We were in North Carolina twice for a sporting event. My husband and I drove around UNC. It is so beautiful. (I loved the old pharmacy on..I guess Franklin?). I was amazed at the size on one particular sorority. (not the girls the size of their house). We only saw one sorority house...but if they are all that big...all I can say is wow.

Yesterday was my first round of recruitment and I had an awesome time. Since I said earlier that I would hold off until the end to tell the entire story, I won't give any details away. :p But I will say that I had a very difficult time choosing who to rank as my bottom three. I do have two favorites so far and two that come in at a close 3rd and 4th, so we'll see how things pan out! Conversation flowed better than I thought it would with the exception of one awkward silence (in hindsight, I should have thought of a question to ask her in order to make it more comfortable.) I spoke with a few girls who pledged as sophomores which made me feel a little less nervous about what I had heard about the difficulties that sophomores face. Tomorrow is Skit Day and I'm very excited to see what the different houses have spent so long preparing for us. :)

I am writing my story in a Word document so that I can remember as many details as possible, and then I will post the different parts after September 4th! I hope you're as excited as I am for the outcome!!!

I <3 Recruitment Threads. Good luck!

Well, I just got back from the second round... all of my top 4 dropped me (as well as two others that I had liked), and I was left with my bottom 3 and one that I had ranked very low on my list yesterday (most people got these four today). I was very disappointed but tried to go in with an open mind to see if things improved without any success :-(

Maybe it's because I'm a sophomore transfer and don't have an established GPA at this school (although my GPA at my previous school was very high). I had recs to 5 houses, but only one of these asked me back. After the first round, I had my heart set on one in particular and I thought I hit it off really well with everyone I talked to (she asked me for my last name before I left and said that she hoped to see me at the next round).

My Rho Chi was very nice and encouraged me to continue on to the next day. We had to list our top 5, so I wrote down all 4 that I had (even though I really couldn't see myself anywhere). Hopefully things will get better. If not, I think I'll probably drop out. Do I have any other options then? Sorry for the rant... this is just very discouraging and I wish I hadn't put so much time and effort into researching chapters and recruitment advice and obtaining recs. :-(

Keep your head up -- there really are no "bottom houses" at UNC. I'm sure you will be happy no matter where you end up.

I'm not familiar with your campus so others will have to chime in on whether or not COB is an option. However, I just looked at the local websites for the sororities on your campus and I'm at a bit of a loss. They all look like great chapters.

I do hope you'll stick it out. I know Recruitment is difficult and painful and I'm sorry things haven't yet turned out the way you wanted. Keep in mind though that your perfect home could be right under your nose and you just haven't noticed it yet.

Another thing to consider is the fact that after Recruitment the sororities aren't exactly the same as they were before. They include the new pledge classes.

You mentioned that others had the same 4 chapters left. Take some time to look around at your fellow PNMs. You'll be spending most of your time with your pledge class. Have you made friends with other PNMs?

I wish you the best of luck!

Don't give up! Keep an open mind with the 4 chapters that are left. I hope it all works out for you in the end.

I completely agree with KSUViolet that you should try to stick it out at least through Pref and even through Bid Day. There is so much to learn and see about each chapter and its members. You can always choose not to accept your bid, but you don't want to "what if...?" yourself for years to come.

Also, many girls are only thinking about their favorite houses in early rounds and don't focus on the others. Once they can spend an entire night looking at those others, some great qualities that might have been overlooked before can come out.

I do hope you choose to continue with recruitment but either way, good luck!

A few people mentioned this above, but your other "options" would most likely be limited. Most likely the chapters (or some of them) that you don't find particularly appealing may be the ones doing COB...if UNC does COB at all which seems unlikely according to what laurand333 said above...

PLEASE stick it out until pref. Just to echo what another poster mentioned above, you said, LOTS of other PNMs have the same 4 houses on their schedules. These ladies are your potential pledge class sisters, who you will be spending lots of time with.

If you have indeed made friends with any other PNMs, maybe a group of you will end up together. If you keep encouraging each other to "stick it out," (at least through pref round) there's always a chance you could end up in the same chapter and strengthening it! Who knows, even if you are invited back to a chapter you aren't absolutely thrilled with, if you pledge and subsequently become a member, then you can help shape the house. Your joining that house makes it a better house...this is how chapters "improve!" (Not that chapters at Chapel Hill are in need of improving, this is just from the POV of the OP).

Best of luck megzamillion, we're pulling for you!

A few of my friends said they talked to a number of sophomores yesterday who were extremely stressed and in the same situation. RELAX! It is not a cake walk to get in to every house as a sophomore, but it is possible, and having four houses is excellent!

We know who will and will not fit into our houses. Do not take it too personally that several houses cut you. (I know it's easier said than done.) Rush is not a perfect science, but the sorority women still do an excellent job of filling out their pledge classes with the girls that will most likely fit into their respective houses.

Also know that there is only one struggling house, but they had some amazing women pledge last year and people are taking notice. My chapter's advisor also said that they now have a full-time Leadership Consultant assisting them. This is really exciting for everyone because no one wants to see weak chapters and Phi Mu's successful recolonization shows that UNC's campus is open to major undertakings; I think this "struggling" chapter will be one to reckon with soon.

I will also say that when I rushed girls, I preferred sophomores over first-years. You've already been through your first year, you have a strong GPA, and you are demonstrating that you have clearly put thought into rushing. I'd rather put my weight behind you than someone who is going to (most likely) struggle to find the right balance in their first semester, if not their first year, and that can be very difficult for chapter GPAs (and images!) to manage.

GOOD LUCK! :)

After several long conversations with my Rho Chi, my parents, my boyfriend, and my friends, I decided to continue with recruitment. I figured that this would pretty much be my last chance considering that I am a sophomore, and rushing as a junior would be even more difficult than my current experience. Since I'm a transfer, I need to find ways to get involved and meet people, so I might as well take advantage of this opportunity. I'll hold off on the details once again until after it ends, so I can provide a full recruitment story for you all to read :)

Pref night is tomorrow, so I guess I'll find out if anyone wanted me back...

laurand333, yes I did go to house tours (only a few) but I was very impressed with what I saw :) Some of those houses are gorgeous.

megza...we will all think good thoughts!

Good for you! From what I know of UNC, they have all great houses.

Thanks for keeping us up to date on how you are doing, and we are all rooting for you :)