rushing

The recruitment process is the same for everyone. It is true we have some good sororities that are legacy/connection based, however we have some really great sororities that are very inclusive of OOS students. Just come to recruitment with an open mind,especially as an OOS student. If your GPA is decent, higher the better, and you have a good resume you should be fine.

To the OP - the main sororities that take a lot of OOS girls are Pi Phi, AOPi, Theta, ADPi and Alpha Phi. Every house has OOS girls, but those houses are most open to PNM's without connections.

A couple of other good points to know.

1) Many houses do cut after the first round if you have no connections there. Always an exception, but this is usually the reality. It's not personal. 2) Some houses also cut for grades so if yours aren't great, be prepared that some houses will release you for that as well. Again, not personal, just the way it's done.

The competitiveness of rush here is amplified by variable quota - make it harder for all PNM's, connections or not. And rush is hard on everyone!

Keep an open mind and you can find a great home - plenty of OOS girls here who's done so.

I had zero connections and was dropped by half of the houses the first round. I had two top, two middle, and one bottom left. I ended up with a top house and bottom house on pref night. Having no connections definitely hurts because a lot of connected MS girls got way more houses back than I did even though my resume was stellar. All you can do is not take the cuts to heart or let your circumstance hinder your rush. Go in every house believing that you are worth their time and show them why they should want to make you their sister.

Your experience is what everyone should hope for - that you found a home you love.

And you're right - the process is technically the same. But I've seen girls with no connections get upset when they get invited back to fewer parties, - especially if they have better resumes, etc.- than girls getting more invitations. It is different for everyone, but in general, I think it's good for girls without connections to know that it's not personal if they have fewer invitations. Many girls feel like it is, even those who do have connections. Rush is hard for everyone.

And I see an advantage for girls who rush without connections: they usually have no preconceived ideas of how the houses rank, etc. so they're more open to finding what they really like, as long as they don't fall for the tier and tent talk. I've known girls who pledged a certain tier house "because that was their mom's house" or "where all their friends pledged" and it really wasn't what they loved, but they felt pressure to pledge there.

The most important thing is to make the most of every party, accept a bid even if you're unsure of the house, and do your best to connect with your new sisters! Glad you found your home!