With the beginning of college comes the beginning of a completely new lifestyle: new class schedules, new activities and, above all, a new social scene. Some enter university life with the intentions of keeping old friends while making new ones through activities or classes. Others are looking for stronger bonds of "sisterhood" and "brotherhood" only found in the greek system on campus.
There are 31 fraternities on campus and 21 sororities. However, not all chapters have a house.
The recruitment process for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's greek system varies based upon the age of the applicant and if they are looking to join a fraternity or sorority.
"I think one of the advantages for the first-year students is the opportunity to interact with upper-class students," said Linda Schwartzkopf, the director of Greek Affairs at UNL. "The environment in the greek system (also) really promotes academics and doing well in the classroom."
All students begin with an application. First-year students can access and submit applications online through their MyRed account. All other undergraduate and transfer students can find the application at unl.edu/greek. All sorority applicants must also submit a fee that varies depending on whether they choose open or formal recruitment.
Formal recruitment — better known as the "rush process" — takes place the week before classes start, while open recruitment is open throughout the school year to allow sororities to fill their chapters.
On the other hand, fraternity recruitment begins immediately after finals week once the UNL commencement ceremonies are finished and continues throughout the summer.
All fraternities select undergraduate members to make up a recruitment committee that reads applications and organizes the rush process. After applicants are reviewed, those considered are contacted (usually by phone or email) for a one-on-one appointment, in which they will have the opportunity to speak with a current member of the chapter. Sometimes, these meetings also include legal guardians and even take place in the recruit's home.
After the initial meeting, the rest of the process lasts throughout the summer.
Schwartzkopf said the fraternity rush process is less structured than that of the sorority rush process.
Throughout the summer, recruits are invited to barbecues, parties and other events, both on and off campus. Events allow them to get familiar with others currently in the fraternity. If there is a mutual interest between both recruit and current members, recruits are invited to join the fraternity and given a bid card.
From there, students either accept or decline the invitation.
First-year fraternity recruits also have the choice of living in the chapter house during their freshman year.
"For the young men who are planning on living in their chapter houses, we like to have that process wrapped up by Aug. 1," Schwartzkopf said.
Although a shorter process, sorority recruitment is far more formal. All recruits move into their respective residence houses the Monday before classes start, starting at 9 a.m.
By 6 p.m., girls will begin the rush process.
"Recruitment is referred to as a ‘mutual selection process,'" Schwartzkopf said.
Between Monday and Tuesday, the recruits will spend 20 minutes at each chapter. They stay in the commons areas of the houses and are encouraged to speak with as many girls as possible. Tuesday evening, recruits select the 10 houses they want to return to on Wednesday.
However, recruits are not the only ones involved in the selection process.
Chapters also select the girls they want to see back at the houses, and on Wednesday, the girls spend 30 minutes with the chapters that have mutually chosen them.
Schwartzkopf said that while most girls are not invited back to all of their top 10 choices, it is very rare for a girl to be completely incompatible with the system.
Once again, girls are asked to rank the houses they are most interested in and, similarly, the chapters rank the recruits. Girls can visit a maximum of six houses on Thursday. Like the previous three days, girls spend their time mingling with those in the sorority. However, they also receive a full tour of the house, including bedroom, bathroom and laundry facilities.
Friday, more commonly referred to as "preference day," is the final day of the recruitment process. Girls can visit a maximum of three chapters this day and, by Friday evening, bid cards will be distributed.
"We'll have about 800 women who will register for recruitment," Schwartzhopf said. "Last year, we started with 796, and we had 595 that went into the last day."
Of the 595 girls that survived to the last day, 525 joined chapters.
Courtney Sloan, an international business major and member of UNL's Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter, said her experience in the greek system has allowed her to make connections and find a support system on campus.
"I decided to rush because I thought it would be an opportunity to meet more girls, especially moving to a new city," she said. "It's a lot of fun — I can't even tell you how many people I've met."
katienelson@dailynebraskan.com
is a member of the 
