Theta Chi

Overview.

Fraternity rush at the University of Washington operates on a progressive, informal schedule. That is, there is not a formal 1-week period like there is for the sororities. Rush takes place over an extended period, progressing throughout the spring and summer for current UW students as well as those that will be incoming freshmen.

Events during the spring range from meeting members/rush chairmen for dinner, coming out to the house for a tour, participating in different athletic activities (e.g. basketball tournaments, volleyball etc.), BBQs & other social events. Summer brings similar events during the week, with the weekend reserved for larger scale events that typically are out of town. We do camping trips, houseboating, concerts, river rafting, Seafair and many other fun events throughout the summer!

Getting involved.

Many times, prospective new members are referred by active/alumni members of specific houses. This can be challenging for students from out-of-state and/or from smaller high schools that do not have a large presence in the Greek System. In those instances, prospective members can sign-up for rush via the IFC rush list or contact the individual chapter directly.

The process of joining/pledging

"Rush" is the process that prospective members ("rushees") go thorough to evaluate the different houses in the Greek System. It is a mutual selection process - meaning that rushees meet with members of different houses in an effort to find the best fit - and rush chairmen/active members of the fraternities do the same, working to ensure a good match of interests, ideals & priorities with prospective members.

At the point when a fraternity has made the decision that a rushee would be a good fit and addition to the house, they extend a "formal bid" - which is an invitation for a rushee to join the fraternity as a new member. Is is up to the rushee to decide when to accept or deny the bid, but is generally advisable to be openly communicative with the rush chairmen about thoughts/concerns/questions.

While there are houses on campus that extend "exploding bids" (i.e. a bid with a date attached to making a decision) Theta Chi never engages in this practice. We have 100% confidence in our rush process & only extend bids to rushees we know will be successful members of our house. That being the case, we encourage rushees to visit as many houses as possible, knowing that those that will fit in best always decide to join Theta Chi.

New members move into the house a few weeks prior to the start of school in the fall (usually late September) but are encouraged to participate in any/all events throughout the rush process of spring & summer.