That evening was theme parties. 1 hour long, fancier clothes, and at night time. It was cool going to the houses in the twilight, and realizing that hopefully I would be a sister at one of these houses!

Sheriffs’ party was first. We walked in the house and they had lists and pictures representing everything they are involved in on campus. And they have an awesome GPA! Their theme was a celebration….fun skit. I talked to some girls that I had talked to before. They are so proud of their chapter’s accomplishments. They are definitely smarty pants, and have tons of Oreintation leaders, Recruiters, student association leaders and any other leader you can think of. I could really see myself here, and feel like being a sherriff would make it easier to get involved in anything else you would want to do!

Next was the bandits….Wow. All glitzy. Their skit was cute, and all about girl power. They even had a Madonna song! I was humming their songs for days! The video they showed was impressive….tons of pageant winners, homecoming court, fraternity sweethearts, pom squad, cheerleaders….Am I cool enough for this house? The girls I met though were still super sweet, and I got to talk to several of the same sisters again. They are obviously very proud of their chapter, and of the accomplishments of their sisters!

Third was the Deputies….their skit was cute, cute, cute. Great singing, and fun audience participation. They had a great video, too. It was neat, and while they didn’t have all the awards and involvement listed like other chapters, they focused on the fun stuff they do as a chapter. Pictures of races, vacations, football games, parties and on and on and on. They are obviously very close to one another, and love to do things together.


Leaving skit night…I had no idea what I would do!

Sounds like any of the three could be your house!!! I look forward to more more more!!

I'm dying to know what happens here!:p:p:p:p

I love the way you distinguished these three houses by what their skits emphasized: campus leadership at the Sheriffs, glamour and popularity with the Bandits, and tight sisterhood among the Deputies. All three of those are appealing, but they're very different. I'm guessing that since you were questioning whether you were cool enough for the glitzy Bandits, that's not where you wound up, though....

The next morning invitations came out.

I wasn’t invited back to the sheriffs! But I loved them! And I’m smart…don’t they want me?

Needless to say, I was kinda upset. I just didn’t see it coming. But I did get invited back to Bandits and Deputies, both of which I love. I just had kinda come to the conclusion overnight that I would pref Bandits and Sheriffs.

I was still excited to be going to two houses, and since I had “maximized my options” I knew that as long as I listed both on my pref card, I was guaranteed a bid! Hooray!

So that night I put on my pref dress, hose, and heels…..and promptly took the hose right back off (sorry, mom) because it was 98 degrees at 6PM.

My first party slot was open, so I waited in the tent, getting nervous with the other girls.

First I went to the Bandits: Their pref party was so pretty. There was singing, and several of the sisters talked about what the chapter meant to them. I was sitting there thinking that I could really get along here, because even though every sister was her own person, they were all so proud to be Bandits. And they all seemed to be supportive of one another. And of course, I am a Bandit legacy and I knew my mom and her sisters would love it! I mean, the Bandits are an outstanding house on campus, and I would be so proud to wear their letters around.

The next party was the Deputies: Their pref had less ceremony and more one-on-one talking. I talked to a couple of the girls that I had really gotten to know over the week, and they were talking with me about what I could see myself doing in their chapter. They seemed to really want me for me, and had gotten to KNOW me.

I left the Deputy house in STRICT SILENCE and walked to where we were to fill out pref cards. Aaack!

A cliff hanger....dun dun dun.

STOP THE MADNESS!!!!! I want to know.

Who should I rank first? The house where I will blend in behind tons of beautiful stars but be a part of a PROUD chapter, or the house where I feel totally like myself but like maybe the chapter is not as excited about itself?

Ugh…the agony. Finally, I think I was one of the last girls in the hall (and my PX was starting to look worried) I ranked….








1. Bandits
2. Deputies


And walked out of the hall feeling woozy. After I got back to the dorm though, and changed back into comfy clothes, I let the worry wash away….

The next morning….we all had scheduled appts with our PXs throughout the morning where you found out your bid, and then we would meet in the afternoon to run to our new homes.

My roommate got her bid early in the morning, and she was a Deputy! Yea! She was so excited and that’s what she had wanted all along!

As I waited around, I got more and more nervous. My roomate wanted me to be a deputy, but deep down inside I knew I wanted to be a Bandit, and became more and more sure of this as the day went on.

FINALLY…my appointment came.

You have to finish!! I'm on pins and needles.

I'm interested to see how this worked out!

I walked up to the little office where I was supposed to meet my PX. We chatted for a minute, and them she told me to close my eyes….


Something was laid in my lap, and she said, “Open!”

There, in my lap, was









A BANDITS SHIRT!!!!





My hands were shaking so hard as I tore open a little card, which was my





PHI MU bid!

I was so excited! I ran back to the dorm, and the first person I ran into was my across the hall neighbor (whom I hardly knew) and she had on a Phi Mu jersey, too. “Hey, I’m a Phi Mu, too!!!” I said. (interestingly…that stranger is now my bestest friend, roommate for 3 years of college, and was my maid of honor!!)

One hour later (just enough time to get really BIG hair, and put on my new jersey) we met at the amphitheater, where I learned my PX was a Barkeep, and then ran to our houses on Sorority Row.

Great memories!

My four years went by so quickly. It really was the time of my life. My mom got to come down for initiation, which was amazing. It’s funny…even after all the questioning during rush, and worry that Phi Mu was way too cool for me, I loved it so much. Yes, my friends are all WAY prettier than me (hee, hee)…but our whole chapter was full of diverse girls that were all brought together by an outstanding passion for life. Its funny, from one sister who was passionate about her artwork, to another who was passionate about Pom Squad, to one who was passionate about academics….all these strong personalities were able to unite very well and become PASSIONATE about our chapter. I think I saw an inkling of that during rush, but really was able to put my finger on it later on….

Ahhh, memories!

hooray!!

Loved your story and happy that you had such a successful recruitment experience!!!

Would you share the code? You've been so nice about all the sororities, and it'd be fun to see who corresponded with which cute code name.

Code sharing:

Bandits: Phi Mu (obviously)
Deputies: Zeta Tau Alpha
Sherriffs: Chi Omega
Purdy Ladies: Delta Delta Delta
Indians: Kappa Delta
Cowboys: Delta Gamma
Barkeeps: Alpha Gamma Delta