From the Wires: Credible or Crap?
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August 16, 2008, 4:57 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized
Filed under: Uncategorized
An incoming freshman wonders:
“OK….so I have started to figure out there are tiers of sorority life. With Kappa, Tridelt, and Theta on top and then it looks like DG and Aphi. After that there are middle ones with Zeta, GammaPhi, and PiPhi. At the bottom is ChiO, A Chi O and KD and DZ. But, what is it that makes one “top three” or bottom tier? I don’t seem to get it. Is it just by looks? Or who is the biggest partiers?”
Do you care to explain it to her? What do you think of her list? Credible or Crap?
-RR
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rumor royalty 
While KD and DZ might be lower than DG and APhi, they are DEFINATELY higher up than Chi-O and AChi-O.
Comment by Anonymous August 16, 2008 @ 5:26 pmThere are two different perspectives: The Powers That Be and your own.
The Powers That Be probably have that tiering, but Pi Phi is a lot closer to DG and A Phi than it is to Zeta or Gamma Phi. Alpha Chi and KD are also above Chi O and DZ, only slightly behind Gamma Phi and Zeta.
However, each Greek has his/her own perspective. I’m pretty sure that Chi Phis don’t worship at the Altar of Theta. I’m also pretty sure that DU puts Pi Phi in their top 3. The girls do it too – KD has this mysterious affection for Delta Chi.
If you join a house, you’ll probably fall in love with the house you are paired with the most. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck making decisions based on that one girl who you know who is probably, possibly in Tri-Delt and is a total bitch.
Comment by Wonderboy August 16, 2008 @ 6:00 pmShort version: The Powers That Be (RR and self-deprecating non-Greeks) have set up the tiering system so you know how to respond to someone who tells you what house they’re in. Those who are in the Greek system are going to prefer the houses with the nicest, hottest, funnest (so not a word).
panhel hates you, rr. everything they’ve tried to emphasize – sisterhood, finding out for yourself where you should be, being open minded – you’ve pretty much undone for these too eager freshmen girls. Since rush is mostly superficial anyways, you’ve only hurt, not helped by all this type casting. Lots of girls will be crying come january because of their placements in sororities that you don’t love, and they’ll look in hindsight at how stupid they’ve been for caring so much about stereotypes that don’t reflect the girls of each house you’ve so quickly passed judgement on.
Comment by Anonymous August 16, 2008 @ 6:28 pmcredible, except maybe a phi before dg
Comment by Anonymous August 16, 2008 @ 6:31 pmIt’s about 85% looks, 10% money, 5% how much they put out.
But aside from obvious outliers (Chi O’s average weight), there’s very little actual difference between the houses.
Comment by Anonymous August 16, 2008 @ 6:59 pmzeta is NOT on par with pi phi and gamma phi. youll see naive freshie…
Comment by Anonymous August 16, 2008 @ 7:10 pmlooks is a big part of it but so is class. Most of the girls in the top tier have a lot of money.
Comment by Anonymous August 16, 2008 @ 7:24 pma bunch of things. Generally, yes, the prettiest girls do join the “top tier” but that by no means says that everyone in the “bottom” is ugly. Not at all. And at every single house you’ll find girls who love to go out and get blackout drunk. There are gorgeous girls in non-top-tier houses because they just feel they fit in better with the overall personality of the house. That’s something you can’t figure out yourself until rush, so don’t let anyone make up your mind for you! A lot of stuff you’ll here from frat guys during NSW is stuff they heard without ever really being proven- bad and good rumors get passed along but keep in mind, just rumors.
Comment by Anonymous August 16, 2008 @ 7:49 pmthat hierarchy is 100% legit. that’s how it’s been, that’s how it’s gonna stay
Comment by Anonymous August 16, 2008 @ 7:59 pmEven though I hate to sound preachy, it’s important to remember that the hierarchy exists as a result of certain people’s opinions as to what makes a “good” sorority: hot, social and fun girls. But every sorority is a good one in its own way i.e. A Chi O prides itself on its mega-involvement in philanthropy, TriDelts make their mark by having girls who know how to party and have a good time and A Phi looks for girls who are super-nice and friendly. It’s all a matter of what you’re looking for in a sorority, but I think most people would agree that the hierarchy exists mainly for the people who judge sororities based on how attractive its women are and whether they’re regulars on the social circuit.
Comment by Anonymous August 16, 2008 @ 8:11 pmits determined by so much more than who is hot…what frats you’re known to hang out with, how fun your social events are and how hard you party, how many people go to your philanthropies, and what girls you get during rush…
Comment by Anonymous August 16, 2008 @ 9:27 pmthe top 5 sororities are all completely different, here are the stereotypes:
theta–hot and they know it
kappa–rich, east coast, best gossip
tri delt–know how to throw a party
dg–overall fun and chill
aphi–pretty cute and friendly
but there are girls in each of these houses who dont fit into that mold.
i.e.
Comment by Anonymous August 16, 2008 @ 11:39 pmgirls in theta that arent that cute
girls in kappa that arent that crazy
girls in tri delt that dont drink a lot
girls in dg that arent that cool
girls in aphi that get sloppy
it also depends on what personalities you like aka
Comment by Anonymous August 16, 2008 @ 11:45 pmtheta: hot girls who are all really nice to your face
tridelt: hot girls who party, are very fun, and have spunk (not turning into soccer moms anytime soon)
kappa: hot girls who have money, think it’s important, and care about labels or else they wouldn’t be in kappa. the house has no unity and most girls in it complain about its clique-ness
a phi: pretty girls who are really sweet (maybe two saccharine for people with spunk)
d g: jewishy version of a mix between the top three
wow why are people so into putting aphi in this top 5 business? i dont ever see any aphis out. they be nice, but come on
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 12:00 amHELL YEAH GAMMA PHI IS BEFORE PI PHI
better parties, hotter girls
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 12:07 amthe people hyping up pi phi are pi phis themselves…or in du and they dont count
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 12:10 amwhoever writes rr… pi phi??? come on… they are awkward as f***… and all girls that go through rush, they know it…
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 12:11 am12:26- KD recruited at the same level as Chi O and A Chi O. Tons of cross rushing. Clearly girls don’t think they’re DEFINITELY higher than them. And DZ “might be lower” than DG and APhi? Is that a joke?
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 12:14 amin response to the question about a phi’s pledge’s this year — they seem “random” to everyone else because we don’t rush a particular “look” or social scene. a phi’s got girls who go to Keg, girls who just don’t drink at all, girls who are traditionally gorgeous and girls who aren’t; what we DO have in common is that we’re all “really sweet” and “nice.” apparently that’s what this chapter is going for, and i for one have no problem with that. i would like to see our girls go out a little more though..
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 12:22 amWhile A Chi O is by no means anywhere near the top tier, they are also nowhere near Chi-O and KD. The only difference is that the girls that suck in A Chi O suck a lot more than those in KD.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 12:27 amI have to agree with 1:28, MC – I’m all about reading your blog and enjoying it as a guilty pleasure, but think about the negative impact this stuff is having on impressionable soon-to-be-freshman girls.
This blog is great for people who’ve already spent time at NU and know what the social/Greek scene is really like. But I’m genuinely concerned as to what is going to happen when freshman girls go through rush under the delusion that they have to be in the ‘top 3’ or else face social purgatory… because anyone who has actually been to NU knows that that isn’t true at all. I’m sure YOU don’t think it’s true either, M, but that’s the image you’re projecting to your youngest readers.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 12:32 amhey anon 1:59, how about you go sit on a fork and spin. oh wait, let me guess, you’re so skinny your sorry ass won’t fit across one.
seriously, so some sororities have more heavy girls than others, but this kind of bitch attitude towards it is why other sororities *cough THETA* have plumbing problems, other sororities have girls who are walking skeletons with boob implants *cough KKG*, and eating disorders are on the rise across the country (RR, manorexic much?)
also, look at yourself in 10 years after all that dieting has “paid off”, or wait, let’s just look now at top-tier seniors … what do we find: premature wrinkles, fried out hair, saggy boobs, and orange glo fake bake. yum. go GREEK!
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 12:44 amkappa theta tridelt…
dg aphi pi phi
gamma zeta
and thats it rest suck
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 1:29 ama phi does NOT come before dg. sorry anon 1:31
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 2:04 amA Phi is being completely overrated. they were requested 3rd most (after tridelt and theta) by girls who were rushing in 08. above kappa (who came in fifth, btw) and DG. Hows that for your top 3?
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 2:32 amI’d agree that while KD and DZ aren’t considered top sororities, they are on no way the same level as ChiO and AChiO. Those are definitely the most awkward girls on this entire campus. During rush, every conversation made me want to sprint for the door. At least DZ/KD had fun, nice, NORMAL girls who could carry on a conversation.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 2:55 amTiers are more like:
Top:
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 3:10 amTheta, Tridelt, Kappa
Middle:
DG, Pi Phi, A Phi
Gamma Phi, Zeta, KD
Bottom:
A Chi O, DZ, Chi O
Zeta? MIDDLE? Really? Definitely lower tier.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 3:33 amIn the lower tiered sororities, a lot of the girls never thought they would rush. Some used to absolutely HATE everything they thought Greek life stood for. They just didn’t care that much about it. That doesn’t mean they don’t like their sorority, it just means its not as high of a priority in their life. It’s just a matter of what you’re looking to get out of Greek life.
Not to say that your top tiers are more like your stereotypical sorority girls [it’s still NU, lets be real], but they are more likely to care about this RR style lookhotter-partyharder hierarchy. Not everyone does of course. There are Kappas I know that actually had a lower ranked soror as their first choice.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 3:57 ameveryone who’s saying top 3 are rich girls, or kappa is rich girls, take a look around… damn near EVERYONE at northwestern is a rich kid.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 4:21 amaphi – dg on tranquilizers. no comparison.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 5:18 ami’m not understanding all of this pi phi hype and talk about them being on top. all the pi phis i know (and i know quite a few) in their last pledge class did not have them as their first choice after pref night and said they’d be content settling there only if they didn’t get their first choice. i know for a fact there was a lot of new pi phis that wanted a phi/gamma phi/dg as their first choices. pi phi (and zeta for that matter) should be placed after all 3 of those houses.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 5:28 amanonymous at 7:32-
I’m MK, not MC.
Nice try though.
Comment by Rumor Royalty August 17, 2008 @ 6:36 amlet’s look at the statistics, shall we?
Houses that were requested the most, in order. end this b.s and just look at the facts.
Tridelt
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 6:56 amTheta
Aphi
DG
Kappa
you know what i think determines a “top” sorority? the women who want to join it! just look at the numbers — the sororities that were most request were theta, tridelt, a phi, kappa and dg. THAT is what tells you who’s on top regardless of stereotypes and all of that other bull shit.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 7:28 ami agree with 2:28 and 1:56. it’s about how much it’s wanted, and well….
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 1:11 pmtridelt, theta, alpha phi, dg, and kappa…
was the order
i can confirm that list… and i’m not even in dg or aphi
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 1:31 pmOK list, but a phi is more with pi phi and gphi, and zeta is with the bottom tier
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 2:31 pmAND if we want to put the low-tier/high-tier to rest, numbers wise, chi o was on par with a phi and gamma phi first two rounds of rush, and zeta was on the bottom the whole way through. FACT, I couldn’t MAKE something that random up. Yet people think zeta is in the middle and chi o is on the bottom. just goes to show that fact doesn’t always match up with hype/stereotype.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 3:19 pmpiphi had something like a 95 percent retention rate in rush. that is why there is hype. suck it.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 4:01 pmI think old stereotypes that use to apply to the “top houses” have been shaken up a bit over the last few years – and this has opened up room for more than just a “top 3” hierarchy. Theta has a lot more “hot” girls, which Kappa use to get. Kappa has become a lot more jewish (their rising junior class), which dg use to hold that title – in turn, dg has fewer jewish girls, and more well-rounded, “fun, cute” girls. A Phi is getting nice, pretty girls – who may lack personality – and this definitely use to be the old school theta of years past. Tri-delt still puts on a good rush, and gets some fun and wild girls, but not as many because they are losing them to the other houses (not including a phi.) However you want to categorize these houses, based on social hierarchy, or rush numbers — they are all great houses and definitely the top ones. wherever you end up, you will find girls that you mesh well with, and by the time you are a junior and you are abroad – you will realize how petty and silly these “rankings” are because you end up just being friends with everyone. just enjoy the social scene at NU, make the most of it, and have a crazy fucking freshman year.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 4:21 pmanon at 10:19….so false. don’t know where you got that from.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 5:43 pmwhere did this nonsense about no personalities in A Phi come from? A lot of my rush crushes end up there and are amazing to talk to and hilarious.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 6:02 pmThis whole thing makes it seem like every sorority hates one another, but that’s not true at all! Just because you’re in one sorority doesn’t mean you’re only going to hang out with them and go out with them and be stereotyped with them. Two years later, a lot of my best friends are the ones I made freshman year, and for the most part, we all ended up in different ones.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 7:01 pmi wouldn’t say a phi has no personality. there’s a core group of them who come to our pregames and are always out and those girls are very fun and crazy. that said i know that there’s another half of a phi that doesn’t go out as much so maybe that’s where people are getting the “no personality” thing from.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 8:31 pma phis are pretty cute
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 9:00 pmKappa loves coke
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 9:09 pmAs a member of Tridelt, I just want all the freshman to know that NO ONE cares about sorority stereotypes after freshman year. So ignore these stereotypes, have a hell of a freshman year, and don’t worry about rush.
Comment by Anonymous August 17, 2008 @ 11:35 pmwould a- phi take a girl thats pretty but might have a little extra meat on her bones?
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 12:29 amchi o has about 5 fat girls out of about 100 total… the only reason that this is still the image of them is because that’s what it was 4 years ago in the purple book and people are too lazy to actually look at the girls now, get to know them, and update their opinion. i for one am thin, a bush-hater, jewish, and i go out twice a week and i’d say the majority of our house fits this description. the girls in chi o are sweet and friendly and FUN, but clearly you wouldn’t actually “waste your time” figuring that out for yourself by talking to any of us in one of your classes or at the keg.
everyone needs to f-ing get over themselves and stop trying to put everyone else down because of your own insecurities. rush is already a completely terrible and stressful process for most girls and RR you are only serving to tear down more girls and make rush that much worse. and if freshmen are dumb enough to believe this crap then you’re going to see our whole greek system come crashing down. so mazel tov RR and all of you other anon commenters on a job well done, i hope you’re happy with yourselves (that was part of my dg/kappa jewishness there for you).
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 12:54 amTheta, Kappa and Tridelt are clearly the top three, non-negotiable. Kappa may have sucked hardcore at rush this year, but they won it pretty definitively the year before. Tridelt has also had some bizarre pledge classes of late, but bottom line is that every house (except maybe theta) has an off year once in awhile, but they eventually will rebound. The top tier isn’t actually going to shift anytime soon.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 4:07 amanonymous at 7:54—
thanks for telling the world you’re a chi o and not fat. that must mean you’re tragically ugly or horribly socially awkward. why the fuck else would you join a trainwreck like chi o??????
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 4:27 amchi o is not a trainwreck. compared to years past the most recent pledge classes are a HUGE improvement and the new exec board means that things could be looking up for them if people would stop making such stupid, incorrect generalizations about them being over-weight and socially awkward. sure, some girls fit that description, but find a house that doesn’t have girls like that.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 4:49 am11:27-
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 5:04 amWho do you think you are?
How many Chi Os do you even know? What, you met one socially awkward girl three years ago and like to think about that and make yourself feel better at night because you’re such a worthless asshole?
It shocks me to the core that you can be okay with writing something like that.
I’m not even in a sorority, but I have to defend these great girls
gotta agree with anon 11:49
chi-o’s new leadership is the best its ever been. who knows what could happen this year
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 5:26 ami don't get the obsession w/ theta… they get about 5 or 6 gems every year & the rest are boring as shit.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 5:28 amwow 12:34 who stuck a stick up your ass. it’s time to calm the fuck down.
i only know a handful of the chi-o girls but they’re all cute and none of them need any help or encouragement to go out, i can tell you that for sure.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 5:57 amCHI O GIRLS DO NOT DRINK, DO NOT DRINK. THEY EAT, THEY EAT, THEY EAT!!!!!!!!
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 6:05 amI really have to laugh at all of this as a Chi O. 1) to all the people who say we don’t go out, maybe it’s because you just don’t recognize us because you’re expecting some drooling 600 pound beast to walk in the doors of the Keg. 2) actually, a ton of non-chi os are defending us, which is wonderful. 3) We drink. It’s ridiculous to have to defend that, and that anyone even cares. Every sorority drinks. Most non-sorority girls drink. Most homeless people drink.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 6:21 amI like to focus on the fact that we’ve had the biggest pledge class four years in a row now I believe, and tremendous growth only means good things are yet to come.
Gotta agree with anon 12:28. Theta is filled with butter faces.
Also, rush with Theta was the most stressful of all the other houses. While in most houses, you sit with 3-4 girls and have a conversation, in Theta you get handed off from person to person, initially talking with at least 12 people in a ten minute period. Less than one minute with a person??? No one can get to know anything about another person in that length of time. It’s superficial, frustrating, and a big turn off to the house as a freshmen.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 6:32 amAlso, while all sororities encourage their members to go out and have a good time, not all want to be known as “those girls who get shit-faced four nights a week.” I know that KD has a pretty strict rule about not drinking in their letters. And, honestly, I wouldn’t want to be hanging out with girls who think the only way to have a good time is to be trashed every night.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 6:39 amto upperclassmen: i’m sure you all stereotype sororities, and i know most of these stereotypes have some truth to them, but is it really worth all this bickering? i’m sure the vast majority of you in “top three” sororities have friends in the other ones – friends that you don’t look down upon because they are in a lower sorority. so why amplify the effect of stereotypes any more? theta doesn’t need 67 posts to know it’s higher-tier and chi-o doesn’t need 67 posts to know it’s lower-tier.
to freshmen: i know due to this blog and these comments this is hard to do, but please try not to take these stereotypes to heart. go ahead and aim for the more popular sororities if you want to be popular, but if you land up in a less popular one, give it a chance. your sorority experience is what you make of it. and if you see these posts and don’t want to rush at all, i don’t blame you. they make us sorority girls seem pretty bitchy.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 6:49 amanon at 1:05-
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 1:36 pmare you seriously making up fat chants about chi o? really? you sound like you’re in about 6th grade and a massive bitch at that. good for you. i will never understand people who pride themselves on being huge assholes, but maybe that’s just me.
chi o/ a chi o/ kd/ dz i cant even tell the difference.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 4:44 pmzeta is definitely NOT lower and is much closer to the upper middle.
the girls are some of the nicest on campus and there are some BOMB ass girls in the house.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 6:10 pmum dont forget zeta. theyre clearly bottom tier sorority.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 6:17 pmwow RR definitely proved his point.
we all know that the ranking is total crap – nobody actually buys into it except girls in the so-called top three. if people did, chi o would be long gone (i am not saying anything bad about chi o…i have friends in that house who are some of the chillest girls i know). the reason he put this post up is to see everyone squirm and yell at each other. it’s like screaming “there is no god” in a chruch. well done, RR.
i just hope that no freshmen get the wrong idea from this.
oh. and i’m unaffiliated.
Comment by E. Kate August 18, 2008 @ 8:13 pmim not sure “nice” is really an a-list quality. zeta girls are random and not that cute or social.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 8:37 pmi think sororities should be able to trade girls, like they do in baseball.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 8:56 pmFantasy sorority rush? THAT would get ugly.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 10:53 pmThis thread is like a train wreck…
I. just. can’t. stop. reading…
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 11:03 pmTo sorority girl trading:
I seriously laughed out loud.
Comment by Anonymous August 18, 2008 @ 11:51 pmi actually heard that panhel is changing to an entirely sports-based system. trading will be encouraged, and instead of 5 days of recruitment, there will be a 35-round draft (depending on how many register). and it’s a good thing everyone has helped put together such a clear hierarchy of the chapters — panhel will use the “bottom tier” to determine lottery picks.
Comment by kyle pendleton August 19, 2008 @ 1:07 amGod I fucking love peeps. So goddamn delicious. Almost as delicious as nice sundae. chicken-y puffs of marshmallow.
Comment by Anonymous August 19, 2008 @ 9:46 pm