Stupid Rushee's not so stellar recruitment!
 

I’ve posted here for years, but finally thought I had a point to make about recruitment to bother doing my own story. I talk about my opinions about recruitment quite frequently, but finally realized that my story illustrates my points pretty well. I’ve changed my name and disguised the chapters so you will have some investigation to keep you detectives out there interested! Keep in mind that I will be writing this like I’m still 17 and stupid!:eek:

First, I grew up near a prominent SEC school and swore all my life that I would be going to Big State University. My older sister, Katie, who is less than a year older than me went up north to Smaller State School for their nursing program from which our mother had graduated. I let everyone in my family know that I would rather die than attend that school, but after my sister had been gone for a few months, I really began to miss her. I got a full paid scholarship to Smaller State School and quickly decided that I would go there instead. (Of course, I told everyone that I decided to go there since they didn’t require Calculus for my major unlike Big State University, and I HATE math!)

Katie had gone to rush the week before school started her freshman year at the urging of our mother who had always wanted to be a Cherry at Smaller State School but didn’t have the money to join. Katie called home the night after prefs crying that she had made a big mistake. She’d put Strawberry first on her list but thought she should have put Cherry. I could hear her crying to my mother and just rolled my eyes. :rolleyes: She ended up getting a bid from Cherry and loved the chapter from day one.

Katie, of course, gave me the scoop on all of the chapters on campus (not too hard considering there were only four!) Apple was the most desirable group. Katie had been cut by them after day 3. Strawberry and Cherry were nearly equal in status, though Cherry was probably a little behind. Watermelon was a struggling chapter. My little 17 year old mind decided that I would be an Apple. Cherry would be my back-up.

Before school started, all freshman had to attend PREP, a type of orientation. My roommate for that weekend was a legacy to Apple through her sister. I’ll call her Natalie. Natalie was the only person I knew when I rolled into town the week before school started to go through rush. We stayed in a dorm on campus for the whole week. I came armed with my sister’s yearbook so I could figure out who all the Rho Chis were.
My Rho Chi was a Watermelon, so I quickly decided that she couldn’t help me. My roommate was a cute blonde named Suzie, and she was in my Rho Chi group. I guess they picked roommates for everyone by Rho Chi group.

Open House

The sorority dorm was the site for Open House. Each group had a wing in the dorm. Strawberry and Cherry had opposite wings on the first floor since they’d been on campus the longest. Apple was above Strawberry, and Watermelon was above Cherry. We were taken to the doors to each chapter’s hall before the party started. You could hear the sisters competing to scream louder than all of the other chapters, kicking and stomping and clapping, so you can imagine how loud things could get!

Apple- We entered Apple from the courtyard stairs. The sisters were dressed in polo shirts with Apple embroidered over the breast paired with khaki shorts and a weird apron tied around their waists. I couldn’t figure out the point of their outfits, but since I was going to be an Apple, I would get used to them! I was picked up by a very thin girl at the door and taken to the chapter room. The decorations were okay, but the couches were a little shabby. Small talk was really difficult with this chapter. We never got beyond majors/hometowns. I made sure to tell her that my sister was a Cherry. I wanted to make sure she knew that I was Greek material. Halfway through the party, they showed us a video with pictures from all of their parties. They looked like they had fun!

Watermelon- I immediately could see why this chapter was considered to be less desirable...the chapter room seemed empty compared to Apple’s even with all the rushees included. The chapter room itself made Apple’s look like a 5 star hotel! The girls seemed nice but pretty awkward. I chatted with a couple of sisters, watched their video then noted during their tour that none of their rooms were decorated in Watermelon memorabilia.

Strawberry- The door to Strawberry opened, and I immediately saw a HIDEOUS painting on their wall completely in my most hated color. Apparently it was Strawberry’s color since their couches were that color, as well as the carpet in their chapter room. I remember very little about this party since I was stunned by the ugliness!

Cherry- My last party was Cherry. More screaming could be heard through the Cherry door in the dorm lobby, but I was too tired to care. Smiling and making small talk had given me a horrendous tension headache. All I wanted to do was go home and sleep! (I can't imagine how people make it through 8 parties or more a day at big Greek schools!) When the door opened, we marched down the hall and were picked up by sisters who took us to the chapter room. I waved at my sister as I passed her in the hall. Cherry’s chapter room was better maintained than Apple’s. Yet again, the small talk was basic. I didn’t really click with the girl rushing me, though she identified herself as Katie’s adopted big sis, Mandy. We saw their video and then went from room to room so they could tell us about their finances, philanthropy, etc.

I like honest rush stories, keep going!

Lovin it so far! More please!

I almost just gave myself away posting under my real name! I make a terrible sock puppet! If you saw the post....shhhhhhhh!:)

First Skit Day

First thing in the morning, my Rho Chi group went down to get our invitations for the day. No one could cut girls after open house, so we all knew we’d be going back.
The rest of recruitment was held at various venues across campus which rotated each year between the chapters since one was clearly nicer than the others. The rushees didn’t know this, so Apple having the nicest room on campus just reinforced my conclusion that I should be an Apple.

Cherry- Cherry had a terrible party for first skit day. I remember my sister having her costume made over the summer, an Indian princess (er...Native American, but then again our college mascot was the Indian!) outfit. The theme was “Mardi Gras,” but Halloween would have been more appropriate with all the costumes. Seriously, one sister was dressed in a full Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume! I don’t think any of them knew what Mardi Gras was really like, but that party was not it! I remember them singing all of these stupid songs. I have always hated musicals...people breaking into song for no good reason gives me the creeps. I met lots of Cherries, but none of them stood out to me except for one sister who was a legacy who pledged when her sister was still in the chapter.

Apple- All I remember is their location. It was the Alumni Center. How could I forget this party?!

Watermelon- More singing and dancing. Gag! The Watermelon’s skit was “Watermelon over the decades” with sister dressed in different outfits based on the decade. It was actually fairly cute, but I am so NOT a cutesy girl. What I remember most from this party was sitting across the table from a girl that looked so masculine to me...I couldn’t stop staring. She dropped out of recruitment the next day because apparently her aunt was a prominent Apple and was pushing her to join, but she wanted to be a Cherry. (I, of course, didn’t know this until my sister told me later.)

Strawberry- Ack! They were all dressed in striped overall shorts in their color with a polka-dot ribbon around their waists. A few girls were wearing flapper dresses in this color for their skit. My God they liked their color! The girls were nice though, and I could see why my sister had liked them so much.

Good username. Whenever I look back at my retro recruitment thread, I realize that "Stupid Rushee" should have been my name, based on some rash decisions I made and I am soooo lucky that rush ended like I hoped.

Maybe a bunch of Greek women would look back on their rushes and think this too?

Judging by this and your opinion of all the houses this round, sounds like skit round is not your favorite... lol

Yes! As you say, everything turned out well, but I still cringe when I think of a couple of reasons why I cut some very good chapters.

I really like this thread because it seems to reflect accurately the thoughts of a new college freshman. Not that the others are inaccurate (well, some of them), but this one really captures that mindset.

I remember being turned off my most of the skits when I went through. I am sure that I rolled my eyes and smirked at some. On a tangent - when I saw Mama Mia on Broadway I told a friend that I had seen sorority rush skits that matched the storyline and music better. ;-)

Mama Mia is pretty bad!

On we go since I hate when these things drag on for days!


Second Skit Day- Oh yes...another day of singing and dancing!

As we had done the day before, my Rho Chi group headed downstairs to get our invites. When I opened my envelope, I was shocked to see that Apple AND Watermelon had cut me. There must be a mistake. Strawberry and Cherry had invited me back, but I didn’t even like them. AND Watermelon cut me...they were the rejects who took everyone! This whole rush thing was pretty stupid. The singing and dancing was so fake. I decided right then and there that I would just be a Cherry. If Cherry cut me, then I’d march to their dorm and kick my sister’s butt! My roommate had been cut by Apple and Strawberry and was pretty upset since she really wanted to be a Strawberry. Natalie still had invites to each party but declined Watermelon since we could only attend three parties.

Strawberry- Their skit today was Alice and Wonderland. It was cute, but there was too much singing, again. I really liked the girl I talked to and thought I’d made a good impression on her.

Cherry- The Cherries did “Cherry Christmas” since the feeling of being a Cherry was like Christmas everyday. How cheesy can you get?! They sang all of the standard Christmas carols with words changed to Cherry lyrics. At least I didn’t hate Christmas carols. Mandy was back to chat with me today. We just didn’t click, but I tried since she’d soon be my sister.

Ha! I thought it was apt!

OMG! I would not have made it through recruitment at this school. I love music/plays/skits/dancing and all, but this sounds corny as hell!

haha too true! I was in the "singing group" during rush and also during the campus talent show and spring fling, and I can still remember those songs that were so corny, like how you change all the lyrics to your sorority's name, and make it all about sisterhood.

We changed that wedding song, There is Love, to reflect our house and sisterhood. I cannot go to a wedding and hear that song without inwardly cringing :rolleyes:

Preference Day

My invitation envelope was awfully light. Cherry was the only chapter to invite me back. I guess no one really thought I was Greek material after all. My roommate was cut from Cherry and only had Watermelon left. She was hysterical. I told her that our Rho Chi was a Watermelon. She decided to stick it out after talking with her for awhile. Natalie had been invited to Cherry, Strawberry and Apple. She picked Apple and Strawberry since she could only go back to two.

Preference parties were held off campus at the homes of alumnae. Alums would drive us in cars to the events. (Talk about a risk management nightmare.)

Cherry- I was picked up from the dorm with three other girls by a Cherry Alum driving a Camry. She was pretty young, and we all had fun chatting with her on the way to the party. The party was held at an old rich, alum's house with a huge garden and attached Bible Museum. We waited outside an iron gate until the president of Cherry walked out and escorted each of us inside separately. All of the Cherry sisters were lined up along a green lawn in matching dresses (they were tacky!! :P) The President introduced each of us and one sister would step out of line to take the rushee being presented back to her place in line. It was really cool looking, but the south in August was not the time to be outside in your nicest church dress. I was sweating and miserable. Mandy picked me up. So...I’d have a heart to heart with the girl that I never clicked with....great!
Mandy pressured me to tell her that I wanted Cherry. Since I didn’t have any other choice, I quickly assured her that I was planning to “suicide” Cherry. She was so excited...then again, she was Katie’s big, and I think Katie had been nervous all week.

great story! can't wait to hear the end!

Hmm do I smell a twist?

What year was this? Since there are skits and matching pref dresses, I am going to go out on a limb and determine this to be a true retro recruitment story! (My house wore matching baby blue polyester pref dresses - oh so, retro)

I have been wondering this for a long time. What exactly is Pref?

Pref = Preference Night. Generally, in Formal Recruitment, it's the last night of rush. PNMs are down to their top 2-3 chapters. It's more formal (usually cocktail attire is encouraged) and quiet and serious. It's the last push for sisters to prove why their org is the best, and it's the time for the PNMs to really see if they'd fit in there. Sometimes a good/bad pref night can drastically change the ranking of chapters for a PNM.

Same here!

Bid Day and beyond

Bid day was a little anticlimactic for me and my roommate. I got a bid to Cherry and joined my sister on her hall. Unlike Katie, nothing had happened all week that would leave me in tears. Suzie joined Watermelon and kept a chip on her shoulder from then on. We didn’t talk much after rush, and she seemed to ignore me when I saw her. I hope she didn’t think I was “too good” for her since she was a Watermelon. I actually did like a lot of the Watermelons. Natalie joined Apple...I was sure she only got in because of her sister. (Sour grapes?!!)

Some of the girls I saw coming down the hall were not people I could see myself being friends with, but I knew that Katie and I were pretty similar. If she liked Cherry, I guess I would too. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t feel different and that the girls around me were just strangers in the same shirts.

The alum that drove me to prefs turned out to be my sister’s adopted Grand Big Sis. She was really cool and came around all the time since she was in grad school. Since it was the first semester that pledge periods had been shortened to 6 weeks, Big Sis/Lil Sis came really quickly. I didn’t know anyone except for my sister. The day before I had to list my preferences for Big Sis, a girl in my Psych class introduced herself to me. She was in my sister’s pledge class. The next night, I put her name down for my Big Sis since I really didn’t know anyone else. Turns out that that alum was her Great, great, great, great grand big sis, and she'd driven me to prefs in my Big's car. She had hand picked me to be in their family and told my Big to meet me. Mandy and I turned out to be great friends, too, over time. The masculine girl from Watermelon’s party came through COB in the spring and pledged Cherry. I thought at the time that Cherries just wanted her because Apple did. I really couldn’t see what they saw in her...and I still don’t because she ended up sleeping with my Big Sis’ fiance! (She tried to friend me on Facebook recently...yeah right!) The important thing I learned is that you're never going to like everyone.

It took me some time to feel that Cherry feeling. Moving into the dorm my second semester helped. We sat up late on most nights in our foyer talking. That's when I really started feeling close to my sisters. Our Chapter Adviser realized that I was artistic and enlisted me to make decorative letters for the dorm windows. This got me started doing projects for the chapter. I don’t think I’d have known I was good at finishing projects if she hadn’t seen it in me. I ended up painting Big Sis/Lil Sis presents and party cups for half the chapter. I took an office- House Manager then ran for a bigger office the next fall. I realized that the more I did with the chapter, the more I started to feel that feeling of sisterhood. I never thought about dropping out since Cherry was a jumping point for joining other groups on campus. After a semester or so, I realized that Cherry was my life!

I ended up taking 3 Lil Sisters, and lived in the dorm the rest of my time in college. I never did like the singing and dancing....thank God that only really happened at rush! My last year, I decided to become a Rho Chi. Luckily, my rushees were smarter than me and actually used my expertise. I thought the experience would be easier than singing and dancing for a whole week, but I was emotionally drained by the experience. Recruitment is such a tough time for women. So many of my rushees had disappointing experiences due to grades, some were like me and just didn’t get the whole deal and some didn’t get the chance to join a sorority. I was baffled because each and every one of the women in my group were awesome people. I couldn’t see how the chapters, including my own, could cut them. I came to realize that recruitment is an imperfect process. For every girl who joins her dream chapter, there is a girl who has to make the chapter she joins into her dream chapter.

I am grateful that I got to join Cherry. I was lucky that my experience, my bad attitude and my stupid behavior didn’t ruin my chance to join a sorority. I lucked out that my sister and her sisters really did want me around. I have no illusions that I was the perfect rushee that got cut for no reason! Instead of seeing me as Greek material for having a sister in another chapter, talking about my sister at every party made them all think I wanted to be a Cherry. I’m lucky that I wasn’t discouraged by not “feeling at home” and not clicking with my new sisters after a short week of rush. After all, I’d only spent approximately 4 1/2 hours with the Cherries before I was one of their “sisters.” Cherry grew on me over time. I’m glad I had the luxury of time!

That's pretty cool not to mention a bit devious. No revel on who you are though?

I just have to note that everytime I see in this thread in "New Posts," I think it says "Salman Rushdee's not so stellar recruitment." What a story that would be.

(And yeah, I know it's "Rushdie.")

I think I know who it is (for everyone who hates posts that say that, this one is for you) but I'm not telling ANYONE.

I am fairly certain as well- one line gave it away to me. Another great retro story that has a point! You absolutely do not have to have warm fuzzies throughout every round and instantly feel like your have met your best friends on bid day. Those things take time, and yes, meaninful sorority experiences can be found in houses that you didn't initially think were for you.

Thanks for sharing.

There was one really obscure line that gave it away for me too - I have a very good memory!

Thank you for sharing this, this is definitely something that all PNMs should read!

Very cute story and I'm glad you got the chance to be a Rho Chi.....so who are you? lol

Great story! Sometimes you aren't always completely connected through recruitment. Personally it was greek week and the next years recruitment where I truely felt connected.
What sorority!?!?!

Sorry I didn't do my reveal last night...I was soooo tired after being on call all weekend! I am AOII Angel, and I am a proud AO "Cherry" Pi!

Apple= Kappa Delta
Strawberry= Phi Mu
Sigma Kappa= Watermelon

The school was Northeast Louisiana University, though, the name has changed to ULM. Luckily, the skits are a thing of the past. Each chapter actually had skits that they did every single year...KD did the Wizard of Oz. In the lat 90s, the greek system hit the skids with only 10 women going through recruitment each fall. Sigma Kappa, unfortunately, couldn't survive with Quota that low and an already small chapter. Looking back, I see pictures of the Sigma Kappas and remember the amazing women who are alumnae of that chapter and wish that college women could see past the ugly comments and see a group worthy of their time.

Off my soapbox! Hope you enjoyed the story.

There are so many words of wisdom in this post, and I hope some PNMs get the chance to read your story. Thanks for sharing!

I think a Salman Rushdie recruitment story might be hilarious... or super awk.

No fatwas, please ;)

I had a feeling Strawberry was my sorority. A lot of girls have such an aversion to pink. I LOVE IT! I would drown myself in pink if I could!

For me, while I understand why it's important to emphasize giving each group a chance, and as a Panhellenic Council member I did just that, I don't think I could do a group that didn't give me the warm-fuzzies. But I think that's because I'm such an emotional person. I'm glad you found your home. And I'm glad you did the right thing by continuing and working hard for your chapter.

I agree with you BabyPiNK, everyone is so different. There are people out there that wouldn't get the warm and fuzzies if you wrapped them in a heating blanket! If you get those feelings, great...follow your heart. If you don't get them, don't assume that sorority life is not for you!

AOII Angel,

Thanks for a great story. I love reading your posts and although I haven't been around here very long, I have come to regard you as one of the most wise, kind, and thoughful posters on here.

Thank you, kiteflyersmom. I do try.