Rush is the process you go through to become greek at a university. Normally, there are two types of rush--formal and informal.
FORMAL RUSH
Formal Rush is a more organized, structured set of activities. Formal rush is dry at most universities.
With formal rush, rushees are divided into groups--varying in size, depending on the number of total rushees. Every rush group is given one or more rush counselors. Your rush counselor will accompany your group to each of the houses that you are going to. Rushees will start out attending first round scheduled parties in which you will spend a specified amount of time at each of the houses.
As you arrive at the house, Your rush group will line up as will the actives of the fraternity that you are visiting. You will then go through the house and shake the hand of every active. Normally, after that, the president, rush chairman, or a prominent member of the fraternity will talk to the rush group as a whole explaining what their particular organization is all about. Some fraternities prefer to show rush videos.
After that, rushees are free to walk around and meet the members. Depending on the InterFraternity Council's (IFC) rush rules, actives may or may not be allowed to give rushees a tour of the house. After these first round parties are over, the rushees should have visited every fraternity house.
Often after first round formal parties, the fraternity will hold informal parties (not to be confused with informal rush). The informal parties are a chance for the rushees to go back to the houses they liked and spend a longer amount of time there meeting the members. For informal parties, you will be able to go wherever you want. It is a chance for you to find out more about the fraternities without having a set time limit at each house.
After the first round parties (formal and informal) are over, the fraternities will begin inviting people back. They have meetings during quiet hours and decide who they want to invite back for second round parties. You will receive a list of which houses invited you back; of which you will decide which invitations to accept and which invitations to decline. The second round parties consist only of going to the houses you chose to go back to.
Second round parties are a lot like first round, but longer in length--giving you more time to learn about the fraternity. After second round, is quiet hours again and then accepting and declining invitations. By this time, you should begin to have a clearer idea of which fraternity you might want to join.
Next are pref parties. Again, you go back to the houses whose invitations you've accepted and spend a longer amount of time there. After these parties, the fraternities will have quiet hours and rushees will sign pref cards. These cards list the fraternities whose pref parties you went to--and you will rank the fraternities (1,2,3...) in the order of who you would like to pledge (1-being the frat you're most interested in, 2-second most interested, etc.).
Next is bid day. Rushees will receive a bid from the fraternity that they selected, as well as the fraternity that selected them. This is often the most emotional part of rush--after receiving bids, formal rush is over.
NOTES ON FORMAL RUSH
-It is unfortunate, but it is possible for you not to be invited back to any of the fraternities for either second round or pref parties. It is also possible not to receive any bids.
-You always have the option of dropping out of rush. If things aren't going as well as you had hoped, if paying your dues is a problem, etc. are all reasons rushees drop out of rush. By dropping out, you forfeit any early bids you may have received; as well as being able to pledge any fraternity within a specified time period after formal rush.
INFORMAL RUSH
Informal rush has no schedules. The responsibility lies on your shoulders. It is more or less, going to the houses for parties and things--and meeting the guys on your own. Fraternities may eventually offer you a bid if they decide that you are someone who holds the same ideals as they do; and would like to accept you as a member.
NOTES ON INFORMAL RUSH
-Not as many bids are offered during informal rush, so competition may be tight; depending on how many people want to get into that fraternity and how few bids the fraternity will actually offer.
-Accepting a bid during informal rush will put you with the pledge class that was recently accepted with formal rush.
This page hosted by
Get your own Free Home Page