Oct
8
Is the famous line “it’s all Greek to me” ringing true for you? Well ladies, if you’re considering going Greek while you’re at OU, here are some quick tips to make the rush process not so stressful!
First of all, I’d like to let you know that although Greek life is very dominant at OU, there are sooooo many other things to get involved with on campus! Trust me. Coming into freshman year, I decided not to go through formal recruitment because I had absolutely no idea what sororities were all about! No one in my family “went Greek” and a few people I knew already at OU hadn’t gone through rush and they were loving college life so why dive straight into something I know absolutely nothing about?! And to be honest, freshman year was a B-L-A-S-T!! I got involved in President’s Community Scholars, Baptist Student Union, Recruitment Services, CAC and so on and so on! But after meeting a ton of friends who were in sororities and seeing what Greek life was all about, I decided to go through rush this past August as a sophomore and I don’t regret it one bit! I must say it was nice seeing my friends on the other side of the front door in some of the houses I visited during rush, because it is semi-overwhelming if you don’t know what to expect. But let’s get start from the beginning…
First, you need to sign up for rush, haha. You can do that by going to the Panhellenic site on Student Life’s website. You’ll click on recruitment under the main picture, but wait until second semester because the Fall 2010 information is still up there since Fall 2011 rush doesn’t get into full swing until spring. This website is actually very informative to get a little glimpse at what all the sororities (and fraternities) are about and such.
Second, recommendation letters. You can obtain these through family members, friends, neighbors, whoever are alums of the sororities at OU! If you mom or any female relatives are Greek you can also ask them if they know of anyone who’d be willing to write you letters. It’s important to give them plenty of time to write you a recommendation and to have your resume ready to give them so they can brag about how great you are! I’m pretty sure you need at least 1 letter for each house, but I’d definitely double check on that. Now, if you’re like me where you had hardly any connections with women who were in sororities, don’t fret! Along with registering for formal recruitment at OU, you actually need to also register with your hometown area! For example, I registered with the Northwest Harris County Panhellenic Organization. They are a valuable resource because if you don’t know any alums in sorority houses, you can actually contact them and they’ll help you find people to write a recommendation letter for you….aka LIFESAVER! 🙂 See, no worries!! And if you’re not sure who your local panhellenic organzation is, ask friends at school or google it! Haha.
My temporary big (aka one of my best friends!!) and I on bid day.
Third, outfits! Although it’s important to give good first impressions while you’re going through rush, remember to always, always be yourself!! Smile, enjoy yourself and just have fun! Those are the kind of girls all the houses are looking for and you will really will end up at the house you’re supposed to be at! You’ll hear that 8,334,932,043 times during the week, but it really is true! Rush is about you finding the house that fits you and the houses finding girls that fit them and believe me, you’ll know THE ONE when you walk through the door and you just completely gel with all the girls. I’m tempted to compare rush to speed dating to find the perfect husband. Although 4 days seems like such a short amount of time to find your fit, you’ll find just the one you’re looking for along the way! And remember (NOT that I’m encouraging this!) but if you ever at any point just don’t want to follow through with rush, you can drop. Some girls go through rush just to meet people and other girls go through rush because they’re forced to (and they plan on dropping after day 2) and then they end up pledging! So just go in with an open mind, ignore what everyone else is saying, and go with where you feel led to be!
So, that’s the lowdown on rush! And hey, maybe you’ll find your heart is at Gamma Phi Beta!
Kissed the rest goodbye, WENT GAMMA PHI!
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16 Responses to “Why the Rush?”
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Hey Alanna,
Im a senior in high school, and am dying to go to OU!I really want to be in a sorority as well, but no one in my family has ever done it. I was wondering if you could tell me how you got to know the sororities during rush, and if recomendation letters are necessary?
Thanks so much! 🙂
Hey Michelle! First of all, AHH! I am SO excited/happy you are coming to OU 🙂 And as encouragement, I was in your same spot…no one in my family was in a sorority or fraternity either! To be honest, that was one of the primary reasons why I chose not to rush my freshmen year. I didn’t have any family who could tell me what greek life was all about and the few people I knew already at OU weren’t in houses so they didn’t really know much about the greek system. For me, I got to know the houses better throughout the course of freshmen year as I got involved in a ton of other things on campus because I’d meet people who were in various sorority houses on campus. From meeting those girls and becoming friends with them, I got a better idea of what houses I liked better than others. So, whenever I went through rush as a sophomore this past year, I kind of already had a sneak preview (and slight bias, haha) towards certain houses simply because I was good friends with girls who were already in the house. However, even though rush is only 4 days you really do get a good preview of what the houses are like. You get to meet a ton of girls in all the houses so you get a feel for which girls you “click” with. Honestly, I recommend going through rush but when you go through is completely up to you! If you decide to go through it as a freshmen, just know that if you decide to not follow through that’s completely okay. There is so many other areas of campus that you can get plugged in to! Oh, and as for rec letters…most houses require 1-2; if you get in touch with your hometown area’s panhellenic (just google it if you don’t know which it is) they will help out a TON with rec letters if you don’t know any alumni from the sororities at OU. The alums don’t necessarily have to be alums from the OU chapters, but just alums from the sorority. For example, if you were getting a recommendation letter for Gamma Phi, they could have gone to OSU, but they’re still an alum of Gamma Phi! 🙂 Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!!
Thanks for all the info, it was really helpful! I’m excited to rush now, just hope I get in! Haha
thanks again 🙂
Hi Alanna! I’m a junior in high school and I really want to be a Sooner in about a year and a half’s time! I would also really like to be in a sorority, but no one in my family has ever been in one before so I’m not entirely sure how they work. One question I had was how much does it cost to rush and be in a sorority? Also, can you use scholarship money to cost sorority costs? Thank you!
-Abbie
Hey Abbie!
YAY! I’m so excited that you want to join the wonderful Sooner family 🙂 It will definitely be the one of the BEST decisions you’ll ever make! Haha, and to answer your questions about rush, don’t worry I was in the exact same boat you were in! Basically, the easiest way to go about it (probably starting in the second semester of your senior year) you’ll want to ask around (maybe girls from your high school or area that are planning on going through rush too..even if they’re not going to OU) because you’ll need to get in contact with your area’s panhellenic recruitment women. You could even try googling it by typing in your city or county and keywords like panhellenic or sorority, haha. But, once you get in contact with them, they will be able to help you with everything– they can answer all your questions about recommendation letters, pictures, etc. And don’t worry, if you’re like me and you knew no one who were alums from sororities to write your rec letters, they will actually write them for you! Also, you don’t need to go spend a ton of money on professional pictures just for rush. Use senior pictures if you’re getting those taken, or even grab a friend to take your picture somewhere! 🙂 Also here’s where you can look up all the financial stuff for sorority houses: http://studentlife.ou.edu/content/view/129/. However, just know that each house’s costs and whatnot vary so what’s on the website is simply the average. On pref night, if finances is a key factor for your decision, feel free to ask whoever is rushing you. Also know that many houses offer payment plans and can accomodate to pretty much any financial situation. Additionally, a lot of them offer scholarships that will help cover your cost of chapter dues and things like that because the scholarships you recieve from OU only cover academics and tuition costs. Hope that helps! Boomer Sooner!
Thank you Alanna! That’s really helpful! Good luck with exams and Merry Christmas!
During college visits, I’ve learned some universities have such large sorority memberships, that the girls can only live in for one year maximum. What is the average time that members can live “in-house” at OU? What seems to be the norm across your sororities?
Thanks!
Hey Beth! I’m so excited to hear your interest in joining the Greek system…and hopefully at OU!! 🙂 Unfortunately, there isn’t a clear-cut answer to your question because every sorority does things differently and has different policies about living-in. For example, some houses require that girls from the most recent pledge class (so the freshmen who will be sophomores) live in. Then, the rooms that are leftover are given to upperclassmen on a first come, first serve basis. Another example is that sophomores and the executive committee live-in and no one else. Another policy some houses choose to use is basing living-in selections on GPA. Others don’t require living-in, some make it mandatory, etc. So in all honesty it depends completely on which sorority you join! The one thing I’m pretty confident of is that in each house, most (or all) of the executive officers/committee live in. Hopefully that helps and answers your question; sorry it couldn’t be more straight-forward!! Hope you’re having a great start to your semester so far and that you consider coming to OU– we have one of the best greek systems out there! 🙂
BOOMER SOONER!
-Alanna!
Dear Alana!
I’m going to OU in the Fall of 2011 and i am really excited! I will have 28 credit hours so would that be considered a Freshman for sororities? Will that deter me in anyway? Thanks!
Hey Erika! First of all: YAY, YAY, YAY…Welcome to the Sooner Family 🙂
Second of all, no that will not be any hindrance at all! Actually, quite the contrary, that’s totally AWESOME (you’ll be saving yourself A LOT of money so congrats, haha). Anyone who rushes and is in the most recent sorority’s pledge class is considered a freshman– regardless of credit hours, age, etc. For example, even though I rushed as a sophomore (and I’m a sophomore at OU based on hours) I am still considered a freshman with Gamma Phi since I am a part of the pledge class of 2010. Make sense? So next year, I’ll be a sophomore AND a junior…all at once! haha
Hope you are having an amazing (and last) second semester of high school! Can’t wait to hopefully see you/meet you during rush!
Sooner love,
Alanna 🙂
Yay! One more question lol, would they base on college GPA more than high school? My high school GPA is low but doing really well in college.Thanks! 🙂
I would include both GPA’s on your resume that you submit for rush. That way, all the houses have both in case they do need both of them for their rush processes and they can also see your improvement! 🙂 Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions- rush related or not- I’m happy to help!
Hi Alanna!
Thanks for all the useful information which was a while ago lol! I visited OU a week ago for the transfer orientation and the campus is amazing and so is Norman. Coming from Texas I didn’t want to leave Oklahoma 🙁 So ill be moving in August 11 for rush and I know this is too soon but I am just buying everything for next year! I have a question about clothing for rush..is it different everyday of rush or mostly casual? Also I figured out I would have 31 credits because I’m taking Calculus (I hate math but oh well) during the summer…is that ok? Right now my GPA is a 3.3 but hopefully I can raise it up. Hope these questions don’t sound to stupid lol, you’re really helpful though! And I’m officially a Boomer Sooner! 🙂 Thanks again!
Hi Erika! I’m SO excited you are coming to OU and for your interest in the Greek System here! How exciting! 🙂
As for clothes, the most important thing is to be yourself! If you don’t feel confident in what you’re wearing, you feel it and so do the girls that you’ll be meeting. We want YOU, so don’t try and be anything you aren’t 🙂
Second, the first day is super casual…you actually get a rush t-shirt that 99% of the girls wear. So day 1 is t-shirt, shorts (modest ones..) and sandals. The second day I think I wore a super casual dress (one of those that has the type of fabric you can ball up and it won’t wrinkle, haha) and some sandals. Then the third day I wore a spring/summer dress that would be what I would wear to church…I’m pretty sure I wore sandals that day too (trust me, you do NOT want to wear heels if you don’t have to. You do A TON of walking. In August.) Umm, I don’t know if there was another day after that or not, but then for pref night I wore heels (but I brought sandals to walk to the houses and then put my heels on once I got there, haha) with a more formal dress. Then bid day is just like the first day because you end up wearing the tshirt you’ll get from the house you pledge!
So yeah, I hope that helps!
Also, that’s awesome you have so many credits coming in (31!!!) and yeah, you have a pretty solid GPA. I honestly don’t know the policies for every house because everyone is different, but I’m sure you’ll be great! Just tell us about you with your resume, and then bring what you’ve said to life when we meet you! I’m excited for you! Rush is so fun and there’s no reason to worry!! 🙂
Hi! I’m trying to make a decision as to whether to go to a small state school for my first year and then transfer to OU as a sophomore, and was wondering if I come as a sophomore, and pledge, would I be able to move right into the house, or would I have to wait a year? I really don’t want to live in the dorm for two years, but am afraid that if I wait until my second year to come to OU, that that will happen. Please help!
Hi! I’m currently a college freshman taking classes at my community college. I finally decided that I really want to go to Ou next year so I plan on transferring in the fall of 2016. The only thing is I really want to rush and I’m scared that I’ll be at less of an advantage because I’ll be a transfer student and depending on my credits I’m not sure if I’ll be considered a freshman or sophomore and whether or not it’ll effect my chances of getting into a sorority. I’m the first in my family to go to college so I also don’t have anyone in my family that has gone greek or anything.