Good luck with invitations to Philanthropy Day! I hope you have a great time! :)

Some only got 1-2 houses back the last round????

OUCH! :(

Day Six...
 

Okay, so I'm really ready for rush to be over. I am soooo tired and today was kind of sad for me. I got my event list back, waited for everyone to leave and totally broke down. I got invited back to four today. Two of which I am really happy about, two of which I am okay with. Three more girls from my group dropped out today, which was also sad to see.

Not to be mean, and this is compleatly my own personal opinion but it's sad that it's beginning to seem to me like some choices are being made by looks or social status. More so than I am comfortable with. Which of course is not limited to sorority life. Sorry for that really general statement, and please don't be mad. I don't know...today was just very discouraging to me. Some girls that didn't even attend all the parties yesterday because they "didn't feel like it" and put themselves at risk for being removed from rush altogether, recieved a full day today, even if they only attened three parties yesterday..today's max was 6. Oh, sorry for all of this, but today I was seriously considering dropping out. I had to have a conversation with myself to see why I am doing this, and what everything really means. I had a good chat with my RC today and she told me some of her experience and the harsh realities that she discovered. I left feeling better.

ANYWAY...this was my day:

Lucky: I had an AMAZING time here. We had a really fun activity and the girl and I really had a fun conversation that was great. After talking to some of my new friends in my rush group; they all thought that this is where I would end up, which was kind of funny to me. Very sweet girl and very interested in what I had to say. I left this house feeling uplifted and sad to leave. Very down to earth, sincere and modest girls at this house. All qualities I admire.

Gap: I still have the same feelings as before. And the event today wasn't that exciting, and the first girl was from out of state and we really had nothing in common. But the next girl and I had talked before, and the conversation was easy and comfortable. Not my top choice, but had been very consistant. In my opinion, these girls seems closest to eachother, which is something that others have noticed as well. Very considerate, sweet girls.

Seattle Sun: Very fun activity and really nice genuine girl that I talked to. Really fun things to do but there was some awkward no talking moments. From what I hear you either are in love or really NOT in love with this house. I don't love.

Abercrombie: Best of the day. Very sincere girl that I really connected with. It was a great time. Amazing philanthropy and really great activites. When we were watching the slideshow something clicked. It suddenly seemed like home. Was my number one for the day.

Loving: Abercromie and Lucky
Liking: Gap
Would rather not see tomorrow: Seattle Sun

I can not believe tomorrow is pref!
Thank you all....and again, sorry for the not so positive comments before, but I think it's only right to post the positive and negative sides to this whole process. And to all of you ladies doing through it all now: GOOD LUCK, we're all in it together, enjoy yourselves tomorrow and oh yes...GO DAWGS!!!

Good luck! I am so excited for you! :)

I totally know how you feel. I remember feeling that way too. I'm glad the day got better though. Keep staying positive, everything happens for a reason. I'll be sending positive vibes your way tomorrow for your preference invitations! What time do you find out??

Hang in there NWgirl, it will be all worth it! Don't apologize for having to vent and spew a bit.... we have all been there. The great thing is you're keeping an open mind and a positive attitude. Your descriptions of each party/house are great and it shows that you are really looking at each house as with the right mindset.

My fingers are crossed for you and I am hoping that you are Lucky with Abercrombie and there is no GAP in filling your pref card even if Seattle has no sun tomorrow;) LOL just a play on words.

How many pref parties are there?

Thank you! Tomorrow we have to meet at 12:45, so I'm sure they would start passing everything out then. It seems so far away!

Sorry, I totally forget to mention...tomorrow their are up to three parties. 75 minuets each.

Hang in There
 

Northwest girl..your write-ups could have been written by my daughter last year. (I'm sure individual house comments are different, but the over all tone was the same). She was very discouraged right before Philanthrophy parties and recognized some of the same things you did. However, as we have reminisced about recruitment and her experience last year, she is the first to admit that she ended up where she was meant to be and could not be happier.

Another thing that was a pleasant surprise and probably her highlight was her pledge class. She absolutely loved it (and still does). They entire group stayed together, everyone was initiated and they have become a stong presence in her house. Hang in there. I'm sure some wonderful surprises await you.

My good friend only got invited back to 5 today... I have another friend who only had 5 in the last round, cut to two today. I'm glad you've decided to stick with it... I've noticed that my own opinions change each day. My favorite from house tours didn't invite me back...and i guess some of my favorites from the open houses were quick to decide they didn't want me. That is kinda discouraging... but it is such a huge greek system, and I feel like we're really lucky to have a place for everyone.

Anyways. Best of luck for you tomorrow. This is sooooo nerve wrecking for me too... ugh. Haha. In the end, I think we'll both end up in an AMAZING place. k :)

POSITIVE THOUGHTS! University of Washington REPRESENT!

Congratulations on enjoying your parties!

I'm sorry you weren't initially happy with your invitations but hang in there. Cuts are really hard to take but like MerryGPhiB said, we've all been there. (and survived!)

I'm going to remind you of what you posted before Recruitment started:


This is so important! Once Recruitment ends, the decorations come down and the cheering stops, what's left is a group of women sharing a sisterhood through the average daily routine. Some chapters are better at "putting on a show" during Recruitment but that doesn't always mean that they have the strongest sisterhood.

You've done a great job so far of looking for the qualities that matter most. Just keep doing that -- I have a feeling you're going to find the sisterhood you're looking for. :)

Good luck!

I'm glad you decided against dropping out. You still have houses that you love, and in the end it all gets narrowed down to one...no matter if you attended 4 or 6 parties from this round, you still only get that one in the end. :)

It only takes one house to love and be a member of and you end up where you are suppose to be . Have a great preference!

northwestgirl, thanks for your honest comments. I don't think there's anything wrong with talking about the negatives in a situation, as you sound like you have evaluated things in a thoughtful manner--as opposed to quick, shallow judgments.

Good luck! I'm sure everything will work out for the best! Can't wait to hear from you again.

Good luck to you in today's parties. Wishing you the best in your top two.
Sorry, I can't root for your dawgs though.

Hey girlie... so how did your last day of rush go my UW buddy? Hope you had a spectacular day...or close to spectacular... :)

Last Day...
 

Alright everyone...just so you can read this and be done if you want:

I dropped out today.

It's a really long story, but honestly, I am happy with my choice and know that for at least this moment in my life, it is the right one for me. Formal rush apparently just wasn't for me. I didn't like it, as much as I tried to look at the good sides. The conversations were fake all things considered, the girls can only tell you so much, and even if you think everything is going great...my experience has been that it's really not.

I got back to the two of my least favorites today, and as I left my first party, I knew that it wasn't working. I wasn't excited or looking forward to what is suppost to be an amazing day. I didn't feel like myself anymore, I don't even know who I was trying to be.

I felt like even though the two houses I was invited back to presented me with an amazing opportunity, I didn't feel good enough to take it. At my last house, a house that I have always felt confortable at, I talked to the girl that I always thought would be my "big sis". It was hard. I cried. But as our conversation continued she could tell what I needed to do.

There is more, but for now I would like to leave it be. I am going through informal though, in case you were wondering. My RC signed me up this afternoon. If nothing more, I think that time for my will cement my choice to be a right one. I am perfectly fine waiting a couple of quarters to know for sure. As I've said before, this is a commitment that I am taking to heart, and I need to feel confident and good when I'm doing in to it.

Thank you all for your amazing support. I wish my fellow UW pnms a WONDERFUL time with their new sisters tomorrow. It's an experience that I hope to have soon!

NWgirl, I'm so sorry to hear that your day didn't go well. But i'm proud of you for making that decision. I'm sure it was really tough for you to do, but in the end you need to do what you feel is right and I think you did do that. I'm glad you signed up for informal. Please keep us updated on how it all goes, I wish you nothing but the best. No matter what, you are going to have a great time at UW!!

Awww that sounds like such a tough decision you made. Everything will work out though, and I heard informal recruitment is amazing, too. I'm kinda scared that i let my RC convince me to put my last choice on my preference card. What if I end up there? I probably will adapt, but you never know how things will go... ughhh. At least you can rest easy tonight... I'm still almost a nervous wreck haha. One of my friends dropped out today, too... another was thinking of it, and I don't know how that went for her.
Anyways, it was really fun talking to you through this whole thing. See ya around campus.
xoxo

Northwestgirl:

One of my friends at UW a couple years ago was in the same situation. She was dropped from her favorite houses early on. She also felt like formal recruitment was not suiting her. She went through informal, and I am happy to say she found her home at a chapter that suited her VERY WELL. It can be done, and I applaud you for your perserverance.

i am sorry to hear that you dropped out of formal recruitment, however, i am proud of you for doing what was best for you. your attitude throughout the week has been very positive. i am sure you will find a home at UW whether it is in a greek org or in some other niche on campus. good luck and keep us posted how school is going!

Even though it was hard, you made a very mature decision. As others have said, you might consider Informal. It's less stressful and gives you time to evaluate your options.

Get some rest today and take time for yourself. You deserve it.

COB came be at lot of fun. You get to meet the girls on much more an informal way. Best of luck to you. Tell us how it works out.

Benzgirl, I believe the OP said she'd already signed up for COR.

NWgirl, I usually don't post in these, but I just have to add a plug for COR. That's how I joined. I knew formal recruitment wasn't for me. I'm the kind of person who needs to take my time to get to know people at my own pace. COR allows you much more time to be yourself and feel comfortable with your surroundings.

Good luck.

I'm glad you went all the way through preference. You took it all in and then made your decision. Nothing wrong with that. It is very mature of you to drop out given your reasons, instead of the "Waaaahh I wasn't invited back to XYZ and my remaining options are beneath me" that lots of PNMs feel. Informal recruitment allows you to meet sorority women in a much more authentic way. Best of luck, whatever you decide!

Best of luck with COR, NWgirl. It's a lot easier for many women to really get to know the sisters, and frankly, may be a lot more closer to the original concept of recruitment. Please stick around and keep us posted!

Thank You!
 

Thank you all for your support. Please know that I am VERY happy with my choice and informal parties are already starting for me.

Which brings me to my question, does any uw alum know what happened at bid day? I heard from a friend's mom that over 300 girls didn't show up. I am sure that this is exaggerated, but I noticed that chapters pledge classes look at LOT smaller then they said they would be. I didn't know that informal started on bid day...I thought this was strange...not that I'm one to know....

Oh, and my friends are very happy with their houses!!!
One recieved a bid from Alpha Gamma Delta, one from Delta Gamma, one from Delta Zeta and one from Thetas!!! They are very very happy!!!

Two of my friends also dropped out, and one decided that she's not going through informal either, which was sad.
I'll keep everyone posted with informal!

And again, thank you all.

I'm noy a UW alumna, but maybe I can offer a little insight:

300 girls sounds like a bit of an exaggeration. I'm not a UW alumna, but I can tell you that sometimes (for whatever reason) chapters don't make quota or girls decide at the last minute to drop out before prefs or not to accept their bids, which can lead to the varying sizes of pledge classes. It happens at many schools for any number of reasons.

As far as informal goes, chapters have to wait until formal recruitment is over to start informal. At most schools, this means they can begin as soon as Bid Day because that event officially marks the end of formal recruitment.

According to irishpipes' recruitment results thread, quota was 30 this year and 30 last year. People were saying that a record number of women registered, so maybe they were expecting the new member classes to be bigger. What probably happened was that a lot of girls either dropped out before preference and they probably had a lot of girls suicide.

There was not over 300 peeps that didn't show up. The people that didn't come were just the girls that didn't recieve bids. All the houses had pretty big new groups.

Wow you have a friend in DZ?!!! That is where I am. Fun times!

Good luck with informal recruitment!!! <3

Three Hundred women not receiving bids is much too many, though! SIP/Suicide needs to be seriously discussed, or maybe Panhel needs to check out the other possible reasons for this. Were Release Figures used, or maybe used for the first time? They do take a little getting used to using, at some schools.

When this many people are spurned at ONE school, it makes the whole Greek System look bad. :(

I don't read either message as saying 300 women didn't get bids and I would find that HIGHLY unlikely at the UW.

The first posted a 3rd person "rumor" that she had heard that 300 women didn't show up on bid day and the second simply said 300 didn't not show up and that women who didn't come simply didn't get bids. She never said how many didn't get bids.

How many originally registered? Quota was 30 and there are 16 chapters, so around 480 girls got bids (plus a few QAs, minus a few for the chapters that did not make quota). If you add 300 to 480 to say 780 girls registered, I'd maybe believe that 300 girls were not placed because a lot of them dropped out at some point, but that still sounds pretty high.

I have the feeling this is like that girl who posted from (I think) UGA saying something like 2000 girls went through rush and only 800 got bids. When in reality, it was 2000 that SIGNED UP INITIALLY and through cuts and dropouts through the course of rush, the number was greatly reduced. Heck, some of those women probably dropped out after the first party.

There probably was a large difference between signups at UW and the end of rush, and I wouldn't doubt if 50 went to 100 went to 300. I think sometimes rumors like this get started just to make things look more "elite" or something.

Hello All!

Sorry, in the midst of starting school I haven’t had the change to check this thing in a while. First off, I was a little taken aback when I hear that someone could think that I was a part of spreading a rumor to make my school seem “elite”. That could not be farther from the truth! The main reason that I voice my concerns or thoughts on this forum is that I know that I am speaking to knowledgeable people that could perhaps spread some of that on to me. As I have said before, I know nothing about this experience. Am I sad that it didn’t work out for me? Of course! But, as always I know that everything happens for a reason, and I have faith that perhaps informal is better for me.
When I voice these “rumors” as many have referred to them to, it is because I had trusted adults and friends from my life come to me with this information. Of course, some of them might be coming from a hard place, but it is out there…and I wanted people to know every side of this experience. People leave recruitment sometimes very hurt. This I have learned for sure. Many women even from this forum have pm-ed me about their experience. Some of them too made their choice to drop out; some of them had the decision made for them. And I guess that is the part that I wasn’t prepared for. The many women that by round two had been eliminated from the process. It just seems sad to me.
I guess perhaps the only thing left that I question is how on day one (where there was, I think we all can agree – more than the usual amount of women there) we were all guaranteed that if we maximized our options, there was room in at least one house for us. Yes, we were told it might be cramped – but we were told it was going to be there. Now, bid day passes us by with pledge classes ending up at around the same numbers as last year - if we were informed that there was housing for all of us , why are only a few (as in, the normal amount) doing informal? When apparently there are empty beds in these houses that were planned to be filled? And sorry if I sound bitter or angry…honestly I am not. Especially me, who made the choice to drop, I just got…mad I suppose, when I got phone calls from friends after they got THE phone call the morning of bid day in tears.
Oh, and as far as that “informal” bit that I talked about last time…you were right, it wasn’t informal. I guess that I actually made some sincere friends over the course of this whole thing, and we had a great week…even though I wasn’t officially in their newest pledge class…
Thank you all for listening…and for my girls at UW who have pm-ed me – whoever you all really are – I wish you all the best! I hope you all – greek or not – are enjoying your first week of the school year!!!

Last week I was told that somewhere around 550 signed up originally for recruitment.

I think the important thing to remember here is that many of the women who ended up bidless (yourself included) made a choice to drop out of recruitment.

Maximizing options doesn't guarantee that a PNM will get her favorite house - it just means that there will be room for her to receive a bid in one of the chapters. In your case, you still had 2 chapters left - had you stuck with recruitment, you very well might have ended up in one of those 2 chapters.

I'm not saying, of course, that you should have joined the chapters if you didn't want to be there. Just pointing out that no Panhellenic promises were broken in your situation.

Also, something to keep in mind is that hurt feelings don't just happen on the PNMs part. The 2 chapters who invited you back liked you and were still interested in having you be part of their sisterhood. When you dropped out of recruitment, someone in that chapter experienced disappointment. You might very well have been someone's "rush crush"! When the active members saw your name on the drop list, it was an ego blow to them too. (Surely if you were someone's rush crush, she couldn't help but be disappointed that you'd rather drop out entirely than join her house.)

Hopefully everything works out for you at UW - whether you end up joining a sorority or decide to get involved in student life through other groups. :)


P.S. I don't think that anyone was accusing you of deliberately spreading misinformation - the inticracies of bid matching are confusing even to sorority members and alumnae! All you can do is repeat what has been told to you, and certainly no one would fault you personally for any factual errors in that info. :)

I didn't mean you sweetie, I meant the friend's mom who told you. :) And maybe not even her. I was just saying that SOMETIMES I think the sorority members at some schools further these rumors so they look more elite. Whether that's what happened here, I don't know.

If the mom's daughter didn't get a bid, she might have swallowed this whole because it made her feel better. I know I would feel better if my daughter was one of 300 disappointed people instead of 1 of 10 or something.