The Greek Rush: The Guaranteed Way to Get Into the Fraternity or Sorority You Want

By Patrick Hunter

The Greek Rush helps navigate the fraternity and sorority rush process.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jul 1, 2009
• ISBN: 9781609840136

Book preview

Introduction

Choosing what college to attend is probably the biggest decision you’ll make as a young adult. At the age of 17 or 18, you’re suddenly supposed to decide which university will best prepare you for the life and career you want – not to mention where you’ll be most likely to do well, learn what you need to know and manage to have some fun in the process.

Of course, if you’re reading this, you’ve probably already made that decision. You probably know which school you’ll be attending – or maybe you’re already there. You may even know where you’ll be living, what sort of classes you’ll be taking and maybe (but more likely not if you’re like most undergrads!) what you’re going to major in.

But just because you’ve picked a school – and maybe even a major – doesn’t mean your big, life-altering decision making days are behind you yet. Because after choosing a college, the biggest decision you will make is whether or not to join a fraternity or sorority – and even more importantly, which house (in case you don’t know yet, fraternities and sororities are called houses) you’re going to join.

might sound a little crazy. How can choosing a group of people to hang out with and party with for a few years be a crucial, life-changing decision? You probably make new friends all the time without giving it much thought. It’s basically a natural process.

But joining a fraternity or sorority is much more complex than just making a bunch of new friends and hanging out with them. What house you join will determine a large part of what your college experience will be like. It will affect a huge range of things in your life that you might not even imagine, including:

• How you spend your free time

• Who you meet

• Who you date

• How you are viewed by your college community

• How you dress, talk and conduct yourself ...and possibly even

• What kind of career you will have after you graduate.

The thing is, the people in the fraternities and sororities at your school may range from 17-22 years old, but fraternities and sororities are institutions that have evolved over well over a hundred years – some even over 200 years. When you join a house, you become a part of that history, a part of that family, a part of that culture. Suddenly, you have brothers or sisters across the country, and even around the world. You will be part of an incredibly powerful network that includes some of the most famous and successful people in the world.

In other words, it’s kind of a big deal. So deciding which house to join is an equally big deal. And convincing the other members to invite you to join their house – especially when you are competing with all the house’s other prospective members at the same time – is probably the biggest deal of all.

That’s what this book is all about.

If you’re considering rushing, you may have friends or relative who have rushed before. No doubt they are giving you tons of advice as to which houses are good and which are bad, along with what you need to do to get in to those houses.

Once you get to school, you’ll get tons more advice from fellow students about which house you should join and why. Of course, you wouldn’t marry someone just because your best friend or someone you met at school told you to. So you shouldn’t make a long-term decision like which fraternity or sorority to join without thoroughly researching all the options yourself. Only you really know what is right for you. Especially since you’re the person who will have to live with the results of your decision for the rest of your life.

And while choosing a house is one thing, making sure you get in the house of your choice is something else entirely. The fraternity and sorority rush process is incredibly competitive, especially when it comes to the most desirable – or top – houses. There are some parts of American society, where fraternity and sorority membership is common; where young people basically spend their entire high school careers preparing for rush. In fact, some rushees have been groomed by their parents to get into the right fraternity or sorority since they were 10 years old!

So how can a normal, regular person compete with someone who has been preparing for rush since they were old enough to have a play date? How will you know how to act, what to say and what to do?

To level the playing field, you need information and answers. This book was created to give you both. Written by a former sorority girl and a former fraternity guy using extensive research from fraternities and sororities across the U.S. and Canada, this book is designed to help you to be as prepared as possible before you rush – so you have all the information you need to choose the house where you will be the happiest and have the best possible experience.

PLUS, it gives you the inside tips you need to have the best chance possible of being invited to join the house of your choice. So as much of the deciding power in YOUR hands as possible.

The bottom line? Fraternities and sororities like to keep their rush policies and tactics – like most of their other policies and tactics – totally secret.

When it comes to rushing, information is power. This book is designed to give you that power.

Over the next few chapters, we’ll look into the history of fraternities and sororities so you can understand how they’ve evolved over the years and their importance in modern life (hint: it’s bigger than you can possibly imagine!).

We’ll get the lowdown how fraternities and sororities fit in to the current university scene – how important they are socially, what kind of people join, what they do on campus and how membership impacts students’ college careers. We’ll take an inside look at how fraternities and sororities work – what they offer their members, what they expect those members to provide in return, how they are governed and run and what life is like inside a house from day to day.

We’ll help you ask the questions that will determine which fraternity or sorority at your school is right for you and the type of college experience you want to have. We’ll take an inside look at the rush process and how it works in both fraternities and sororities -- so you’ll understand not only what is happening, but why it’s happening – and know what to expect at every step throughout the process.

We’ll provide a comprehensive list of tips for a successful rush – beginning with the steps you should take before you even get to school to set yourself apart from the crowd and turn yourself into an attractive prospect.

We’ll also provide advice on how to dress and conduct yourself during rush events.

We’ll explain what happens on bid day and what you should expect.

And finally, we’ll talk about the process of joining a fraternity or sorority and what you should expect during your probationary – or pledge – period.

If you are even thinking about rushing a fraternity or sorority, this is the book you need to read before you rush – so you can take the steps you need to:

• Begin preparing NOW, before rush begins, so you’ll have a leg up on the competition.

• Get the attention of the fraternity or sorority you are most interested in.

• Form connections with the active members who have the power to get you a bid.

• Secure a bid to the house of your choice.

Remember, rush is a confusing and complicated process. This step by step guide will answer your questions and cut down on the confusion, so you can apply your energy to what matters most – getting a bid at the house that is right for you. So what are you waiting for? Read on...and get ready for a successful rush and an amazing fraternity or sorority experience.

1. Fraternities and Sororities – a History

Fraternal organizations date back to ancient Greece and Rome – the word fraternity actually comes from the Greek word for brotherhood and sorority from soro meaning sister – and have existed in some form or another all around the world. The terms basically apply to any group of people who choose to associate within the bounds of a formal society with its own unique set of rules, symbols, secrets and traditions. One of the most well-known fraternal organizations were the Freemasons, an influential group that developed in the early 1700s and, thanks to their secret rituals and initiation ceremonies, are recognized as the model for modern fraternities.

There are hundreds of similar organizations in the US and around the world. However, the most famous example of the fraternity and sorority is the Greek System, known more formally as the North American fraternity and sorority system. Fraternities and sororities have been a major force on US college campuses since the 1800s, and continue to have a huge impact on many aspects of college life today. Although the original fraternity founders, who were looking to share ideas with like-minded scholars, might turn in their respective graves if they saw how the intellectual movement that started has evolved into a political and (sometimes wildly) social powerhouse on