Hahaha 33girl!! I love the Tudors (obviously since it's one of my shows on here) and I just watched that episode. That made me giggle so much!

So I texted my Rho Chi today about cutting/ranking ect because I was still confused and not 100% sure. She said that you get invited back for house tours, but if you didn't get invited back you are still encouraged to visit them that night. I guess it's just a way for PNMs to gauge who is interested in them ect... I'm off in just an hour :)

best wishes to you!

Day 2
 

Okay, so I just got back from recruitment day two! It was philanthropy/craft day so that was exciting since I love crafts. I am so tired out. Today I visited Firefly, Stargate: SG-1, Glee, and Scrubs. Here's what I think and what happened tonight!

Firefly: This was my last visit of the night, but I wasn't too tired by the time I visited them. They had some alumni greeting us at the door, which I thought was pretty cool. When I walked in, I immediately felt relaxed like it was a very low key environment. I was picked up by a really nice girl who seemed a little nervous. She sat with me while I did the craft and talked to me in detail about their philanthropy. It seems like they do care about it, which was a better impression than what I got last night. I talked to several different girls here, and from what I gathered it seems like they are very into leadership development, which is something I'm looking for. I just didn't feel a connection, which is weird since it's the sorority whose profile I fit into best. They have a lot of girls in there that are my same major and have the same interests as me, so I really want to click with them, but I just don't feel that spark. I'm looking forward to seeing them again anyways, if I get invited back that is.
Stargate: SG-1: This was my third visit of the night... guess I'm going in reverse order here! I was the first in line to walk in and I saw some of their very recent alums which was exciting! I got paired up with the girl who is my best friend's room mate (they both live in the sorority house) so we just hung out and chatted and did their craft. They had food to eat, which looked really yummy, but I figured eating and talking isn't the most flattering thing ever so I abstained politely. I learned more about their philanthropy which is really unique and cool. Unfortunately I just didn't feel a connection with it. It's so weird for me since I have a ton of friends in this chapter but I still don't feel like it's my home. I feel like there was a reason I didn't get a bid from them in the past (I'm a big believer in the idea that everything happens for a reason). I feel like being faced with the idea of being invited to later stages of recruitment is stressful. I'm not sure my home is here, and I wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings by not going to their events or choosing others over them. I know it's probably soon to be having these feelings, but I'm just a worrier, I guess.
Glee: This was my second visit of the day. They are definitely super peppy and spirited, which is how I am so I fit in really well. I met at least 12 different girls in the time I was there and I clicked with every single one of them. We got talking about really deep stuff and I felt like I was going to tear up at one point, but I of course kept my composure, haha. I am kind of self-conscious about my body sometimes, but these girls made me feel so good about myself, which is something that I haven't felt in a long time. I definitely felt like I could hang out with them and just wear sweats and a hoodie and be totally comfortable with it. I love their philanthropy, their sisterhood, and what they stand for. I think this could definitely be my home. I even met a girl who I think would be my big (so cheesy and kinda creepy I know!). I am still smiling thinking about the fun times I had with these girls tonight. One thing that worries me though is that this is literally EVERY girl's top choice, and I'm just concerned that I will get passed over.
Scrubs: This was my first visit of the day, and their cheers scared the CRAP out of me (in a good way)! They were banging on the walls and doors and windows and just screaming out cheers, it was kind of cute, haha. I met a ton of girls here as well since we had a lot of time to talk. I was paired up with girls who I had a lot in common with and who were really passionate about their sorority. I learned a lot about their philanthropy today, which was one of my goals going in. Not only that, but I fell in LOVE with their chapter.. I mean they all seem like best friends. I think this could definitely be a place for me too. I have the same sense of humor as a lot of the girls, and we're all into the same things. This is another one where I feel like I could walk in on my worst day and they would take me as I was. I'm so happy to have had more time with them. I'm going to be CRUSHED if I don't get invited back here.

My unofficial rankings for the night would be:
1. Scrubs
2. Glee
3. Firefly
4. Stargate: SG-1

It was SUPER hard choosing either Scrubs or Glee as number 1! Thankfully I don't have to rank them at all tonight so it's just my unofficial ranks. I know this was super long but I know you all love to read recruitment stories so hopefully you'll understand. I want to thank everyone for their advice and uplifting words, it really does mean a lot to me. Thanks for reading my story too. :)

So today was a pretty amazing day. I definitely got a better idea of where I do and don't fit (as you could probably tell). Tomorrow is round 2 of philanthropy day. I visit: ANTM, Greek, Pretty Little Liars, The Tudors, and Pokemon. I have two favorites that I'm going back to, but I'm hoping for fantastic days that totally change my opinion for the better at the other three. :)

Day 3!
 

So yesterday was round two of philanthropy/craft day. Before the round started, I got a chance to talk to my Rho Chi about what happened with Stargate: SG-1 last night. She did say that what they did was "bid promising" and it was very much against the rules, but I didn't want her to report it so I don't think she did/will. She said it was normal to feel the way I do, and said that if my friends aren't going to support me in choosing the chapter that's right for me then maybe they aren't very supportive friends. That made me feel better, although I had been in a funk all day and had a sleepless night previously. I went in with kind of a weird mood, but I feel like I shook that off pretty well. So anyways, here's what happened today:

America's Next Top Model: This was my first visit of the night. Their theme was super cute and all the girls were wearing cardigans in the sorority's colors plus the theme color for the night. I saw a lot of the girls I was paired with last time, so that was really nice. I learned a lot more about what they do for their philanthropy and I told them about my personal connection to it and they seemed pretty impressed and excited that I was so pumped up about it. Next I got paired with one of my floor mates from the dorm last year which was super awesome. She told me all about their sisterhood events and all of the great things they do around campus. It sounds like they are all really close, even though it's a bigger chapter. Most of the girls seem really genuine, which is hard to do during recruitment since they have to be all peppy and love everyone. I feel at home here, but with reservations. I think I just need time to interact with them in a more personal setting (which will be what it is like at house tours!). Overall I had a great time tonight and would love to be invited back.
The Tudors: This was my last visit of the night. They had the best theme, decorations, and craft! You could tell they really went all out for tonight. I actually got paired up with the chapter president, which was pretty cool! She explained a lot about their philanthropy, but I didn't really feel any sort of connection to it which was disappointing. While doing their craft, I met pretty much all the sisters I didn't already know, which I enjoyed. They seem like the kind of girls I could fit in with easily, but I'm not sure if being in this chapter would challenge me to grow or develop my leadership skills, which is something I'm looking for. I had a really fun time tonight, but I'm still not sure this chapter is for me, although they are rising in the ranks compared to others (which you'll hear about soon...)!
Greek: This was my third visit of the night. When I walked in, I immediately felt comfortable and relaxed. I got to see all of the girls I had really clicked with the previous round, so that was really fun. We even remembered each other's names without even looking at name tags! I got to learn more about how they raise money for their philanthropy, which I feel pretty connected to. I got to see a ton of cute scrapbooks that they had out and hear about the fun sisterhood events that they do. I met a lot of girls tonight that were really awesome, and that I feel like are the kind of people I would pick as friends. I did have one girl who was a bit awkward though; she told me this was her first time on the other side, so I won't be too hard on her. She kept saying like, "wow, you're so outgoing..." and staring at the ground awkwardly. I felt like my personality overpowered her, even though I'm not the most outgoing person in the world. It made me a little self-conscious, but I still had a really fantastic time here. I would be really sad if I didn't get invited back here.
Pretty Little Liars: This was my fourth visit of the day. From the moment I walked in, I got a weird vibe. The girl who picked me up didn't even talk to me, she just sat me down at a table to do the craft and walked away, so I was left alone until another sister came to join me, which was at least 3 minutes later. It's not like there were too many PNMs either, I was purposely ignored (or so it seemed). The table I was at started to fill up with more PNMs and sisters, but whenever I tried to socialize everyone would ignore me. It's like I wasn't paired with anyone. There was one sister in particular who was giving me dirty looks and would literally cut me off mid-sentence every time I tried to speak. I didn't learn much about their philanthropy, which was disappointing since I felt so connected to it last time. Needless to say, I had a horrible time here and I really hope not to be invited back.
Pokemon: This was my second visit of the night. They had a really cute theme and decorations. Unfortunately, they don't really do a lot with their philanthropy so it turned into more of a get-to-know-you whatever kind of night. There weren't a lot of PNMs there, so I got to talk to everyone. The more I see of this chapter, the more I realize that, while the sisters are really nice people, I just don't line up with what they're looking for and what their values are.

If I had to rank tonight, here's how it would go:
1. Greek
2. America's Next Top Model
3. The Tudors
4. Pokemon
5. Pretty Little Liars

So recruitment is over for the week and we have the weekend off. Next up are two days of house tours, which you can get invited back for (but you can still go if you don't get invited, it's just to gauge who's interested in you). The first day of tours is at: Pretty Little Liars, Scrubs, Glee, and Firefly. Thanks for reading :)

LOL! That is good! :)

I guess I need more explanation of this even if they cut you, you can still return to a house thing. Can someone other than the OP clear this up for me?

I'm amazed to hear about such a blatant recruitment infraction. How do those wash out later? Do they get in huge trouble NOW or do they get a slap on the wrist in 3 months or what? I know we can't say specifically what will happen in this case, but has anyone dealt with this in the past? 9 chapters is a substantial Greek system and there are going to be chapters fuming over this.

Okay, DubaiSis, I know you said not to reply but I will anyways because I don't think I explained it very well, I was pretty exhausted when I wrote that and I understand it better now.

So we had 2 rounds with each chapter, fast 20 minute meetings, then longer philanthropy/craft rounds. We don't get invited back to either of those, they are open to everyone. At the end of day 3, the PNMs did not rank anyone. For house tours, the chapters invite girls that they are interested in back just to help the PNMs narrow it down. However, since my school is trying to be innovative and give everyone a fair shot, a PNM can return to a chapter she was not invited to and try to make a better impression on them if she so chooses. Chapters and PNMs do not "cut" anyone until it comes down to choosing for preference. After house tours, then the ranking and cutting, ect. happens. I think the reason why they do this is because they know it's hard for girls to get to know a chapter (and a chapter to get to know a girl). This is the explanation we got from our Rho Chis, anyways. I hope this helps anyone who is confused understand it better. It took pretty much everyone in my RC group three nights to get a grasp on the system, haha.

If you have a lot of good friends in this chapter, they might have just been being overly familiar and not thought of it as a rush infraction. (They're nervous too and screw up sometimes too.) I'm going back in my memory bank and thinking of a couple of times we did things like that with people we knew very well that could be misintepreted.

Of course, it depends on what you mean by "friends" - are these people you hang out with every weekend, or just people you know from class and your dorm? If it's the latter, honestly, I would tell the Rho Chi to go ahead and pass the info on.

Thanks for the advice everyone, it has been truly helpful!

Just to be clear - I didn't want to exclude you. It's just that sometimes the PNMs don't understand the rules, they just do what they're told, and an active or alumna might have been able to state it more clearly. But I think you explained it as well as could be expected for a pretty free and loose recruitment style.

It sounds to me like your campus IS trying to be innovative and I hope it works well. I think all of us on GC are real cheerleaders for being Greek, and any method that encourages membership and successfully matches women to lifetime membership is a win in my book.

And yes, your friends probably should have been a little more careful, but if it's a small campus and your best friends are in the chapter, it's not the same thing as a chapter at Bama or Arkansas bid promising to a freshman PNM. When it becomes a problem is when they can't actually come through with their promise.

Why thank you DubaiSis! Everyone says that it's really, really rare for a girl not to get a bid and that the only reason a girl does not end up in a sorority is because she got a bid but she didn't take it, or because she dropped out early. For the sake of ambiguity, I'll say that my school is between 25-30k, so that's a pretty mid to large size university. I'm really curious to see if anyone has a guess as to what my school is. PM me your ideas!! Pretty please, I'm trying to avoid studying for the world's hardest chemistry exam.

Interesting. I was pretty sure you were at a school with 20-25K.

Haha! DeltaBetaBaby is right, I mistakenly overestimated. It is in the range of 20-25k. PM me your guesses. House tours tonight! :)

I am the queen of clueless on these things so there will be no guesses coming from me!

Day 4
 

So today was house tours at Glee, Scrubs, Firefly, and Pretty Little Liars. I was really excited to go today since we had the whole weekend off, I kept thinking about what I was going to wear and who would invite me back. I went to meet up with my Rho Chi group and I find out that I got no invites back. I was like, "are you sure? I thought you said that everyone got placed." I kept it together and didn't shed a tear, even though I really wanted to. My Rho Chis felt bad for me and encouraged me to go to the parties anyway. I just felt so alone, since everyone else in my group had gotten asked back to their favorites. I thought I did really well, I kept everyone's advice in mind and I thought that they liked me and that I was being truly genuine. I mean the girls even said how cool I was and how much they liked me. I just don't understand what happened. I basically cried for the past hour, so sorry if this post comes off as sad. So, with the encouragement of my Rho Chis and my friends, I decided to go to the parties anyway.

Scrubs: This was my first party of the night. I LOVE their house. It's so cute and amazing and wonderful. I felt really at home there like it was someplace I could chill and/or live. Their house was huge, even though it doesn't look like it from the outside. They had yummy and cute food decorated in their colors, which was really nice! We did a cute little craft for their philanthropy which I loved. I had so much fun chatting with PNMs and sisters. Except one sister kept laughing at me at awkward times (and she was a senior so she had been through it before) when I didn't say anything funny (or so I thought). Other than that, I had a lot of fun and I really hoped I convinced them that I really am interested/fit in well with them.
Glee: I went here second. Their house is pretty plain, but cute from the outside. When I walked in I was amazed at how much it felt like a home! It was beautifully decorated, very spacious, and very deceptively large on the inside. I met some girls that I didn't know, which was really cool. I even got to meet their chapter advisor, who was so awesome to talk to. I also met a girl who is seriously my twin... we are so alike in almost every way! It was kind of freaky. She even knew someone who I grew up with even though we lived nowhere near each other. I felt like they were kind of surprised that I was there, but as the party went on I most definitely felt more welcomed. I'm not getting my hopes up here but I had a fun time and would be happy to pref. here :)
Firefly: This was my third party of the night. Since these girls didn't have a house, their party was in another campus building. The only downside of that was that the room we were in was really echo-y, which made it hard to hear at first. I think the reason I didn't get invited back here was because I only met about 5 girls and didn't spend the most time there, which I take full responsibility for. I'm SO glad I went to this party. I clicked with all of the girls I talked to, and we got into some deep conversation. They definitely seem to have the same goals and interests as I do, and I see a great potential for personal growth here. They took me by surprise in the best of ways! I think they are rising up my list and becoming a favorite and I couldn't be happier.
Pretty Little Liars: There was no way that I was going back to this chapter after how incredibly rude they were to me last time. It doesn't affect me at all in terms of my standing, because I wasn't invited there, so it's not like I just didn't go. I wasn't invited back so I didn't go. I heard from a lot of other girls that they were treated rudely as well, and our Rho Chis said that the Greek Life Office was looking into it since so many girls felt excluded and offended by them. I'm glad for girls that had a good experience here, but this chapter is SO not for me.

So I don't have to rank tonight, but if I did it would be really tough. I had an equally good time at all 3 parties that I went to. So I'll base it on my overall experience throughout all of recruitment. Again, they are all really close together in terms of my opinion.
1. Scrubs
2. Glee
3. Firefly
4. Pretty Little Liars

Tomorrow is the second round of house tours at Stargate: SG-1, ANTM, The Tudors, Greek, and Pokemon. Needless to say, I'm really nervous about being invited back now that I was rejected from all the houses tonight. I'm excited though, because hopefully things will turn around and tomorrow will be a better day. Positive energy sent my way would be amazing. :)