dumb rush question

You are allowed to list most favorite vs least favorite, but the sororities do the inviting. You might see all your favorites come back with invitations, or none of them at all.

It's confusing, so hope this long answer helps.
It's a combo of both-you list and rank, they invite.

In Round 1 PNMs visit all 11 sororities.
For Round 2 PNMs can visit UP to 8 sororities, so at the end of Round 1 a PNM lists the 8 houses they most want to go back to and ranks her 3 least favorite.
Meanwhile the sororities decide who to INVITE back. You could get invited back to all 11 houses, in that case you will go back to the 8 you listed.

But there are all kinds of possibilities.....You may get invited back to 9 houses, but the 2 you didn't get invited back 2 were houses you wanted to go back to-so in that case you will get the 6 you listed and 2 of the 3 you ranked. You may only be invited back to 7 sororities, etc....

Remember this..... Each sorority is told how many PNMs they must cut per Round. In 2016 Rush, the 3 top houses HAD TO cut 1000 girls btwn Round 1 and 2, the middle houses had to cut around 800, the lower houses had to cut around 600. So when we say, 'go into Rush with an open mind and give every sorority a chance', we mean it bc statistically there's a chance to not be asked back to a house you might like.....

The bottom line about rush is that sororities do the choosing...not the PNM's. Yes, you might (and sometimes) get invited back to your favorite houses, but some PNM's think rush is about them picking the house they want. It's not. As described above, you list and rank who you like best vs. least and then the sororities do the inviting and you get to accept those invitations.

There are a few rare PNM's who are wanted by a ton of houses - usually Jackson/Memphis girls that the top tier and mid-tier houses fight over - but that's rare. Those girls, in essence, do the choosing but that's rare.

And don't worry - enjoy getting to know each house, see which ones feel most like home, and take advantage of every invitation you get. If you go through rush with a totally open mind, go to every house with a true interest, and participate until the very end (don't suicide, rank both houses) and accept a bid, you will find a home. OM has great girls in every single house, give each one a chance.

Great input above and know that the first round cuts are also dictated by your in-house connections, grades and reputation. Top tier houses have to cut the most girls after first round so if you don't know anyone there, your odds are being invited back are reduced - not impossible, but not the best Also if your grades aren't great, many houses will cut you early on too. These are the easiest ways to make cuts so it happens immediately after first round.

And get recs in - very important as well since that's another way houses cut early on - no recs, no connections likely results in possibly being cut early.

My goal during rush was not specific houses but to have a perfect rush so that I had a full invitation list for every round. That is really hard to do. That doesn't mean I wasn't sad to see some go and some stay around. But it really gave me a chance to see and grow to love the house i ended up in.
It also meant I was genuinely successful in staying on a lot of houses radar and had made meaningful connections before rush and during.
I am very proud that I was one of the few to have a perfect rush invitation wise and that very few girls can say that.

As we get closer to recruitment you will start to hear "Find your home" and "You'll find where you belong". That's lousy advice. Truthfully you have very little to do in the decision making. The Sororities have your resume, your GPA, they meet you and then they decide. I went through rush thinking I had some say so over where I wanted to be. I absolutely fell in love with one particular sorority. I loved everything about them and they seemed to love me. I was so happy to have them to preference. Then bid day came and I was chosen by my second choice (which I had only listed because I didn't want to suicide). I was heartbroken and I felt my preference was ignored. The sorority I ended up in is fine, but I didn't have that feeling of running 'home'. I don't mean to share this with you to discourage you, but I would keep an open mind till the very end - you have absolutely no idea what will happen until bid day.