Sorority Rush Process

I just want to make sure I keep my options open and am aware of how the process works. I heard it's very common at smu for a lot of girls to be dropped from sororities and that a lot of it is connections-based. I hope to maximize my chances and have no regrets.

It's not quite true what you are asking "Is it true that sororities can only vote on you if they know you?"
First of all, every sorority chapter has it's own voting process as dictated by their nationals, there's no SMU way of doing things, and chapter members only know how their sorority does it not how other sororities do it. But they are all fair and all sororities rank every pnm from round to round.
What you are probably actually talking about is that in early rounds, for some sororities, members only vote on the pnm's they were assigned to talk to. Every pnm meets the same number of actives in a round so it's not a bad way to do it. In others, all members rank all pnm's, but the members who met a pnm will give their opinions and then everyone makes her own ranking (respected chapter members get listened to).
You can't do a thing about how a chapter votes on their pnm's.
Another thing to consider is that connections rule. 60% of students come from in-state and that means that pnm's coming from Texas schools and hometowns will already have friends in the chapters. There are also similar pockets from Atlanta, other Southern cities, Cali, Florida, and a couple of other areas. Sorority members are ALWAYS going to prefer the girls they know over those they don't, no matter how high the GPA or stellar the resume. Don't worry about something you can't do anything about, but do get recommendations for every chapter because it will hurt you to not have them. It won't help to have them, but it will hurt if you don't, if that makes sense.
Grade cuts come during the first round and can be brutal. You have good grades? Well so does everyone else. Ditto for your great resume. You're in a different peer group now where everyone's special.
Another thing for you to know is that every chapter is given a limit by panhellenic of how many pnm's they can invite back each round, and they can't go even one over that number. That means that houses that are very desired, especially among the Texas girls, will have more pnm's wanting to return to them than they can invite back, and so their cuts are heavier. They could have liked you a lot but they have a cut-off. It's a numbers game.
When a chapter does not invite you back, it is not personal and it doesn't mean they didn't like you, or that they thought you were unworthy, or that they wouldn't want to be your friend. Rush is a numbers game. If you feel that you made a real connection with someone who was rushing you, it's probably true and she loved you back, but if you get released from that sorority, understand that she is only one vote within her chapter. You have no idea what is going on in chapter voting and the effort that members put into pulling for their favorites. You might have just missed their cutoff. It is a chapter decision, but know that there are probably some members in tears over losing you.
Finally, there are no bad chapters at SMU. You are not better than the members in any house.

How come they dirty rush so much if it’s considered a fair process? If it was fair then they wouldn’t dirty rush girls, they’d just wait until they get there. I get that people may already have friends but rushing new girls over the summer is so unfair because some girls go to smu and want to join a sorority to make friends and have fun but can’t get in due to lack of connections (as they mainly recruit friends or pre-rushed girls). And it’s not fair for pnms to join a sorority they don’t connect with at all since they have no shot at some of the mid and top sororities without preexisting connections.

The vast majority of any 'dirty rushing' was happening fall semester. Not having recruitment until January was a big part of the problem. Switching to fall recruitment is a big step forward for pnm's and the entire sorority system. Attitudes have been adjusting already and it's great to see. It's not "fair" for pnm's to pre-judge over 200 women in any sorority chapter without having met any members. There are 'top' girls, gorgeous, smart, sweet and fun, in every house, and there are 'bottom' girls in every house too. You will see that if you're not blinded by letters. SMU sororities are all made up of the best girls here. If you "don't connect" with girls in any group of that size then it's a you problem. If you focus on the chapters that actually want you for their sisterhood and give them a chance, you will have an amazing sorority life, so don't blow it. If you really are a 'top' girl then no letters will make you less beautiful or smart or gracious, and also no letters will make up for what you don't have. Don't let strangers screw up your rush for you with their own mental baggage.

SMU GDI Crisis Office 😵

There is a large number of newly ShOcKeD GDIs in our dormitory this week. Several hundred of us. We are sHoCkEd, angry, depressed and resentful to the university and especially panHELLenic. 😨

Given it's long history for deceiving young freshmen PNM girls, the university and panHELLenic 👿 should immediately open a Newly ShOcKeD GDI Crisis Office to assist these emotionally harmed girls. 🛏

You don't need a 'top' house you need a sisterhood that will lift you up. More pnm's are coming from out of state every year and looking more objectively at what each house has to offer and especially at the members of each house. Less and less do they care about kappa or pi phi because they don't need the in-state recognition for those particular letters. Pnm's are considering qualities like the personalities of the members they meet and how they are treated by them, academics, leadership, and accomplishments, and how the members interact with each other.

Does the whole chapter vote? Or just the bump group? What if they don’t really know the girls, since pnms usually only talk to 2-5 people? Do they show pictures or just say their name? I heard that rushing here means you need connections but I don’t get it since the pnms get to meet the sorority girls during rush.

DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THE MECHANICS OF HOW EACH CHAPTER CONDUCTS THEIR MEMBERSHIP SELECTION. They all have a different method, it has been working for each sorority for years and years, and whatever it is really is not relevant to anyone as a pnm or affects how someone's rush goes. Instead of worrying about something you can do nothing about, focus on yourself and the things that are in your control.

Here is some insight that may help you:

First and foremost, sororities are never going into recruitment blind. They already 'know' you before you set foot on campus. They will have familiarized themselves with all the pnm's way ahead of time through the resumes, grades, recs, videos and social media. They will make a preliminary assessment for who they think is a good fit and decide their first round invitations without ever meeting pnm's.

Each sorority prioritizes different things for a good fit - some connections (who they already know or know of), some GPA and accomplishments, some looks and social media, etc., but ALL these qualities are valued at each house, just in different orders of importance. New member classes in each house are a combination of all these kinds of girls in different ratios. If you don't have any connections here don't worry, tons of other girls don't have them either, and you can't do a thing about that so just focus on what you do have to offer. You don't need connections to get a bid.

For the next two in-person rounds, all that preliminary stuff is out of the way and at this point it does come down to how you present yourself in person and your conversations. The chapters that invite you back will recognize you at the door, and will have used the information they have about you to pair you with actives with whom you have something in common, like hometown, major, common interests or activities, etc. and this will help conversations go better.

All sororities here are the top women at SMU and all offer great sisterhoods and a fun social life.