For some young women in college, the end goal is to be in a sorority, and they’ll do anything — including spending a large chunk of money — to get in.
Colleges across the United States offer students the opportunity to participate in a sorority or fraternity rush, where they can introduce themselves to the various Greek organizations on their campus to try and get recruited. However, some students have become so desperate to get involved that they have enlisted the help of a rush consultant.
In the sorority recruitment process, as the potential new members (PNMs) visit the sorority houses, they are tasked with wearing specific outfits following a particular dress code, and hoping they made enough of an impression on the sisters to move on to the next round, or to earn a formal bid to start the recruitment process.
At some colleges, young women can begin rushing before their first week of classes, while others require them to complete a full semester first.
Throughout the process, many have taken to TikTok to document their experiences — from sharing updates on their progress to showing off daily outfit choices. These clips have fueled the growing “RushTok” trend, which has made the already competitive sorority recruitment process even more intense, prompting some students to seek extra help.
“You can’t just show up, look cute, and have good conversations. That’s not how recruitment works,” Stacia Damron, founder of the sorority coaching company, Hiking in Heels, said in an interview with The Washington Post.
“They hear people say, ‘Oh, just be yourself, trust the process, get your cute outfits ready.’ That won’t get you a bid. The most successful people start preparing six months to a year in advance.”
Damron works with only 500 clients per year and charges them anywhere from $3,975 to $6,000 for a one-on-one coaching program.
Part of what she tells the women is to pay attention to their social media feeds and make sure they are following the right people. “I walk them through who’s building the bid list and making the decisions in the back room during recruitment,” she said.
“A cute Instagram profile is not going to help you if the right people aren’t looking at it. There’s so much you can do algorithmically and strategically to get in front of the right people.”
These coaches often make themselves available to clients around the clock, as sorority recruitment rules can change at any moment.
Some students have credited their coach with securing them a bid. Former Florida State University student Kasey Hines told The Washington Post that she broke the news of her sorority acceptance to her coach before her own mother.
“She knew more about my feelings than anyone else did,” she told the publication.
This weekend, the University of Alabama will host one of the most closely watched sorority recruitments in the country. Known as “Bama Rush,” the event has gained national attention in recent years thanks to the viral RushTok trend, which has turned the process into a social media spectacle.
