Southern_Grace, don't worry, most people understood your point. Please, everyone refrain from jumping to conclusions. And I wholeheartedly agree with CarolinaCutie's post, and unless you've been through rush before please do PNMs a favor and don't give advice. They should be well-informed, not getting information that you've gotten from an outsider's point of view. Thanks y'all!

Sorry
 

Don't worry Dee, no harm done, thanks for the clothing advice :)

I'm afraid if a woman eats for comfort, she has more to worry about than being cut. (BTW, :eek: at your comment Rollergirl2001!)

back to advice...
 

Um, could we get back to giving advice to PNM's? I'm affraid that all these comments will be scaring them away...

I would advise women going through recruitment to BE TRUE TO YOURSELF! All greek organizations are lovely for the people they are right for.
If you are someone who spends a lot of time on your appearance, likes to go to class in haute couture, and was and will always be a cheerleader, there is a sorority out there that will fit you. If you are someone who is friendly, but shy, enjoys going to movies, has a 4.0 and has always been involved in musical theatre, there is a sorority out there for you, too. It's even possible (though unlikely) that they are the same chapter.
More than likely, you will appreciate whatever chapter you join, but I can not stress enough to try for the house in which you feel the most comfortable. There were other chapters at my school that were lovely, the women interesting and gorgeous, yet they were NOT for me. In my case, I found the women at Gamma Phi Beta to be beautiful, smart, gracious, friendly and fun.
Although it can be hard, especially in the crazy environment that formal recruitment can be, try to determine the "vibe" or "feel" of the chapter, and then assess whether you will be comfortable and shine in that sort of environment. I have been around some greek women who did not really fit into their chapter, and they knew it, and were somewhat uncomfortable. I would hate to have someone have that sort of experience.
So good luck, be yourself, and have a GREAT time- recruitment should be an exciting and rewarding event!

Oh no, she's still here :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

I guess I really struck a nerve commenting on your ugly tattoo.

Wait, are you the girl with a prison tattoo of her letters?

Stop harassing her.

-Rudey

Moderator stepping in...
 

Please keep things on topic.

Back to your regularly scheduled forum.

BE YOURSELF. Don't let the opinions of the other PNMs influence your decision. There will probably be TONS of rumors flying about the different houses. No, XYZ will NOT make you stand in the quad naked and circle your fat. Just don't believe what you hear. Think for yourself.

Don't be afraid to ask questions.

If you like something, tell them. These women have worked so hard preparing recruitment for YOU, so if their house/hall looks nice, tell them. If you thought their skit was funny, tell them. They will definitely appreciate it. Don't be overly enthusiastic (OMG I love you and I love your house and I love everything!!!) and always be sincere.

Omg that is great advice now i know what to do and what not to do.thanx

The most predictable thing about recruitment is that it is not predictable. Things happen....planned or not. So be prepared.

One extremely important piece of advice: listen to your Rho Chi when she tells you to turn off your cell phone!!!
My school does deferred recruitment and at our pref day in January we had a PNM texting on her cell phone during our pref ceremony, complete with the sound on. That definitely left us with a feeling that she didn't care about our ceremony and that she didn't want to be a member of our organization. Unfortunately that night while my chapter was outside waiting for girls to get their bids she came up to ask us where she was supposed to go and implied that she was expecting a bid from our chapter and that is why she had come up to ask us where she needed to be. No matter how impressed we had been with her before, she ruined her impression at the very last minute. So just keep your phone away and off...it sends the impression that you are uninterested and just don't care about what's going on!

When they ask who you like the best...
 

Hey ya'll,
Thanks for all of your advice, its been really helpful! I'll be staring rush in less than a month and I'm SO excited! I have one question though- if a sister asks you which sorority you like the best and you really like their sorority should you tell them theyre your favorite? I've heard that that's really bad and makes you seem over-eager about everything. I've also heard that you should definitley tell them you like them at Pref. Night, but what if they ask you on the first couple of days? I've been wondering about this for awhile so any advice would be appreciated! Thanks again girls, hope youre having a wonderful summer!:)

Don't ever tell a sorority that they're your favorite on the first day or two. It will make you look creepy and stalker-y.

Aside from that, no sorority members should be asking you questions like that - it's a rush infraction. If there's a group that persistently asks things like this, let your rush counselor know.

BUT if you feel really strongly about a house during round three or prefs, make sure you let them know how much you like them! Sometimes it can be hard to tell for sure where a house stands with a rushee and during prefs a simple "I'm so glad to be here" or "I really love it here at XYZ" can let the rusher know that they're a favorite of yours without giving off a stalker vibe.

This may have been said before, and if so I apologize.

Some aspects of recruitment might seem weird. No social event or organizational interest meeting that I had gone to up until rush or have gone to since involved door stacking, singing, chants, clapping, yelling, etc, as prospective members came to show interest.

Don't be weirded out if that's not your thing. Try to enjoy it and share the enthusiasm of the girls rushing you, but know that it really has almost nothing to do with day to day life in any of the chapters.

This warning never would have occurred to me except that one of the girls I know who dropped out of recruitment last last mentioned it to me after she dropped out. She is the kind of girl who would have made a great member, but I think she thought that if this kind of zany activity was typical, it wasn't for her.

Another tip
 

At schools where tons of girls are going through, I would make a point to stand out in your wardrobe. You may talk to 4 or 5 girls at the first round, but probably half the chapter sees you enter or leave. We rushed in January, and I remember one girl wore a really bright, pretty scarf. So when a sister described her after the round, we all knew who she was and it was easier to put a face to her name. And you're more likely to vote for a girl who you remember (seems obvious!). So dress to impress, and maybe add a unique touch to your outfit, like jewelry, fun shoes, etc. This also makes a great conversation piece!!

That's a great idea, but make sure you're adding unique touches appropriate to the style of your campus. "Fun shoes" might mean something totally different to the Chicago or New York PNM (Jimmy Choo snakeskin stillettos anyone?) than to the conservative Atlanta or Dallas PNM. If it's a very conservative, traditional recruitment, you'd probably be better off in adding something like a piece of jewelry that's unique in how gorgeous it is, not unique in how "different" or funky it is.

And this should really go without saying, but your conversation piece should under no circumstances be a straw hat or purple feather boa unless you're rushing on Mars.

LOL. If anyone needs further clarification on this, please refer to my post in "Weird Rush Stories" about the PNM who decided to be memorable in orange and purple.

Your story really does take the cake in terms of weird recruitment outfits, but I was also referring to my OWN experiences with recruitment!

The year before that, a woman wore a straw hat (not even like a little feminine cowboy hat when cowboy hats had an unfortunate resurgence in popularity a couple years ago but an actual old-timey farmer's straw hat) because she grew up on a farm and figured that would be a good way for the sorority actives to remember her... She was right about that! She became known as "Farm Girl" or "The One With The Hat." She ended up transferring after freshman year and unfortunately became a "what not to do" story during recruitment orientation.

The following year, a PNM apparently heard this story and thought to her misguided self "Well of COURSE I wouldn't wear a straw hat, that would just be silly! I'll wear a PURPLE FEATHER BOA instead!" She came through wearing the boa and a rhinestone tiara! We were like "This isn't a bachelorette party, girlie..." Apparently her Rho Chi pulled her aside after the first rounds and insisted that she not wear anything weird the next day.

Her response? "I was just wearing something that reflected my personality and made me stand out!!!" Mission accomplished, Boa Girl. Mission accomplished.

It's amazing how some PNMs are just entirely lacking in common sense about this kind of stuff. A nice rule of thumb is that if everyone is looking at you sideways and the other PNMs are trying to distance themselves from you, you're probably wearing something dumb.

Oh, and here's another, related suggestion for PNMs going through traditional/competitive recruitments: If you aren't the most fashion-savvy young woman or you have a rather "awkward" sense of style, get your fashion conscious hallmate or roommate to help you out. Seriously. Go to the best-dressed girl in your hall, be like "I love your sense of style, would you mind helping me put together some outfits for recruitment?" She'd probably be so flattered that she'd do it in a heartbeat (unless she's a huge biotch), and maybe even lend you some stuff.

It's fine to have trouble with fashion and style. It's tricky, and everyone struggles with it from time to time. What's NOT fine is not doing anything about the fact that you look outdated/matronly/skanky/sloppy/mismatched or whatever. In a competitive recruitment, you need to look like you took your time and that you care enough about yourself to look your best. If that doesn't come naturally to you, then there's no shame in asking for help.

i hope this has not been posted already, but don't wear your favorite sorority's colors to fall recruitment. you see it as flattery, but it may translate as obsession. also the other sororites my think you are not willing to give them a chance and may not give you a chance in return.

So when is a good time to rush??????

If you're referring to NPHC Rush, I'd look at the stickies in the specific sorority forums for the answer to that question.

I couldn't agree more. In fact, I recently went through recruitment and a similar thing happened. We had a girl in my rush group dye her hair shocking blue the night before recruitment. She also wore large rhinestone pins all over her shirt, in order to "stand out from all those boring blondes in pink sweaters" (as a blonde in a pink sweater, I was a little offended). I go to a school with 12 NPC sororities, and because it is harder every year to get in (800 girls rush), nothing s guaranteed. This girl is now a cautionary tale...no bright blue (or pink, or green, or anything really weird) hair.

Um, I don't know if you were in my rush group or not
but I'm guessing you were because I don't remember there being many other blue haired girls going through recruitment.

but in case you are talking about me, i never wore rhinestones all over my shirt
nor did I ever say anything about "standing out from boring blondes" EVER.
plus I dyed my hair blue over winter break. i got it touched up before recruitment started because it faded to white.

oh PLUS i've been told a girl with brown and purple hair got into a very good house on campus, so funky colored hair isn't that big of a problem.

No, it was someone else. She ended up dropping after the second round. It was more the attitude than hair anyway

Bump for upcoming Recruitment Season.

I know that some of the original advice that Southern Theta gives is more specific to larger or Southern chapters, but as the thread progresses, the advice is universal.