The Ultimate Guide to Surviving Sorority Rush in the South

Tori Brown

Oh, the wonderful life of college. Moving in on campus with thousands of other freshmen, the sweat and the uncomfortable small talk with people in your hall, what else could we possibly ask for? For most girls, we are preparing ourselves for the oh so glamorous sorority rush! Our friends and family have told us stories of how great it is and how much fun this week will be! Being a PNM (potential new member although it sounds like PMS) is such a honor as we all begin to form as a cult of girls just wanting to be accepted.

You will be placed in a group of girls with either the same last name, or last names close to yours. You will also have a sorority girl who has unaffiliated herself with her sorority. Confide in these girls because they are your first eyes of what greek life is all about. Be careful what you say to them about a house, because they could have the possibility of being in it. (they won't tell you their house until the end of the week) For most sororities, they begin the week off with “Ice Water Tea” days. As lovely as this sounds, this will be the most exhausting day. Prepare yourselves. Also, if you pass out easily, just go home please. This day is when you visit every. Single. House. The first house is always so exciting considering you don’t know what is in store for you and your group. As the day goes on, it becomes the survival of the fittest. From intense crotch sweat, to makeup running down your face, you have to keep up. Each sorority will give you water and there is going to be a lot of awkward conversations that seem forced. You have to push yourself to hold the conversation.

The next day is when you begin to see the dark side of recruitment. From intense GPA cuts, to cuts because of first impressions,There will be girls who are blackballed (when a video or picture of you gets sent around) and will get dropped from every sorority. Please keep your after school activities to yourself and for the love of god, don't post it on snapchat. A lot of girls will get a wake up call on this day when the houses they loved didn’t ask them back. Girls also begin to drop out after they get their list back. Do not drop out of recruitment unless you're asked back to only one house and it absolutely sucks.

Now the actual games begin. Most girls experience the biggest amount of cuts going from philanthropy day to sisterhood day, BE PREPARED. No matter if you have friends in that sorority, it really doesn’t matter. They have to like YOU, not just because your older friends do. There will be crying, and girls will begin to get nervous. Keep going. The cuts can be brutal but you have to remember you will end up where you're supposed to be. I thought that was bullshit until I ended up in a house with 80 other girls just like me. This day and the next day is when you will see most girls drop out or become released. It will scare the shit out of you but you have to keep on going. Don’t compare yourselves with other girls in your group either, just because they got asked back to a million different houses doesn’t mean they will get them.

Sisterhood day is when you really need to impress these houses. Many girls will wear really nice dresses and look like they're about to go to prom.Don’t be intimidated by them, just continue to be yourself. Also, don’t wear Kylie Jenner’s lipstick because it will dry up and make you look like you have eczema on your lips. By this day you will begin to get used to the forced, awkward conversations. Many of these girls know more about you than you think, so don't be surprised if they don't seem as interested when you’re telling them what you did this summer. Also, if the girl asks you what you did in highschool, that is not a good sign. That means they have ran out of things to talk about and she's forcing the conversation from prompts they were instructed to ask if things go south. This night will be the most intense cuts.

Pref day is the last day of this antagonizing week of forced conversations and sweat. Most girls wear a certain color (usually black) and if it doesn’t look like a cult meeting to you, I don’t know how else to describe it. This is when you will talk to a girl who you have had a conversation with earlier this week. Just because you have made it this far, doesn’t mean they will give you a bid. Remain humble when going into the houses, no matter how many you have. This day is when they “convince you to join their sorority” but for most girls it's them lowkey begging for the girl to pref them onto bid day. Everyone is really quiet and serious so don’t fart out loud. After the parties are over, you pref 3 houses (it's okay if you only have one or two don’t worry) in the order you want them to be in. Do not be the dumbass who suicides, which means they only choose one house to go back to when they have others to chose from. This is the easiest way to get dropped from recruitment and there is nothing more embarrassing than being released on the last day.

If you make it to bid day, you’re pretty much set. This day is supposed to be fun, which it is, and you surround yourselves with girls in your new pledge class. You wear shorts and usually a tank top and you run to the house you receive a bid from and eat chicken fingers and have more small talk. Don't be fooled though, Girls will not receive bids from houses this day. If that’s you, you get a phone call in the morning and I can tell you personally I did not sleep at all the night before bid day. I think I even sharted my pants a little.

Once recruitment is all over, you will feel a sense of relief. I'm not just talking about relaxing, I'm talking about the mental torture you went through this week is over. You might feel awkward in your house at first but these girls are like you, and will become your friends. Finally, If you can get through this week, you can ultimately get through anything.