\n<\/aside>\nIn fact, it\u2019s so competitive that applicants \u2014 known as Potential New Members, or PNMs \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
They also bombard Darnell, a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, for advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cGirls will send me their outfits asking which one is the best \u2014 I can\u2019t answer because we\u2019re not allowed to talk to [applicants],\u201d Darnell said of being flooded with DMs at this time of year.<\/p>\n
While sororities have been part of US colleges for more than 150 years, #RushTok first went viral in 2021 \u2014\u00a0fueled 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.)<\/p>\n\u201cI have seen girls get cut from houses they want \u2014\u00a0they end up leaving to go to a different school,\u201d said Kylan Darnell, 21, a\u00a0senior at the University of Alabama and the queen of #RushTok, with more than 1 million followers on TikTok. Photo Credit: Beth Studentberg<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFor \u201cWork Week,\u201d aka \u201cSpirit Week\u201d for sorority sisters, Darnell (right) donned aviators, a pilot\u2019s cap and a blazer, sans pants, for a series of videos for her sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha. kylan_darnell\/TikTok<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSome commenters criticized Darnell for posing in a plane that has 12 swastikas on the wing. But a spokesperson quickly pointed out that \u201cThe 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.\u201d kylan_darnell\/TikTok<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThis year for Work Week \u2014\u00a0aka Spirit Week, the sorority house bonding period before recruitment officially begins \u2014\u00a0Darnell donned aviators, a pilot\u2019s cap and a blazer, sans pants, for a series of videos. In one, as the song \u201cDanger Zone\u201d from \u201cTop Gun\u201d plays, she is seated in the cockpit of a restored World War II American fighter plane.<\/p>\n
Some commenters criticized Darnell for posing in a plane that has 12 swastikas on the wing. But a spokesperson quickly pointed out that \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that was only day one.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s also already dressed up in a poodle skirt to transform into Sandy from \u201cGrease.\u201d On day three, Darnell wore a mini skirt and sky-high heels to look like Barbie, and revealed, \u201cI can\u2019t feel my feet. I have blisters the size of pennies.\u201d<\/p>\nDarnell dressed as Sandy from \u201cGreece\u201d for Day 2 of Work Week during Bama Rush. Kylan_Darnell\/TikTok<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cZeta\u2019s sets for their Work Week blow everyone else\u2019s out of the water. It is like a Broadway-level production set and props,\u201d 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 \u201cA Sorority Mom\u2019s Guide to Rush!\u201d premiering Monday.<\/p>\n
Behind many a PNM is a Greek-fearing mama willing to do whatever it takes for a golden bid.<\/p>\n
Parents splurge thousands of dollars on coaches, hair and makeup glam teams, and new wardrobes \u2014 think Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Chanel \u2014 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last year, Darnell \u2014 whose rebellious younger sister Izzy is also a TikTok sensation \u2014\u00a0revealed her family shelled out a whopping $100,000 on her tuition and Greek life alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cA rush budget to me is non-existent,\u201d one mom declares on the Lifetime show.<\/p>\nParents splurge thousands of dollars on coaches, hair and makeup glam teams, and new wardrobes \u2014 think Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Chanel \u2014 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.\u00a0 LIFETIME<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nLifetime docu-series \u201cA Sorority Mom\u2019s Guide to Rush!\u201d premiering Monday, follows the behind the scenes of what it\u2019s really like to be a PNM (potential new member). LIFETIME<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhen it comes to outfit-of-the-day posts, pastel and ruffled looks from Love Shack Fancy and Stoney Clover reign supreme, Bradley says.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know David Yurman loves Rush. You don\u2019t have to stack that with a Cartier and Hermes bracelet, but I have clients \u2014 the moms \u2014 going, \u2018If they\u2019re [wearing] this, we\u2019ll do better,\u2019\u201d Alverson told The Post.<\/p>\n
He even admits that, \u201cWhen my daughter went through rush, I threw her my Rolex watch and said, \u2018Put this with your Yurman bracelet!\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cGirls will send me their outfits asking which one is the best \u2014 I can\u2019t answer because we\u2019re not allowed to talk to [applicants],\u201d Darnell said of being flooded with DMs at this time of year. kylan_darnell\/TikTok<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cMy mom saves me a lot of money,\u201d Darnell noted, however, of her costumes. \u201cMy mom gets fabric by the yard and makes them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many who post their efforts on social media are getting a return on their investments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA 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,\u201d Bradley told The Post.\u00a0\u201cGirls are paying their sorority dues and intuition from money they make on social media.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alverson also specializes in helping girls with communication and interview skills \u2014 and he\u2019s he\u2019s not afraid to tell someone if their hair is falling flat, as seen on the first episode of the Lifetime show.<\/p>\n#RushTok first went viral in 2021 \u2014\u00a0fueled 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<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cThey get these alums, these moms, involved putting in furniture and fabrics and having top level interior designers,\u201d coach Bill Alverson said of the sorority houses. \u201cIn these videos it\u2019s like, \u2018What is this,Versailles?’\u201d LIFETIME<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHe also reveals just how cutthroat it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery now and then with my coaching, I\u2019ll have a mom call and say, \u2018Oh how many appointments do you have today?\u2019 [If] I have three or four, they\u2019re like, \u2018We\u2019ll take them all!\u2019 \u2026 just to be inaccessible to the competition\u201d Alverson said.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s even a a bridge builder for some families.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of them [the moms] say, \u2018My daughter won\u2019t talk to me\u2019 and they\u2019ll hire me to go shopping with them for the day,\u201d Alverson said. \u201cI bring in the competitive aspect \u2014 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!\u201d<\/p>\n
And once they\u2019re in, no expense is spared on how they live.<\/p>\nSome sorority sisters flaunt their status with designer handbags, like the $1,950 Gucci purse here. LIFETIME<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe popular Dior tote bag has also been seen on Rush Tok, costing a cool $3,350. LIFETIME<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cWe know David Yurman loves Rush. You don\u2019t have to stack that with a Cartier and Hermes bracelet, but I have clients \u2014 the moms \u2014 going, \u2018If they\u2019re [wearing] this, we\u2019ll do better,\u2019\u201d sorority coach Bill Alverson told The Post. LIFETIME<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cThey get these alums, these moms, involved putting in furniture and fabrics and having top level interior designers,\u201d Alverson said of the sorority houses. \u201cIn these videos it\u2019s like, \u2018What is this,Versailles?’\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
But not everyone is a fan of the Greek experience.<\/p>\n
Morgan Cadenhead, 20, a TikTok creator known as \u201cBama Morgan\u201d<\/a> and a student at the University of Alabama, went viral in 2023 for making relatable videos about the \u201cmiserable\u201d Bama Rush experience during recruitment.<\/p>\nSome 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.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nStill, after not making it in, she rushed again in 2024 (a story line detailed on the Lifetime series) but didn\u2019t get a bid.<\/p>\n
\u201cBrandis said you had to look and act the part \u2014 and that is true,\u201d Cadenhead told The Post. \u201cIn order to rush you have to be kind of Type A. It\u2019s very polished. I\u2019m more Type B.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"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\u2019s viral display of synchronized dances, outfits of the day, and endless theme costumes inspired by \u201cGrease,\u201d \u201cBarbie\u201d and \u201cTop Gun\u201d \u2014 with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1952555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[21741,341982,22488,313044,341983],"class_list":["post-1952554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-entertainment","tag-greek-life","tag-tiktok","tag-university-of-alabama","tag-university-of-mississippi"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Inside-the-wild-pricey-world-of-sorority-RushTok.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1952554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1952554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1952555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1952554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1952554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1952554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2025%2F08%2Frush_720.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\")
<\/p>\n