R.U.S.H. Running around Unknown best friends & Sisters too - HOORAY!! by Chloe Walsh
The time has come for incoming freshmen girls to start thinking about RUSH! My name is Chloe Walsh, a rising sophomore at the University of Texas. I am a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. I absolutely LOVED rushing, because it is a time to meet new people, ease the adjustment to college life, and become a part of a sisterhood for life. This time of year can be stressful, but I am going to give you tips and tricks to make the most out of your/your daughter’s experience during rush, so get your notepads ready! Disclaimer: Majority of what I’m saying is from my experience at the University of Texas, but most of this information is applicable to every college that has Greek Life.
First thing first: OUTFITS. I’m addressing this first because I know this is what every mom/daughter is stressing the most about. Start shopping now! Every college is different, but I’ll speak to my week at Texas regarding the different rounds of RUSH. The sooner you get your outfits, the sooner you can get any necessary alterations for them. You will need a total of three dresses throughout rush.
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Day by Day CLOTHING:
- Day 1: Open House: We all wore workout clothes - the Rho Gams take you on a walking tour from house to house and you just see the outside of the house. Girls wore Hokas/Nike/comfortable walking shoes for this.
-Day 2: Philanthropy 1: We were given t-shirts to wear and we chose our bottoms. I wore white Lululemon skirt the first day, but a lot of people wore nicer white shorts from Zara, Frame, or other brands - you will see everything. If you have the opportunity to, I would wash this shirt because you wear it again the next day, but you can also spray it with Lysol or hang it up to air it out.
-Day 3: Philanthropy 2: We wore the t-shirts we were given AGAIN, and I wore white bottoms that was a skirt in the front and shorts in the back (linked below).
-Day 4: Sisterhood: Bright and colorful dress with cute, comfortable tennis shoes
-Day 5: Pref night: Black cocktail dress with any color heels (I wore nude heels) This varies by college, but the majority of rushees wore black dresses.
-Day 6: BID DAY: Happy, bright dresses, usually short dresses because it’s hot outside. I wore comfortable cute tennis shoes because you literally run to the house! Wear a dress you love, because there will be hundreds of photos taken in it! Later in the day, the sorority will give the new pledge class shirts with their house on it.
Regarding SHOES: I brought a pair of flip flops in my bag (panhellenic provides the bag so everyone has the same one) so that in between houses, I could change into them to walk around. This will be especially helpful when you have back to back houses/pref night when you are wearing heels.
OVERVIEW
Here’s how it goes: “Rho Gams,” or the girls who disassociate from their sorority during rush to help out the PNMs (potential new members) will be your guide through the week. Some colleges have different names for Rho Gams, but they all have the same job of assisting you throughout the week. Outside of each house should be a water station. Rho Gams will line you up in alphabetical order outside a house before it’s time to go in. They knock on the door of the sorority, and after the doors open, there will be hundreds of sorority girls screaming and clapping and smiling - literally. I want to say it gets less overwhelming each time, but really your eardrums just have to adjust for a few days! You will go into the house one by one, where current sorority members will talk to you and sometimes play a video for you to watch. After a few conversations, girls will lead you out of the house for you to be on your way to the next house.
DAY BY DAY BREAKDOWN:
-Opening Convocation and Open House Day: We sat in a room and the Rho Gams played a 1-2 minute video from each house introducing the sorority. Once we watched each video from each sorority, we had a round of cuts. Sororities had a chance to make cuts after watching the videos that the PNMs sent in over the summer. This was also the day of the walking tour (still no contact with current members).
- Philanthropy Days: This is the first time the houses see you in person. Each house speaks about their philanthropy (each house played a video for us to watch) and the service projects throughout the year for it. After this round, PNMs and houses make cuts.
- Sisterhood Day: This was my favorite round because it’s the most upbeat! Sororities will speak about their specific values and friendship. Conversations on this day are slightly longer than conversations on philanthropy days. After this round, PNMs and houses make cuts.
-Pref Day: You will have your final two houses on this day. These conversations are usually more serious, because houses are really trying to figure out their pledge class. You could have one house at 10:00 AM, and your next one at 4:00 PM or 7:00 PM, so be prepared for downtime. It is normal for emotions to run high on this day, but really try to remember that every house is special, and you will be friends with girls from each sorority wherever you land.
What to bring in your bag (some linked below):
● Mini fan
● Perfume
● Flip flops
● Breath mints
● Mini spray deodorant
● Mini powder and brush
*** Extra Helpful Hints:
● While your mom can be a helpful resource when talking through your thoughts, this is YOUR rush, and YOUR decision. My mom was in a different sorority than what I went, and this is completely okay.
● A lot of legacies (girls with sitting or recently graduated sisters) will get cut by other houses earlier in the week, meaning they will not have the choices that non legacies have. Therefore, legacies will naturally try to recruit girls to their legacy house. This is important to keep in mind when hearing lots of talk throughout the week. This isn’t a good or bad thing, but definitely something to be aware of. One of my best friends was a legacy for a different house than what I chose, and we are still very close.
● You might not have every house ask you back, and this is completely okay! Some girls will get asked back to more houses than other girls. (Think about it as less sweaty walks if you have less houses to go to :))
● Talking through your thoughts with your mom is never a bad idea - this helped me gain a lot of clarity through an emotionally heavy week.
● Don’t freak out if your roommate is leaning towards a different house than you are. On my floor in my freshman housing, there were girls from four different sororities, and I loved/hung out with them all.
● Most colleges have Instagram accounts and websites for their Panhellenic organization that have a lot of helpful hints and information already posted for this year.
● Don’t worry about what sorority your mom was in, even if she went to Texas/the school you’re attending, because the sorority experience today is vastly different from what it was 10,20,30 years ago. I cannot stress this enough.
LINKS:
Jeny Baker Pearl Name Necklace
Gemma Collection Necklaces
Portable Fan Amazon
Portable Charger Amazon
Mini Brush Amazon
Philanthropy Round Inspo: Shorts
Dress Inspo: Bid Day
Dress Inspo: Sisterhood/Bid Day Floral
Dress Inspo: Sisterhood/Bid Day Watercolor
Dress Inspo: Sisterhood/Bid Day Gingham
Dress Inspo: Pref Night
Shoes Inspo: Pref Night
Dress Inspo: Bid Day
Great stores to check out:
Baldwin Bred Boutique (use code “BUBBLEBABES15” for 15% off)
BuddyLove - New store on Lovers Lane (go check it out and claim your discount by using code “BUBBLE” for 15% off)
Gemma Collection (Jewelry)
*Jeny Baker Designs (Jewelry) (use code BUBBLE20 for 20% off good from June 15-21, 2023)
DSW (shoes)