicants are providing the info anyway.
Now that some schools have Rush in second semester, it’s almost impossible NOT to have contact with PNM before rush starts. The new members will be in the same clubs, on the same teams, in the same classes as active. They’ll have seen members wearing their letters, maybe even have been asked a question about sorority membership or how to join. Contact is not prohibited until the organized Rush starts.
I’m not sure that there were ever rules about frats not contacting PNM before the ‘rush’ period began. At my school, fraternity rush was somewhat informal and the house planned their parties when convenient and could ask anyone to attend. If a guy wanted to participate, he fills out the form and gets invited to some parties and not to others. He could also be invited without filling out the forms (friend of a member, someone from class, work buddy, ex.)
I don’t know what people are calling Dirty rush, as it is not against the rules to have contact in the fall with PNM, to invite them to he house, to include them in open activities (like building a homecoming float). Sororities don’t really host parties at their houses, so most parties would be at the fraternity houses anyway.