Some college girls are willing to go broke to go Greek.
Hopeful undergrads vying for entry into the sorority of their dreams often shell out beaucoup bucks to present themselves as “perfect” during the recruitment process, according to one Big Apple-based “sorority consultant.”
“Some girls spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, on just their rush wardrobe,” said Lorie Stefanelli, who owns Greek Chic Sorority Consulting and featured in HBO Max’s recently-released documentary “Bama Rush.”
She advises women on their outfits, social media presence and conversation skills to help them through the sorority recruitment process, known as “rush.”
“I’ve worked with girls who’ve used personal shoppers at Bergdorf’s and Neiman Marcus” — which can cost up to $200 an hour, minus what one buys during the appointment.”
Some must-have accessories are Golden Goose sneakers, which can cost close to $700 and belts and enamel bracelets from Hermes, which retail for up to $800.
The registration fee for sorority rush — a several day period during which university sororities hunt for new members — at the University of Alabama is $375.
“So [outfits] can get pricey, along with shoes and accessories. And a lot of girls get their hair and their makeup and their nails done – and it just costs a lot,” said Stefanelli.
Stefanelli’s hourly rate runs up to $150 — although she sometimes offers discounts to girls who are in tough situations.
One time, when Stefanelli found out that a client’s father was sick, she stopped charging the PNM — “because my dad died my senior year in college and my [sorority] sisters were the one thing that kept me sane,” she said.
Previously, the girl had been so desperate to join a sorority that she had taken up two jobs over the summer — one at J.Crew so she could “use her discount to help buy some of the [recruitment] stuff,” Stefanelli recalled.
During rush — “the most physically, emotionally and mentally draining week of one’s life,” according to Stefanelli — there’s an expectation for potential new members, or PNMs, wear certain outfits.
For example, girls are expected to wear cocktail or “daytime wedding” attire on ‘Pref Night,’ or the last day of rush, when sororities invite PNMs to formal parties and make their final calls about who is getting invited to join, Stefanelli explained.
For girls with little financial resources, acquiring the outfits and other necessities in order to be successful during recruitment means looking for “thrifty” alternatives – like borrowing from friends and finding affordable deals, Stefanelli said.
“There are a couple girls who have figured out how to do it on the lower-end side, but there are definitely girls who need a new outfit just to have a new outfit,” said Stefanelli, who is a member of the Chi Omega sorority, which she joined at the University of Texas at El Paso in 1996.
As far as social media profiles are concerned: PNMs’ accounts should sport photos of their friends and family, as well as their hobbies – and zero pictures in which alcohol is present, according to Stefanelli.
“If your Instagram feed is only you in bikini pics, the sororities are going to think that there’s no substance to you and that you don’t have friends,” she warned.
During rush itself, Stefanelli’s “don’ts” include chatting about boys, gossiping about specific girls or other sororities, asking about politics and religion, and oversharing.
“I tell girls who are oversharers, ‘[Sorority girls] don’t need to know about how your boyfriend broke up with you the night after prom, or that your drunk uncle ruined your graduation party,’” said Stefanelli.
Instead, Stefanelli recommends that PNMs ask the sorority girls questions about themselves – and keep an open mind throughout the entire process.
“You never know which houses will surprise you. The house that you saw on social media that you thought was the best sorority ever, you might go there and be like, ‘These aren’t my people.’
“At the end of the day, you’re looking to make friends, be active on campus and in the community…And that’s what I push more than the ‘You have to be in the top sorority’ type of thing,” Stefanelli said.
