Latest news with #RushTok
New York Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Inside the wild, pricey sorority rush season, fueled by TikTok, helicopter moms and hired consultants
Talk about a mad rush. Recruitment season for Greek life at college campuses across the country starts this weekend, which means it is time once again for the spectacle that is #RushTok: TikTok's viral display of synchronized dances, outfits of the day, and endless theme costumes inspired by 'Grease,' 'Barbie' and 'Top Gun' — with the latter even including an actual airplane at the University of Alabama. Getting into the sorority of choice is cutthroat business that can make or break a wannabe sister's college career. Advertisement 'I have seen girls get cut from houses they want — they end up leaving to go to a different school,' said Kylan Darnell, 21, a senior at the University of Alabama and the queen of #RushTok, with more than 1 million followers on TikTok. 15 Recruitment season for Greek life at college campuses across the country starts this weekend at schools like the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (above: Alpha Chi Omega sisters), which means it is time once again for the spectacle that is #RushTok. University of Arkansas Alpha Chi / TikTok 15 Rush week is so competitive that applicants — known as Potential New Members, or PNMs — are spending big bucks for consultants to strategize on everything from securing recommendation letters to practicing conversation skills and even auditing a wardrobe. Above is a TikTok from the University of South Carolina's Pi Beta Phi. University of Arkansas Alpha Chi / TikTok Advertisement In fact, it's so competitive that applicants — known as Potential New Members, or PNMs — shell out big bucks for consultants to strategize on everything from crafting a strong resume and securing recommendation letters to practicing conversation skills and even auditing a wardrobe. They also bombard Darnell, a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, for advice. 'Girls will send me their outfits asking which one is the best — I can't answer because we're not allowed to talk to [applicants],' Darnell said of being flooded with DMs at this time of year. While sororities have been part of US colleges for more than 150 years, #RushTok first went viral in 2021 — fueled by over-the-top videos of life at University of Alabama (#BamaRush has accrued more than 1.5 million posts and inspired its own HBO documentary in 2023.) Advertisement 15 'I have seen girls get cut from houses they want — they end up leaving to go to a different school,' said Kylan Darnell, 21, a senior at the University of Alabama and the queen of #RushTok, with more than 1 million followers on TikTok. Photo Credit: Beth Studentberg 15 For 'Work Week,' aka 'Spirit Week' for sorority sisters, Darnell (right) donned aviators, a pilot's cap and a blazer, sans pants, for a series of videos for her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha. kylan_darnell/TikTok 15 Some commenters criticized Darnell for posing in a plane that has 12 swastikas on the wing. But a spokesperson quickly pointed out that 'The fighter plane Kylan Darnell used in her video is a North Americans P-51 Mustang, and the Swastikas are the number of enemy Nazi planes that were shot down by the United State Military in WWII. This plane wears those symbols as a historical badge of honor.' kylan_darnell/TikTok This year for Work Week — aka Spirit Week, the sorority house bonding period before recruitment officially begins — Darnell donned aviators, a pilot's cap and a blazer, sans pants, for a series of videos. In one, as the song 'Danger Zone' from 'Top Gun' plays, she is seated in the cockpit of a restored World War II American fighter plane. Advertisement Some commenters criticized Darnell for posing in a plane that has 12 swastikas on the wing. But a spokesperson quickly pointed out that 'The fighter plane Kylan Darnell used in her video is a North Americans P-51 Mustang, and the Swastikas are the number of enemy Nazi planes that were shot down by the United State Military in WWII. This plane wears those symbols as a historical badge of honor. To attribute this American warplane to being anything racist is ignorant.' And that was only day one. She's also already dressed up in a poodle skirt to transform into Sandy from 'Grease.' On day three, Darnell wore a mini skirt and sky-high heels to look like Barbie, and revealed, 'I can't feel my feet. I have blisters the size of pennies.' 15 Darnell dressed as Sandy from 'Greece' for Day 2 of Work Week during Bama Rush. Kylan_Darnell/TikTok 'Zeta's sets for their Work Week blow everyone else's out of the water. It is like a Broadway-level production set and props,' Brandis Bradley told The Post. A coach hired by families eager to get their girls into the sorority of choice, she also appears on the new Lifetime docuseries 'A Sorority Mom's Guide to Rush!' premiering Monday. Behind many a PNM is a Greek-fearing mama willing to do whatever it takes for a golden bid. Parents splurge thousands of dollars on coaches, hair and makeup glam teams, and new wardrobes — think Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Chanel — for teens to look like they belong at the coveted mansion-style houses at the University of Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss and the University of South Carolina, among other schools. Last year, Darnell — whose rebellious younger sister Izzy is also a TikTok sensation — revealed her family shelled out a whopping $100,000 on her tuition and Greek life alone. Advertisement 'A rush budget to me is non-existent,' one mom declares on the Lifetime show. 15 Parents splurge thousands of dollars on coaches, hair and makeup glam teams, and new wardrobes — think Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Chanel — for teens to look like they belong at the coveted mansion-style houses at the University of Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss and the University of South Carolina, among other schools. LIFETIME 15 Lifetime docu-series 'A Sorority Mom's Guide to Rush!' premiering Monday, follows the behind the scenes of what it's really like to be a PNM (potential new member). LIFETIME When it comes to outfit-of-the-day posts, pastel and ruffled looks from Love Shack Fancy and Stoney Clover reign supreme, Bradley says. Advertisement As for jewelry, wrists are clad in thousand-dollar status stacks of jewelry by David Yurman and Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry, said Bill Alverson, a pageant and sorority coach who appears on the Lifetime show and who worked with Darnell when she won Miss Ohio Teen USA in 2022. 'We know David Yurman loves Rush. You don't have to stack that with a Cartier and Hermes bracelet, but I have clients — the moms — going, 'If they're [wearing] this, we'll do better,'' Alverson told The Post. He even admits that, 'When my daughter went through rush, I threw her my Rolex watch and said, 'Put this with your Yurman bracelet!'' 15 'Girls will send me their outfits asking which one is the best — I can't answer because we're not allowed to talk to [applicants],' Darnell said of being flooded with DMs at this time of year. kylan_darnell/TikTok Advertisement 'My mom saves me a lot of money,' Darnell noted, however, of her costumes. 'My mom gets fabric by the yard and makes them.' Many who post their efforts on social media are getting a return on their investments. 'A lot of the girls are banking on the notoriety they can get and monetize their social media if they can establish enough of a following riding the wave of the Rush hashtag,' Bradley told The Post. 'Girls are paying their sorority dues and intuition from money they make on social media.' Alverson also specializes in helping girls with communication and interview skills — and he's he's not afraid to tell someone if their hair is falling flat, as seen on the first episode of the Lifetime show. Advertisement 15 #RushTok first went viral in 2021 — fueled by over-the-top videos of life at University of Alabama. #BamaRush has accrued more than 1.5 million posts and inspired its own HBO documentary in 2023. LIFETIME 15 'They get these alums, these moms, involved putting in furniture and fabrics and having top level interior designers,' coach Bill Alverson said of the sorority houses. 'In these videos it's like, 'What is this,Versailles?'' LIFETIME He also reveals just how cutthroat it is. 'Every now and then with my coaching, I'll have a mom call and say, 'Oh how many appointments do you have today?' [If] I have three or four, they're like, 'We'll take them all!' … just to be inaccessible to the competition' Alverson said. He's even a a bridge builder for some families. 'Some of them [the moms] say, 'My daughter won't talk to me' and they'll hire me to go shopping with them for the day,' Alverson said. 'I bring in the competitive aspect — dads love the competition. If we can guide [girls into the right sorority] and it costs buying a few extra pairs of shorts, who gives a damn!' And once they're in, no expense is spared on how they live. 15 Some sorority sisters flaunt their status with designer handbags, like the $1,950 Gucci purse here. LIFETIME 15 The popular Dior tote bag has also been seen on Rush Tok, costing a cool $3,350. LIFETIME 15 'We know David Yurman loves Rush. You don't have to stack that with a Cartier and Hermes bracelet, but I have clients — the moms — going, 'If they're [wearing] this, we'll do better,'' sorority coach Bill Alverson told The Post. LIFETIME 'They get these alums, these moms, involved putting in furniture and fabrics and having top level interior designers,' Alverson said of the sorority houses. 'In these videos it's like, 'What is this,Versailles?'' What's more, some moms Alverson has worked with have gone so far as to buy their own places near the schools to be close to their daughters during the crucial rush week. But not everyone is a fan of the Greek experience. Morgan Cadenhead, 20, a TikTok creator known as 'Bama Morgan' and a student at the University of Alabama, went viral in 2023 for making relatable videos about the 'miserable' Bama Rush experience during recruitment. 15 Some moms Alverson has worked with have gone so far as to buy their own places near the schools to be close to their daughters during the crucial rush week. Still, after not making it in, she rushed again in 2024 (a story line detailed on the Lifetime series) but didn't get a bid. 'Brandis said you had to look and act the part — and that is true,' Cadenhead told The Post. 'In order to rush you have to be kind of Type A. It's very polished. I'm more Type B.'
USA Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
New, unscripted sorority rush show drops Aug. 11. Here's how to watch.
This online phenomenon is coming to television. Lifetime's new one-hour unscripted show, "A Sorority Mom's Guide to Rush!" will give a glimpse into "one of the most competitive and increasingly viral events in the life of a college-bound girl: Sorority Rush," according to a press release. The episodes will follow two mother-daughter pairs as they chase their sorority aspirations. "These moms, daughters and even grandmothers and siblings will do anything it takes to help get them accepted into their legacy sororities, making them sisters in every sense," the press release continued. Here's what we know about "A Sorority Mom's Guide to Rush!" Previously: The problem with treating Bama Rush TikTokers like famous reality stars How to watch 'A Sorority Mom's Guide to Rush!' "A Sorority Mom's Guide to Rush!" is set to air on Monday, Aug. 11, at 10 p.m. on Lifetime. What is sorority rush? Sorority rush is a multi-day process at colleges and universities where prospective members interview with current members of the Greek organization they are interested in, with the hope of being initiated into the sisterhood. In recent years, young women have been catapulted into virality by showing off their outfits for rush events, known on a corner of the internet as #RushTok. Among the most popular are those who attend the University of Alabama, the site of 2023 documentary "Bama Rush." 'A Sorority Mom's Guide to Rush!' trailer Confirmed cast TV personality and pageant consultant Bill Alverson and Brandis Bradley, proclaimed as the Queen of #RushTok, will help the women on their journeys. Also included in the show is "Bama Morgan," who gained popularity on TikTok after sharing her freshman year experience, the press release stated. Contributing: Emily DeLetter, Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at tardrey@
New York Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Pushy moms are blowing $10K on Gucci bags, Cartier rings to give their daughters a leg up during sorority rush: 'I want it more than her'
Don't mess with these mamas. Colloquially known as 'the NFL draft for women,' sorority rush has officially begun — and a new reality show is honing in on the overbearing moms who'll stop at nothing to get their daughters into their desired house. 'For every girl going through rush, there's a mom behind her that wants it as bad as she does,' Brandis Bradley says in the trailer for the new series, 'Sorority Moms Guide To Rush,' which premieres on Lifetime next Monday night. 'I might want it more than [my daughter],' one mom admitted in the trailer, while another said, 'I'm living vicariously through her.' Money-minded mamas are sparing no expense, splashing serious cash on clothes, bags and jewellery, so their girls get a leg-up during the grueling process. @officiallifetimetv Sisterhood starts here! 💕 Step inside sorority Rush like never before – following mother-daughter duos from applications to Bid Day 💌👗 #SororityMomsGuideToRush premieres Monday, August 11th at 10/9c only on Lifetime! #RushTok ♬ original sound – LifetimeTV 3 Though some critics slam the culture as toxic, many girls say it's a dream to be in a top Southern sorority. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images 'A rush budget to me is non-existent,' one mother declared in the trailer of the reality show. One girl — or rather, her mother — spent over $10,000 in preparation for it, which had her father rolling his eyes and her brother declaring: 'You could buy a car with that.' Once girls snag a spot in one of the coveted clubs, the expenses don't stop. Dues to stay in sororities, paid each semester, are often thousands of dollars on top of initial rush costs. The University of Alabama is no doubt the most notorious for its elaborate Greek life recruitment, but the girls on the inside say it's not just 'Bama — it's basic protocol at any SEC school worth its salt. 3 Schools like the University of South Carolina (pictured here), the University of Arkansas and the University of Mississippi are particularly well-known for Greek life rush. USC Kappa Kappa Gamma / TikTok 'Bring your pocketbooks, because you've got to pay to play on sorority row,' Bradley warned. Brand-new Gucci bags, Cartier rings, and Golden Goose sneakers are all must-haves for sorority sisters-to-be — but these trendy favorites come with a hefty price tag. Even these accessories alone set families back over $5,000. Some parents even hire rush coaches to ensure their girls get a spot in a 'top-ranked' house. 3 Some sororities are more coveted than others. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images The counselors guide the girls through every step of the process — interviews, social media presence and outfits, among other things. While there are budget-friendly options for frugal freshmen, some parents are willing to spend as much as $4,000 for a top-tier tutor. 'Maybe I need counseling or something,' one mom reflected in the trailer. Parents in the series explained that Greek life has been a component of the SEC college life for generations, but others say that Southern sorority life hasn't always been like this. 'It's like 'Toddlers and Tiaras' but make it college,' one commenter wrote under the trailer, while another remarked, 'Thank God I rushed in 2003 and didn't need all this! It's so superficial.' Despite the noise, many college gals are still psyched to rush. 'It's not this deep. Anyone and everyone can rush. It's an amazing opportunity to meet friends and people you'll know forever. I didn't know a single thing about rush, went in with an open mind, and ended up where I was supposed to,' one gal gushed in the comments.
Fast Company
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Fast Company
RushTok is back. TikTok still can't get enough of sorority recruitment
The internet's favorite programming is back on: #RushTok season is officially upon us. If this is your first time tuning in, 'rush' is the informal name for the recruitment process in which college students in the U.S. vie for a spot in a Greek organization at their campus. On #RushTok, potential new members (PNMs) document their experience rushing different sororities, typically those affiliated with the National Panhellenic Conference. The phenomenon first went viral in 2021, thanks to the University of Alabama. The hashtag #BamaRush now has more than 1.3 million posts, setting the blueprint for how pledge week plays out on TikTok. Since then, #RushTok has evolved into a full-blown internet subculture, with more than 67 million posts at the time of writing. Across the world, people tune in for a behind-the-scenes look at the recruitment process. Current pledges are building excitement, while viral personalities return for their fourth and final year. RushTok has essentially become its own reality TV show (think Dance Moms or Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders but in bite-size content). Young women try to get into their dream sorority, and the internet comes along for the ride. 'Bama rush tok is my superbowl,' one TikTok user posted. 'Guys who are we rooting for?' another asked. With 2025 recruitment well underway, content ranges from simple OOTD videos to high-energy choreographed dances. Brands are swarming the comments to get in on the action (as are plenty of confused Europeans). Peripheral content ramps up during this time, too, including parodies that highlight the homogeneity of the content. One creator, DestineeMoreh, returns each year to break down the costs behind the flood of 'outfit of the day' posts on the For You Page. The phenomenon has even inspired its own Lifetime documentary, set to premiere later this month. A number of schools are involved, but ask anyone—Bama Rush is the main event. While major players are already warming up, recruitment events at the University of Alabama don't officially begin for a few more days. According to UA's Panhellenic Association, recruitment runs from August 9 through 17. If last year's content is anything to go by, it'll be over-the-top, chaotic, and very American.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Bama Rush moms' extreme lengths to get daughters into sororities as they declare 'budget is non-existent'
The moms of Bama Rush and their desperate measures to ensure their daughters get into their dream sorority are front and center of a new 10–part documentary series – and it seems there's no expense they're willing to spare. It's almost rush season at the University of Alabama, and thousands of newcomers will soon be vying for a spot in one of the colleges coveted alliances. Behind them are their mothers, who are sometimes more hellbent at getting their children in than they are. New Lifetime series A Sorority Mom's Guide to Rush! is set to shine a light on the moms who are so eager to make sure their daughters get a spot that there's nothing they won't do. 'If I have to bake cakes and slap her face on the front and deliver them to every single sorority house, I'm doing it,' one declares in the first look trailer while another laughs as she says, 'maybe I need counseling or something.' Parents are known to splash thousands of dollars on Bama Rush to ensure their daughters are decked out with designer goods such as Gucci purses, Dior bags, and Cartier jewelry. 'You've got to pay if you want to play on sorority row,' says one mother. 'A rush budget to me is non–existent,' one mom proudly boasts, while one dad leaps up to grab his check book. 'These parents are willing to drop thousands of dollars on clothes, jewelry, even Rush consultants,' Brandis Bradley, who is known as the Queen of #RushTok, reveals. Each episode of A Sorority Mom's Guide to Rush! will follow two mother–daughter duos as they prepare for Bama Rush, which is the process where sororities recruit new members. Bringing guidance, glam and a lot of honesty to the journey are two breakout names from the world of Rush: New York Times profiled consultant Bill Alverson and The Queen of #RushTok, Brandis. 'With their expertise, they help these families prepare their daughters to make a lasting impression to land a spot in their top–tier house,' the synopsis teases. 'These moms, daughters and even grandmothers and siblings will do anything it takes to help get them accepted into their legacy sororities, making them sisters in every sense.' While viewers will have to wait to see the coaches' invaluable advice, it's clear that social they hold a no–holds–barred approach. 'I am the ultimate authority when it comes to Rush on TikTok,' Brandis says in the trailer. 'If you're going through Rush, you're going to want to get on my radar.' The University of Alabama figures are not for the faint-hearted. For those joining a sorority for the first time a lump payment of $4,750 is charged on average in the fall semester for new member fees, plus another sum the following semester. Living in-house is much more expensive and costs on average $8,400 per semester, which includes room, chapter meal plan, local chapter fees, and inter/national fees, while living out of house costs on average $4,100 per semester. Last year, Daily Mail spoke to former pageant queen Kylan Darnell, who revealed she had spent close to an eye-watering $100,000 to be in an elite sorority at the University of Alabama. 'It is pretty expensive to be in a sorority,' she said, 'but at the end of the day I feel like it's more of a networking experience,. 'And I love that I found my future bridesmaids doing it. I could not imagine what my college experience would have been like without Greek life, it has definitely changed my life for the better.'
