tips for the freshmeat

1. Bring a warm jacket, gloves, scarf at all times. You think I'm kidding, but when you're standing in line outside the 9th house you're visiting for the day in the dark despair of Evanston winter, avoiding frostbites is more important than getting a bid.
2. You'll get a rush counselor, she'll tell you everything you need to know.
3. Try to find out what you want. My only regret was that I didn't really know what I was looking for, so I missed some opportunities to perhaps discover a better fit.
4. Don't (!!!) set your mind on a particular sorority during fall quarter for personal reasons (eg a lot of your friends are in there). I did that and was destroyed when that house cut me, but realized later that I really wasn't a good fit for them.
5. Tiers are real. Every chapter has a more or less distinct look/personality, so don't go in with unrealistic expectations.
6. Don't rush to be socially relevant. I pref'd the highest tier sorority I had left on my last day, but realized pretty soon that I would've been happier in one of the other chapters.

dddd