More than 350 girls geared up this weekend to begin almost a week of official sorority recruitment at Metcalf Hall in the George Sherman Union for an informational session Wednesday night.

“Tonight is basically an open house,” Programs Coordinator Dana Marcinek said. “The nine local sororities have a table here, so all those interested in Greek life can come here and learn about who we are.”

Rush officially started Thursday and continues with events through Tuesday night, but this is not the first opportunity for students to pledge. Recruitment takes place twice during the school year, with an informal rush held in the fall semester for sophomores and upperclassmen. According to Marcinek, the spring rush is larger and longer because freshmen are able to pledge as well.

Pan-Hellenic Beta Rush Chair Jessica Seymour said she has been in charge of organizing campus-wide sorority recruitment. She said organizing this rush has been difficult but worthwhile.

“It’s been a lot of work, but this has been a once in a lifetime experience,” the School of Management senior said. “I got to meet a lot of people and work closely with Dana, who is great.”

Because Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore placed a moratorium on recognizing new chapters, Seymour said she and the Pan-Hellenic Council had to focus on improving the existing sororities.

“The moratorium definitely affects us,” Seymour said, “but it presents an interesting challenge because we have to develop the ones we have now.”

Focusing on strengthening the Greek system meant creating a fun, informative open house that would introduce each sorority to as many newcomers as possible, according to Seymour.

“I wanted large things to attract attention, and I wanted a recurring theme,” she said. “I called it the ‘Golden Rush’ because I wanted to be creative.”

Delta Gamma Vice President Jessica Sirls said her sorority worked extra hard this year to advertise for rush and promote the chapter as the best choice.

“We designed amazing flyers printed on the cardstock that gave some great information about our chapter,” the College of Communication junior said in an email. “Also, we designed shirts for our 10 sisters that could attend … to make us look uniform and put together.”

After Wednesday’s open house, all pledges were invited back to Metcalf Hall Friday night to familiarize themselves with each sorority. All prospects met with representatives from each chapter and ranked the sororities from their top choice to their last, eliminating two. On Saturday and Sunday, the girls spent more time with the remaining chapters on their list and reduced their number by two after each night.

Students at the informational on Wednesday gave different reasons for wanting to rush. College of Arts and Sciences freshman Theresa Kelliher said she wanted to join a sorority because it would make meeting people at a big school like BU easier.

“There are so many people in my classes,” she said. “This will allow us to meet people and establish relationships.”

According to Marcinek, having only eight official sororities and one unofficial one-Alpha Kappa Delta Pi-at BU does not put a strong Greek Life emphasis on campus.

Some prospects said the smaller emphasis on sororities and fraternities appeals to them because they can be a part of the system without having it interfere with other aspects of their lives.

CAS freshman Meryl Grenadier said she likes the fact that being in a sorority at BU does not require as big of a commitment as it would at other schools.

“It’s a different program,” she said. “That’s partially why I like it, because you can still do other things.”

College of Communication freshman Melissa Goldsher said she wanted to join a sorority for social reasons, but also said the system was different than others she had heard about.

“You will always have something to do,” she said, “but it’s not that ‘cliquey here. You can have friends outside of the sorority and in other sororities too.”

After Saturday’s recruitment, Goldsher said the elimination process was difficult because it was so long, but said she was able to meet a lot of people throughout each night.

“It’s really tiring, but it’s a lot of fun to go through,” she said. “You are divided into Roe Gamma Groups, and within those groups you meet other girls that are rushing with you and also the other sisters.”

By the end of Monday night, the girls will have to cut their lists down to two sororities. On Tuesday, the chapters give bids to the girls that they want as their new sisters.

Grenadier said after Saturday’s recruitment that she was very happy with the way things were going and that she was looking forward to Tuesday night when she would find out where she would end up.

“It’s so different here than anything I had expected in my head,” she said. “I really like it and I get so energized after attending the sessions.”