how much of rush is superficial?

I can honestly say that almost all houses will take a girl if she's drop dead gorgeous. It's shallow and vain, but appearances play a roll in reputation and how other people see the sorority.

However, there are a certain couple houses here that recruit solely on appearances. I'm not going to name names because you can figure out who by going through older threads. And in said houses, you can definitely feel the lack of sisterhood. I mean, what you put in is what you get out, but in general, these houses focus more on the social aspect of college.

I suggest rushing. You never know where you'll end up and things can surprise you. You can walk into a house known for rushing based on looks and feel that every girl in said house is genuine and sincere... Every PNM is looking for something different, and reputations and stereotypes shouldn't hold you back from finding a home that wants you for you. If you stay true to yourself and if you listen to your heart when going through rush then you can avoid ending up in a house that you feel isn't a good fit. Good luck!

Post 1 is perfect. Grades and resume is important but so much of recruitment ends up being about intangibles and chemistry -- you just can't control that or anticipate how it all will unfold. Just do you and roll tide.

Also, if great girls are being cut by houses, ask yourself it those are really great houses... or if you just think so because of dumb ranking sites?

Another thing to keep in mind that often just because a girl has a great resume doesn't mean she's a great overall pnm. A girl can have a great gpa but might be rude or snobby to an active. Or a girl can have tons of activities from high school but just didn't have great conversation skills. If you can't connect with an active, then they're not going to keep you. Likewise, I've seen many older girls fight for pnms with lower gpas because they had great conversations. Rush can be hard but I promise that not all of us have a superficial agenda.

All of it.

Then don't pledge Phi Mu, ZTA or Alpha Phi, because literally everything you're describing is those 3 houses.