rush

honestly legacy gets you through 8 party and nothing else

For some chapters, it matters a LOT. For others, it doesn’t matter at all and they don’t even have to ask you back to six-party. My advice for you would be to not worry about legacy status - the sorority woman or women in your life had their happy four years in their Greek organization, and now it’s your turn to find the place where you can be happy for four years. Of course, sharing a sisterhood with a relative is something special and beautiful, but I would warn against choosing a chapter simply because someone you love was a sister if your heart isn’t in it. Other than that, trust your instincts and be yourself. Don’t listen to freshmen girls - if they are criticizing a house, they probably got cut from it. You are the only one who needs to be happy with your sorority experience, so don’t listen to the uninformed opinions of someone else. All of the sororities have great things to offer, so be sure to ask about sisterhood, what living in the house is like, philanthropy, big-little, formal, et cetera. Look around the room and ask yourself “Could I brush my teeth next to these women?” “Could I see myself studying with them?”. Focus on the conversations and how you feel when you’re in each chapter - are you relaxed? Do you feel like you’d need to wear more lipstick to fit in? Are you relating to the girl you’re talking to? Do you feel welcome? Reputations of sororities mean nothing - stereotypes are often wrong and/or miscommunicated, plus there are 200 girls in every chapter, so you will find your “people” in whatever chapter you join. However, reputations of potential new members are a big deal - if you skip class, are sloppy at parties, are overheard badmouthing sororities - you can be cut from houses before you even walk in the door for 8-party. Also, no one is above or below any house on this campus - if you walk into a house that you’ve decided isn’t for you, then undecide that. Those girls are trying to get to know you, and you may end up there and love it - but your reputation will always be “the girl who refused to talk during recruitment”. Above all, if you are offered a bid to any sorority - THAT IS YOUR GOLDEN TICKET, TAKE IT AND RUN!! If you end up with first choice or your second choice or your last choice, it doesn’t matter - that is the house that chose you and they saw you fitting into their sisterhood. Take a breath, and run home to the next 3.5 years and beyond. Good luck!

Bump

Legacy policies can differ based on each group's national guidelines. Being a legacy will carry you through to the second round but doesn't necessarily mean much after that. In fact, if a chapter can't see you fitting in, you'll often be cut after the second round. If you are invited to preference, many groups have a policy that you have to be placed in a specific spot on the bid list. Others simply let each chapter set policies for how to treat legacies on their campus.

For my chapter, legacies only truly matter concerning preference night. If you are a legacy and make it to pref, we are required to offer a bid. So if there's a legacy we are unsure of, we try to make sure she is cut before that. Because if she makes it to pref, she's a guarantee.