Retro Recruitment.....with a different ending
 

Has anyone ever posted a retro recruitment thread with a not-so-happy ending?? I would love to post mine!! :p It's funny how even after all those tears and all this time I still remember every little detail.

I think it would be interesting to see the story. With many of these retro recruitment threads, a lot of us made mistakes yet things still ended up working out okay. It might unintentionally bruise the ego of PNMs who didn't do anything "wrong," but still didn't end up with a good recruitment experience.

Although sad, a story where things didn't work out in the end (at least as far as NPC recruitment goes) might bring some balance to everything. Also, you have found happiness in your current situation and that might be a positive lesson to PNMs. (Rather than hearing NPC members say "oh, you can still have fun in college even if recruitment goes bad," they can see from someone who has actually been through it.)

Go for it!
 

I would definitely be interested in hearing your story...because I can relate.

UNCG Recruitment
 

My freshman year at UNC-Greensboro I remember walking down College Ave. on the first day of classes in the fall of 2004 and all the sororities and fraternities had booths set up. I mentioned to a friend of mine that I didn't want to rush this semester because I wanted to get settled into college life and have myself established before I joined a sorority. I was sure I was going to rush the following semester.

Greek like isn't too competative at UNCG. Greek life was banned until the mid 1980s. We have 5 NPC sororities chartered on campus, all of whom participated in recruitment. They are:

Alpha Delta Pi
Phi Mu
Alpha Chi Omega
Chi Omega
Sigma Sigma Sigma

That spring informal recruitment was held by each organization. I attended every party for Chi Omega, two for Phi Mu, and one for Tri-Sigma. I never heard anything back, but I wasn't too disappointed. I really just went out to see what sororities were like. My sister, who went through formal recruitment at Western Carolina U and joined Alpha Gamma Delta told me that informal recruitment is a lot different than formal recruitment. So, I decided to go through formal recruitment the following fall. This, of course, gave me ample time to prepare to make the best possible impression on each organization.

I spent that entire summer preparing. I researched every organization on my campus. I knew where, and what year each organization was founded. I knew each one's mascot, open motto, colors, philanthropy, original founding principles. I seriously, knew it all. I researched the placement statistics for my campus and knew that there was a very small chance that I would not be placed somewhere. I even estimated that each pledge class would be 15-20 members large if 100 girls went through and finished recruitment. I read every book I could find on sororities and did ample online research to prepare myself for the process.

My whole goal in becoming a part of greek life was that I wanted to leave a legacy somewhere. I didn't want to be one of those kids that spent four years in college and then just left. I wanted to leave something behind. I wanted to be apart of something larger than myself. A sorority seemed like the way to go.

Wow, the whole researching thing - that's me in a nutshell! haha I'm still in shock when we get a NM in the fall that says "Wait, one of your colors isn't pink?" and I have to explain the difference between our philanthropy and our colors. I could have listed off tons of info on all of the chapters at the school at which I rushed - it's just a little obsession of mine :p

:confused:

It's Fall Semester!!!
 

I sat around all summer and waited for the recruitment applications to become available. Needless to say, I was the first woman registered (as I later learned from the Greek Advisor).

Finally, it was fall semester! I was thrilled! Recruitment began in early September. So, I had a good 3 weeks to get everything together. I had many pep/prep talks with my sister about what to do, what not to do, what to wear etc. While, I was nervous, I felt really prepared.

Tuesday=Meet our Pi Chi's and our group
Wednesday=Meet & Greet
Thursday=Philanthropy Night
Friday=Skit Night
Saturday=Pref
Sunday=BID DAY

On Tuesday night I went to meet with my Pi Chi's and group. I was in the Omega group. I had a lot of other really pretty girls in my group and a few that I met the semester before at interest parties. We played and icebraker and the Pi Chi's did a fashion show of "What to Wear". Honestly, I had my outfits picked out since July and I was so thrilled about my dress for Pref day. It was stylish, but would also allow me to stand out, with many beautiful pastel colors. I couldn't wait for the rest of the week to continue! I felt like my dream was finally coming true.

Sidenote: I was a sophomore going into recruitment. I had a 3.2 GPA and was VP of my residence hall my freshmen year. I also listed many other campus activities I was involved in on my application. I listed my legacy to Alpha Gam thinking that it would give them confindence that I was at least familiar with Greek life. My sister and I discussed her writing me a rec as a fellow greek, but decided against it. I didn't know I could contact local alumnae for a rec. Had I known, I would have also done that.

Zeta,
While all of the research I did sparked an interest in the history of orgs for me, that's not why I did it. I did it because I wanted to present the best side of myself and I wanted each organization to know that I was committed to the process even before joining. I wanted to stand out and impress the women of each chapter and I thought that coming in informed of the National organization's activities would give me a chance and the sisters a chance to really get to know me, instead of going through the normal "This is an intro to Alpha Chi" thing. I wanted to stand out and I thought that was the way to do it.

I think she's referring to the pink ribbons for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer foundation. Even though Zeta's might make a lot of use of the pink ribbons due to them being a symbol of the Komen Foundation, pink is not actually one of ZTA's official colors.

oh it happens - apparently using the phrase "Think Pink" while talking about breast cancer awareness on philanthropy day confuses some of them. I don't know.

Yeah, I can't say I remember chatting about the colors or too much about the history of an org when I went through rush. All of that info, plus philanthropy, local & nat'l founding dates, was in the rush booklet.

Also even if I knew a lot about a chapter & was then being told info I already knew during rush I probably would have just nodded my head and expressed interest instead of saying that I already knew that because I wouldn't want to seem like a know-it-all. I remember from going thru rush that Theta of course was proud of being the first GLO for women and AOPi was proud of the fact they were the first sorority on our campus- I can't imagine any rushee being told and then replying, "oh I know."

It wasn't an "oh, I know session", I asked simple questions. Like, for example, I knew AXO started as a music sorority, so when I was with the girl rushing me I asked her if the symphony stayed the same after the music requirement was removed from eligibility. Or, on philanthropy day, at Phi Mu the girl rushing me was talking about the sand art, but not the actually philanthropy, so I asked about it. "What else do you do for CMN? What kind of unique things does your chapter do for the children?"

I didn't walk up to every sister gloating about my knowledge. If it came up, I spoke about it. Like, at Sigma, the girl rushing me and I spent a considerable amount of time discussing the history of the Robbie Page foundation and how if formed as Sigma grew instead of her telling me the whole story of how the boy died. Seriously, I was classy.

It definately was not a "oh, i know, you don't have to talk to me" session. It was the best way I knew to express my interest and show sincere commitment to an organization. I was prepared and I knew what I was getting myself into when I went greek.

Honestly I was initiated more than 10 yrs ago and I am one of those ppl who knows tons of random info (like Cliff from cheers) and I don't know the answer to this one... that question would have thrown me for a loop.

She told me that it did stay the same even after the music requirement was removed. Maybe she was just guessing, but I honestly wanted to know. If you read it, I think you can kind of tell.

And, I love the part of the AXO symphony about "appreciate all the is noble in another be her badge what it may". How beautifully spoken.

This cracks me up. :D

Meet & Greet
 

It's Tuesday night & Meet and Greet! One of the girls in my Pi Chi group asked the Greek Life Coordinator what would happen if a no sorority wanted us. She responded by saying that if we showed up every night and did what we were supposed to do she would make sure we went somewhere. That made me feel a little better. Gaurenteed an org....I can deal with that.

I was thrilled for rush to actually be starting although I was a little upset about having to wear the rush shirts. I had the entire week of outfits picked for a month or so before recruitment, so it messed up my schedule. Either way, I wore the shirt with a pair of blue jeans.

First I went to see Alpha Delta Pi. I was really excited about meeting this chapter. I had seen them around campus and they seemed like really classy ladies and were always really nice. I was a music minor my freshman year and one of thier sisters worked in the music library so I saw her pretty often. But, I didn't really click with these girls. They were all very nice and VERY BEAUTIFUL but, I just didn't click with them. The conversation with these girls didn't flow really well, but they were still a great group of ladies.

Second was Chi Omega. I attended interest parties for this organization the previous semester and was anxious to see them in "full recruitment" action. I loved their chant about a Chi-O being a doctor, a lawyer, a professional woman. The first girl that rushed me and I had a great conversation about her love of broadway and how I had seen Hiarspray the year before on Broadway and had orchestra seats. I remembered the second girl that rushed me from the previous semester. She asked me how everything was going and what I thought of recruitment so far. I told her that I was really excited and having a lot of fun, but I was scared that wouldn't get a bid anywhere. Probably not the best choice, looking back. But, I was a nervous PNM! I had fun with these girls. They were a really diverse group and involved in a lot of other activities.

Third was Phi Mu. The girls seemed really nice overrall, but the girl rushing just nodded her head to everything I said. She didn't seem to know what she was supposed to be doing. I felt like I was having a conversation with a wall. The second girl that rushed me was fun. We talked about why I was interested a in joining a sorority and what other things I had been involved in. Overall, I wasn't sure how I felt about this chapter, but I wouldn't mind seeing them again.

Fourth, I visited Alpha Chi Omega. I was excited to meet these girls because I knew they started as a music sorority in 1885 and I was studying music. I also loved their philanthropy, domestic violence. It held a special place in my heart because of some family situations. I had a lot of fun with these girls! They were all so nice and the girl rushing me seemed really impressed that I knew some of Alpha Chi's history. We talked about scrapbooking which is a chapter tradition and I also love scrapbooking, so I loved that aspect of the chapter.

Last, but not least, I visited Sigma Sigma Sigma. I'll admit, I wasn't thrilled about visiting this chapter. At the time I rushed, they were a struggling chapter, far below quota and unpopular with most of the girls in my rush group. The girl that rushed me was super sweet! Her name was Dana and we spent a lot of time talking about the Robbie Paige Foundation and how Tri Sigma was unique in that the Foundation was started by Tri Sigma. I LOVE this philanthropy! I was a patient of play therapy as a young child and still recieved many of my medical serivices at UNC-Chapel Hill. I told her how excited I was to get involved in that and how close it was to my heart. My RA from freshman year was a member of this org and when she saw me, she winked. It put me at ease, for sure. I was starting to really like Tri Sigma, regardless of what the other girls said.

At the end of the night we had to meet with our Pi Chis to rank the groups.

My card read as follows:

Alpha Chi Omega
Chi Omega
Tri Sigma
Alpha Delta Pi
Phi Mu

I walked out, proud of my decision. Of course, my sister had called me 12 times, so I called her back. She couldn't wait to hear how the night went. I think she was more nervous than I was.

No kidding...unless you went to Tufts or Creighton...which we know you didn't. (Weren't those the 2 schools that have been documented on GC as having "guaranteed bidding" at one time?)

Someone correct me if I am wrong...

"Guaranteed bidding" has more to do with bid matching. Chapters make their cuts, and if a PNM is released by all of the chapters, well obviously she doesn't get a bid. I think that when a bid is guaranteed, it refers to a PNM maximizing her options throughout recruitment and ranking all of her remaining chapters on her bid card. Even if a PNM was only invited to one chapter's preference, and say she is near the bottom of their list, some "guaranteed bid" schools will guarantee her a bid (regularly or through quota additions if necessary). A College Panhellenic can NOT guarantee that you will not be released by every chapter, but they CAN guarantee you a bid if you are somewhere on somebody's bidlist come preference and you maximize your options. Again, not all campuses do this.

There are a couple of schools which have even guaranteed PNMs that they will not be released by every chapter - even if all the chapters cut them, they will receive a bid from somewhere.

One poster on here described being an advisor at bid matching with the chapters arguing over which chapter got "stuck" taking each girl released from the other chapters.

(I'm too tired/lazy to search for the threads now :o, but 33girl recently linked them in another thread. If you do a search for Tufts or Creighton recruitment, you'll probably find them. I think at least one of those schools changed to the "normal" way now, but in the very recent past they were actually guaranteeing bids to PNMs.)

I seem to recall my alma mater having that policy when I went through Rush. I don't believe it's that way now but I remember my Rho Chi saying that if you attend all parties and rank all chapters where you attend parties that you are guaranteed to place somewhere. The problem was, if at pref you had two you liked and one you didn't (or two you didn't like and one you did) you HAD to put all of them on your bid card. A few girls in my group were very nervous on bid day because of that.

Who knows though, my Rho Chi also told me you have a better chance of matching with your first choice if you rank all chapters where you attend preference...which we all know is not true.

I believe Tufts & Creighton went a step beyond "guaranteed bidding" and had "guaranteed placement." Guar bidding means you will get a bid from somewhere if you go the whole way through pref, even if it's a sorority you detest. Obviously you don't have to take the bid, but once it's given to you, Panhel says "not our problem." Guar placement, on the other hand, I think when it gets down to it the rushees can basically pick who they want to join and if the sorority doesn't like it, tough beans.

Weird. So it would benefit the PNM to get dropped from every house but her favorite because she'd have to be placed there?

It wasn't just anybody that told us that, it was the head of Greek Life at UNCG. And, I wasn't the only person she told it to. I was walking behind a group of PMNs after meet and greet and one of them was on the phone telling someone that everyone was gaurenteed placement.

Maybe she was just saying it so that girls that were'nt happy with their invites would stick it out. I'm not really sure, but I think it should be an honest process for the women going through it.:rolleyes:

Probably. We've had this happen with Rho Chi's (of all people) when girls ask "What if I don't get a bid?" They say things like "Oh everybody gets one, don't worry" without thinking, just to keep girls from getting scared and dropping out.

I mean most girls at my school do get bids, so they mistakenly think that means everybody gets matched. Placing 99% of PNMs is excellent, but unfortunately, that's not everybody. The Rho Chi trainer actually had to have a meeting with the Rho Chi's & tell them not to say that anymore unless they wanted to be removed from their Rho Chi position.

So at these guaranteed placement schools, if a PNM is released by all chapters, say, after round 2 or 3, she wouldn't have parties to attend, right? So how would she be matched without knowing what happened? Or would she know?

At the guaranteed placement schools, she can't be released by all chapters.

Here's a quote from another thread (and I'm putting the link to the thread too, I know it sounds unbelieveable but its there...I swear!):

The quote is post #11 from this thread: http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ad.php?t=57088

(note that the post is from 2004 - I do not know if Tufts has changed their policy since then, but at the very least it was their policy in recent past)

There have been a few other examples (I believe lauralaylin mentioned once about advisors discussing who gets stuck with which PNM that they all tried to cut) - I'm just too lazy to pull up more examples. lol

Philanthropy Day
 

It's day two of rush and I am THRILLED to say the least. I had prior arrangements with my boss to get off work early the entire week so I had time to get ready. I went over to my group's meeting place in the great outfit I had orginally planned for day 1. I was feeling super confident.

I was really excited. I wasn't worried about my invites because I felt like they were all great chapters and I would love to see them all agian.

I happily accepted my invite list. I had been invited back to:

Phi Mu
Sigma Sigma Sigm
Alpha Chi Omega

I was pleased to have been invited back to Tri Sigma and Alpha Chi Omega. I was wondering why Phi Mu had invited me back. They were great girls, but I just hadn't fealt a connection with them. Either way, I wasn't suprised to have been dropped by Chi Omega and Alpha Delta Pi. I figured if Chi Omega had really wanted me they would have taken me the previous spring and I hadn't really felt comfortable in with Alpha Delta Pi. Really, I was happy just to be going through the whole process.

I'll mention though, my group was standing outside of Alpha Chi Omega waiting to go in and I overheard my Pi Chi's talking. (We'll call them Jess and Amanda) Jess was telling Amanda that she couldn't believe I had been dropped by her group on the first night. I, of course, later found out that she was a Chi Omega. It made me feel good, though, to know that someone who was already initiated into a group thought I was doing a good job.

My first party of the night was Phi Mu. Tonight at Phi Mu, I actually had a good time. I was paired with a sister who was a non-traditional student. She was married to someone in the armed forces and was pregnant at the time! I really admired them for having a non traditional student in their sisterhood. I liked her, she was nice. I wasn't sure how to respond to the second sister I talked to. She started talking about her boyfriend....but I remember being told that we weren't supposed to talk about boys. But, I didn't want to be a sore thumb, so I told her what my boyfriend did and how long we had been together that kind of stuff. I felt uncomfortable about it, but I figured she knew what she was doing and wouldn't intentionally break the rules...

Second, I visited Alpha Chi Omega. I was really, really excited about seeing exactly what they did for Domestic Violence. They made gifts baskets full of daily need items for the women and children. I liked it! :) I was paired with a girl who talked about how she wanted to go overseas. I told her about my trip overseas in high school. I saved on $3,000 and spent 12 days in London, Paris, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany. We talked about how differnt it is over there and where my favorite place was. When the next sister came over, she filled her in on our converstation and as she walked away she said that she was very impressed by me. WoW! Now, I was really beginning to feel more confident. I really did like these girls. They were down to earth and just plain fun to be around.

Third, I visited Sigma Sigma Sigma. I FELL IN LOVE WITH THEM TONIGHT!!! A girl linked arms with me at the door and when we sat down I told her my name. She said she had heard a lot of great things about me. I was ECSTATIC! :D I had done something right. A sister of the chapter who had medical problems told us a whole story about how she had been ill and her sisters were always visiting her in the hospital and how they become more like a family to her. WoW. Then we got up and went to the table to make picture frames for the kids at UNC. We talked about how she got involved in Sigma and what kinds of things they did at UNC. I'm not sure if we were supposed to talk to another sister, but she and I talked the entire time. THIS PARTY WENT BY ENTIRELY TOO FAST! She told me that if I was looking for an organization of strong women, that Sigma was the place to be.

I walked out of that room and knew I had found my home. I didn't care what the other girls said-a few were still backing away from Sigma, I LOVED THEM AND THAT'S WHERE I WANTED TO BE.

I couldn't wait to rank the groups that night. I knew, just knew where I belonged.

Sigma Sigma Sigma
Alpha Chi Omega
Phi Mu

It felt like things were going right. By the end of the week, I was going to have a new home.

I'm sorry to hijack your thread, but in regard to Tufts, if a pnm is dropped by all three sororities, she goes back to her top two unless she had been dropped by one in a previous round, then by the others in later rounds. So this can cause an interesting dynamic because the chapters drop quickly so they don't potentially get stuck with someone. And for the pnm that is dropped by every group each round, she just keeps going back to the ones she likes the most.

Do the chapters ever take matters into their own hands? "Suzie, we voted unanimously not to invite you back, and you are here because Panhellenic requires it. Due to the rules, we can't keep you out, but we want you to know that all of us agreed that you are not right for this house."

I would never darken their door again if I heard something like that! On the other hand, I wonder if the PNMs who are dropped by all three groups tend to be the ones who are so socially tone-deaf that this kind of warning wouldn't faze them.
________

I would have to disagree that women dropped by all groups are all socially tone deaf. There are probably some of them out there....but, I think it is unfair to lump those of us that were dropped by all orgs into an umbrella judgement.

If you read my post, you will see that I did everything I could to present the best side of myself to orgs and show my dedication to greek life.

But, about the "We voted...." I know that in the orgs I'm in now, we are NOT allowed to share anything that takes place in voting. Even if Sally Rushee sees me on campus and bursts into tears asking me what happened, I am obligated by the vows I took in each org to keep that confidential. Even if I personally thought she would be a great fit, it doesn't matter because it is a decision made by the entire group. I would just have to advise Sally Rushee to come out next semester and try again. (ending with a smile, of course)

It's quite all right. :D :D :D

We're all here to learn and exchange info.

Continuing the guaranteed placement discussion:

I think mutual selection is probably best: however, it had occurred to me, particularly when I was reading about say Sig Ep's new(ish) membership program, if maybe groups shouldn't approach the process believing that the strengths of their organization could turn anyone into a good member?

I wouldn't want the whole new member class to be randomly matched or anything like that, but really if you got 5 to 10% new members that picked you instead of your picking them (which let's face it: we can describe traditional matching as mutual selection, but the groups hold most of the cards. The PNM may not even get to cut a group if she's not invited back to the max. parties. Sure she can decline her bid in the end, but is that really mutual selection in anything other than a technical sense?)

If you got to choose 90% of your nm class, and got a few strays, couldn't your org. handle it?

(I'll confess that I'm thinking more girls who might be cut for superficial reasons rather than girls who are released because they were morals or risk management problems.)

This is the same in all Panhellenic sororities that I know of. Membership selection is very private and not to be discussed with anyone who is not an initiated member.

Sidenote: I heart Epsilon Nu (the Sigma chapter at UNCG). My favorite Leadership Consultant is from that chapter and she tells me some fun stories about those girls.

I actually disagree with both of those ideas. First, a PNM can always cut a chapter. There is no rule that you have to rank all the chapters you visit or that you have to visit all the houses you're invited to. If a PNM is upset with receiving a bid from a chapter, she should not have ranked the chapter on her bid card.

Second, I've seen chapters at my alma mater take "strays" for the purpose of meeting quota or being at total. I don't think it's good for a chapter to be forced to take members they don't want...whether it's by the policies at the school or advisors/national HQ. I don't think it's good for the chapter OR the new member who will probably subconsciously know she wasn't at the top of the bid list. On the flip side I don't think a PNM should be forced to accept a bid to a chapter she doesn't want either.....I think mutual selection is the only way both the chapters and PNMs are happy (hopefully!).

Actually, some campuses DO make pnms go back to maximum number of parties or all the ones they were invited to if they didn't get invited to the maximum AND the only time that they don't have to actually list them all is on the final bid card. Even then the whole system is stacked towards encouraging them to rank all the chapters : if the campus does quota additions, you aren't eligible unless you maximized your options.

I think the rules must vary a lot from campus to campus.

I'm also used to a campus where the average new member class is in the 50s, so that probably influences my thoughts a lot.

At former campus, I believe a group really would be better off consistently making quota, even with some girls who weren't their absolute top picks, than they would be consistently being perceived as being a struggling chapter.

There are some schools, mine is one, where you have to visit every org that extends you an invitation. If you are not there and no one knows why, you are automatically dropped from recruitment.

At every campus I've ever assisted with, PNMs have to attend the maximum number of parties for that round. So, if there are 6 parties that round and they get invited back to exactly 6 houses, they cannot cut a chapter.

There may be some campuses where PNMs can always cut a chapter during formal recruitment, but I'm pretty sure the majority require you to maximize your options.

(sorry for the thread hijack, AlwaysSAI :o)