sorority connections??

Girls will go through rush that no no one in a house and get a bid. Make sure your grades, presentation, attitude, conversation skills, social media presence, etc. are perfect and you have a chance in any house.

Yes. You can get a bid anywhere not having connections, but that means you have to have the rest of the "full package." Good grades, involvement, etc. Especially if you want Old Row. If you're lacking in a category, such as not having good grades, then it is important to have good connections so girls can fight for you if they believe you're a strong asset to their house. Don't misunderstand though, even if your GPA isn't the highest and you don't have any connections, you can still get a bid! Your chances will just decrease and it's on you to impress them when you go through rush!

what's the obsession with "higher tier/top tier" geez

Have you even been accepted to bama yet? Little early to be freaking out

Grades matter, an awesome resume matters, good recs matter. It all matters. Start working on securing these. Many people will say it doesn't matter, but it does. Those who are easy to cut are the ones who are missing something above or they have a bad rep.

Can you get a bid without any of these or missing some of them? Maybe, by why take the chance and start the whole process below the level playing field?

Connections certainly help. You get a bid in a house where there are people pulling for you. The more people pulling for you, the better your chance of getting a bid. Do people get a bid without connections? Yes, they can. However, just like the other things, connections help.

I am far OOS and I am in OR. I also took three OR to pref. With a full card every round, I will say not to believe the hype on here. Most of the houses really brought it to rush. They are all good. I really liked many of the houses that others say are middle/lower tier on here. There were even a few top tier that I didn't like at all. One thing I found reassuring was that some of the houses I didn't like early on but by the end, after talking to other sisters in different rounds, I loved them. I could have seen myself in many of the houses.

Work on what you can control and let go of the rest. Also, be open minded enough to accept a bid from any house if you want to go greek.

Just know that even with perfect grades, stellar resume, good looks, great conversation, perfect clothes and shoes, and all recs. if you are unknown or from OOS the odds are against you. If you were like most of the girls in my tent and those I met, you will suffer deep cuts and then be left with the houses that this site likes to tell you are middle and bottom tier. Hard to believe that they are bottom tier with such strong PNM who have all those things that they are telling you to have above. Doesn't really matter how great you are, if you look at the bid lists and the numbers of PNM you will be opening a bid to a mid or lower ranked house. If you are good with that, pay the money and jump through the hoops. If not, go to camp 1831 or one of the honors actions and meet plenty of cool GDIs and save the money and letdown. The narrative that OOS girls from the North or West have a chance is true but it is like winning a lottery. And just like the lottery, it is not always as good as it seems to get through in those OR houses as an outsider.

solution: don’t worry about getting into a top tier house. worry about getting into a house that you love and click with. if you belong in a top tier house, you’ll get in whether you have connections or not. please don’t worry about the tier though. you’ll be so much happier if you go with a house where you feel like you belong.

Why do you have your heart set on "higher tier" houses if you don't even know girls in any of them??

Go through rush with an open mind and each day rank the houses where YOU feel the most comfortable the highest. PNM's who do this - rather than focus on "tiers" - usually have the most successful rushes.

The truth is every house at Bama is filled with gorgeous, smart, and involved girls. Every house has similar traditions and events - i.e., Bid Day, New Member Retreat, Big/Lil, Parents weekends, formals, participation in Greek events, volunteer work, opportunity to live in the house, etc. The average house has like 400 members so certainly you can find your bff's in any group that large.

Now get off this site & go enjoy your senior year! Keep your grades high, your social media clean, and your reputation impeccable. Start making a list of women who you can ask for recs in the early spring.

Connections are huge. I wasn't an outstanding PNM in any way but ended up in a "top tier OR" house despite being far OOS. I'm cute but not gorgeous, have good grades but I'm no valedictorian, my only legacy was to a "lower" NR, etc. I'm a pretty good conversationalist but so are lots of girls. All but two OR houses dropped me after first round, and after philanthropy I only had my current house along with some awesome NR. I LOVE my house, I had wanted it from the first day of rush. But, I know I only got in because my parents' friend's daughter is in said House. Not that they would have disliked me otherwise but especially by pref when these OR houses already have so many tops picked out, I probably would have slipped through the cracks. I talked to her first round, had great conversations there everyday and felt at home immediately, but I know she pulled me through. Girls in my Rho Chi who were similar type PNMs got dropped from OR pretty quickly.

That being said, this girl that pulled me through was telling me about her own rush the other day and she had 0 connections, 2 NR legacies, and preffed 2 OR and a "top" NR. (She is super pretty though, had lots of recs, and a higher GPA so maybe that's why.)

Stop being obsessed about rank. Find girls that you like and who like you and you'll be happy. Start out obsessed with "high tier" houses and recruitment will break your heart. Even if you get your "high tier" house by some fluke, you're not going to be happy there if you picked it for the wrong reasons.