rush

No, not at all, especially for PNM's who have made connections in houses. It can work out really well.

I mean it can... Some actives may think you weren't good enough to get a bid the first time and won't give a change this time around while other actives may be more understanding. It all just depends.

just be honest if/when someone asks, but with discretion. If someone says "have you rushed before", be honest and say yes, but if your reason why you dropped was something like "I was only invited back to houses I thought I was too good for" (we've all had these thoughts run through our minds, even if deep down we know it's not true, but we've all been young and foolish before), then just be vague. "I wanted to focus on school", "I had a family matter to attend to that caused me to drop out", or something along those lines is a perfectly acceptable answer.

Pretty much yeah... If you took a bid a dropped it doesn't look for you no matter the reason! "Family problems" makes people wonder. "Focus on school" makes us think you couldn't hack it. It WILL BE AWKWARD AT YOUR OLD HOUSE. If asked just say "I look back and kknd od regret it but I knew in my heart it wasn't the best fit"
We don't take kindly to people wasting bids some girls would do anything for. If it was a bottom house it will be assumed you thought you were too good fornthem

It definitely colors our impression of you. Maybe you just got unlucky and were dropped by all the houses but more often than not it means you weren't satisfied with the houses you had left and decided to drop out of the process early. When we have so many tough cuts to make it, it is easy for houses to use re-rushing as an excuse to drop you.

You need to be able to answer this question - what about you has SIGNIFICANTLY changed since last fall that makes you believe you'll have a better rush this year? Did you rush without recs but now you have strong ones? Were you a grade risk but made a 4.0 freshman year? Were you shy/awkward and popped out of your "shell" last year? Did you become legit bff's with a tribe of sorority women last year? Were you a gigantic snob who withdrew once your favorite top tier houses cut you because you were too good for the houses that invited you back (and now you've realized every house is strong and thriving)?

If you haven't changed much and didn't make a ton of close friends, expect a worse rush than last year.

I've seen girls who pledged old row go back the next year and pledge new room.
And I've seen girls who pledge new row go back and pledge old row.
It all depends on if you made friends during the year with girls in a house. They're the ones who are going to advocate for you and push their sisters to accept you.
Now, if you had to drop out of school or something, that's a different matter.