Okay... sorry for the delay inbetween postings. I don't have the kind of job where I have internet access, so I'm restricted. Continuing on...

Also, to answer ADGLynn's question, only one of the chapters was present at both schools...

Night II: Wow!

My night started out at True Heart this time. I got a much different vibe from them the second visit. (which is why I love that you visit all 3 groups for two nights at my school - I know it's not practical at schools with many groups, but you can totally see different sides of a group on two different nights, but I digress.) Today's theme was philanthropy and Trueheart had their room set up like a baseball field, with tables at the various bases. On home plate and the pitcher's mound, we got to make Valentine's cards for Veterans and on the other bases was more information about their national philathropies and such. The feeling of the room was really laid back and I really liked it.

The second group I visited was Tender Heart. Tonight this group also made Valentine's cards, but for the elderly. Afterwards, we played a game with cups and talked. It was super relaxed and both sisters and PNM's floated between the groups of sisters. I loved that there wasn't a formal system rotating and because recruitment was so small, (30 PNM's max) everyone seemed to know your name and remember you. (A definite plus!)

Wish Bear was up last. Again tonight I noticed the diversity of the chapter, but I also noticed the organization and planning. Whereas the other groups seemed really laid back with who was talking to who and such, this group did seem to have a rotation system, although I think that the only reason I noticed was that I had been through the bigger recruitment where is was far more obvious. Their philanthropy was really cute (we made pillowcases) and overall I felt really at home here.

After parties, we were told to go home and think about which chapters we felt the most at home at. The next day was Pref and we could accept invitations from up to 2 chapters. Chapters would create the lists of women they were willing to invite back, then when we arrived the next night, we'd find out who had invited us back and, if necessary, cut the group we didn't want to attend. (Which, as a sister I always hated - you get the lists for Pref about 10 minutes before the first party starts!) At this point though, I was really scared. I mean, what happens if I get cut again? I liked all three groups, but wasn't really sure about Tender Heart. I didn't think I could take the rejection that comes with being cut all around again. Nervous, I called Carrie and we talked for a long time about it all. Throughout the last few days, she had left me IM's and voicemails wishing me luck. She told me that I'd never know unless I tried. Plus, this round of recruitment was so different. I really felt that sororities were getting to see the real me because it was relaxed and there were far less PNM's for them to meet and remember. Even keeping that in mind, I was still nervous for the next night...

I am enjoying your story and really looking forward to your next post.:)

So Pref night rolls around... I'm a nervous wreck alllll day. I finally arrive (a little early) to get my invites. And to my surprise, I received invitations to all three groups!!!! Yay!!!! It took me a few minutes to think about it, but I knew deep down that I did not fit in well with Tender Heart. But, having been through recruitment, I thought about something that most PNM's may only think of briefly: which group do I realistically see myself getting a bid from? Am I hoping for something that I know deep down isn't going to happen? After talking to Carrie for like 15 minutes about it, I decided not to worry about it and just go with my heart. So, I circled Wish Bear and True Heart and hoped that I was making the right decision.


My first Pref party of the night was Wish Bear. Their Preference ceremony was AMAZING! Even though it was my first Pref, I knew it was something special. My rusher was a sister I'd met all three nights and was from my hometown. The President came by and talked to me for a few minutes and I realized how nice it was to be remembered and not just my name, but actual things they had picked up about me and remembered (ex: I talked about how I had a psych test on the morning of Pref and we chatted about how I did on it - it was nice to have people who remembered the little things like that) When we were done chatting, they had their ceremony and it was beautiful, down to the fountain, pearl, and making a wish. (Which of course at that moment was that I was going to be a Wish Bear...) After leaving that Pref, I thought that there was absolutely no way that anyone could top that.

As a result, my second Pref was something of a let down. True Heart showed a sisterhood slide show which many of the sisters "awww'ed" and "oooo'ed" but I didn't get it. My Pref'er kind of ignored me and we didn't really talk. After the ceremony, they ushered us to the door and that was it. There was no real conclusion after the ceremony and it ended really abruptly in all of our minds. It was also only about 20 minutes into the party, so then we sat around for 25 minutes waiting for the other parties to finish so we could sign our Preference cards.

When I signed my Preference Card, it was really easy in my mind:

1. Wish Bear
2. True Heart

However, as I went home I began to rethink my ranking. I liked Wish Bear's Pref, but I had really liked something about True Heart before that. Did I rank them right? Wish Bear's ceremony was awesome, but I wondered if I'd been too hasty in my decision. It was too late by then though. I had to go with what I'd signed. I just hoped it was going to work out... (and that I'd actually get a bid!)

Now... just waiting for the conclusion... anxiously!

I keep my phone on all night, hoping not to get "the call". So Friday finally comes (with no phone call) and I'm at work waiting anxiously to get out so that I can go and pick up my bid. Unfortunately, the girl who was supposed to relieve me didn't show up, so I was stuck there all afternoon. I ended up calling to find out what the results of my bid were. I was still confused about which group I really wanted to be a part... so I decided that whoever extended me a bid, I would take it. When my Rho Chi read my bid, it said...
























The Sisters of True Heart or the Beta Mu Chapter of Theta Phi Alpha wish to extend you a bid! =) It was hands down the best decision I made in college... :)


Any guesses on where I went to school the first time before I reveal the chapters???

OMG! At my school you do NOT end your parties early. Then the Rho Gammas have to deal with these women and it's just rude to the PNMs. I'm really surprised at the outcome, but glad you took a chance on accepting your second choice even though they did not click with you and did not seem to go for the right impression on pref. night.

Yeah, the following year we convinced them to change that, but prior to that it seemed to be tradition or something. It was just really awkward. And I'm glad I accepted the bid (although I willingly admit that it did cross my mind whether or not I should) - I realize now that while the other two groups on campus are great groups, I did end in with the right place. My group is smaller and that has had it's challenges, I wouldn't trade it for the world. (Plus, both years I served as Rho Chis, I was good at counseling confused/upset girls because I accepted a bid to my 2nd choice and it worked well for me...)

So... will you decode for us?

This is such a GREAT recruitment story! Seriously, sometimes it really does work out for the best!!! CANT WAIT FOR THE DECODING!!!

Happy Fall 2007 Recruitment to everyone and good luck!!!

I'm glad you convinced the chapter to stop ending pref early!

Can we get the code? Please?

...anxiously awaiting the decode... :)

Oh dear... I thought I had posted the uncoding, but without further delay, here goes!

My first school was The George Washington University (aka GWU: Go big blue!)

And here is the uncoding...

Funshine - Alpha Phi
Harmony - Kappa Kappa Gamma
Laugh-a-Lot - Phi Sigma Sigma
Love-a-Lot - Delta Gamma
Cheer - Sigma Kappa
Champ - Alpha Epsilon Phi
Bedtime Time - Alpha Delta Pi
Share Bear - Sigma Delta Tau


At Bwata, the codes were:

Wish Bear - Gamma Phi Beta
True Heart - Theta Phi Alpha
Tender Heart - Phi Sigma Sigma