confused about sorority rush?

It's both. It's a 'mutual selection' process, so while you're narrowing which sororities you like, the sororities are each narrowing down which girls they want as well.

Basically:

The first night, you must visit all 11 sororities and meet girls in each. If they like you, they will ask you back for the next day. However, you can only go to 7 the next day. So you will create a ranking where you choose your bottom 4. Most girls choose Phi Sig, SDT, Pi Phi, and AEPhi as their bottoms, although this past year many put DG in their bottom choices- this is probably what your friend meant when they said girls all put the same thing. It's up to you what you put in your bottom 4 but this is what you will find most girls doing.

The only time your ranking matters is if you get asked back to more than 7 which is the max amount you are allowed to return to for the second round. Ex: If you are asked back to 8 Panhel will look at your ranking and allow you to drop your least favorite. If you are asked back to all 11, you will drop all 4 of your least favorites. If you get asked back to 7 or less, you don't get to drop anything. The ranking is only used when more sororities ask you back than the number you're allowed to return to. So this is what your friend meant when they said the sororities are actually the ones to choose. If they don't want you, you can't go back, but if you don't want them you might have to go back anyway.

Then after the second round, you do the same process only you choose your top 5. Then after the third round, you choose your top 3 that you want to attend for Pref night, the final round. Of the 3 (or less) you are invited to for

Phi Sig, Pi Phi, SDT, and AEPHi are notorious for being ranked bottom but it became talk of the campus this year how DG was getting ranked bottom so much. Don't worry about it, you'll see how it works.

Can anyone give me any idea of how much semester dues are for sororities? I can't find any information online. I just wanted to get an idea of how much a may be shelling out.