Rush week for the guys is no easy task to conquer; it is a five-day period that feels as if it will never end. 

Now, if you try to compare the recruitment week for the girls to that of the guys, you'll find that every girl will agree on the same thing (which usually is a rare occurrence): that their recruitment week was incomparable.

After I went and made it through rush and after hearing from several girls that went through recruitment I can conclude that neither are easy. But is one really tougher than the other? You might ask what could possibly be worse, but believe me when I say that they are similar in many ways. 

When I first arrived on campus, I knew that for the next five days my schedule would be engulfed by the events put on by rush week. At first, I was actually thrilled about this, as I knew that I would be busy and I wouldn’t have to go around searching for something to do (which tends to happen quite often when entering a new environment surrounded by fresh faces).

What happens is that rush week will start out with an introduction ceremony and then immediately after you pair up with your RHO Alpha and your group for the duration of the week. But quickly it starts to feel as if you’re doing more waiting than anything else, as everyone has to follow the same schedule.

On the first day, you are told that you will have to visit nine different fraternities over the course of the next five hours - which, yes, sounds overwhelming. Apart from the constant waiting you will have to endure, you also have to go through the transitioning from house to house. This can and will be very chaotic as you have 800 guys frolicking around Greek Row.

Into the first hours of day one you will find yourself energized, excited, and ready to see more. After the fifth or sixth house you visit you it starts to catch up with you as now you have gotten a real taste of what rush week is like. Some can’t keep up and decide to drop-out; others lose their nerves and throw up wherever they are; it's not unheard of for a recruit to wet their pants when talking to an active.

Then you finally complete visiting the last house and you're told you can leave. Believe me when I say this is a HUGE relief.

The biggest piece of advice I could offer to anyone planning on rushing is to actually wear shoes that are “broken in.” If you do not, I can assure you from personal experience that it will be a challenge to make it through the day. Imagine walking around in brand new leather shoes for five continuous hours; this can be very painful and prevents you from being able to fully focus.

After you make it through the next day - which was the same as day one - it becomes easier as there are fewer places to walk and fewer people to talk to. On the third day you have to make a decision of your top six fraternities - and you won’t always end up with all your favorites - but in the end you only need the one “perfect house.”

Then you finally arrive at bid day, when you find out who your brothers will be for the rest of your life. Surviving guys rush week is no easy feat, but it’s a rewarding one.