What I Wish I Knew Before I Went Through Rush

Summary

Podcast Summary: "What I Wish I Knew Before I Went Through Rush"

Podcast: Two Ts In A Pod with Teddi Mellencamp and Tamra Judge
Episode Date: December 20, 2025
Episode Theme:
A firsthand “tell-all” on what sorority recruitment (“rush”) is really like, featuring roundtable insights from multiple former sorority members with different backgrounds, schools, and experiences. The episode focuses on demystifying the rush process, exposing unwritten rules, offering practical advice, and reflecting on lessons learned only in hindsight.

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Main Topics & Insights

1. Rush Timing & Differences Across Campuses

• Early vs. Late Rush: The hosts discuss differences in rush timing:
  • Some schools hold recruitment before the semester starts, while others do it during or after the first semester.
  • Gia: “Heels in the snow. No, thank you.” (03:34)
  • Evie: “Mine was always in August and it’s insanely hot in Texas. It’s so hot.” (03:59)
• Social Implications: Early rush can lead to forming immediate friend groups in your sorority, but later rush might allow broader friendships across different houses.

2. Letters of Recommendation & Formalities

• Importance Varies by Chapter & School:
  • At some schools, a letter of recommendation (rec) is essentially required to make it past the first round.
    • Gia: “If you didn’t have one, you weren’t... like you were passed up on, really.” (06:36)
  • The importance can also change depending on whether the recommender is an alum from your target chapter.
• Captains & Standards Lists: Some chapters keep a "Captain's list" for perfect-on-paper applicants (high GPA, letters of rec, etc.) and “standards” or “hometown” lists for personal recommendations or vetoes.

3. Recruitment Voting & Scoring

• Voting Methods Differ:
  • Some chapters score recruits on a 1–5 scale; others are more binary (“all or nothing”).
    • Emma: “Ours was between, I think, 1 and 5… The highest one... I want her to be my little...” (09:39)
  • Some sororities allow hometown members to give applicants a top or bottom score and present slideshows with “pros” and “cons” during prep week for internal discussion.
    • Emma: “Or on the other end, it would be like, this girl screwed up, dated my brother, and cheated on him, and we cannot let her in…” (08:27)
• Involvement: Some require all members to be involved in recruiting each year.

4. Academics & Stereotypes

• High Academic Standards:
  • Many sororities have minimum GPA cutoffs, which can be quite high and increase over time.
    • Gia: “...she got suspended for a semester because her grades dropped below. And she was the coolest IT girl of my sorority.” (11:30)
  • Emma: “I would argue that we were some of the best girls... We always had the highest GPA on the row...” (14:43)
• Breaking "Dumb Sorority Girl" Stereotype:
  • Members emphasize academic achievement and dispel common misconceptions.

5. Social Media & "Silent" Rules

• Cleaning Up Socials:
  • Varied consensus on whether to scrub social media accounts before rush—mostly advised to avoid drinking photos or inappropriate content.
    • Gia: “I didn’t feel the need to clean mine up... I didn’t post anything with alcohol... being a high schooler.” (15:56)
  • Confusion over whether or not to follow current members or keep profiles private.
• No Contact/No Partying Policies:
  • Strict rules during rush, including “no contact” and discouraging parties, with real consequences for those breaking them.
    • Emma: “I contacted someone because I was so torn between what I was gonna pref and I didn’t end up getting that sorority.” (18:23)

6. Reputation & the "Invisible Hand"

• Not Always About You:
  • Sometimes chapters drop girls not because they dislike them, but because they believe the recruit will choose another house.
    • Gia: “A lot of it has to do with they know that you’re gonna go another house and they're giving the spot to someone else.” (21:01)
  • Some schools are strictly score-based; others allow more subjectivity.
• Knowing Someone: Blessing or Curse?
  • Sometimes connections help, but they can also hurt if chapters assume you’ll pledge with friends/siblings in a different sorority.

7. How to Pick the Right House

• Trust Your Gut & Values:
  • Look for alignment in values, authenticity, and sisterhood during “preference” rounds.
    • Emma: “...trust your gut on it. But also, I do think that if... you can see that kind of represented within the sorority, I do think that’s important.” (30:35)
• Meaningful One-Liners:
  • Gia: “Pick a house where you feel comfortable going number two in.” (31:43)
    (Advises to feel at-home enough to do the mundane!)
  • Evie: “Look around at the girls... do you see yourself being in a PC with them?” (32:18)
• Don’t Just Follow Friends:
  • Try not to let friendships dictate your decision—your closest friends may be in another house, and that’s okay.

8. Final Advice & Parting Thoughts

• Stay Open-Minded:
  • Even if you end up in a sorority you didn’t prefer, make the most of it. Attitude matters.
    • Emma: “Slap on a smile on your face and be happy of it, because... you never forget that... makes you feel so icky.” (37:37)
  • “It’s really not that deep—a sorority can be fun, but your friends and experience aren’t limited.” (38:02)
• Most End Up Where They Belong:
  • Things usually work out as they should—even for friends who are split between houses.
    • Evie: “...so many girls end up in a different sorority and they're like, I can't even imagine what my life would be like if I was in that sorority...” (37:00)
  • Emma: “If you end up on bid day... in the sorority you didn’t want, just put on a smile and keep an open mind.” (37:23)
• Be Positive:
  • Go into rush with a smile, be true to yourself, and know you’ll find your group.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On First Impressions:
  “Heels in the snow. No, thank you.” – Gia (03:34)
• On ‘Hometown Voting’:
  “During work week… girls already in our sorority would put up a slideshow of people from their hometown… Or on the other end, it would be like, this girl screwed up, dated my brother, and cheated on him, and we cannot let her in.” – Emma (08:27)
• On Academic Standards:
  “You’re actually talking to a girl who was on the scholars list.” – Gia (15:04)
• On No-Contact Rules:
  “I contacted someone because I was so torn between what I was gonna pref, and I didn’t end up getting that sorority... no partying, especially if it’s the first week of school.” – Emma (18:23)
• On Fitting In:
  “Pick a house where you feel comfortable going number two in.” – Gia (31:43) “Look around at the girls… do you see yourself being in a PC with them?” – Evie (32:18)
• On Friends in Other Sororities:
  “They’ll still be your best friends.” – Evie (36:08)
• On Attitude:
  “If you end up on bid day… slap on a smile on your face and be happy of it, because… you never forget that, because that makes you feel so icky.” – Emma (37:37)
• Final Encouragement:
  “Go in with a big smile and a positive attitude, and you’re gonna kill it.” – Gia (38:12)

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Key Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------| | 03:25 | Pros and cons of rushing before vs. during school | | 06:08 | The “letters of rec” requirement & its impact | | 08:18 | The “hometown voting” and recruitment presentations | | 10:22 | Involvement of members in recruitment / “Captain’s List” details | | 14:41 | GPA standards & academic stereotypes debunked | | 15:34 | Social media advice for new recruits | | 18:05 | Strict “no contact”/no-partying rules | | 21:00 | How selection can depend on perception/assumptions | | 24:09 | Multiple scoring vs. cumulative score debates | | 28:14 | Importance of following all sorority Instagrams & etiquette | | 30:01 | How to gauge the right house fit | | 31:43 | “Pick a house you’re comfortable going #2 in” – advice | | 32:18 | “Look around at your potential pledge class” – advice | | 33:45 | Should you “follow” friends into houses? | | 37:23 | Positivity if you don’t land your first choice | | 38:12 | Final pep talk and encouragement for new rushees |

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Listener Takeaways

• Be Informed: Rules, traditions, and forms of rush scoring vary by campus and by house. Ask questions and understand your specific process.
• Be Authentic: Keep social media respectful and genuine, but don’t stress about projecting a fake image.
• Be Flexible: You may not end up in your “dream sorority,” and that can be a blessing.
• Be Positive: Your attitude during and after bid day makes a lasting impression—both on others and your own experience.
• Trust the Process: Chances are, you will end up exactly where you’re supposed to be.

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Tone & Style

The hosts speak candidly, with humor and warmth, often poking fun at their own experiences while offering real, actionable advice. The mood is sisterly and supportive, aiming to both comfort and empower future rushees.

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End of Summary

Transcript

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[Gia]

Welcome to Dirty Rush, the truth about.

[Emma]

Sorority life with your hosts, me, Gia.

[Daisy Kent]

Giudice, Daisy Kent and Jennifer Kessler.

[Emma]

Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Dirty Rush. This is the Producers edition. We've got Evie on the mic, Emma and Shelby and. And today we're going to be talking about what we wish we knew before we went into rush. So we're going to be giving you all the stories. All of us went. All of us were in different sororities at different schools and had different rush experiences. But we all have a lot of advice to give you for when you're.

[Gia]

Going through rush, especially because some people are going through rush this semester.

[Emma]

True.

[Gia]

Which I'm sure I could do that.

[Evie]

I could not do that.

[Gia]

Heels in the snow. No, thank you.

[Evie]

Yeah, I could never. I do.

[Emma]

No, I would. I went to UCLA and the, you know, the latest round, it was probably 50 degrees out and I remember being cold waiting outside.

[Gia]

Yeah.

[Emma]

But it was also in September because we do first semester. Do you guys all do first semester rush?

[Evie]

Mine's like before school starts. What is your guys's.

[Gia]

Mine is after. It's. It's over the three day weekend. Yeah.

[Evie]

Mine was always in August and it's insanely hot in Texas. It's so hot.

[Emma]

Did you have to go to school early for. They do that.

[Evie]

Ut yes. Which I actually really liked. But I think it's really. Everyone has a different experience doing it like different ways and people like it for different reasons, you know, Like I loved it because, like, you don't know anyone, so there's no one. Like, like you're not rushing what your friends are rushing. Like you're going whatever you really feel like is your fit. Which I feel like is nice because, like, I feel like if I was second semester, then I would just want to go the sorority my friends were and it wouldn't be as much my choice.

[Emma]

I'm torn on this because I feel like it benefits, you know, I went to his huge state school. Like I went to UCLA and I was from Chicago and I knew nobody at my school. And so I feel like I didn't have a leg up, you know, to know anyone coming in. And I felt like it gave me a really fair shot that it just, it started right when school started and like I. Nobody knew anyone and nobody like really had a leg up just going into rush. But I also think you usc, the other school, like big School in la, they did it second semester and they were like. I feel like the girls in sororities at USC were, like, had so many different friends across sororities because they did it second semester, and so they were able to have, like, you know, your first semester friends. But then I'll end up in different sororities.

[Evie]

Totally.

[Gia]

That's cool. Since first semester, all my friends are dg. Yeah. Except for, like, your dorm friends.

[Emma]

Right.

[Evie]

Totally.

[Gia]

Are across different sororities. Really?

[Emma]

For roommate. Yeah.

[Gia]

But, yeah, I mean, it kind of gave you friends immediately, rushing first semester.

[Emma]

True.

[Gia]

So pros and cons of both.

[Emma]

Yeah.

[Evie]

It's also interesting how at different schools, I feel like some schools, it's like all sorority girls are friends with girls in different sororities. And at some schools, it's like you only hang out with the girls in your sorority, which I've heard is a case that, like, U dub, they, like, don't really. But then, you know, everyone tells different things. But I remember hearing that once and I was like, that's so interesting, because at my school, everyone was, like, meshed with girls in different sororities.

[Emma]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Evie]

So I wonder if that has something to do with the first versus second semester recruitment.

[Gia]

Probably.

[Emma]

Mm.

[Gia]

Anyways, we're here to share a couple of things that we all wished we knew before going into rush and something that I didn't know, but to get into the sorority I was at at CU Boulder was that you did have to have a letter of rec.

[Emma]

You did? Yes. Because at ucla, they. It was just like those did not matter at all.

[Evie]

You.

[Gia]

It didn't matter who wrote it, but if you didn't have one, you weren't.

[Evie]

Yeah.

[Daisy Kent]

Yeah.

[Gia]

Like you were passed up on, really.

[Emma]

So it could be like your. Your mom's best friend's cousin's daughter.

[Gia]

Yeah. Anyone that was in the sorority beforehand, at any point, if you knew them well or not, if they wrote you a letter of rec, then you made it past the first round. If you didn't, then you didn't.

[Evie]

I don't know if that's how it was at my school. I do remember, Like. Like, I feel like I could be wrong about this, but I feel like it was more like if someone was in the sorority at your school, it mattered more than, like, if it was just like, a random person from a different school that was in your sorority. To me, that's how I perceived it. But I could be wrong there. But I feel like it would mostly matter if it was, like, an older girl who had Graduated before then it means more.

[Gia]

Yeah, it definitely helps if you knew someone in the direct sorority or someone that was of that affiliate sorority. But I think just, like, maybe my sorority had older rules.

[Emma]

Okay. So we had letters of rec. Didn't mean anything. But we had a different thing that I. I'm really wondering if. I feel like nobody knows about this when you're going through rush, but then you see it on the other side, and it's kind of wild. I don't know if you guys have this, but. And I'm kind of giving a lot away here, but during work week, we would have a presentation of. I don't even know if I'm supposed to say this, but here goes. During work week, we would have a presentation that girls already in our sorority would be. Put up a slideshow of people from their hometown that knew that they were coming through rush and that they really wanted to vouch for. And it would be like, a picture of them from their Instagram and fun facts. And this is why she would be great in our sorority. And these are her amazing traits. And. Or on the other end, it would be like, this girl screwed up, dated my brother, and cheated on him, and we cannot let her in. I know she's coming in. So I think that's where knowing someone really plays a part, because they can really vouch for you. And then you can do something called hometown voting, where you can give them either the highest rating or the lowest rating, but you couldn't give anything in between if you were in a hometown vote. Someone.

[Evie]

Do you guys think it's important to know someone in the sorority? Like, do you think you really need to in order to get brought back?

[Gia]

Well, my sorority's rules for voting was it's automatically a no. So essentially, you were supposed to be dishing out no's unless the person wowed you and you thought they deserved a yes.

[Emma]

Oh, it was all or nothing.

[Gia]

All or nothing. And that's why it was helpful to know someone in a sorority, so that they could tell everyone. But then again, it brings back the rule of you can't vote for someone unless you bump them, unless you talk. So then you had to keep making sure that people were getting bumped so they could get the appropriate votes.

[Emma]

Wow. Because ours was a. What were your. So that was your rating scale? Ours was between, I think, 1 and.

[Evie]

5 or 1 to 5, too.

[Emma]

And. And the highest one, either 4 or 5 meant, okay, this girl, I want her to be my little. Like, not just. I want her to be in our Sorority, she. I want her to be my little. My best friend. Three was like, I want her to be in the sorority. And then one was. No, Two was. It was very important, like, what each level meant.

[Evie]

Did you guys do a lot of recruiting on the other side? Like, did you do a lot of years of, like, recruiting in your sorority? Because you know how some people, like, don't really want to do it and only do it one year when they're forced to?

[Emma]

Well, one of them, I was abroad, but I did two of them. Yeah.

[Gia]

You mean in terms of, like, the actual recruiting process? We were involved all four years.

[Evie]

Wow.

[Gia]

Like, fully involved.

[Evie]

Okay.

[Gia]

Had to be. Which was nice. But then again, like, honestly, whoever was on standards that year took full control over who was on the hometown's list. Who was on the captain's list.

[Evie]

What is captain's.

[Gia]

Captain's list? Did you guys not have that?

[Evie]

No, I've never even heard of that.

[Emma]

Your sounds.

[Evie]

I have your.

[Emma]

Your sounds.

[Gia]

Captain's list is pretty crazy. So that means that you were perfect on paper, meaning that you had the grades. You had the letters of Rex.

[Emma]

Wait, wait, wait. Sorry. This means you're talking Captain's list.

[Gia]

Are PNM's or PNM's on the Captain's list that are perfect on paper with grades? Because we had to have a certain gpa, and it was a high gpa, really, that a lot of the younger girls I knew couldn't get in from high school because of their gpa.

[Emma]

Wow. Can you name what the GPA was?

[Evie]

Did it change every year?

[Emma]

Probably.

[Gia]

I think it was a three.

[Emma]

Four.

[Evie]

I feel like it would change based on, like. Like at my school, because every year the GPA would go up of how hard it was to get in. So I feel like it would go up.

[Gia]

Yeah, it went up continuously. And I do know that, like, one of the coolest girls in our sorority when I was a freshman, she got suspended for a semester because her grades dropped below. And she was the coolest IT girl of my sorority. Like, everyone's favorite. And she got suspended because of her grades.

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[Emma]

So this is where I think there's a misconception about sororities because our sorority too like had the best GPA on the row. And I would, I would argue that we were some of like the best girls and just really cool, awesome people. And we always had the highest GP in the row and it was usually a 375 or 38 and I feel like people think that sorority girls are dumb.

[Gia]

No, not true, not true. You're actually talking to a girl who was on the scholars list.

[Evie]

Oh yeah.

[Emma]

I didn't know you were talking to a scholar.

[Evie]

Yeah, I think I Was too.

[Gia]

You're talking to a scholar, not only.

[Evie]

For the school, but one or two semesters. Maybe one or two.

[Gia]

Pretty insane.

[Emma]

I think I was on the low end of the gpa. I think I was the one on the brisk.

[Gia]

Well, you went to a UC.

[Evie]

Yeah. So Ms. E over here. Okay. I have another subject to bring up.

[Emma]

Okay, what about.

[Evie]

This isn't necessarily something I didn't know, but what do you guys like? What went on in your head about, like, your social media? Because I feel like we're told so many things for going into recruitment, like not being able to follow girls in the sorority or you should be following girls in the sorority, or what you have posted, like taking down anything of swimsuits, alcohol. Like, did you guys really clean up your social media before you went through recruitment?

[Gia]

That's a good question. I didn't feel the need to clean mine up. I didn't post anything with alcohol on beforehand because that's kind of inappropriate in my eyes anyways, being a high schooler.

[Evie]

Yeah.

[Gia]

In terms of like bathing suit stuff, I would post them, but it wasn't anything too crazy.

[Evie]

Yeah.

[Gia]

Following, like, people preference. If I was the older girl being followed by younger girls, I would just see that as like, they're just trying to get a gauge on what's going on. And I would just play it cooler on the other end of just like not following people. You can follow the sorority Instagrams, but, like, you don't need to heavily stalk everyone. Like, I don't. There's no. For my sorority, there was no offline chat of like, we were not allowed to talk to PNM's and we weren't allowed to talk to active members before or during the recruitment process. And so I don't think that there was a point on our end to kind of like involve social media with that.

[Emma]

Yeah. I will say that I do think because, I mean, especially just going to a really big school, we were talking to so many girls. And I do think that social media matters. I think what your Instagram and that it's like a representation of you. Like if you like to sing and you have a video on there, I think that's cool.

[Evie]

I completely agree.

[Emma]

But if it's just like partying and I think your Instagram, your profile actually does matter because that's what. Not necessarily like that girls are scoping you out beforehand. I think that at least that wasn't the case with us. But I think that when you're trying to remember girl, oh, did I like her Did I not? What was our conversation about? And then you go in their Instagram. There's nothing. I mean, I guess you're in private.

[Evie]

Some people are. Because some people are told that they should go on private beforehand. Because then if a girl follows you, that means something. If not, they can stalk you anytime. I don't remember what I did. But then there's also so many girls I remember that I loved, and they followed me, even though they're not allowed to. And I was. And then I was like, oh, my goodness, they're going to go. My sorority. And then they didn't. And so I'm like, why'd you follow me, though? We have, like, a silent day. It's like, the day before. So our last day of recruitment, I want to say, is Friday. Then Saturday is, like, no contact. Like, nothing. Like, really strict. Like, basically, like, stay in your house.

[Emma]

Like, okay. And I think no partying. Yeah.

[Evie]

No texting anyone. Even if it's, like, your friend. It's really strict. And then Sunday's bid day. So I remember on that no contact day, like, the one day it's really strict on texting or following or anything, I had girls following me, and they didn't even go my sorority. So I'm like, that's so confusing. Yeah.

[Emma]

Okay. I'm gonna say that that whole, like, no contact, no following thing. Take that seriously, because I agree. Sorority. And then I. I did. I contacted someone because I was so torn between what I was gonna prep and I didn't end up getting that sorority. I'm happy. I'm so happy I ended up in the sorority that I did. But I think that. And then no partying. Especially if it's the first week of. Week of school.

[Evie]

Guys, like, relax.

[Emma]

And I. I mean, I did, like, I partied the first week of school before.

[Evie]

I'm saying that to you, before recruitment.

[Emma]

And I went to, like. Because I. Only people I knew at my school were on the soccer team, and they invited me to the soccer party, and I was like, yeah, I'm going to that. And I should not have gone to that.

[Evie]

I was the biggest rule follower.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah.

[Evie]

It wasn't crazy. I thought I was going to get dropped for, like, the smallest things.

[Emma]

And then I posted a TikTok. My roommate posted a TikTok about us going out, and it went viral. Oh, my God. It got, like, 3 million views.

[Evie]

I could have never. I would have never let her post it. I would have never gone.

[Emma]

And everyone would pop in, like, you're.

[Gia]

Going to have to post The TikTok.

[Emma]

Oh, my God.

[Gia]

Yeah.

[Evie]

Should we add it onto the Dirty Rush feed?

[Emma]

Wait, it's actually so good. It's a video of me in my tiny dorm room doing my blowout. And we all know I love my blowouts.

[Evie]

I also know Abby's room. Just kidding.

[Emma]

Oh, yeah, you do. And she took a video of me doing my hair into the Home Depot song. You know the song that's like, yeah.

[Gia]

That'S pretty good.

[Emma]

And it's me doing my hair, and it went crazy viral. And then everyone during rush was like, wait, are you the Tick tock hair girl?

[Evie]

Oh, yeah.

[Gia]

Oh, my God.

[Evie]

See, and this is a reason, though, that I love that my school does it before school starts. Yeah. Be hard when school starts. You're so excited about everything.

[Emma]

Well, she literally put on the video my roommate getting ready for a night out in Westwood the night before rush.

[IBM Representative]

My God.

[Gia]

No, to your point.

[Emma]

It was stupid.

[Gia]

Like, the girls that are rushing you, the older girls have been through rush themselves, and so they're going to treat you the way that they were rushed, if not worse. Girls in authoritative positions.

[Emma]

Yeah.

[Gia]

Are going to keep those positions. And if they see you out, like, I was strict.

[Emma]

There's no benefit of the doubt.

[Gia]

There's like, if you see a younger girl partying, it's like, like, get your bleep together.

[Evie]

Yeah.

[Gia]

Like, you're not supposed to party. We're not partying because we're training how to rush you, and so you better not be partying.

[Evie]

Yeah.

[Emma]

It's so true. Like, no one wants to be, like, dry that week, but everyone is. And then. Yeah. And they see younger people. Yeah. You're like.

[Evie]

Yeah.

[Gia]

Another thing that I realized after rushing was that you're not necessarily dropped from a sorority based on that they didn't like you. A lot of it has to do with they know that you're gonna go another house and they're giving the spot to someone else. You could think that, like, you had an amazing conversation with someone, but they just know that you're not gonna choose this sorority in the end. And so they're gonna go with another girl that they would rather have.

[Emma]

Okay, well, here's what I'm gonna say is I think this is super specific to the school because we weren't able to, like, hand pick who gets her. It's all about scores that everyone gave. So we weren't like, oh, they're probably gonna go them. I'm gonna give them a lower score. You just gave them a score based off of their you know, your experience with them and then it was all about the cumulative, you know, score that they had and if they chose you again.

[Evie]

It's such an interesting point though, because what you brought up, Emma, because like then what we were talking about earlier with if knowing someone helps, then it also can not help you. Because if you're best friends with a girl in one sorority and you're trying to get into another, but they know that's your best friend, sister, cousin, whatever, then maybe they don't take you because they're like, we don't have a shot with her. Even though a lot of girls are always open. Yeah, some girls want to do something different than their best friend, sister, whatever. So like, it's really an interesting conversation of does it help you or hurt you? And I feel like it defers.

[Gia]

Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

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[Commercial Announcer]

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[Daisy Kent]

Ten athletes will face the toughest job.

[Gia]

Interview in fitness that will push past physical and mental breaking points.

[Emma]

You are the fittest of the fit.

[Gia]

Only one of you will leave here with an IFIT contract for three $250,000.

[Daisy Kent]

This is where mindset comes in.

[Gia]

Someone will be eliminated.

[Daisy Kent]

Pressure is coming down.

[Commercial Announcer]

Trainer games on Prime Video January 8th. Watch the trailer on trainergames.com Season 2.

[Daisy Kent]

Of Unrivaled Basketball is here and the talent is unreal. Paige Beckers, Nafiza Collier, Kelsey Plumb, Brianna Stewart and more are back to redefine the game. Unrivaled basketball season two, sponsored by Samsung Galaxy, tips off January 5th on the on TNT, TruTV and HBO Max.

[IBM Representative]

So let me get this straight. Your company has data here, there, and everywhere, but your AI can't use the data because it's here, there, and everywhere? Seems like something's missing. Every business has unique data. IBM helps your AI access your data wherever it lives. To change how you do business, let's create smarter business IBM.

[Emma]

Emma, for your school for at Boulder, was it about cumulative score or someone? But you're kind of talking about, like, you could pick and choose kind of who was coming in when it came to that final round, like, we're gonna give her a bid or not versus us. It was just about who are the top girls based off their score at the top of our list.

[Gia]

Well, I mean, it was also the amount of people that we were allowed to take back each day. And so then it came down to they didn't. These people all got great scores, but we had so many great scores. So then there was lots of conversations. We had a lot of conversations with, like, our standards of the sorority and the recruitment chairs. In terms of, like, who, what of these great girls do we get to pick? And then, you know, when it comes down to pref, then it's like you put all your best eggs in one basket, and then you don't even know if everyone's gonna pick you.

[Emma]

Yeah.

[Gia]

I will say that my sorority for the longest time had a 99% retention rate.

[Evie]

That's awesome.

[Gia]

Pretty great.

[Emma]

You guys were prepping hard. Were people crying? Be honest. Like, people cry.

[Evie]

I would like to say I was a great buffer.

[Gia]

People cry. During our pref, we have one of the most insane preps. I bawled my eyes out my senior and junior year prep because we make it very.

[Evie]

So do we.

[Gia]

Emotional sisterhood special.

[Evie]

To speak my senior year. It was so special, too.

[Podcast Host]

Twins.

[Emma]

Yay.

[Evie]

Yeah, that was special.

[Emma]

I always sang during prep.

[Evie]

Are you serious?

[Gia]

You're a little musical girl.

[IBM Representative]

What?

[Emma]

Make him sing.

[Evie]

Can you sing for us?

[Gia]

Easton's listening.

[Evie]

Easton just sat upstairs.

[Emma]

We sang. We sang, guys. We sang acapella Home. You know my humbertin son. Yeah, let me come home.

[Gia]

You're so good.

[Emma]

Home is whenever I'm with you.

[Gia]

Oh, my God, are you serious right now? Wait, you're so.

[Evie]

If my life depended on her. Oh, my God. You are one of many talents.

[Emma]

Okay?

[Gia]

You have one of many talents.

[Emma]

You are blowouts included.

[Gia]

You have whatever sorority girls are smart.

[Evie]

Sort of art can do everything.

[Emma]

Okay, wait, I have another tip on the Instagram thing. Okay, you need to follow. This is something that I think is important. You need to follow every sorority at your school. Even if you don't care what some of the sororities are doing, you gotta follow every. That was something I would look for. I'm like, are they just following the top ones or they following everyone?

[Gia]

To second this, do not talk ass about other sororities because other people are around you. Other people are.

[Evie]

And they will rat you out. They will rat you out.

[Gia]

In the rogams are smarties. The rogams are also in sororities. And if they hear girls talking about their sorority or other sororities, it gets reported to panel, and then you get dropped immediately. And if you think it's just, like, you're disappointed or you don't want to go see a house at my school was required that you visited every single house on the first day in every single house that brought you back.

[Emma]

And even if you didn't want to go show up.

[Evie]

Oh, yeah.

[Emma]

Every year, if you didn't show up for a round because you were like, I'm just gonna be this. And if you. If you were, wait, we've had a conversation. We've had a episode about this called throwing around. If you threw around or purposefully did not show up to one, you were dropped from recruitment entirely.

[Evie]

Yeah, no, that was. Yeah, ours was the same. I don't know why I reacted like that, because first I was like, oh, my gosh, that's so many. But then I was, wait, we all did that.

[Emma]

Yeah. Emma's trying to eat her Kit Kat.

[Evie]

I actually have, like, another topic.

[Emma]

Okay.

[Evie]

What I didn't know how to gauge, like, going into recruitment was, like, how to really know what sorority was your best fit. And I'm curious what you guys were looking for. Like, were you, like, hoping to connect with one girl specifically? Because I think I've definitely heard that a lot of people will connect really well with an older girl, and then they go that sorority because of it. They have an insane bond, and then they're a freshman, and the older girl's a senior. And it's like, I didn't, like, like, connect with the girls like that in my own PC, but I connected with the Senior that's now graduating. So I think it's really hard to know, like, exactly how to know what's your right fit. So I'm curious, like, how. What you. How you guys knew.

[Gia]

So, my sorority, when we were going through recruitment, there was a lot of talk in just have trust in the process in terms of, like, if an older girl's recruiting you and you don't think you're gonna get along with the PC, perhaps, or not even get along, but just, like, you're not friendly with them, just trust that the older girls are recruiting the younger girls that think we all have the same minds and have the same interests. Like, it's all one collective group of girls that kind of have similar likes and dislikes and values. For the most part.

[Emma]

Yeah. I think that whichever you feel like aligns with your values the most. And you. Like. I remember I was at pref, and I was. There was one sorority where I was like, these girls actually seem really cool, and they actually seem like they genuinely really like each other. And the other one, I was like, this seems like a little bit of BS that I think they're all like, these are just crocodile tears or whatever. I just think, like, trust your gut on it. But also, I do think that if there are girls in the sorority, if you feel like, you know, you're really interested in one subject or interested in one area or whatever, and you can see that kind of represented within the sorority, I do think that's important. Like, if. If, you know, you feel like the girls are pursuing their own things or they're all seem really smart or really academically inclined, like, I think that's important too. But I have another.

[Gia]

Well, to finish that off, I have this one liner that my big told me when she was prepping me, which then I passed on to my little.

[Evie]

I'm really curious what.

[Gia]

I was prepping her, and it was, pick a house where you feel comfortable going number two in.

[Evie]

That's not what I was saying.

[Emma]

That was a lot less cheesy than I thought you were gonna say.

[Evie]

Yeah, I'm not expecting it.

[Gia]

If you can, like, picture, like, a house where you can, like, sit on the toilet and poop.

[Evie]

Oh, my goodness.

[Gia]

And, like, people are around, you pick that house. And I was like, we got the.

[Emma]

Picture the first time.

[Evie]

That was the last thing I was expecting.

[Emma]

Shelby was like, pick a house. Pick a home, not a house.

[Evie]

Yeah, mine's a lot cheesier than that, but.

[Emma]

Shelby, give us your one liner.

[Evie]

Well, my best friend from high school prepped me. And I remember she was like, I was torn. Even though my best friend was in the house I was at, I was torn. And I remember she was like, you need to, like, look around at the girls in line and, like, the girls you're talking to before entering, turn your next in the house. And, like, do you, like, see yourself being in a PC with them? She's like, at the end of the day, this is what I brought up earlier. You can talk to all these older girls, and they can be amazing, but it's gonna be the girls in your PC that are your best friends. And I remember her being like, you need to, like, look, like, look around this room right now. Like, do you see yourself being in a PC with the girls in this room? And I remember that was a big game changer for me.

[Emma]

Okay. Because I. I do think this is a really good point. And this leads me to my next question, because it is all about the PC. It. I know we can trust the older girls, bridesmaids, like, you really live in the house with. And I do think that, like, sororities fluctuate based off PC. The overall vibe tends to be consistent. But, like, I do think it matters. Your PC. And so here's my question to you guys. Especially since we all rushed, like, right when we got to school or even before, if you made friends, you know, prior to rush or during rush, do you think it's a good idea to go a sorority just because. Not just because, but say you're torn and you have more friends that you know or girls that you know that you get along with going one sorority. Should you go that sorority?

[Gia]

Well, I can't answer that, because my roommate and my best friend at the time. Best friend now, not best friend at the moment, because we just met each other. We wouldn't tell each other which houses because we really liked each other so much. And so we were hoping that we would end up in the same sorority based on our interests and based on the people that we wanted to surround ourselves with.

[Evie]

Did you?

[Gia]

And we did.

[Commercial Announcer]

Wow.

[Gia]

So that's.

[Evie]

And that's such a sign.

[Gia]

Yeah. So I feel like, you know, if you make the wrong decision, you need to go a sorority that none of your friends are in. Who cares? It happens to people.

[Evie]

You can still be their best friend.

[Emma]

Yeah.

[Gia]

But also, just go with your gut and, like, you're gonna have a great time no matter what.

[Evie]

Sometimes people, like, like having their sorority be something kind of separate than their friend group, and it's, like, where they get involved in leadership and certain other aspects. And it's kind of like, doesn't always have to be your entire friend group and your sorority also. Because it's fun to bring your friends as dates.

[Gia]

Yeah, for sure.

[Emma]

Yeah. My best friend from college was my freshman year roommate. And we. We went different sororities.

[IBM Representative]

We actually.

[Emma]

But me and all my roommates prepped. Prepped the same sorority, but we all ended up in different ones.

[Gia]

Oh, that's crazy.

[Emma]

Because what she did, the one that she, like that we all prepped. And then I ended up in the one that I was, like, supposed to end up in. But we had all kind of agreed that we were. So sometimes, you know, fate takes over where the sorority system takes over and might separate you. But I think I. I do think. I don't know, especially for everyone going into rush right now, you know, winter semester, I think if you know a group of girls or already have a group of girls that you're friends with and you are all, I don't know, interested in this in the same sorority. I don't think it's a bad thing for you to go all go that same sorority.

[Gia]

No, I don't either.

[Evie]

I honestly would give the advice of what Emma did, and I would not tall each other.

[Gia]

Yeah.

[Evie]

Yeah. That's what I would want to do if I was going into second semester rush, which I've never done before, but I would want to.

[Gia]

Yeah.

[Evie]

Not tell each other because I would hope that we'd all end up in the same sorority.

[Gia]

Yeah. And kind of it works out.

[Evie]

And they're still going to be your friends if they go a different sorority. So you should never feel, like, pressure to all go the same sorority.

[Gia]

Yeah.

[Evie]

They'll still be your best friends.

[Gia]

Yeah.

[Emma]

It's true. The whole. I think the whole truth of everything, though, is, like, nothing, none of it is that deep. Being in a sorority is really fun. But also. And getting involved as much as you want or whatever and make the best friends you can, but also getting. Having friends in different sororities or not in any sororities at all. It's also important too.

[Daisy Kent]

Yeah.

[Evie]

I really do feel strongly that everyone ends up where they're supposed to be, like.

[Emma]

Yeah.

[Evie]

And I know that's easier for me to say. And probably you guys, as people who probably had a good rush experience from what you guys are saying. It sounds like. But it just like, even when I feel like someone, it's, like, sad because I know my sorority's dropping someone that I really liked. It's like, I know they're gonna be happy where they're going next, and they usually always are.

[Gia]

Yeah.

[Evie]

So I do feel like it's like Evie said, there's a lot of. I don't want to put too much pressure on yourself, like, just because you think you want one sorority. Like, so many girls end up in a different sorority, and they're like, I can't even imagine what my life would be like if I was in that sorority. Like. Like, because I love my life right now and the girls I met through my sorority that maybe you didn't want at first. And I just do feel like everything happens for a reason in that process.

[Daisy Kent]

Yeah.

[Emma]

Also, I think my last parting piece of advice is that if you. If you end up on bid day and you end up in the sorority that you didn't prep or didn't necessarily want, slap on a smile on your face.

[Evie]

Agreed.

[Emma]

And be happy of it, because I still remember. I still remember the girls that showed up to our bid day and did not seem excited and, like, were almost, like, shedding a tear because they wanted to be another house. And you never forget that because that makes you feel so icky. And I just. Just keep an open mind. Don't get. Just. And if you end up in the sorority that you don't want, there's a reason behind it.

[Podcast Host]

And. And.

[Daisy Kent]

And.

[Emma]

And also, it's really not that deep. Like, you're gonna make friends anywhere. Just. Just go in. Especially if you stay open and go in just with positivity. That's what I would say.

[Gia]

Yeah. So for those rushing this January or February, whenever second semester rushes, go in with a big smile and a positive attitude, and you're gonna kill it.

[IBM Representative]

Yeah.

[Evie]

You are gonna teach up where you're supposed to be.

[Emma]

Yeah. Sisters for life.

[Gia]

Sisters for life. And that'll do it for Dirty Rush.

[Evie]

Bye.

[Gia]

Bye.

[Commercial Announcer]

Did you know Microsoft has officially ended Support for Windows 10? Upgrade to Windows 11 with an LG Gram laptop? Voted PCMag's Reader's Choice top laptop brand for 2025. Thin and ultra lightweight, the LG Gram keeps you productive anywhere. And Windows 11 gives you access to free security updates and ongoing feature upgrades. Visit lgusa.com iheart for great seasonal savings on LG Gram laptops with Windows 11. PCMag reader's choice. Used with permission. All rights reserved. This is Julian Edelman from Dudes on Dudes with Gronk and Jewels. Sunday mornings, I've got my game day ritual. Coffee, lucky socks, and now new morning uncrustable sandwiches. It's all about that 12 gram protein boost with the new Uncrustables Bright Eyed Berry or Up and apple flavors. Bright Eye Berries got a feisty receiver energy up an apple. Your classic Do it all tight end, soft, pillowy, packed with protein and easy enough for Gronk to grab from the freezer. Whether you're on the couch, driving to the tailgate or heading to the locker room, New Morning Uncrustable Sandwiches are the MVP of snacks. Your new Sunday kickoff ritual starts here with New Morning Uncrustable sandwiches packed with 12 grams of protein.

[Daisy Kent]

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[Commercial Announcer]

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[Gia]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Daisy Kent]

Guaranteed human.