Ultimate Guide to Rushing and Pledging

Hey kids (cuz who am I kidding, 90% of you that stalk this site are freshmen), as your first semester winds down and you’re getting ready to rush/pledge in the spring, let me give you a few tips so you don’t screw it up.

Rushing:

Biggest thing to consider during rush is where you think you’ll fit in. I’ve seen too many guys rush houses in the 3.5 years I’ve been here solely based on sorority relations/clout and not get a single bid, even when they would’ve been a perfect fit somewhere else. Go where you like the guys, not where you think you’ll get an ego boost. Most of the clouty houses also have most of their pc determined beforehand too, remember that. Also, depending on how easy it is for you to talk to people you’ve never met, you might want to pregame a little bit before you and your buddies start trekking from north campus to hit the smokers in January. Trust me, it makes it a lot easier.

Another thing you might want to think about is what conversations you want to have to make these guys remember you and invite you back. Don’t start talking about parties or girls or stuff like that off the bat, you’ll seem like a tryhard. Instead, talk about stuff that actually interests you or makes you unique, most dudes in most houses will at the very least remember that conversation and at the very best want to bring you around more because of it. Just be a fun dude to be around during rush week and don’t be annoying/cause problems then you should be fine. Just DO NOT rush only one house, you’ll probably get screwed. Also don’t text rush chairs asking when invite only events are, if you get invited back they will text you first.

Pledging:

So you got a bid, congratulations. What now? A lot of pnms seem to post on this site asking about what different houses’ pledging is like. As Cornell keeps driving the stake further into their anti-hazing initiative, keep in mind that what you experience is going to be nothing like what they do at state schools (with exceptions) or even remotely like what they did here in the 70s-90s -that’s a good thing. With that being said, it’s gonna take up a lot of your time regardless of where you join.

You’re an engineer who wants to rush but also wants to apply to take a million credits? Wouldn’t do that buddy.

You want to join a social frat but also rush professional frats and join clubs? Think again.

This isn’t always necessarily a bad thing, but it’s the truth.

Another big tip- be friends with girls in your grade before joining a house because that’s how you build future sorority relations. Sure, maybe your friends ended up in a srat that your frat doesn’t mix with right now, but that doesn’t mean it won’t help your relations with them in the next 1-3 years.

Anyway, greeklife at this school is still generally a great way to advance your social life and get connections for jobs despite the drama and bs you see on this site. Hope this helped, good luck kids