Editor Disclaimer: We recognize that the Greek letter sigma is not an “E”, but rather a “S” and that technically the main photo says “Rush Wssk”. That being said, that’s all we could find, and we think you got the point :)
As a freshman going into my second semester of college, I was already overwhelmed. Then, you throw greek life into the mix and what do you get? A whole bunch of anxiety and no sleep.
Throughout the entire week (well five days), I experienced every emotion that’s ever existed. From laughing, to crying, to wanting to strangle the next person who talked to me, it was a rollercoaster.
Somehow, I survived, so here are some of the tips and tricks I used to get out alive.
1. Pick your outfits out beforehand.
Some schools give you a day by day dress code which makes things a little bit easier, but here at BU, we don’t like doing things the easy way. The first three days were “casual cute” which, what the fuck does that mean? Then the fourth day was cocktail dresses which was a little more specific, but still vague. The directors of the entire rushing process also didn’t even tell us what to wear on the last day (i.e. bid day) until literally the day before, so that was fun.
Anyway, the days of rush are long and tiring, and as soon as you get back to your room all you want to do is put on sweatpants and never talk again. Do yourself a solid and pick your outfits out before the week even begins. This way, you can get in bed a little bit earlier and sleep in a few minutes later. Trust me, those eight extra minutes are a beautiful thing in the morning.
2. Eat an actual breakfast and not just that Dorito on your desk.
If you’re like me, you just assumed there would be snacks at each of the houses you went to. NOPE. Most of the time you get lunch and dinner, but Saturday night, dinner was nowhere to be found.
Talking and smiling makes you hungrier than you’d think, so eat a waffle, some yogurt or something else that will keep you going throughout the day. I didn’t eat breakfast on the first day of rush (the busiest day of the week), and I was about to pass out before we even got lunch.
3. Keep an open mind. No really.
I’ll be the first to admit I’d heard stereotypes about each house and had them all ranked in my mind before we even got back to campus for rush week. However, as soon as you began the process, you’ll change your mind. In my opinion, you really can’t get to know a house without really talking to the girls a few times and coming back each day for a new conversation.
Each day I went back to the different houses, my rankings changed and became clearer. Honestly, if I wasn’t just going with the flow I don’t know how things would have ended up. I focused more on what the letters of the houses represented, not what they looked like on a cute boyfriend tee.
4. Don’t talk with your friends about your top choices.
I get it, you want to know what houses your friends loved and hated and get everyone’s opinions on everything, but don’t. Choosing a house is such a personal decision and you can’t let your friend’s opinions change yours.
Everyone has a different experience at each house and it’s best if you keep those experiences to yourself. For example, a house you hate might be at the top of your friend’s list. Don’t hurt her feelings by putting another house down.
5. Be happy for your gal pals, whatever house they may get a bid from.
Regardless of which houses the squad ends up in, you and your girls will still be friends. If there’s one thing I know about Butler greek life, it’s that all the houses love and support each other. There’s no “you can’t talk to the Pi Phi’s if you’re a Theta,” or any of that stupid shit you see in the movies. We all love each other here, so get excited for your best friend. She just joined a sisterhood!