If you want to succeed in life, then you'd better get into the right sorority. Make it your primary focus for the first few months of college, because that's when you have to impress girls three years older than yourself. Their opinions of your body, intellect, personality and values matter. Make the best impression with the help of professionals who coach young ladies through the process of rushing a sorority:
Naming themselves the Rushbiddies, they opened shop in 2009 after hearing about the rush misfortunes of their daughters’ friends. About 50 mothers and their “chicks,” as the Biddies affectionately call them, attended one of their two-day workshops in April ($100 a couple), complete with mock rush party, wardrobe hints and paperwork prep.
And there is a mound of it. The smart rushee, the Biddies advise, will have a résumé stressing community service, leadership, academics and teamwork, letters of recommendation from alumnae of each chapter, preferably on the campus in question, and reference letters.
With the help of Ms. Foster and Ms. Grant, who wears a pink feather boa during workshops, Mrs. King asked alumnae of about 10 chapters, several from U.Va., to write her daughter’s recommendations. To guide their plaudits, she sent them packets with a professional photograph, transcript and résumé. To thank them, she dropped off a bottle of rosé in their mailboxes.
Link -via Marginal Revolution | Photo (unrelated) via ttarasiuk
I was never into sororities, and I was given permission from someone who was in a sorority to make fun of them. She hated them soooooo much.
Honestly, being in the Greek system does have some benefits, other than contacts. They keep old tests/quizzes, so you have lots of practice material, which is super useful. Which is why most of my professors never allowed you to keep your exams...so less useful. Plus, if you lived in a sorority, they had a cook and maid service...and you also paid a crap load. Frats were dirt cheap...and dirty.
The character of fraternities and sororities varies from campus to campus. Those at my college had a reputation for partying.
It works out for everyone because they're barely bothering the professors or students, mommy and daddy pay the tuition anyhow, and even though the fraternity and sorority kids don't learn much, they did build a good social network that will help them find work with their shiny, new, untested diploma.
Plus, it's a way for kids who can't be bothered with maths to learn a handful of Greek letters.
Students trying to join one are said to "rush", and are called "pledges".