People always say that Northwestern’s sorority rush is just so not as bad as it is at other schools. But when you’re in the heat of it—The cutting! The being cut! And, perhaps worst of all, the not-so-subtle criticism of that skirt you spent three hours picking out!—you wanna say “fuck you” to those people because our “baby” rush can still drive you nuts. Plus, you’re like 90 percent sure they’re just quoting an over-the-top College ACB post, which, come on, amirite?
So we went straight to the sources: actual sorority girls at other universities. We talked to five girls from five different universities to get the dirty on rush, for both the PNMs (Potential New Members, for the n00bs among you) and the actives. From stolen recruitment silverware to an unspoken requirement for Tory Burch flats, the sisters at some other schools take “catty” to a different level. Perhaps more surprising? How uncomfortably similar some aspects of these accounts are to our own week of girl-on-girl hell. Below, our candid sorority sisters reveal all about the inner-workings of rush.
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University of Tennessee Knoxville
Status: Public
Size: 21,182 undergrads
Number of Panhel houses: 13
Number of IFC houses: 21
Size of Greeks: 24 percent of women; 14 percent of men
Rush happens…: In the fall on the Sunday before classes start
Our sister: Senior
Social life compared to non-Greek: I’d say it’s easy to have a social life outside of Greek life, but I don’t think they really compare. Mixers and date parties are such a fun reason to dress up or in costume, and they’re a great excuse to go out on a Tuesday night! Fraternities do a lot of out-of-town date parties, which are fun. A lot of them go camping in the fall and to the beach in the spring.
I have some friends who aren’t in fraternities or sororities, but the majority of people I hang out with, and everyone I’ve dated, is affiliated. I think that, especially in the South, people really miss out by not joining the Greek system because our school is so rooted in tradition.
Last year, a lot of my sorority’s costumes for skit round mysteriously went missing.
Competitiveness (1-5 scale): Between sororities, 4.5. Last year, a lot of my sorority’s costumes for skit round mysteriously went missing, soon followed by the disappearance of our silverware and decorations for preference night. A lot of dirty rushing goes on, and voting is based on a lot of hearsay. (“X house really wants her but I don’t think she’d go them” or “Her brother’s a Y fraternity and he said that we’re her favorite.”)
Cattiness (1-5 scale): The cattiness depends on the girl. Some are 5s, some are 1s. Overall, probably a 4. I’ve had great conversations with girls but cut them for various reasons. We write comments on the back of girls’ cards after they leave the rounds, and they’re read during voting. I always forget that my comments will be shared and get embarrassed at my honesty when our advisor reads out loud “[redacted] wrote, ‘I would rather have a root canal every day than speak to her ever again.’”
“I would rather have a root canal every day than speak to her ever again.”
Even within houses, voting can get very controversial and personal. If a sister’s relative or best friend is being voted on, we require that chapter member to leave the room so she doesn’t get offended. We generally have nice ways to phrase not nice things. We’ll say that a girl is a “QR,” which means questionable reputation, or say that she’d be a great fit in another chapter.
The clothes: It starts out casual (cropped jeans and block letters) and gets more formal throughout the week. By skit round, chapter members are wearing cocktail dresses (or Lilly Pulitzer dresses, in [redacted]‘s case), and preference night is semi-formal. Some of the PNMs dress too casually, which can hurt them. We have strict rules regarding hair, makeup, and even nail polish.
Recommendations: Recommendation can help, depending on the chapter. A lot of times, rec letters secure a “courtesy round,” meaning that the girls will get cut later on during the week. Ultimately, they help you to stand out a little bit to the sorority, and the chapter will take a bit of a closer look at you. Some chapters require recs in their bylaws, but those chapters sometimes ask their alumnae to write letters so they can keep the girls who don’t have recs.
Dirty rushing: Other sororities will lie about their rival chapters to PNMs. One of our new members approached me on Bid Day one time and told me she was nervous because a [redacted] had told her we pick out fraternity guys and make our new members sleep with them. I assured her that this was not a Lifetime movie, and we actually discourage promiscuity.
