Girls all across America are anxiously awaiting and preparing themselves for one of the most important weeks of their life, rush week.
“You have to be the best version of yourself you’ve ever had to be,” said rising freshman at the University of Georgia Shaelan Purdy.
Rush consists of an entire week full of activities. The first day is Letters Day (AKA Open House) in which the girls quickly stop by all the sorority houses and make their first impressions. The second day is Service Day, the sororities’ philanthropy is shown and individuals spend time learning about what each one represents. The third day revolves around house tours and girls get an idea of what it’s like to live in their desired sorority house. The fourth and final day is called Pref Night in which you get more of the house and are introduced to their traditions. Pref Night is the most nerve wracking day for girls because at this point they’ve passed several rounds of selections and the girls decide what house they want to end up in.
“I ended up with two houses that I really liked and I couldn’t decide,” said rising junior at UGA Grey Cohen. “I had really big reservations about both and reasons I wanted to do both.”
SEC schools are infamously known for having a highly competitive recruitment process and girls from these schools spend months beforehand making sure that they’re ready for rush. Some ways in which girls prepare is by cleansing their social media, buying outfits and creating a rush resume.
“I have cleaned up my social media, not that there was anything bad on there, just cleaned it up a little bit,” Purdy said.
A major reason why girls decide to rush is the idea that they will find their “forever friends” throughout their time in the home. Girls that live in the same house refer to each other as sisters that belong to a sisterhood, and similarly boys in a frat are brothers that belong to a brotherhood. Many girls find a piece of mind knowing that their sisters will be with them throughout college and even after.
“I think that being in a sorority means that you have a good community to rely on during college years but also beyond college,” said rising freshman at Louisiana State University Stori Beall.
Although anyone can rush, it’s important to note the cost. Dues differ depending on the college but according to Yahoo Finance, joining a sorority costs anywhere from $1,000 to $4,750 a semester. This is obviously a hefty amount of money to be charged per semester but dues go towards housing, events, member fees and recruitment, and returning member dues are significantly less, usually ranging from $600 to $1,000. Some people argue that joining Greek life is paying for friends and although this may seem like the case, others think of it more as an investment.
“I don’t think rush is buying your friends, I think it’s facilitating a way to connect with people you might not have met otherwise,” Purdy said.
Another benefit that sororities have to offer are all the networking opportunities that can arise from social events and connecting with alumni. By joining a house, it automatically introduces you to a whole new world of potential jobs and internships.
“It can get you good connections, whether that be jobs or internships in the future,” Beall said. “I’ve already had a few people reach out and be like, ‘Oh I was a Kappa Gamma, I work for interior design.’”
Additionally, each sorority has a philanthropy (charity) they support by donating money or directly volunteering. This helps girls narrow their choices because they tend to choose sororities that align with their views. The houses host several events to raise money and this is a major incentive for dues.
“Every sorority has a different mission and you can find out which one you want to be a part of and I really like that,” Purdy said.
Something that sororities receive a lot of backlash for is their exclusivity. Over 70% of sorority members are white, which has become a major topic of conversation, yet little change has been made. There are still people of color who choose to rush, such as rising freshman at the University of Ole Miss, Fiona Bernard. As a way to ease Bernard’s nerves, she decided to reach out to other POC’s at Ole Miss and felt a lot more confident about rushing.
“I talked to other girls rushing and they had nothing but good things to say,” Bernard said.
Sorority girls also tend to stick within their crowd and don’t hang out with people outside their social group. Some girls work to break this norm by branching out and connecting with outside groups.
“Sometimes there’s a culture of not talking to people outside of Greek life but it’s important to be very well-rounded, have friends outside of Greek life,”said Abby Van Brimmer, a rising sophomore at Georgia Tech.
As the summer season is coming to an end and the start of school is rapidly approaching, girls throughout the country are preparing to face rush week and all it has to offer.
“I’m excited to really experience the whole week,” said rising freshman at UGA Sidney Cohen, “because I know it’s going to be something new and something that I’ve never put myself through.”
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