sorority rush in the fall

Honestly, I would recommend going through recruitment and just seeing how things take you. Going to bid day and seeing other girls besides the 5 or so you met really can expand what goes on within a chapter. Fall rush is very different than fall recruitment - the only houses that participate are ones which have not met quota from spring recruitment. This means that the "top houses" (which might not be the best chapter for you) often do not participate. Also, in order to do fall recruitment you often need to know someone within that chapter as it is invite only. Spring recruitment has many more options, I would just caution dropping just because you got cut from one house you have another two rounds and not everyone falls in love with their chapter at the same time! Everyone has a different process.

I second the above comment. I'm a senior, and I didn't love the sorority I got asked back to throughout recruitment. I was kind of disappointed when I was only asked to pref there, and even apprehensive on bid day because the girls in my pledge class and the sisters seemed really different from me. It wasn't until the second week of pledging that I fell in love with the house and understood why it was the right fit for me. You can't judge a house based solely on rush. You only talk to such a small percentage of the girls. You need to trust that the girls in the house know what they're doing and selecting girls that they know will fit in with the group as a whole, even if they don't click with them individually. From what I've seen in my experience and through hearing about others in a similar situation, it's not until you actually start getting to know the girls in the sorority and go through the pledge process for a bit that you get an actual feel for the fit of your house. So give it a chance! You can always drop during pledging and re-rush next year as a sophomore if you want to.

Well said! I also second guessed the chapter I ranked as #1 and got a bid to---I wondered "what if" on the other houses I ranked lower. Remember that recruitment and big day and the first few weeks of new member periods are totally surreal and overwhelming...for almost everyone! Yes, on bid day you will see girls crying tears of total joy, and those who are devastated. If you feel apprehensive or ambivalent---STICK WITH IT! See where the rest of recruitment takes you and keep having an open mind and be genuine in each conversation. Unless you know in your core that a certain house is NOT for you, keep learning and spending more time with them. It took me a few weeks after bid day, too....but then I fell in love with my NM class, got to know more sisters and it became so clear why that was MY house.