Bama Rush is back, again. What's the deal with its enduring, viral appeal on TikTok?

Kelsey Weekman

Every year since 2021, TikTok users have been transfixed by young college students posting about their experiences with sorority rush at the University of Alabama.

The process of joining Greek life, known as rush or recruitment, has been around for many decades. Bama Rush went viral in the year following the COVID-19 lockdown, giving the world more insight into the process, the unique fashion of Greek life in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and the hopeful cast of young college students hoping to get into the sororities of their dreams.

Here’s what you need to know about Bama Rush and its lasting appeal.

Potential new members (PNMs) at the University of Alabama post on TikTok about the outfits they wear to each event, sometimes divulging how they think it went and what sorority they hope to end up in.

The rush process sees PNMs going to multiple events, meeting scores of other hopeful recruits and trying to connect with the existing members of several different sororities. There are a few “rounds” they go through over the course of a week:

  • Convocation: PNMs meet for a casual introduction to the day-by-day rush process.

  • Open House: PNMs watch a series of five-minute-long videos from each sorority to determine what their top priorities are, and they’re encouraged to take notes. Sorority chapters do the same with videos of PNMs.

  • Philanthropy (3 days): PNMs are given matching T-shirts, which they pair with shorts or a skirt, and visit up to 12 sorority chapters for about 30 minutes each to learn about how they contribute to the community. This begins the “invitation only” meetings.

  • Sisterhood (3 days): PNMs attend up to seven different parties, which are about 40 minutes long, to get to know the active members of each chapter.

  • Preference Night: At the most formal event of rush, PNMs rank their top sorority choices, agreeing to accept a bid to any sorority on their list. Sorority members also rank their top choices of PNMs.

  • Bid Day: PNMs gather at the football team’s stadium, where they receive invitations (bids) to join a sorority chapter. They’re encouraged to wear clothes that are easy to run in, because they literally sprint to the house of the sorority where they’re given a bid. They also receive a T-shirt with the sorority letters on it.

Though sorority rush is popular throughout much of the United States, many people were introduced to the concept for the first time in August 2021 because videos began appearing on their TikTok in what’s now called a For You feed. The app’s algorithm presents content to users based on their viewing habits and history, taking into consideration where they live and what’s trending.

As participants document their rush experience on TikTok, they put the style trends of Alabama Greek life on display through "outfit of the day" (OOTD) videos, and share stories about each round through "get ready with me" (GRWM) videos.

Through these videos, some PNMs will develop a following — and sometimes the outsiders keeping up with the process can generate their own following as well.

Greek life across the country has been criticized for favoring white people. According to data from 2022, almost 85% of sorority members of the Alabama Panhellenic Association were white. After coming under scrutiny for persistent segregation in its Greek system, the University of Alabama pushed for integration in 2013.

The impact of Greek life on the culture of the University of Alabama has also been called into question. A not-so-secret society known as “The Machine” allegedly works to influence campus and local politics in favor of fraternities and sororities. It has been repeatedly investigated by the University of Alabama’s student newspaper, the Crimson White.

Rush has also come under fire for costing a fortune and encouraging PNMs to flaunt their wealth online. The average annual cost for a new sorority member at the University of Alabama is reportedly more than $8,000, not counting the brand-name clothing often praised throughout Bama Rush TikTok videos. This year, the high cost of trendy bracelets worn by PNMs has drawn criticism. TikToker Destinee Moreh (@destineemorehvibes) has gone viral for documenting just how expensive outfits worn by PNMs and active sorority members in their OOTD videos are, sometimesexceeding $10,000.

The documentary Bama Rush: Acceptance Is Everything became available on the streaming service Max in May 2023, introducing the TikTok phenomenon to a wider audience. Rush in 2022 was impacted by rumors that documentary producers had attached hidden microphones to a group of PNMs to secretly record the process, though the documentary’s director, Rachel Fleit, said in the film that the move would not have yielded quality reporting. The documentary instead includes interviews with several PNMs before and after the rush process.

The TikTok craze sparked increased interest in the rush process from outsiders, including a fascination with the business of rush. The Wall Street Journal reported that some parents are paying rush coaches thousands of dollars to help their daughters get into certain sororities. The coaches help them choose outfits, mingle with sorority members and craft impressive recruitment videos.

Now, Bama Rush isn’t just an opportunity for young college students to obtain viral fame — it’s a chance to build an online career. TikTok user Courtney White (@courthousecouture), a lawyer who creates content about Bama Rush style, told USA Today that “a lot of the girls are getting brand deals.”

“Many of these young ladies are becoming young entrepreneurs and influencers because of Bama Rush,” she said.

Sometimes beloved PNMs, like 2022’s breakout star Kylan Darnell, graduate to active member status and give their TikTok audience a glimpse into rush from the other side.

Another beloved character, Bama Morgan, returned for another round of rush after not receiving a bid in 2023. She announced in a video that she was “released” from 2024 recruitment after the first Sisterhood event, but remained hopeful that she might receive a bid through Continuous Open Bidding (COB), which is an informal recruitment process.

Bama Rush is similar to a reality competition show — the rules are now familiar, but the characters we follow are changing. Take a look at some of the most viral posts from PNMs so far this year:

For those fascinated by sorority recruitment but interested in looking beyond the University of Alabama, the members of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of Oklahoma and the University of South Carolina have also been going viral this summer — but not for their expensive outfits or bubbly personalities. Their active members have turned up to recruitment events decked out in quirky blue outfits that pay tribute to the sorority’s official color.

It’s a divergence from the typical image of perfection that so many sorority members and PNMs attempt to project — but could it become a more widespread trend in the future? We’ll see on our For You feeds.

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