Recruitment Process
Recruitment or “rush” is an amazing experience and process for incoming freshman and current freshman at the University of Washington. At the University of Washington, the recruitment process for fraternities is also unique in the fact that it is informal, meaning that rush can take place anytime from the beginning of spring quarter all the way to the beginning of the new school year at the start of fall. Besides taking place over such a large span of time, informal rush also means that you as the “rushee” have the opportunity to pick and choose what fraternities you visit and see what you want whether it is based on the brotherhood, academics, values, or a combination of any of those. During informal rush, the rush chairs can also contact you whether they get your name from the rush list or as a recommendation from someone they know. All in all, informal recruitment is about getting yourself out there and finding out what you like and what you truly believe in.
With all of that being said, what the typical rush process looks like for a “rushee” is that you will first contact the rush chairs of the houses you are interested in, or vice versa where the rush chairs contact you. After initially getting in touch with each other, houses will typically offer a house tour to show “rushees” the fraternity itself and what the fraternity has to offer as a whole. This gives you the opportunity to experience the place you will be living in the next few years. Pending on your initial impression and what the rush chairs are looking for in potential new members, the rush chairs may offer to have you out again on something known as a rush trip. Rush trips are great experiences that are paid for by the fraternities and give the rush chairs the opportunity to take potential new members out in a social setting and really get to know the “rushees.” Rush trips can range from anything to lunch or dinner with some brothers, to even exciting things like Mariners games and go-karting.
After getting to know some of the brothers and seeing what rush is all about through tours and rush trips, next comes the bidding process. The bidding process is put into the fraternities’ hands on whether or not they feel you would be a good
potential new member for the fraternity. A bid essentially offers the “rushee” the opportunity to become a new member of the fraternity as a pledge and learn what Greek Life is all about. After being offered a bid, the “rushee” has the opportunity to sign with the house that he thinks will suit him best. After signing, the rush process is complete. The “rushee” is now officially a member of the house he has signed and gets to
experience Greek life at its finest.
At Chi Psi, we encourage everyone to rush several fraternities at the University of Washington. The experience is like nothing you have ever experienced before and is a great way to start making connections on campus. There certainly is a house for everyone, and as Bob Dylan once said “It’s not a house, it’s a home.”
With all of that being said, what the typical rush process looks like for a “rushee” is that you will first contact the rush chairs of the houses you are interested in, or vice versa where the rush chairs contact you. After initially getting in touch with each other, houses will typically offer a house tour to show “rushees” the fraternity itself and what the fraternity has to offer as a whole. This gives you the opportunity to experience the place you will be living in the next few years. Pending on your initial impression and what the rush chairs are looking for in potential new members, the rush chairs may offer to have you out again on something known as a rush trip. Rush trips are great experiences that are paid for by the fraternities and give the rush chairs the opportunity to take potential new members out in a social setting and really get to know the “rushees.” Rush trips can range from anything to lunch or dinner with some brothers, to even exciting things like Mariners games and go-karting.
After getting to know some of the brothers and seeing what rush is all about through tours and rush trips, next comes the bidding process. The bidding process is put into the fraternities’ hands on whether or not they feel you would be a good
potential new member for the fraternity. A bid essentially offers the “rushee” the opportunity to become a new member of the fraternity as a pledge and learn what Greek Life is all about. After being offered a bid, the “rushee” has the opportunity to sign with the house that he thinks will suit him best. After signing, the rush process is complete. The “rushee” is now officially a member of the house he has signed and gets to
experience Greek life at its finest.
At Chi Psi, we encourage everyone to rush several fraternities at the University of Washington. The experience is like nothing you have ever experienced before and is a great way to start making connections on campus. There certainly is a house for everyone, and as Bob Dylan once said “It’s not a house, it’s a home.”